As we encounter the many challenges and hardships of the current COVID world, we are also coming face to face with social inequalities that exist in our country, and chief among those at this moment is racial inequality. It’s difficult to know what to do about something like that in our little bubble of alpine ski racing. Is there even anything we can do? How can we chart a path forward that might help address some of the inequalities we see in our sport? It’s hard to know where to begin, but in an attempt to start somewhere Paige Roberts and I sat down with Schone Malliet from the National Winter Activity Center and Winter4Kids in NJ to get some insight.

Many of you know Schone already, and many of you will have seen him as a panelist on the “Discussing Racial Diversity in Snowsports” discussion that took place recently. We’ve worked with Schone as a member of the Eastern Children’s Committee, and we’ve run races and training projects at his facility over the years. Knowing a bit about the mission that they’re working on with Winter4Kids, he seemed like the right person to talk to. 

What follows is a condensed transcript of our interview. I hope that you’ll read it - it’s not long - and brainstorm with your club on some ways that we might all chip in to make our sport bigger, better, more equitable, and more accessible all at once.

Schone started out by giving us some of his personal background, and then we moved through a number of different topics that are relevant to the current moment in all sorts of ways. Of his upbringing in a housing project in the Bronx, Schone said, “When you grow up there, it is not a bad place because it is the place that you know…I am an asphalt kid. I did not grow up skiing. I didn’t think about winter sports at all, except I’d go outside in dirty snow.” 

Schone went on to attend college on scholarship at Holy Cross, and then went on to the Marine Corps as an officer and a pilot. We will pick up the transcript of the interview there:

Schone: I flew jets, and after 8 years 9 months and 11 days give or take a couple hours or so, I got out in California and started my next career in technology from salesperson to CEO of a couple companies. Came back home and started another tech company, didn't work out, went into wealth management and after that I found my way into the National Winter Sports Education Foundation, which is now Share Winter and Winter4Kids, which is programs, people, and a physical facility at the National Winter Activity Center. 

The mission of Winter4Kids is really to use winter activities as a way to improve the life, health, and fitness of youth, and Winter4Kids is the means to an end, not an end itself. It’s a great background and as I think about all those things I experienced and went through, the idea of race has never, ever, been distant. I’ve experienced explicit racism and implied racism, and one thing I realized is that Holy Cross gave me the ability to cope, and that just means getting through it. Some adjustments that I made to be a CEO in a predominantly white world, or be a voice in a predominantly white world - and surely winter sports is one - were to be authentic and to be myself. The second thing is to be overly conscious of making sure that any positions I took or spoke about were well-grounded, and to be able to create an environment for discussions without diminishing who I am. 

And then who I am: First, I am black… Believe it or not! I am a Marine. A Crusader from Holy Cross. I’m a parent of a 20-year old. I’m also a coach, a TD, and run a winter sports facility, and have been a CEO of a number of companies. And in all of that, the experiences have given me the opportunity to grow - which I have. And to learn - and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. But also I’ve gotten the insight to understand the issue of race as we’re talking about it today.

I see it as that there are “issues” and there are “isms.” The issues are ones of race, gender, religion, politics, all kinds of issues. And then racism - like all the other “isms” whether they’re racism or sexism, are really actions taken to hurt physically, emotionally or socially in spite of information that is out there. And it’s a few things about racism that have become important: 

One is that it’s not just the act [of overt racism]. Institutional or systemic racism is to not take actions when something is readily wrong, observed, or heard, and that’s what allows racism to continue. When I saw the pictures of the police officer kneeling on [George Floyd’s] throat, that was traumatic and revolting to me. But even more revolting were the three police officers who stood by and watched because in that case there was something that is wrong, morally repulsive, and to not act is a systemic part of racism no matter what shaped it. 

Two is that the issue of dealing with racism is one of influencing behavior. In order to influence behavior, I think that we have to create safe places for people to ask questions, uncomfortable questions, then once people get answers to those questions then they can process that and then decide what they do. And what they do is up to each individual. It’s that they have to stand up in the environments that we’re in. Should you hear something or see something that you know to be wrong, then to say to the person there, first of all I believe that's wrong, second of all, why do you do that? 

And then the third thing is to make sure that type of behavior is not acceptable to you. The more people that do that individually the less room there is for people who are racist to be comfortable to allow race issues to permeate.

Sam: You mentioned that your experience at Holy Cross had a big impact on your thinking. Can you tell us more about that? 

Schone: They did a very good job at getting us in and providing us with access to an education. At a time when it was politically correct to do that, though, and some of the things that I’ve realized over time is that we’ve had laws for equal rights and civil rights, we’ve had laws that say, “By the way, you can’t discriminate.” And I think even I got lulled into the idea that things were getting better by the accomplishments that I've had, but the reality of it is that we dealt with the policy side of it, not the behavioral side of it. And now what's going on is the behavioral side.

And the other part of it that I have to own is that I've been going through these things but I’ve never communicated to people around me about the things that I've experienced which let people believe that Schone is okay. “Look at what he’s done. Check him out. See him? He’s done it, where are the rest of them?” But, what I didn't realize is that by not talking about it, I am part of the problem. 

We discussed how to approach conversations about race, and how many different starting places there are for people at the beginning of any kind of discussion about something like race.

Schone: I usually go with people's intention. I was once referred to as “the distinguished negro gentleman that we hired at our company.” This was in the ‘80s. I guess in the context of where he came from, that was a compliment. It’s also about perspective because his intention wasn’t to be demeaning, that’s all he knew. All I’m saying is that I have a responsibility, to be willing to take questions and answer questions that people might have.

Paige: With the guy who referred to you as “a distinguished negro gentleman,” and you just said, “Oh, well he meant it as a compliment.” That would be exhausting to me, to always have to come back up from that and give people the benefit of the doubt but still not be quite sure… It's such a huge task to change the thinking of so many people.

Schone: I would say to change it - it’s one person at a time. It’s the conversations, it’s the questions… It is very exhausting!

I realize that somewhere along the line, by not having the conversations, we have not humanized race. So, “they” become a thing. They don’t become a person. I think that’s the issue. I’ve told Sam, sometimes conversations are disrespectful and disregard people on some of our business calls. That needs to be called out and said “That doesn’t work and it’s not appropriate; don't do that.” We have to let people know around us that the behavior is not acceptable and the more you do that the tougher it is for people who stay there to do those things.

Sam: One of the things I’ve experienced is there’s a lot of use of double-entendre. People are like, “wink-wink” and if you call something out as sexism or something like that, it’s like, “Oh no, that’s not how I meant it! It’s this other thing.” And sometimes it’s just pretty hard to believe. People are pretty good at walking the line of plausible deniability, but you can’t help but see this stuff out in the world.
 
Schone: That’s what’s happening now. What people say is, “No more plausible deniability.” If you stand on the sidelines and don’t say anything or call it out, you’re implicitly giving the right and permission for it to continue.

I have hope. I really have hope because now we’re having this conversation. And I’m being as raw, open, and authentic as I can be and I apologize for not being that way before, because I let people stay with assumptions that were probably not correct. 

Sam: I don’t really find fault with you for that because I don’t think it’s fair to necessarily shoulder that burden on one person. All this stuff is so tough to talk about. There are so many social taboos, and real pain, too. I think there is a lot more out in the open now, and everything is on the table for discussion. Personally I feel more free to talk about it… 

Schone: If I don’t do it, and make myself available, who is? I have students at Holy Cross ask me, “Why do we have to be the people who have to be the experts on race?” And I say, “You aren’t the experts on race, you’re the experts on how race has impacted you and if you don't share with people, how do you think they’ll humanize it?”

