The guiding vision of U.S. Ski & Snowboard is to be the “Best in the World” in international snow sports competition. In order to become the best of the best, it is imperative to have a strong foundation. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the education and development of its athletes and talent pipeline, and through its Sports Education department, focuses on regional club-level needs.

Thanks to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Sports Education department, clubs, coaches, parents, and most importantly, athletes, receive sports education necessary for enhancing the quality of athletic success. Through its Sports Education Program, the department aims to provide aspiring athletes across the country with the best possible experience. U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sports Education Director Gar Trayner explains, “Sports Education is a critical part of us ensuring that each and every athlete has the best possible opportunity to fulfill their potential, their goals, and their dreams.”

The program is based on a long-term athlete development model that ensures the expertise, information, and assets of the organization are disseminated to clubs throughout the country to enhance the development of all athletes. “We provide resources to all clubs to ensure delivery of world-class operations and programming,” says Ellen Adams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s club development manager. With a club-level focus, the department not only supports future skiing and snowboarding Olympians but also advances the educational and professional practices of coaches and club leadership.

The Sport Education Program’s main goal is to address athletes’ educational needs in athletics and improve upon them. One way the department achieves this is by prioritizing great athletes first and great competitors second. Although competitive skills are necessary for elite level athletes, fundamental skill is key. The program also emphasizes the importance of long-term thinking. The initiatives and values implemented into the program establish long-term impact for the athletes who desire to become professional. Its foundational principles establish the future success of athletes that grew up in this educational system. Finally, the program prioritizes the standardization of information and practice. With a replicable and unified program, the department hopes to deepen and widen the talent pool within the United States.

“We want to be able to provide support to our coaches and clubs to give them resources to provide positive experiences for young athletes that will promote a lifelong love of snow sports and athletic success,” says Anna Hosmer, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s sports education coordinator.

Multiple goals of the program also revolve around teaching the coaches and staff how to most effectively teach youth athletes. U.S. Ski & Snowboard provides consistent collaboration with the coaches and staff of both national, regional, and divisional teams to ensure all developing athletes are receiving consistent support. The Sport Education Program desires to strengthen that collaboration through communication, not only with U.S. Ski & Snowboard clubs, coaches, and sports staff, but with the high-performance staff, the national team coaches, regions, divisions, and partner organizations such as the United States Amateur Snowboard Association (USASA).

“What we often do is share practices and processes from our different clubs to help navigate through challenges,” says Trayner. “We also have club development consultants which can be sent to work with any specific club that has any challenges they need help getting through in terms of governance or best practices.”

Communication with all of these entities allows U.S. Ski & Snowboard to share the best possible practices, have consistent messaging, combine resources, and stay updated in the ski and snowboard world.

The Sport Education Program also has a hand in sport progression by motivating coaches and club leaders to take part in growing their knowledge base of the ever-evolving sports world. Ski and snowboard sports, as well as sports science, is constantly changing with new advances in technology and practices. It is imperative that the Sports Education Program is up-to-date with these changes and in turn inspire coaches to implement them into their teaching techniques. At every level of development, the Sports Education Program desires to teach coaches about how to properly communicate with athletes, understand and measure their teaching outcomes, and fully comprehend the content of their work.

“When we are putting the best principles in place, at the youngest ages and in the earliest moments of development, we can affect the most amount of athletes within our populous,” explains Trayner. These goals will lead to the most effective teaching of the nation’s future snowsport professionals.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is fortunate to not only have a structured and developed plan but to have previous athletes and coaches within the Sports Education Department staff.

“I have spent my life in the snowsports industry; as an athlete, coach, leader of for-profit and nonprofit organizations, volunteer and parent of an alpine athlete and it is an amazing world in which to learn and grow,” says Adams. “The opportunity to give back in a meaningful way that can truly make a difference for our clubs, coaches, athletes, and their families is a dream come true.”

Trayner has also been heavily involved in snowsport competition, being both an Olympian in the alpine discipline and an international-level coach for multiple National Governing Bodies. “My past experience is a large part of the contextual fit I have in all of this, both from my experience as a sports coach and as an athlete,” he says. “But also my experience with managing coaches has helped me understand what tools would be helpful for me to build professional development plans for coaches.”  

