U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today the creation of a pilot development program for the U.S. Freestyle Mogul Ski Team. The addition of a Development Team (D Team) signifies an evolutionary change in how U.S. Ski & Snowboard, together with its regional and club network, will approach future national team selection and development programming for the discipline. The creation of the D Team seeks to reinforce U.S. Ski & Snowboard as a dominant presence in mogul skiing and provide a clear pathway to success for Olympic hopefuls in 2026 and beyond. 

“Mogul skiing has a long history of success in America, it’s a tradition and community we’re proud of, and it’s critical that we continue to be well positioned for the future,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Head Mogul Coach Matt Gnoza. “We conducted an analysis of our development pipeline, as well as that of other key nations in our sport, and saw the need for bridging the gap from club-level to national team level. By being able to better identify athletes who show talent, skill and promise, and bring them into the fold earlier, we will better enable future generations of American mogul skiers.”

The D Team marks a shift in programming from a nationally-managed team to a shared elite development model between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and clubs. A cornerstone of the program is collaboration with the club network as athletes nominated to the D Team will work with U.S. Ski & Snowboard at Team camps and events, but continue to work with their home clubs for day-to-day training throughout their season. Club coaches and national team coaches will integrate and share knowledge for training and athletic objectives. Through this effort U.S. Ski & Snowboard will seek to create a deeper pool of elite developing athletes up to 20 years old, as well as create a better transition path from the regional club level to national team nomination. 

Athletes nominated to the program will receive invitations to attend select Team prep camps; access to the USANA Center of Excellence and Official Training Site Utah Olympic Park; access to sports science, nutrition, fitness, and career and education support services; Team gear; among other benefits. 

In this pilot year four nominations were determined based off of the 11th FIS points list of the 2021 season for FIS junior age-eligible athletes and therefore participation is limited to competitors ages fourteen to nineteen in the calendar year of the approaching season. D Team criteria will be included in national team published criteria for the 2022-23 season, and beyond. 

2021-22 Freestyle Mogul Development Team Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

Women

• Elizabeth Lemley (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 1/22/2006)
• Ali Macuga (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 9/24/2003)

Men

• Dylan Marcellini (Walnut Creek, Calif.; Wasatch Freestyle; 9/29/2002)
• Cole McDonald (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 3/6/2003)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard today announced the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Action Plan. 

The objective of the three-year action plan is to achieve a higher-performing organization with an inclusive culture, equitable systems, and a team that will benefit from a more diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and views. The plan is built around DEI pillars and corresponding subcommittees including leadership, governance, training, education, expanded access, representation, recognition, public facing content, and partnerships. 

“Elite performance cannot reach its highest levels when pursued in an elitist or inequitable way,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw and Chairman of the Board Kipp Nelson. ”In setting this Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Action Plan, our purpose is to honor and hold ourselves accountable to enriching our sport by nurturing a more welcoming culture, establishing fair systems at all levels, and opening the door wider to make skiing and snowboarding more accessible to athletes, professional staff, and communities with a more diverse array of backgrounds and identities.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard expanded and accelerated DEI efforts following the unjust killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery in June 2020, begging the question: What can our organization do as a member of the bigger snow sports industry? Up until that point, progress had been made in the area of gender equality, but it was clear the organization needed to make more headway in creating a real connection between snowsports and underrepresented communities.

The action plan is not the beginning of, or the end of the organization’s DEI efforts, but is a tool to focus efforts on key priorities and provide accountability over the next three years. The plan is designed to have a positive impact on diversity and inclusion across our organization, our athletes, our members, our clubs, our donors, and our fans around the world. It is a symbol and a representation of a commitment to advancing DEI throughout the organization and snowsports in a way that is both meaningful and lasting. 
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan
June 2021 DEI Update: One Year of Progress 

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About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2021, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard mourns the passing of FIS President Gian Franco Kasper, who will be long remembered for the extraordinary role he played in growing a small sport into one of the most impactful in the Olympics over his 46 years of service at FIS (International Ski Federation). His leadership has established a strong base for the next generation of our sport under new FIS President Johan Eliasch.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Gian Franco Kasper’s family. 

For more information please see FIS-Ski.com. 