Sam: One of the things you and I talked about was that I don’t want to put you in a position to speak for every African American person out there because what you can do is speak to your own experience and understanding. “You don't have to be the expert on race, you have to be the expert on you.” You mentioned at the beginning of the call before we started recording that you should go on CNN because your phone is blowing up. Do you feel like you're being asked to shoulder this burden for our entire segment right now? We’re burdening you in a way with this discussion; is there an element where you’re the sort of token African American man we can speak to?

Schone: I hope that there are others who are Black that can be turned to. I was built to do this. It’s part of the responsibility. I’m Catholic, a practicing Catholic, so God has given me the tools and the experiences to get through it, so it's part of who I am. I have lived a great, great life. I think about what I do now and it’s perfect. I’m not the token; I am a person who is here who has experiences which I can share with people, and I should… I don’t sit in judgement, I’m not an expert, but I can at least give you what I think and what I feel and it's up to each one of you as individuals to decide what you do with that. 

We talked more about some of the hurdles they’ve overcome in starting Winter4Kids. Schone gave us some more perspective on the racial issues we’re faced with:

Schone: You know Winter4Kids and the National Winter Activity Center and Share Winter came out of an initiative from U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Share Winter Foundation was the National Winter Sports Education Foundation that was founded by me and based upon Dick Coe and Walt Evans responding to a request from a trustee to create an initiative around Urban Youth, and that’s where all of this has come from. So, when I talked to Tiger about this, I said, “Tiger, I understand you’re looking at this and what you can do, but U.S. Ski & Snowboard did do something to start this and we are a direct result of that. So while it’s not the end result, there was some insight and some listening that went on to be able to do this.” 

Every one of these kids is, when they’re here, around individuals of other races, other colors, other genders, they interact with instructors and coaches. And then, they get healthy meals, they get mentoring… One of the participating organizations said, “Schone, you guys are doing the work of impacting behaviors.” And so, when we talk about healthy lifestyles, that is more than what you eat, and more than activity; it's how you think, and how you feel, and what you understand. 

Paige: Ski racing is a predominantly white sport, and when you created Winter4Kids you were creating opportunities for underprivileged kids who wouldn't normally have these types of opportunities. Did you have the thought in mind that it would affect specifically children of color or was it just kids all together?

Schone: When it was started it literally was started to get urban youth involved in winter sports and it came out of a trustee on the foundation side. That particular person felt that his experience and the experience of his family should not just be limited to individuals of means… We are going to make sure that we open up winter activities that change the lives of kids who traditionally don't have access. “Traditionally don't have access” is interesting because that's a very broad statement. There are rural-agricultural based kids who don't have access. There are suburban based kids who don't know anything about it. There are urban kids who don’t. Yes, there is ethnicity. 33% of our kids are Black, 24% are Hispanic/Latinx, 19% are White, the remainder are Native American and “do not choose to respond”. And all of those kids traditionally do not have access. 

Our customers are not individuals, they are schools and youth-serving organizations. 69 of our nonprofit organizations registered 3,101 kids in our program, which is not just one day it's six sessions over a season, and then we expect them to come for three years. The first year they come, they do two sessions each of skiing, snowboarding, and cross country. The next year they come back and choose a focus. Then we have a curriculum for snowboarding, a curriculum for cross-country, a curriculum for alpine. And now we're starting to introduce the concept of competition through directed turning, and give them the idea behind that. And we go one step further: each one of these entities have to create a winter activity club so they have a community within their schools or organizations so they can go back and talk about what they've done.

Paige: Have you ever had another program director express to you that they’d like to create something similar to Winter4Kids? What would you tell someone who wants to do something similar to this?

Schone: I think that, from an industry standpoint, there are places that should do exactly what we do: focus on nothing but development and competition [for kids who otherwise wouldn’t have access], because it builds a community for the future and grows the sport. Smaller areas that have the opportunity to give access to populations that don't traditionally have access.

Sam: Let’s say I’m a program director up here in northern New England or northern NY - places not known for racial diversity. And yet there are certainly people of color in our communities, not to mention that when a program hires they’re often looking well outside their local community for staff, so there really is an opportunity to have more diversity in our sport. Regardless of where you’re from, you could do it. Tiger has made a commitment to look at how they’re recruiting staff, for example - if they use different channels for recruiting staff, they will likely get a more diverse group of applicants. How can we work to broaden diversity in our clubs at the staff level? I think these efforts could work if we put our minds to it, but how do we start?

Schone: So let me talk about staffing and recruiting especially as it relates to an African American pool of candidates. There is a historical context. Most of those of us who are African American and are skiing are first generation college educated people. So understand that for us getting into society at a different level, the direction is to pursue things that are practical, rather than aligned with our personal passions. And what I’m saying is that the economics of working in the ski industry are not the best in the world. They’re not. So take the NBS, which has been around since 1973. Most of those people are individuals who have jobs and lifestyles that require that they choose another path [other than snowsports professional]. So I guess the first thing is how do you create opportunities for those first-gens who are just getting into college, just getting into education? They’re lawyers, doctors, and they’re going down a different path to fit into society, so they don’t necessarily have the choices of pursuing - and I don’t mean to be generalizing here, but “ski bum” types of things, right? [laughing]

Sam: It’s a funny thing to say but yeah, there is a certain lifestyle that’s not even in the upper tiers of society that you could argue is basically a result of white privilege.

Schone: Yes that’s exactly right. Some people can choose to do it because they don’t have to worry about stuff, but even emotionally and psychologically - coming out of college as a first-gen it’s, “I’m going to be a lawyer,” or “I’m going to be a doctor,” because it’s going on this path towards validation. And so that in itself is a challenge, and it’s interesting because even people who are second-generation feel they have choices and can choose that. But for first-gens it’s a matter of, “Why would you go and do that?” In order to recruit, you have to understand what you’re offering that’s compelling for people to do that. So it’s not just enough to say, “I’m going to hire,” because there may not be an interested pool out there to hire. 

It goes to what privileges and choices we may have. If you grew up in northern New England, there’s a lifestyle that’s comfortable for you. But coming out of New York or Boston there may not be those kinds of opportunities so people aren’t likely to think they can or should move up to Burlington or a different northern far off place. So the recruiting part of this is not that easy! 

We have to be thoughtful about this. It’s the second- and third-gen that have the opportunities because they feel they have choice. 

The weekend programs probably have the best opportunity because that’s the place that people can have their job during the week and pursue their passion on the weekends. They can have both worlds! 

Sam: Does anything jump out at you as things we could do right now to be better on the inclusivity side? How does immersion and equity look best to you in our sport with its current organization? How can we do a better job with immersion and equity right now?

Schone: I think that you already have part of the solution. We came out of USSS, which is interesting because we are the attempt to do that, and in such a way that doesn’t drain the economics of the organization - we stand alongside. I think there are other opportunities for what we do to be replicated by other programs or entities. Look at Sky Tavern in Reno, or Buck Hill which is in an urban area. I think we have places that we can task with doing that without destroying or compromising the current infrastructure. 

Knowing that we have certain barriers to entry, the way to deal with it is to remove those barriers. We’re trying to do that, I think other places can do that. But really the thing about the pyramid is that the more we get in at the base, the bigger the pyramid will become. So the more we can make things available or make things accessible, the better we’ll be. We have 4.5 million kids in a 70-mile radius but we have the lowest athlete population in the Eastern Region. Mountain Creek will do 10,000 skier visits in a single day, but nowhere out there do we have anybody promoting racing. And that’s a very diverse population, but we don’t have it out there. So I think we have to communicate the fact that it exists, and let people try it out. That’s why Buddy Werner and NASTAR became so important and popular, but they got co-opted into a path to elite competition when it was supposed to be fun. I think we need to embrace the fun part at every level. USCSA has done a good job with that, high school racing has done a good job with that. Those are the kinds of opportunities for us to take the steps. 