With a strong sports education staff, structured goals, and an organization-wide passion for improvement, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sports Education Department will make monumental steps in the current and future development of athletes. Without the Sports Education Program, the organization would not be able to achieve its vision to be the best at all levels and would lack a strong foundation of skilled U.S. skiers and snowboarders. Through the program, athletes receive the best opportunities to improve and succeed in the future, ultimately driving U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s vision of being the “Best in the World.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the Olympic National Governing Body for ski and snowboard sports in the USA, has announced that Luke Bodensteiner, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief of Sport, will leave his post on 15 July 2019.

Bodensteiner has been part of U.S. Ski & Snowboard as both athlete and a highly valued member of staff since 1986 when he was first named to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. At the end of his athletic career in 1996 Bodensteiner transferred to a staff role and was promoted to High Performance Director in 2007, then EVP of Athletics, and then Chief of Sport, a title he has held since 2017. Under his direction, U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes won countless Olympic, World Cup, and World Championship medals and he leaves a lasting legacy of sporting success that saw nearly 50% of Team USA athletes who competed in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang come from U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

“On behalf of our whole team, in particular, the hundreds of athletes who have worked with Luke over his decades with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, I want to thank Luke for his hard work, passion, vision, and determination to make our athletes the Best in the World. We wish Luke the very best for his future,” said President, and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Tiger Shaw. “In light of this news our leadership team has been working on the structure of our athletic department, and I will assume much of Luke’s role as we continue our focus of building on the successes of the past with new opportunities. In particular, we will continue the work being done on improving athlete funding as that is a key step towards improving the experience and environment for all our athletes and teams.”

‘This was a tough decision for us, but we spoke at length with Eileen, her Mom and her coaches and it was clear immediately that we had a chance to help make an incredible young athlete’s dreams come true,” said Luke Bodensteiner, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief of Sport. “Eileen is extremely proud of her Chinese heritage and the chance for her to promote the sport she loves among young people, especially girls, in the home of her mom, in what will be a home Olympic Games for Eileen, is something we will continue to support her in. We’re very grateful to Eileen for thanking U.S. Ski & Snowboard for the role we played in helping her dream come true and we wish her the best of luck in all her endeavors.’

Following the conclusion of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Council Meetings, the 2019-20 competition calendar for all ski and snowboard sports that fall under the jurisdiction of FIS has been announced. For U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in America, this means that the following event dates are now confirmed:

ALPINE
First up is the HomeLight Killington Cup, taking place November 30-December 1, 2019, Thanksgiving weekend in Killington, Vt., and once again bringing the best women’s technical alpine skiers in the world together with entertaining concerts, movie screenings and more. This will mark the fourth year Killington has hosted the World Cup, and with spectator numbers peaking at 40,000 last year, “The Beast of the East” has been solidified as the perfect venue for World Cup alpine ski racing to continue on the East coast.

The following weekend, the event ranked as the number one overall stop on the World Cup tour by the athletes and coaches, the Xfinity Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup at Beaver Creek, Colo., where super-G, downhill, and giant slalom races are scheduled for December 6-8, 2019. The festivities of the week celebrate “Where Winter Begins” in North America and include live music, beer tastings, ski films, parties, sponsor activation and much more in the heart of Beaver Creek Village on what is dubbed “Birds of Prey Way.”

CROSS COUNTRY
A major highlight of the FIS Cross Country World Cup season on American soil will be the Fastenal Parallel 45 Winter Festival, taking place over four days in March 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn., including a music festival, extreme spectator events, panel discussions, and culminating with the first FIS Cross Country World Cup event held in the U.S. in 19 years. The event, a freestyle sprint on Tuesday, March 17 will also be included in a mini-sprint tour combined with Quebec City the previous weekend, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of fans to support the U.S. Cross Country Team whose reputation continues to grow since Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall’s historic first Olympic cross country gold medal in South Korea in February 2018.

FREESKI & SNOWBOARD
Freeski and snowboard athletes from around the world will unite to kick off the FIS World Cup halfpipe season at Copper Mountain, Colo., December 11-14. The 2019 U.S. Grand Prix at Copper will mark eleven years of collaboration hosting events between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Copper Mountain. In addition, skiers and riders will head to Mammoth Mountain, Calif., an official training site of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, from January 29-February 1 to compete in slopestyle and halfpipe World Cup competition in Mammoth’s acclaimed Unbound Terrain Park. Additionally, a major freeski and snowboard World Cup event will be added to the U.S. calendar in the coming weeks as details are solidified.

FREESTYLE
The Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Utah will take place February 6-8, 2020, marking 20 years of elite freestyle competition for the lauded freestyle skiing World Cup stop, a favorite among athletes and spectators. Three nights of competition, including moguls, aerials and dual moguls, will take place under the lights at night as thousands of fans gather beneath the competition venues.

