2019 SkillsQuest-Fitness Validated Testing Schedule

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is doubling down on athlete physical fitness with its national validated physical fitness testing program, SkillsQuest-Fitness. 

SkillsQuest-Fitness is part of SkillsQuest, a cornerstone program of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Training Systems, designed to motivate and reward athletes in working toward and improving abilities in the key areas of emphasis. 

SkillsQuest-Fitness tests eight physical properties including strength and power, coordination, speed, and aerobic fitness. It’s a holistic view of an athlete’s fitness, and through the data gathered during testing sessions and already amassed by the high performance staff, athletes have the ability to see where they stack up against peers and national team members in their sport.

Alpine athletes on the development team, National Development Group and anyone aspiring to compete in the Alpine World Junior Ski Championships will have to pass a minimum overall standard assessed by SkillsQuest-Fitness by November 1 of this year. Minimum physical fitness standards will be phased into all levels of the Alpine National Team over the next few years. 

“Physical fitness is extremely important for athletic development for athletes coming up the pipeline onto the national team,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. “We want there to be a baseline of physical conditioning that aspiring athletes have as a foundation for them to continue to move forward in our sport. Anyone who has national elite level aspiration should be targeting these SkillsQuest-Fitness events and working on their physical conditioning in the summer.”

“Research consistently shows that improved physical fitness is correlated to improved alpine ski racing performance, particularly in junior skiers,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Director Troy Taylor. “The fitter you are the more quality training you can do, the more quality training you get, the better you can improve.”

“We’re pushing fitness to support quality skill and technical development,” emphasized U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Coordinator Calin Butterfield. “Fitter, more physically robust athletes can train for their sport with higher quality and less likelihood of injury.” 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will offer multiple SkillsQuest-Fitness validated tests across the country before the November 1 deadline. However, these tests are not exclusive to the alpine community. Taylor encourages any ski or snowboard athletes 14 years or older to participate in the events so that they can get assessed and see where they stack up against the best in their age group, their region, or the best of the national team members. 

For more information on registering for validated SkillsQuest-Fitness testing and dates in each region, please visit our registration website.