Paige: Is there anything else that we haven’t touched upon that you feel is important?

Schone: I think that to answer the question of “What do we do now?” That is the key, and I think the answer is to create an environment where people can ask questions and have conversations about uncomfortable things. I think that’s the path toward dealing with this. It seems simple, but it’s not without its challenges. Being uncomfortable means being vulnerable. Being vulnerable means you’re trusting that you’re not going to be judged and that’s tough for human beings. But I think that’s really the next step.

That is where we finished our interview. There is always a lot of work to be done in a society that’s seeking greatness. I am optimistic that our sport can be part of the solution, even if it’s only in a small way. I believe that we can have a positive impact on American life, but we will have to be purposeful, attentive, and diligent in order to do so.

What are the concrete next steps? I believe that everyone has something they can do and it’s important for each one of us as individuals to ask ourselves, “What can I do? What can my organization do?” Then go do it.

Many thanks to Schone for dedicating his time to this with Paige and me. If you’d like to know more about Winter4Kids, you can visit their website at https://winter4kids.org/

Sincerely,
Sam

The U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Slopestyle Teams returned to snow for their first on-snow camp of the summer at Official Training Site Timberline Resort & Ski Area in Mt. Hood, Ore. July 20-July 30. 

The highlight of the camp was U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle Rookie Team member Addie Gardner strapping back up for the first time since sustaining a significant back and pelvis injury at the 2019 Modena Ski Pass Big Air World Cup. Addie was greeted with open arms by her teammates. 

“She has had a tough road ahead of her and worked hard to get back on snow since her injury in October,” said Slopestyle and Big Air Pro Team Head Coach Mike Ramirez. “It was a special moment being there for her return to snow with some of her best friends and teammates. For her second run, we Facetimed her parents so they could be part of the moment as well."

Addie felt she had a successful camp and was grateful to be back doing what she loved with her favorite crew.

“I don’t think It could have gone any better,” said Addie. “Having the support and hype from my teammates from the start of the day to the finish was amazing. I wouldn’t have wanted to share my first time back on snow with anyone else. I am so thankful and it felt amazing! I was sore at the end of the day, but it was worth it.”

Addie was joined by fellow rookie team riders Courtney Rummel, Isabella Gomez, Liam Johnson, as well as pro riders Ty Schnorrbusch and 2020 FIS Big Air Crystal Globe Winner Chris Corning. MIke described Corning as, “a consummate pro who leads by example.”

Co-Slopestyle and Big Air Pro Team Head Coach Dave Reynolds expanded on Chris’s leadership role. 

“It was a small group in the 'bubble' with mostly rookies and it was awesome for them to see just how Chris operates,” said Dave. He does all the right stuff and gets after it on the hill. He made an effort to take Liam (Johnson) under his wing a bit and make him feel welcome and comfortable with it being his first camp with the team.”

For the freeskiers, it was a similar story of getting reacclimated to snow and reuniting with friends and teammates. U.S. Freeski Slopestyle and Big Air National Development Team Coach Ryan Wyble shed some light on the dynamic at camp, which included U.S. Rookie Team members Marin Hamill, Rell Harwood, Jenna Riccomini, Bella Bacon, Richard Thomas, Troy Podmilsak, and Hunter Henderson.

“All of the new and returning athletes on my team knew each other before camp, but it was really a good experience to finally get everyone together in person and spend more time together,” said Ryan. “There were some great sessions on the mountain with both new and returning athletes pushing each other to do tricks, which was epic to see at the first camp. Off the hill, there was also a lot of time spent between new and returning athletes participating in the limited activities that were available to us.”

Although social media channels are flooded with fun and light-hearted content coming out of the glacier, it’s still very apparent that U.S. athletes are lucky to be back on snow amidst a global pandemic. 

“It was a big undertaking to plan out this first camp back on snow, with lots of help and support from our medical staff,” said Ryan. “Just to get everyone to Timberline, on snow, and back home safely was a big accomplishment. After so much time living in our own little bubbles during this pandemic, it was really a great feeling to have the whole team together and to see the athletes push and feed off each other on the hill. I think we all shared a renewed appreciation for the sport we love. That environment was certainly missed over the last four months.”

The U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Teams will look to take their training to European glaciers this fall to continue their preparation for the 2020-21 competition season. They will first head back to Park City, Utah to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Center of Excellence as well as the Utah Olympic Park for airbag training. 

Be sure to follow the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Team on social media below. 

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Avital Shimko made her triumphant return to the U.S. Freestyle Moguls Ski Team following almost two years of being sidelined due to an injury she sustained to her right knee in August 2018. Avital had an exceptional first Team on-snow camp at Timberline Lodge & Ski Area in Mt. Hood, Ore., the same place her ski career took an unexpected turn.

“I think I had been dreaming of it for so long and so excited for it that it was pretty unreal,” Avital said. “I was nervous at first, especially after my last encounter with Mt. Hood, but I acknowledged those thoughts and put them aside.”

It took Avital 14 months to get back on skis and 18 months to do her first jumps and ski her first moguls. This past camp marked almost two full years since she had trained on snow with her team. Avital was set to make her official comeback in March at a World Cup in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. However, due to the impacts of the global novel coronavirus pandemic, those events were canceled and she was unable to get into the start gate. 

 

 

 

 

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Let’s go!! 🙅‍♀️ Your girl Tal is headed to Sweden! I am in route to compete in my first event back; crazy to believe it’s been almost 2 years of being out of the start gate. I am so beyond happy to be back where I belong. I have worked my ass off to get here. 🎥: @lobbie.ryon #deervalleyresort #usskiteam #oneteam

A post shared by Avital Shimko (@avishort) on Mar 9, 2020 at 2:57pm PDT

“I got there on a Tuesday and drove up [that] night,” Avital recalls about her unexpectedly short European trip. “We skied in the course on Wednesday. I was preparing mentally for Thursday training. I had seen the course, inspected it. So I had already done all of that mental competition prep. But Thursday morning Brad [Wilson] woke us up bright and early and told us we were all going home. Selfishly I was disheartened because I had been working so hard to get there. I was sad for a minute, but quickly realized [what was happening] because of the pandemic.”

Avital was first nominated to the U.S. Ski Team in 2018 for the 2018-19 season after winning the 2018 NorAm Tour. This feat also earned her her own World Cup spots for what was set to be her first season as a Team athlete. However, that August Avital was training up at Timberline working on her back fulls and had a fluke landing that did not agree with her right knee. She tore her ACL, sustained medial and lateral meniscus tears, an MCL strain and had bone bruising. Avital was sidelined before she even got started. 

 

 

 

 

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Hey guys, giving you a 👍 from my sled ride down, but unfortunately some not so great news.. on Friday I over rotated a back full & tried to save it. In the process I did some damage to my knee. The MRI read MCL sprain, slight medial meniscus tear and ACL tear. The news is starting to hit and I am bummed for sure, especially after receiving full World Cup starts for the 2018-2019 season. But this isn’t the end, this is where I get stronger! I will be back more ready than ever! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes. I love you all. 💕 but for now who’s ready for some more food posts??

A post shared by Avital Shimko (@avishort) on Aug 26, 2018 at 9:04am PDT

Missing the opportunity to compete in the 2020 season was the last bump in Avital’s long road to recovery. “When I went [to Sweden], I wasn't 100%, but 95% ready and confident that I could make something happen and perform well,” she reflected. “My jumps were a little lacking because I hadn’t water ramped. Ideally, you want to water ramp [before you get on snow]. But I was still doing my same tricks, so not the biggest deal. It took me a little longer to where I wanted to be jumping.”