“Fans of ski and snowboard sports have a lot to look forward to in the coming season, especially here in the US,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “We have the Cross Country World Cup coming back to America for the first time in nearly 20 years with the event in Minneapolis in March. That is going to be an awesome event, giving Jessie Diggins, Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Bjornsen and their teammates the opportunity to race at World Cup level on home soil for the first time in their careers, in front of thousands of people.

"The calendar also confirms the dates of the Killington World Cup alpine event, Mikaela Shiffrin’s home race and the best-attended race on the women’s World Cup calendar, and the mighty Beaver Creek Birds of Prey World Cup, one of the greatest tests for the men in their alpine season," Shaw added. "Also, the freestyle night events at Deer Valley will be taking place in what is now firmly established as the showcase for moguls and aerials competition worldwide. Finally, we have more news to come about a very exciting event our team is working on for freeski and snowboard athletes. Stay tuned for more details on that. Overall, we have so much to look forward to - bring on the winter!"

CAVTAT, Croatia – The International Ski Federation (FIS) has honored longtime U.S. Ski & Snowboard communications professional Tom Kelly with its FIS Journalist Award. Kelly was recognized for his longstanding role in the sport as a spokesperson for U.S. athletes and leadership with the FIS Public Relations and Mass Media Committee.

Kelly, who retired from his role as FIS PR and Mass Media chairman a year ago, was recognized during the annual meeting of the federation in Croatia. Kelly was nominated for the award by the FIS committee directly and wins the FIS Journalist Award not only for his enthusiasm in promoting ski sport and 32 years of service within U.S. Ski & Snowboard but also for 14 years of strong and visionary leadership within the Committee. Kelly stepped down from his committee role and was named an honorary member by the FIS Council.

Last month Kelly was inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame. In his role with FIS, Kelly had long been an advocate for the award to recognize journalists and broadcasters for their work in telling the story of the sport. He is the 19th American recipient of the award, which dates back to 1996.

“This was quite an unexpected recognition and very much appreciated,” said Kelly. “I take great pride in the role I have been able to play with FIS through the PR and Mass Media Committee.”

The award is presented each year by FIS to journalists and broadcasters around the world. The American recipients are a who’s who of writers, photographers, producers and broadcasters who have worked to bring stories of the sport to the public.

While retired from his role at U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Kelly remains active in Olympic sport as a communications consultant and public speaker.

FIS JOURNALIST AWARD
U.S. Recipients

2018 – Tom Kelly, U.S. Ski & Snowboard (presented in May 2019)
2017 – Christin Cooper, NBC (presented in Mar. 2018)
2016 – Peter Graves, Sports broadcaster and announcer
2015 – Steve Porino, NBC
2014 – John Dakin, Vail Valley Foundation (presented in Feb. 2015)
2013 – John Meyer, Denver Post
2012 – Jonathan Selkowitz, Photographer
2011 – Tim Ryan, NBC
2010 – Hank McKee, Ski Racing
2010 – Paul Robbins, Freelance Journalist
2008 – Mike Clark, Associated Press
2007 – Gary Black, Ski Racing
2002 – Peter Diamond, NBC
2002 – Joe Jay Jalbert, Jalbert Productions
2001 – Anita Verschoth, Sports Illustrated
1999 – Charlie Meyers, Denver Post
1998 – John Fry, Ski Magazine
1997 – Bob Beattie, ABC/ESPN
1996 – William Oscar Johnson, Sports Illustrated

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will host its 53rd annual New York Gold Medal Gala at the Ziegfield Ballroom in New York City on October 24, 2019. Prepare to be inspired by the Olympic and World Championship sports stars who will descend on New York City for this spectacular event.

The New York Gold Medal Gala is expected to raise nearly $2 million which will directly benefit benefit American ski and snowboard athletes’ journeys to Olympic and World Cup podiums. The Gala’s storied history began in 1967 as the Ski Ball, which sought to benefit alpine athletes on the U.S. Ski Team. Today the tradition continues as a celebration of all of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s ski and snowboard athletes, including some of the biggest names in sport. It has become a staple of the New York City social philanthropic scene and provides a grand send-off for athletes before the start of the winter competition season.

For more information about the New York Gold Medal Gala, please contact U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Tom Webb at tom.webb@usskiandsnowboard.org.

For ticket purchase and auction information, please click here.

To stay up to date on the New York Gold Medal Gala happenings, search #NYGoldMedalGala on social media.