Dexter Paine
FIS Council Member

Tiger Shaw
President and CEO

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited to announce the unveiling of the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan on July 15, 2021, as well as share a brief update as to important actions taken by the organization over the past year.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been working in concert with Ascent Inclusion Consulting in order to lay out clear steps for the organization to work toward a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment. The collaboration included updating the company’s DEI Statement and creating a robust DEI Action Plan to advance clear milestones and accountability. 

The DEI Statement serves as a catalyst to ongoing self-assessment and a commitment to meaningful actions to drive real, actionable change. The statement also acts as a guiding document throughout the development of the larger DEI Action Plan. The objective of the action plan is to achieve a higher-performing organization with an inclusive culture, equitable systems, and a team benefitting from a more diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and views. 

As a result of an earlier DEI Audit performed by the Inclusion Playbook, U.S. Ski & Snowboard established a three-year action plan matching its updated DEI pillars and corresponding owning subcommittees within its DEI Committee, including pillars for leadership, governance, training, education, expanded access, representation, recognition, public-facing content, and partnerships. Each subcommittee’s development of additional specific metrics and reporting expectations will provide further guidance on an ongoing basis.

As U.S. Ski & Snowboard has worked toward its DEI objectives, it has become clear that executing the DEI Action Plan is critical to the organization’s vision and mission. Moving toward a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment is not just the right thing to do, but it will have a positive ripple effect throughout the organization and beyond. Find a link to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s revised DEI statement below, alongside more detail related to the progress made toward creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Update (June 2020-June 2021)

• Implementation of Board diversification initiative.
• DEI Committee expansion to include Board members and external thought leaders.
• Budgeting for ongoing DEI work.
• Completed DEI Audit (The Inclusion Playbook). 
• Retention of DEI Expert in consulting role (Ascent Inclusion Consulting).
• Revision of DEI Statement.
• Delivery of foundational DEI training for Board, staff, and athletes.
• Preparation of a three-year DEI Training Plan.
• Provision of educational opportunities through Panels, Seminars, and Club Excellence Conference led by individuals from underrepresented groups.
  • Watch Diversity in Ski Racing: The Athlete Perspective
  • Watch: Discussing Racial Diversity In Snowsports
• Revision of clearer hiring and onboarding practices.
• Updating of Code of Conduct.
• Initiation of data collection on LGBTQ+ identities.
• Preparation of content for a baseline Inclusion Survey for Staff.
• Establishment of High Performance Department DEI Fellowship.
• Commitment to Partnerships:
  • National Brotherhood of Skiers
    • Solidified memorandum of understanding
    • Title sponsor of the 2021 NBS Virtual Summit
  • SOS Outreach
  • Share Winter Foundation
  • YES
  • United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee & national governing bodies
• Offered paid volunteer time off benefit opportunities for employees to engage with community-based organizations.
• Creation & Execution of first Annual DEI Champion Award: Henri Rivers (National Brotherhood of Skiers & U.S. Ski & Snowboard Trustee).

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

2018 Olympic bronze medalist and five-time X Games medalist Arielle Gold has announced her retirement from competitive halfpipe snowboarding. The retirement comes after nine years on the U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team and two years on the Rookie Team.

Reflecting on her career, Gold noted one memory she will never forget. “A major career highlight for me was my first X Games medal, when I earned bronze in 2013,” Gold reflected. “I went into it as an alternate and was able to get into the event after one of my long-time inspirations, Gretchen Bleiler, unfortunately, had to drop out due to an injury. I went on to land one of the best runs of my life and earned my first X Games podium.”

 

 

 

 

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Defying odds became a trend for Gold. She went into the 2018 Olympics with a recurring shoulder injury and stunned the snowboarding community by winning a medal. “I went into my second Olympic Games perceived as an underdog,” said Gold. “Few people anticipated that I would even make the Olympic Team, but I think their doubts only fed into my motivation and allowed me to focus on having fun riding without any external pressure. Having dislocated my shoulder in the days leading up to the event, the support of the U.S. Snowboard Team’s incredible staff was monumental in helping me to persevere through the injury and earn an Olympic bronze medal.” Along with her Olympic and X Games medals, Gold also earned the title of FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Champion in 2013.