Returning home from Europe and staring down the barrel of an unknown springtime prep period due to stay-at-home mandates and public health codes, Avital and her fiancé, Bobby, built a gym in their garage so she could stay on top of her fitness. 

“You get back, you're bummed it didn't happen,” she reflected on what it felt like coming home less than 48 hours after boarding a plane to her comeback. “At the same time, I was so close to competing I could taste it. I was percentages away from being there and fitting right back where I was. Having that in the back of my mind the whole time during quarantine, I wanted it more than ever; still do. Having all of this extra time (being injured and during quarantine) made me visualize more. I really honed in and to understand all of the movements. I’ve always known how to ski moguls and how to jump, but never honed into tiny details. This allowed me to really hone on that and progress me the direction I want to go. Some days sucked in quarantine, but I hold myself more accountable than others hold me, I was pretty regimented in my quarantine.”

The perseverance and focus paid off. “I tested right before Hood and I’m 20% stronger than I have ever been,” Avital said. “I made massive gains in my progress [at Hood]. I took two new tricks to snow, back mute and cork 7, and it went really well.”

Moving forward Avital will continue to work on her jumps she plans to bring to competition this season as well as focus on her fitness. “I want to be the most in shape that I’ve ever been. I think it gives me a sense of reassurance and that nothing will phase me. If I am the strongest and fastest I’ve ever been, then everything will seem easier to me.”

Follow Avital on Instagram as she prepares to take on the 2020-21 season. 

 

 

 

 

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The smile says it all. 😊

A post shared by Avital Shimko (@avishort) on Aug 1, 2020 at 10:44am PDT

For two-time Olympic champion and Land Rover ambassador Mikaela Shiffrin, a recent on-snow camp at Official Training Site Timberline Resort & Ski Area in Mt. Hood, Ore. was not only productive but brought back a lot of memories, too. This was the first time Mikaela had been to Timberline since she was 17-years-old and had a slalom camp with the U.S. Ski Team, and prior to that when she was 14-years-old with Burke Mountain Academy. 

Due to COVID, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been working to find training opportunities closer to home. A massive amount of planning and energy went into creating the COVID-19 protocol, led by U.S. Ski & Snowboard High-Performance Director Troy Taylor and Lead Physical Therapist Gillian Bower, along with team managers, staff, and beyond, enabling alpine athletes across training groups to have yet another successful round of training camps on snow at Timberline. 

Head Coach Mike Day said the camp at Timberline went very well, "We had lots of sunshine and productive training sessions. Our team put in a massive effort to produce excellent training." He added, "Mikaela skied more slalom volume than any camp in recent history. She made great progress in both slalom and giant slalom." 

Much like the previous camp at Official Training Site Copper Mountain Colo., the entire staff (notably coach and strength and conditioning coach Jeff Lackie and Atomic serviceman Johann Strobl) was not able to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions, so a group of staff stepped in to fill the void. "Special thanks to Coley Oliver (Team X and former NCAA All-American at University of New Hampshire), Eric Colon (Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club), and John Mulligan (Legend) for joining us. They worked super hard and brought great attitudes and insights to this project," Mike noted. "We also want to thank Gretchen, and the whole crew at Mt. Hood, for providing a productive and safe training environment."

Being at Timberline offered up a little nostalgia for Mikaela, and brought back memories—some good, some not-so-great—as she spent a lot of time up in Mt. Hood as a young ski racer, going to camps every summer for about six years. She remembered, "...after a bunch of the camps my brother and I had at Mt. Hood, my parents would come and we’d all have a mini vaca down in Hood River. They’d go windsurfing in the Gorge and I’d take lessons in the Hook. I got stung by a bee, while windsurfing (don’t ask me how…) once. My hand blew up like an actual balloon. Another time, my brother went out windsurfing on the river with my parents and got stuck in this kind of toilet bowl of waves and currents all converging in one area. He was stuck there for nearly an hour and nobody could find him. We were all freaking out looking for him, and when he finally got back to the launch site everyone just broke down with relief."

Following her camp in Hood, she and her mother, Eileen, spent some time in Hood River, and Mikaela even visited her favorite taco stand—the Downwinder—saying on their Instagram that she doesn't just "like" their tacos, but she "LOVES* ...100/10 would recommend😘".

 

 

 

 

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OH.MY.GOODNESS. AMERICAN 2X OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST AND 5X WORLD CUP ALPINE SKIER, MIKAELA SHIFFRIN LIKES OUR TACOS 🙈😍 *also want to include how incredibly humble and kind she is* Thank you 🙏🏽 @mikaelashiffrin

A post shared by THE DOWNWINDER (@downwinderhr) on Aug 5, 2020 at 7:16pm PDT

Another memory Mikaela has from childhood is when she got sick and heened to go to an aiport hotel with her mom while she got better. "That was the same year where my brother broke both of his hands when his buddy accidentally tripped him off of a retaining wall, and my dad needed to storm the hospital to order them to perform surgery after Taylor had developed carpal tunnel and was getting sever nerve damage with blue fingers for over 24 hours. He still has numbness in his fingers…" She added,

Needless to say we have a ton of memories of the Mt. Hood and the Hood River area. A lot of those with my dad as well, so it was incredibly special to go back after so long and get such a productive camp. Those memories came back in flashes at random moments, like when my mom and I stopped to watch the windsurfers and kite-boarders for a little while and could perfectly imagine the time when she and my dad would be rigging up to go out on the water as if it was yesterday. Or trudging through the melting snow to get to the Palmer lift at 5am every morning and remembering how it felt to do that when I was nine, carrying a backpack that was heavier than me and stumbling over my skis and poles.

For Mikaela, it was a pleasure to see the new generation of "little rippers going up every morning and still being as psyched on skiing as I was, even though we had to keep six feet apart and wear masks in the lift lines and everything else that we have to do right now to keep our sport going…that was special. I was training on the first lane basically under the lift line and waved to kids riding the lift each run and I kept thinking how cool it is that after so many years of going to Chile and New Zealand and Argentina and all of these other places for our summer prep, we’re finally training at home." It's incredibly important to Mikaela that she and teammates make an effort to encourage and support the next generation of ski racers, and she believes that training alongside them was a rewarding experience on both sides of the coin. 

 

 

 

 

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🙃🤘🙏🤘🥳 #weareskiing

A post shared by Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Jul 26, 2020 at 12:32pm PDT

Up next, Mikaela hopes to travel to Europe for a final camp prior to the recently announced early start to the FIS Ski World Cup season in Soelden, Austria, slated for Oct. 17-18. In the meantime, Mikaela wants to express her gratitude to Timberline, her staff, and U.S. Ski and Snowboard. 

"It was so cool to have basically the whole women’s team right there, training right next to the next generation of U.S. ski racers. And it was even better that we had such a productive camp," she reflected. "Even with some really tough, warm temperatures, we got so much out of every day and I am SO thankful that through this pandemic we have found a way to get training safely within our own country."

U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned training camp attendance is optional. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes and staff should not feel pressure to travel to train. All sanctioned training camp policies and protocols are subject to change based on local, state, and federal public health orders, updated guidance from the USOPC, or updated U.S. Ski & Snowboard policies.

