FAQs

Chill is a positive youth development program, revolving around a core value-driven curriculum, where board sports become a vehicle for building resilience, confidence, and self-awareness. Learn more HERE!

Chill exists to ensure youth have the skills and experiences to become mindful, independent, and resilient individuals who are able to take on new challenges and welcome growth opportunities; to bridge the boardsport and outdoor opportunity gaps and foster a sense of belonging within a cool, authentic, and alternative culture; and to create inclusive space and meaningful experiences for all youth, while being mindful of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, and other intersecting identities.

Chill is running programs while maintaining strict safety standards and CDC and PHA of Canada guidelines. Please refer to our current Covid-19 guidelines HERE.

Chill works with youth coming from a number of different challenging situations and backgrounds, including youth living in poverty, in group homes or foster care, in the juvenile justice system, and youth dealing with trauma and mental illness. Chill helps youth develop better decision-making skills and gain a broadened perspective by recognizing and celebrating individual potential. Chill encourages and celebrates diversity of youth participants including and not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic background and mental health.

Click the links below to learn more about our current program locations:

United States
Canada
Austria
Australia
Czech Republic
Germany
Italy
Japan
Switzerland

11-19 years old as of the first day of program

No, all equipment needed to participate is provided to the youth and agency leads at no cost.

No – Chill is so much more! Chill’s curriculum consists of experiential learning activities and discussions that are paired with a board sport lesson. Our six core values: Respect, Courage, Patience, Persistence, Responsibility, and Pride provide youth with a foundation and framework for learning and personal growth, connecting these values both to the sports at hand and to their everyday lives. 

Youth participate at absolutely no cost. Agencies pay a $55-$75 application fee per program (cost varies depending on the location/sport). This is a one-time fee and not dependent on the number of youth an agency is applying for.

Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Surfing, and Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP).

Core, Discover, Explore, Custom

• CORE
  Core programs are our foundation and provide youth the opportunity to tackle progression on and off their boards through a uniquely cool and experiential approach. Core programs run for 6 days, typically 1 day/week for 6 weeks, or 2 days/week for 3 weeks. Each day of program focuses on one of Chill’s 6 core values which is then explored through an activity and discussion, reinforced during boardsport lessons, and finally debriefed to identify transferrable meaning to everyday lives.
   
• DISCOVER
  Discover programs provide an opportunity for partner agencies and youth to discover Chill’s philosophy through an introductory program. Discover programs run for 3 days and mirror Core programs in structure but curriculum is tailored to give youth an introduction to skill development and Chill’s core values. Through the discovery of what Chill is all about, we hope to get youth and agencies hooked on Chill and inspire them to expand their participation to a Core program.
   
• EXPLORE
  Explore programs provide Chill Alumni with the opportunity to build leadership skills, advance their boardsport experience and passion, and explore unique career opportunities. Explore programs vary in length from 1-10 days where these select alumni youth gain valuable skills and knowledge to continue their progression towards a successful future. Explore participants are 15-19 years old and have completed at least one Core program.
   
• CUSTOM
  Custom programs allow agencies to partner with Chill through a customized experience that deviates from a Core or Discover program, but still embodies Chill through core-value driven boardsport instruction. These can be 1+ days, customizable based on Chill/agency collaboration. Custom programs are specifically tailored to the goals and structure of the partnering agency but will always include elements of Chill’s core curriculum and approach. 

• Chill Core programs run for 6 days, typically one day/week for six weeks, or two days/week for three weeks.  
• Chill Discover programs run for 3 days, typically one day/week for three weeks or three days all in one week.  
• Chill Explore and Chill Custom programs vary in length and are site and agency dependent.  

All year long!  

• Snow programs take place January - March and continue to be our biggest programs, serving 40-80 youth per program.  
• Skate, Surf, and SUP primarily take place in spring, summer, fall (depending on the city) and typically serve 10-25 youth per program.  
• To learn more about which sports are hosted at each site and when, click HERE.

Youth participate in Chill through their involvement with an accepted agency partner. Chill partners with youth-serving agencies (social service agencies, mental health agencies, foster care programs, juvenile justice programs, schools, community centers, after-school programs, etc.) to act as an extension to their program offerings. Following the agency application process, when an agency is accepted to participate with Chill, they are allotted a certain number of youth spaces and will then select youth from their agency based on Chill’s Eligibility & Requirements.

By partnering with existing community agencies and schools, Chill acts as a connector for adults and youth across each city’s diverse neighborhoods, ultimately enhancing and strengthening each agency’s distinctive programs. The experiences and skills gained at Chill uniquely position youth to return to their sending agencies better equipped to excel in their communities.  Learn more about agency FAQs HERE.  

Chill was founded in 1995 by Jake and Donna Carpenter, owners of Burton Snowboards. Throughout North America, Chill serves more than 3,000 youth annually. Chill is a global organization with programming in 16 North American cities, as well as additional programs in Europe, Japan, and Australia. 

Chill is committed to building an inclusive team, and strongly encourages candidates with diverse backgrounds and identities to apply. When hiring new program staff, we recruit applicants who have experience working with youth from a variety of challenging backgrounds, facilitating social/emotional learning (SEL), experiential education, and outdoor adventure programs for youth. Chill prioritizes filling these positions with qualified candidates who reflect our youth through lived experience as someone from a marginalized community or with diverse and intersecting identities, including, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, and other intersecting identities.  

All Chill staff must pass reference and background checks prior to being hired. 

Program staff training consists of multiple days focused on: 

• Chill’s mission and operations 
• Administrative practices/procedures 
• Program facilitation and curriculum planning 
• Positive Youth Development (PYD) trainings on different topics to support youth of different genders, ages, developmental stages, and social, emotional, and physical abilities. 
• Inclusion and equity practices 

• Evaluation and reporting 
• Risk Management procedures 
• Volunteer and program partner coordination 
• Mandated Reporter training 
• CPR and First Aid 

• Youth Mental Health First Aid 
• HEADS UP Concussion in Youth Sports Training through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Anyone interested in volunteering with Chill in any capacity must fill out a volunteer registration and liability waiver, and before attending program, Chill conducts background checks for all Program Mentors. Program Mentors are also required to attend a pre-program orientation to learn the ins and outs of Chill, what to expect, what their role will be, and to connect with other Program Mentors and Agency Leads.

We take risk management seriously and our goal is always to prevent injuries from happening. Accidents do happen, and when they do we are ready by taking all of the necessary steps to ensure that we can respond effectively. Necessary protective equipment is provided for and required to be worn by all participants during program, and Chill’s Program Standards and Emergency Response Plan ensures that staff are trained on what to do in a series of emergency situations. All Chill program staff carry first aid kits, keep important phone numbers readily available, are trained in CPR and First Aid, and complete the HEADS UP Concussion in Youth Sports Training through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We work with trained medical professionals at all of our Host Mountains and only work with knowledgeable and experienced instructors within all of our sports.

Yes! Chill administers an Outcome Based Evaluation (OBE) survey at the end of each program to measure the program impact on youth participants. Chill also uses Program Mentor Surveys, Agency Lead Surveys, and a Chill Quality Assessment (CQA) tool to measure impact and program quality. To learn more about our program impact, click HERE.