Editor’s Note:
I grew up ski racing in southeastern Wisconsin (Lake Geneva), and then went on to ski USCSA at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. From there, I moved to the Twin Cities and started a job at a marketing agency, but deeply missed the sport I grew up immersed in, so ended up getting a coaching gig for Team Gilboa at the mighty Hyland Hills, which boasts a vertical drop of 175 feet, and is home to two-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Team alumna Kaylin Richardson, as well as U.S. Ski Team and University of Utah alumna Lauren Samuels, and Dartmouth College alumnus Justin Samuels. 

The Samuels family (Heidi, Dave, Justin and Lauren) and I became fast friends. Their warmth, passion for the sport, and general good vibes immediately drew me to them. I used to joke that I was a bad influence on Lauren and Justin. Their combo of smarts and athleticism were immediately impressive to me. When I called Lauren’s father Dave after the tragic and unjust death of George Floyd in their hometown of Minneapolis—their hometown (my former home)—Dave told me Lauren was scared to go for a bike ride, fearing who may be around the corner. I get the chills just typing that. 

I am thankful Lauren took the time to share her experiences as a Black and multiracial person in the predominantly white snowsports industry, and I hope you’re able to walk away with a broader perspective, just as I was. 

Megan Harrod
Alpine Communications Manager
Member of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee 

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Imagine this scenario for a moment. You’re in [insert any small ski town here] for a ski vacation. “[Insert small ski town name], ahhhh, this is the life, right?!’ you think to yourself. It’s 8 a.m. and you’re heading to grab a double-espresso before you go carve some Arc City Mayor turns on some 'roy at one of your favorite ski resorts. You order your coffee, reach for your wallet, and realize you forgot it at your hotel. Darn. Ok, so perhaps a kind stranger will offer to spot you, right? Don’t be so quick to say “yes.” 

U.S. Ski Team, University of Utah, and Rowmark alumna Lauren Samuels, who recently participated as the youngest panelist on U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s July 15th virtual discussion on how to remedy the glaring lack of racial diversity in snowsports offers another perspective. And, if you’re like me (white), you haven’t REALLY thought (or can begin to understand) about what it might be like to be a Black, Latinx, Indigenous, or an Asian person in a mostly white ski town where there are very few (if any) people that look like you. 

During the panel, which was led by the Samuels' family friend and President of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS) Henri Rivers, Lauren spoke candidly about how systemic racism and discrimination affected her career, and offered solutions for how the ski and snowboard industry can do a better job of fostering a love for snowsports in people from all backgrounds, colors and walks of life. In a follow up interview, Lauren opened up further. 

During the virtual discussion, panelist Constance Beverley, CEO of Share Winter Foundation, asked viewers to consider the following exercise, “Open up your phone, and scroll through Instagram hashtag skiing, and keep going until you don’t see either a skinny, white, usually blonde lady, laughing, or a 17-year-old white dude hucking himself off a cliff. Just time it. Ask yourself how long until you hit a person of color. And then start asking yourself about ‘how have our perceptions fed the marketing and branding of our sport, and ultimately excluded others?’” As Constance was speaking, Lauren was adamantly nodding her head in agreement.

Of her reaction to Constance’s words, Lauren said, “Oh my gosh, I could not relate more. That’s such a small, easy way that our industry as a whole could make a difference. Like why is it so hard to hire me to do this shoot, versus some other girl that looks like every other girl on all of the other ski ads. And it’s just that simple, that then me, when I was walking into a ski shop—’Hey, dad, that girl has curly hair like me. Is she Black? Whoa, cool!’ It’s so easy to do those things.”

I reflected back to my conversation with Lauren’s father, Dave, after George Floyd’s death. I said to Lauren, “While we, as marketers in the ski industry are worried about putting a message out there that’s not authentic, you’re worried about going for a bike ride because you’re afraid of who may be around the corner, the KKK is in town, and you’re Black. I can’t even imagine.” I honestly couldn’t imagine. And, I will never be able to imagine. 
 

Revisiting the aforementioned coffee scenario in the small ski town. Lauren said, “Ok, so you forgot your wallet. You’d ask someone ‘Hey, can you spot me real quick?’ You think my dad [who is Black] can do that? No.” While we, as a predominantly white industry, may be worried about coming across as performative as we take improved measures towards making our sports more welcoming to all people, Lauren says her worries are different. “We’re afraid people assume we’re homeless, poor, trying to steal their money—whatever it is," she admits.

Grab a coffee and ponder that for a few moments. 

“Well, it’s just because you’re Black, so obviously you can jump.”
Lauren is an incredibly gifted human. No doubt her passion, curiosity, wits, athleticism, and beyond, come from her parents, Heidi and Dave, who often spend a good amount of time at Snowbird, their “second home” in Utah. After skiing for Team Gilboa, Lauren was invited to the U.S. Ski Development Team as a young teenager. She was a wide-eyed, excited, hopeful 15-year-old who had made the leap from the 175 foot vertical of Hyland Hills in Minnesota to the U.S. Ski Team in Park City, Utah—a dream many young ski racers have, and very few achieve.

However, when Lauren made it, she realized it wasn’t what she thought it would be. Having followed a strict strength and conditioning program back in Minneapolis, Lauren came into physical testing at the Center of Excellence and immediately showed she belonged there. As the athletes did pre-summer testing, or “baseline testing” as Lauren called it, she did the vertical jump test. She broke the record. “At first they were like, ‘Oh, the system must have been calibrated wrong.’” she remembered. So they recalibrated it, jumped again, and then she got the same results. After she tells that part of the story, she laughs and says, “whatever” in her humble manner. What she shared, next, though, encapsulates the problem in our industry. 

“‘Well, it’s just because you’re Black, so obviously you can jump,’ they said,” Lauren recounts the situation. “And I won’t name names, but some of my teammates just jumped on that same train and were like, ‘Yeah, that’s why you can jump high, because you’re Black.’” From there, they moved on to the force plate test (the one where you push into the bar), and Lauren attempted to keep her focus and composure as she tackled the task at hand. “...and I was pretty darn high on that, especially for my size,” she said. 

How did her teammates react? “They’re like ‘Yeah...power because you’re Black...and isn’t that because, we’ve heard those rumors about Black people having calves that are higher...and that’s why you can be a better sprinter...so why are you even in skiing?’ And it just went down this path,” she remembered. She was just 15 then. It was the first time she was on the U.S. Ski Team, and her first time in the Center of Excellence. It was an intimidating environment as it was. “We’re the D (development) Team, we’re the 15-year-olds...and meanwhile Ted [Ligety] and whoever else is over there working out over there. So I was just like, ‘Ok, yeah, I guess it doesn’t mean that I’m that strong or fit because I’m built this way, therefore it doesn't count?’” 

But wait, there’s more. 

Lauren was criticized by coaches for not braiding her hair. “The coaches didn’t talk to me about my technical skiing, but they asked me why I don’t braid my hair like everyone else. I was like ‘1) my hair doesn’t braid, 2), it turns into dreadlocks if I braid it, so I just put it in a small bun.’ They were more or less like ‘Well, we did wind tunnel testing and the braids were the fastest, so if you don’t want to be hundredths faster, so be it. That’s your choice.’” Lauren feels that if she had a Black coach, or even a female coach, that might not have a memory she now lives with. 

Lauren shared more of her experiences with her coaches, highlighting a lack of communication, leadership and other elements she faced outside of the realm of systemic racism. Since Lauren’s time on the team, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has implemented a number of changes to improve the athlete experience, including a project in 2019 known as the Athlete Project. The Athlete Project represents an opportunity for U.S. Ski & Snowboard to improve the athlete experience. It was born out of an initiative to take an introspective look at how the organization engages with athletes. Despite the fact that the organization has made leaps and bounds in terms of improvements in the athlete experience, it became glaringly obvious in late May of 2020 that the broader snowsports industry had a long, long way to go in the way of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Onward, to NCAA at the University at Utah
Following her tenure with the U.S. Ski Team Development team, Lauren went on to finish high school at Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah. After she made World Juniors, she was an invitee to the U.S. Ski Team for the next two years. As she said, as an invitee you “...don’t get the jacket, you don’t get the title, and you have to pay your own way, but you’re invited to every camp, but you have to bring your own coach.” Long story short, it was incredibly expensive for Lauren. Since, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has made significant strides in athlete funding, decreasing the cost for development team athletes and fully travel funding athletes on the A through C teams. Eventually, after a challenging road, Lauren made the decision to take her talent to the University of Utah, where she felt welcomed, and maybe more at home than ever before. That doesn’t mean Lauren didn’t encounter implicit bias. 

“Everyone assumed I ran track,” she reflected. “I was like, ‘no I don’t run track’. And then they’re like, ‘Oh so you either play softball or soccer. And I was like, ‘no’. That was across the board—other coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, other athletes, and even just students in school. Utah is a pretty white place. I faced a ton of that in college, and then in regards to the training staff—like our strength and conditioning coach—they were way more welcoming and understanding that I needed to be on a different program pretty much from everyone else on the team, because they have experience with other athletes from other races and colors. So for them, they’re like, ‘whatever, we’ve had an athlete just like you.They may have been in another sport, but whatever.’ Of course they had to do sport-specific exercises, but Lauren said the fact that they’d seen people with her make-up come in was assuring, as “they knew how to handle it.”

While at the University of Utah, Lauren captained the team her senior year when the Utes won the 2017 NCAA National Championship. Then, she went on to coach for two years at the FIS level, first back at her roots in Minnesota with Team Gilboa, and then back to Rowmark in Utah. Though she was the FIS assistant coach at both programs, the differences were notable. Not only are there very few Black, Latinx, Indigenous, or Asian people in the sport, but there are also very few women, especially in the midwest. She noted that out west there were “tons” of women coaches, “especially at the U16 level, it’s almost like the majority of coaches are women in western region.” In Minnesota? Not so much. 

In the west, Lauren felt a lot more welcomed and respected from day one...which she acknowledges may have been because her colleagues and athletes knew more about her background in the sport out west, but in Minnesota she felt like the ski community didn’t want to acknowledge her past experience in the sport. Perhaps that’s just a regional cultural thing. When I asked Lauren if she felt like there was a difference in the way people treated her because of the color of her skin, from her experience at the club level to academy, then the U.S. Ski Team and the University of Utah, from the midwest to the west, and from athlete to coach, she told me that, honestly, “everyone plays blind to it”. 

It’s called “color blindness.” In a 2015 article in The Atlantic, author Adia Harvey Wingfield writes, “Many sociologists, though, are extremely critical of colorblindness as an ideology. They argue that as the mechanisms that reproduce racial inequality have become more covert and obscure than they were during the era of open, legal segregation, the language of explicit racism has given way to a discourse of colorblindness. But they fear that the refusal to take public note of race actually allows people to ignore manifestations of persistent discrimination.”

Lauren told me, “There are so many different forms of racism, color blindness, being not anti-racist, and it’s one thing to be color blind—that’s not accepting who we are fully—it’s another thing to be oblivious and not believing when we tell these stories...or try to express how it feels. And then there’s people who have an issue with us being there in the first place, because of our color. It’s not like a line of you’re racist or you’re not. And I think that’s one good thing that’s coming out of this in the last two months. People are starting to understand, ‘OK, this isn’t just a yes or no—yes it’s an active thing to be anti-racist and we need to do more of that, and making our space welcoming to others.’” 

Looking Ahead
So I wondered, how can we do better? Ever the whip-smart, strong and thoughtful woman she is, Lauren offered a few very good suggestions. First, let’s engage with partnerships on the grassroots level. Meaning, at the club level, let’s take a serious look at what we’re doing and how we’re welcoming people into the sport. But how? 

Lauren, like many of us, acknowledges she doesn’t have the be-all and end-all solution. But, does anyone? “My main thing is the outreach, partnering with these organizations, and I know we have club levels, but to me that’s not enough of a partnership,” stressed Lauren. “If the U.S. Ski Team wants to utilize these clubs to generate more diversity and talent within this sport, there needs to be a stronger partnership. Maybe the athletes are sent here for an event once a year. Having been an athlete myself, I wanted to do that stuff, but it wasn’t there. Maybe it’s tagged on to the end of a camp, or Nationals. Instead of flying straight back to the east coast, stop in Minneapolis for a day, go to the Loppet Foundation, and connect with the kids—actually connect—not just go and sign autographs. These kids—their faces light up—there are so many people out there don’t know ski racing, or skiing, is a sport. Having the World Cup here would have been so big. Those are the things that I think can create kids and families of all backgrounds who love our sport.” Not only will it be good for the kids, but Lauren also believes it will make our athletes better human beings. 

Additionally, Lauren feels it is important to create more diversity in our governing body, but says it’s not realistic to think we can just generate athletes out of nowhere. We also need coaches of more diverse backgrounds. At the same time, she admits that coaches often have an athletic background, and we need to foster a welcome environment for athletes to want to be coaches. She says athletes don’t want to get involved if they don’t feel welcomed, empowered and respected. “The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is a place to start, but we need hiring practices that are different, better, and more equal,” she stressed. And this isn’t just a snowsports industry issue. It’s bigger. It’s a broader outdoor industry issue. 

Lauren feels like everyone in the outdoor industry is sitting back and pointing fingers at each other, saying “we don’t have the talent” but she stresses we need to take ownership of this. “Go out and make it happen,” she urged. “Point the finger at yourself and say, ‘Let’s make the talent. And go actively recruit.’ That’s my biggest thing.” 

Lastly, she strongly feels the media needs to be more diverse and welcoming, “thinking of other backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, whatever it is. This is an equity thing.” She talked about a specific shoot she recently did, pre-COVID, with Salomon and Joe Johnson, Alpine and Nordic Marketing Manager for Salomon. Joe hired Lauren for a shoot, and admitted she wasn’t sure if he knew what he was getting, as they hadn’t met before. Lauren won’t say it, and she might not even be thinking it, but I will say it...she meant he may not have known that she was a total badass AND Black skier. 

“No one else is doing it,” she said. There’s an opportunity there. The shoot was for a ski that’s launching this winter, so the images have yet to be released. She said that she reminded Joe, “My dad worked for Salomon back in the 80s and 90s and he may well have been the first Black person to work there—just an interesting piece of history in the industry that no one knows about.” There are some brands, and organizations, out there who want to make a change. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is one of them. 

Following her incredible involvement and transparent, raw, and honest feedback she shared during the discussion on the initial panel, Lauren has been invited to be involved with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. It is the committee’s goal to continue to create a two-way dialogue and keep this conversation going. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming panels on the topic of diversity, including one that will feature athletes. 

Let’s continue to listen. And learn. And then effect change. 

Afterword:
Recently on social media, Lauren has shared that she’s riding 84.6 miles over ten days for three reasons: 

Lauren’s #Iride4them, In Her Words:

1. To honor and mourn the unjust deaths of Black folks in police custody. 84.6 is to signify the 8:46 that George Floyd fought for his life while a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, killing him by asphyxiation. Mr. Floyd is the most recent man we lost but there are countless others whose lives were stolen by police officers, today, tomorrow and forever #Iride4them.

2. To spread the word to help a friend fundraise for his initiative to give bike lights and helmets to people in need.

3. I ride to take ownership in creating an anti-racist world especially in the outdoor community. By amplifying Black voices as well as my own I hope to foster inclusion, comfort and leadership in our communities. Empowering the BIPOC who are active in the outdoors is one way to pave a path for more diversity and inclusion. This is not for publicity, this is to help the next generation of Black and Brown folks see that we can do these activities too. I have struggled in the past to share my outdoor adventures on social media because I succumb to the stereotypes that “Black girls don’t (fill in the blank)” feeling that therefore my story is illegitimate. I am committed to do my part in eliminating these barriers and demolishing the stereotypes for the next generation of BIPOC outdoor adventurers by openly representing that Black girls CAN DO it. Social media representation of BIPOC on trails is pivotal in fostering inclusivity in the outdoors, so I’m trying to do my part. 
    

Learn More about the #Iride4them Project 

Check out Rowmark’s Article about Lauren

On Wednesday, the International Ski Federation (FIS) officially announced that the World Cup opening races in Soelden, Austria will take place one week earlier, on Oct.17-18 rather than the originally planned October 24-25 dates. The women's giant slalom will be on Oct. 17, while the men's giant slalom will be on Oct. 18. 

The Austrian Ski Federation has noted they will move the races one week earlier to better separate the World Cup event and athletes from tourist crowds on what is traditionally a holiday weekend in Austria. They also hope it will help with accommodations. The federation said the races on the Rettenbach glacier will be held “without a large number of spectators.”

Two-time Olympic champion and Land Rover ambassador Mikaela Shiffrin, and 2019 Xfinity Birds of Prey World Cup victor Tommy Ford will headline the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team at the event, along with teammates two-time Olympic champion Ted Ligety, Olympian Ryan Cochran-Siegle, and seven-time National Champion Nina O'Brien, among others. 

The full World Cup schedule, which runs from October through March is still on the FIS website as originally planned, including usual stops in the U.S. and Canada in late November and early December, plus the February FIS Ski World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. 

Read more on NBCSports.com. 

Olympian, Land Rover ambassador, and "King of the Saslong," Steven Nyman, suffered a right Achilles tendon injury at a recent on-snow camp at Official Training Site Timberline Resort & Ski Area. Steven, a 38-year-old veteran of the men's speed team and the leader of the pack/mentor to fellow teammates, has dealt with his fair share of injuries, including his left Achilles tendon in November of 2011. 

In 2016, Nyman did something no other American Downhiller has done—podiuming four races in a row, starting with the PyeongChang Olympic test event in Jeongseon (third) and then Chamonix (second), Kvitfjell (third), and St. Moritz (second). In 2017, Steven started the season off strong with a third-place finish in Val Gardena then grabbing a top 10 in Kitzbuehel. The fourth race of the season in Garmisch, Nyman was having the fastest run of the day until he crashed off a jump badly injuring his knee.

He rehabbed all summer at the U.S. Ski Team's Center of Excellence and was ready for the 2018 Games in PeyongChang, where he medaled at the test event and felt "at one with the course", though his 2018 Olympic dreams were cut short when he injured his other knee—a clean ACL tear—almost to the day of his injury just one year prior (364 days) on the infamous, bumpy, dark Garmisch Kandahar track.

Despite another devastating setback, Steven worked his way back once again, and during the 2018-19 season ended the season ranked 16th in downhill, with three top-10 finishes, including a fifth place (less than one tenth of a second off the podium) at his favorite track in Val Gardena, Italy just .03 seconds behind his teammate and mentee Bryce Bennett, and .04 seconds ahead of teammate Travis Ganong. During the 2020 season, Steven finished ranked 20th in downhill and 26th in super-G—his best career super-G rank since 2007, when he was ranked 25th. 

If anyone can do come back stronger, it's Steven Nyman...so make sure to send those positive #BelieveInSteven vibes his way, as he's stoked for the upcoming season, which will feature the FIS Ski World Championships in his favorite region of Italy—the Dolomites at Cortina d'Ampezzo. 

Steven announced his injury in an Instagram post on Thursday, saying, 

My reality for the next bit. Tore my right Achilles in a ski crash a few days ago at Mt. Hood. Had surgery, but I am moving forward. I've been through this before and have full intention to comeback and compete through the next Olympics. Thank you to the @usskiteam medical team I have been working with, and others around the world sending me in the right direction. #BelieveInSteven

 

 

 

 

 

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My reality for the next bit. Tore my right Achilles in a ski crash a few days ago at Mt. Hood. Had surgery, but I am moving forward. I've been through this before and have full intention to comeback and compete through the next Olympics. Thank you to the @usskiteam medical team I have been working with, and others around the world sending me in the right direction. #BelieveInSteven

A post shared by Steven Nyman (@steven_nyman) on Aug 6, 2020 at 6:34pm PDT

Grab a muffin, an electronic device, and join us from the comfort of your own couch for “Moguls and Muffins,” LIVE from the Utah Olympic Park on Tuesday, August 18 at 9 a.m. MDT on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Facebook page! 

Hosted by freestyle legends Trace Worthington, two-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Hall of Famer, and Sean Smith, 1994 Olympian, and with a special appearance by Olympic champion Hannah Kearney, this virtual event will seek to help raise $100,000 to ensure the U.S. Moguls Ski Team is fully funded for the 2020-21 season. Go behind the scenes of training at the UOP, meet the athletes and gain insight into how they’re preparing for the upcoming competition season. 

The moguls athletes of the U.S. Ski Team would have hosted their 3rd Annual Fundraiser this summer but due to the impacts of COVID-19 on travel and gathering, and with the health and safety of its athletes and supporters top of mind, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has moved its fundraising efforts to virtual experiences.

“Being fully funded is critical for our team to maximize our performances. It takes away the financial strain related to training and competing, which allows us to put our full energy towards winning medals for Team USA. Our team is so grateful to have the opportunity to travel the world and represent the United States knowing that we have the support of our donors as we work to become the best in the world!” Hannah Soar

To support the U.S. Moguls Ski Team, please click here for more information.

Due to ongoing developments of COVID-19, the September FIS Masters races and training camp in South America are officially canceled for 2020.  The message from the FIS Masters Chairman read "Considering that the health and welfare of all participants are in the forefront and the priority of all stakeholders, the OC at Catedral/Bariloche (ARG), in conjunction with the National Federations of Argentina, Brazil and Chile, decided to cancel the South-American FIS Masters Cup competitions scheduled to take place in Bariloche September 15th to 20th, 2020. The OC expressed its desire to organise those competition in the next year and we hope to be able to welcome all of you to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bariloche and the resort of Cerro Catedral/Alta Patagonia."

At this point, the races scheduled later November through April remain on the 2020-2021 FIS Masters Calendar. We encourage racers to continue monitoring the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines for both domestic and international travel as the season progresses. At this point it is recommended by the CDC that non-essential international travel be avoided. U.S. Ski and Snowboard is developing COVID-19 recommendations and will be posting updates at usskiandsnowboard.org/covid-19. 

As a result of the FIS Masters race cancellation, the masters race training camp scheduled prior organized by Lisa Ballard is also cancelled. See more of Lisa's masters camps and more training opportunities as the Masters Training Page. We will continue to update the training page as information becomes available. A sampling of the domestic 2020-2021 Fall/Winter Training Camps is posted below.

This list is only a sampling of what is available - see the Division Training Links section of this page and click on your local division to see a full listing of opportunities. 

Lisa Ballard Race Camps

  South American Masters Race Camp - NEW LOCATION!
  Bariloche, Argentina
  September 9-20, 2020 CANCELLED due to international travel COVID restrictions
  camp + 6 FMC races
  Camp will return in 2021!

  Big Sky, MT Thanksgiving Masters Camp - benefits BSSEF
  Big Sky, MT
  November 21-25, 2020

  6th Annual Dust-the-Rust-Off Masters Race Camp + Race - benefits SRSEF
  Red Lodge Mountain, MT
  December 7-10, 2020
  The last day is a GS race!

  Hunter Mountain Masters Camp + 2 Races - benefits Mid-Atlantic Masters
  Hunter Mountain, NY
  January 5-10, 2021

  Mount Snow Masters Race Camp - benefits New England Masters
  Mount Snow, VT
  January 12-15, 2021

Midwest Masters Fall Copper Camp
Copper, CO
November 29 - December 2, 2020

Tichy Racing Camps
Copper Mountain, CO
October 25 - November 1, 2020
November 1-8, 2020
November 8-15, 2020
November 15-22, 2020

Pratte Ski Camps
Copper Mountain, CO
Various options October 24 - November 14, 2020
 

U.S. Elite Camps
Copper Mountain, CO
November 2020

GTI Sports
Copper Mountain, CO
October 24 - October 31 and/or October 31 - November 7, 2020
Mt. Bachelor, OR
TBD

The U.S. Freestyle Moguls Ski Team recently wrapped their first on-snow camp of the prep period at Official Training Site Timberline Lodge & Ski Area in Mt. Hood, Ore. July 13-26. Athletes and coaches were treated to perfect weather and outstanding course conditions, courtesy of the Timberline crew, and the team packed in 12 highly productive ski days. 

 

 

 

 

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it’s amazing how happy this makes me :)

A post shared by Tess (@_tessjohnson) on Jul 16, 2020 at 4:05pm PDT

Chasing snow was anything but typical during this prep period and Timberline represented a critical piece of the Moguls Team’s training program. The last time the team saw snow was on March 11 in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, for what was scheduled to be the last two FIS World Cup events of the season. However, the ski season was unexpectedly cut short due to the global novel coronavirus pandemic and the moguls athletes have mostly been training from home ever since. 

The team was able to come together in June for water ramp jumps at Official Training site Utah Olympic Park, and to put athletes’ prep plans into practice and get back into a familiar training routine. 

Despite missing planned spring camps and group training, athletes managed to keep their fitness levels high and were well prepared for buckling into their ski boots after almost four months off-snow. “The athletes came into camp really prepared, it’s a compliment to them,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “Our staff put a workload in front of them during the quarantine period and it came down to their motivation at home in order to do the work on their own. No one was there supervising them doing backyard and driveway workouts.

“[They] looked stronger on their skis and in their boots. [These are] World Cup skiers, so the biggest gains that can be made with these athletes is in their strength and fitness levels. You think you can tell on the ramps in lifting, but nothing speaks louder than bending the ski and the boot. It was really encouraging to see that as a staff and says a lot about the athletes’ motivation to be the best.”

 

 

 

 

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Peculiar photo for some peculiar times #mthood #summervibesonly

A post shared by Hannah Soar (@hannsoar) on Jul 26, 2020 at 12:13pm PDT

Training was focused on fundamentals and skill building, combining what is typically multiple camps into one. “We usually do a turn phase in Squaw and a jump-only camp as our first Hood camp,” explained Matt. Matt and fellow staff Riley Campbell, Joe Discoe and Chuck Williams had a lot of work to do and thankfully everything came together for stellar conditions. “Timberline set us up with an amazing training venue. We had a new jump location with a steeper landing. They packed the snow in there for us, and it held up right to the bitter end.” 

Each athlete has a tailored training approach specific to their goals as they prepare for the 2021 competition season, and Matt reported that each athlete really took advantage of the opportunity to be on snow. 

On the women’s side, Jaelin Kauf - fastest-woman-in-the-world - was working on her back mute and cork 7. “It was such a great camp!” she said. “[It was] so much fun to get back on snow after a big break and really great to get to work a ton on my cork 7 and back mute. Our jump site was amazing and I got a ton of really great training in!”

 

 

 

 

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Ooo babyyy I love this place🤍// @timberlinelodge 📷: @kai.owens_

A post shared by Jaelin Kauf (@jaekauf) on Jul 24, 2020 at 3:45pm PDT

Hannah Soar, who had a breakout season with two podiums and finishing the season ranked fifth in the world, was working on her flipping fundamentals. Tess Johnson developed a back mute and is working on different variations of that, in addition to starting her cork progressions. Youngest team member Kai Owens also dialed her cork and backflip work.

Avital Shimko, who missed the last two seasons due to injury, was elated to finally be back on snow with her team training again. “I think I had been dreaming of it for so long and so excited for it that it was pretty unreal,” she said. “I made massive gains in my progress, took two new tricks to snow, back mute and cork 7, and it went really well. We had a full table with two jumps on it and we had a mogul line and some rollers, so we could really work on everything. Timberline crushed it!”

Sabrina Cass, and new rookie and 2020 NorAm Champion Madison Hogg, both skied incredibly strong, upping their power in take offs for bigger jumps, which should translate into bigger air scores come competition. New rookie Kasey Hogg worked on her whole bag of tricks, which is deep, from back tucks to back grabs to cork 7s. Matt reported Kasey made some really good adjustments in her jumping that should pay off.

On the men’s side, veteran Brad Wilson put in the work on his jump lineup and also worked on resetting his fundamentals. Jesse Andringa returned from injury for his first jumps since leaving the 2020 FIS World Cup tour early to address his shoulder. “The camp went really well,” Jesse said. “I basically started really easy, just doing flats. I progressed with straight airs and backflips and easier tricks, made sure that it was feeling good. I tipped in on back X and ate it pretty hard and was totally fine, [it was a] relief to know that I could crash on it. Overall camp was super fun. I’m working with my sports psych to put more pressure on training so that I can handle pressure better in competition. It made my camp really effective and really strong.”

Nick Page had an outstanding camp, running through his giant bag of tricks, to which he added a double cork 10 - two backflips during a 1080 rotation. Doubles are currently illegal in mogul skiing (sound familiar?) but there is push from within the community to get them added. Although Nick won’t be able to compete this trick in 2021, thinking ahead is important in preparing for the future possibility. “The way Nick did his, he put himself on the level of Mikael [Kingsbury] and Ikuma [Horishima],” said Matt. “This could be the future of mogul skiing, so why not now?”

 

 

 

 

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Really nice to be back on snow. Finally learning this — that’s even nicer ;) @usskiteam @idoneusa @fisfreestyle 🤩 #dub10

A post shared by Nick Page (@nickpage58) on Jul 19, 2020 at 1:47pm PDT

“We’ve heard rumors that after the 2022 Olympics an off-axis double may be permitted in FIS level competitions — in my mind whether that happens or it doesn’t, I want to be ready to be one of the first to do it once we get that green light,” explained Nick. “Overall, my Mt. Hood camp was awesome. The coaching staff built a great venue where I was able to get a lot accomplished. I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone involved going the extra mile to provide us with an extremely productive training camp. Thank you!”

Rounding out the moguls roster, new rookie Landon Wendler wrapped his first on-snow camp as a U.S. Ski Team member. Matt notes Landon has a variety of tricks to pull from and is currently working on upping DD, eventually to progress towards cork 10s. 

The team breaks for a couple of weeks before reconvening in Park City for another water ramp camp at the UOP in August. With a lot of unknowns surrounding future on-snow training opportunities, Matt is focused on what he is able to control. “We are just taking it one day at a time, focusing on what we can do today to make our team better,” he said. “For our next ramps we will go back and look at film from Hood, see what deficiencies and strengths there are and address those. We will take each person’s trick and make it that much better.”