 

 

 

 

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“Arielle will be greatly missed in the snowboard community,” said former U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team Head Coach Rick Bower. “She is an incredibly talented rider with a fiercely determined work ethic. These qualities helped her earn a bronze medal at the 2018 Olympics. I know the lessons she learned from competitive snowboarding will enable her to be successful in whatever she chooses to do in life.”

Gold’s game-time performances were just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what she brought to the sport. She was a supportive teammate and truly cared about the future of the sport, helping many young athletes as they progressed through the ranks.
 

“I’m so grateful that a portion of my career overlapped with Arielle’s,” said former teammate, snowboarding icon and three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark. “She was a great competitor, teammate and friend. She had the ability to compete at the highest level, while supporting those around her. She was always pushing herself to be her best, and by doing that, she pushed her teammates and the sport of snowboarding to progress. I’m proud of who she is and of her contribution to the sport. I am excited to see what she takes on next.”

 

 

 

 

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While the decision to retire has been among Gold’s most difficult yet, she is excited to embark on her next adventure in pursuit of a degree in veterinary medicine. “I have known that I’ve wanted to become a veterinarian long before I started snowboarding, but I wanted to completely dedicate myself to my snowboarding career first,” she said. “I’m more comfortable with the decision now because I’m excited to move on to another career that I have always been passionate about.” She has been working full-time at a local veterinary emergency room and is in the process of applying to veterinary school for the fall of 2022. Throughout her snowboarding travels, Gold has seen the discrepancies that exist in access to veterinary care in underprivileged communities. Her goal is to use her education to provide care to animals who might not otherwise receive it due to financial constraints.  

 

 

 

 

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Improving the community around her has always been a priority for Gold, especially through her involvement with nonprofits like Protect Our Winters and Animal Rescue of the Rockies. Gold adopted a dog of her own last year and aspires to implement everything she has learned through her own animal advocacy efforts into her future veterinary pursuits. Gold also plans to continue her efforts with Protect Our Winters, stating, “I will never stop working towards a more  sustainable lifestyle, and I have every intention of continuing to contribute in any way that I can.”

 

 

 

 

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Gold plans to stay connected to the sport amidst her future pursuits. “I’m definitely hoping to do whatever I can to stay involved,” she said. “I’ve grown up with most of the people in the industry, so they’ve basically become family at this point. My brother, Taylor, is still competing for the U.S. Snowboard Team on the professional circuit, so I’m anticipating that I’ll go to as many events as I can.”

“Being able to ride and compete alongside Arielle for so many years was such an amazing and rare opportunity,” said Gold’s brother and U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team veteran Taylor Gold. “Having family to travel with provides a level of support that few are fortunate enough to experience. We endured lows, enjoyed the highs and explored so many new places along the way together. I’ll miss watching her progress and definitely riding and traveling with her.”

 

 

 

 

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Gold recognized that the bond between her and her brother as teammates and siblings is very special. Looking back on her career, she noted that having a brother in the sport helped tremendously, and she would like to continue to do the same for him as he aims for the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. “Taylor and I have always been able to provide a degree of emotional support that only comes from familial ties. I know how emotionally demanding the competitive circuit can be, and I want to support him in any capacity that I can.”

 

 

 

 

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In addition to her brother, Gold would also like to express her gratitude to her parents, Ken and Patty Gold. Without their unconditional support throughout the peaks and valleys of her career, Gold does not feel that her career would have been possible. She would also like to thank her coach, Rick Bower, former teammate, Kelly Clark, and childhood coaches, Ashley Berger, Jo Rolls, Spencer Tamblyn and Heath Van Aken. She added, “Thank you to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard for all of the support. By no means am I leaving snowboarding forever and I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given throughout my career. My snowboarding career played a monumental part in growing into the person that I am today, and I am so unbelievably grateful for all of the pow turns, places and people I encountered along the way. Thank you snowboarding.”


 

Henri Rivers, the president of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, has been named by U.S. Ski & Snowboard as the inaugural recipient of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Award. The award is focused on recognizing a person, group, organization, or program that has contributed significantly and sustainably to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in skiing and snowboarding.

The new award recognition was implemented by U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, as part of its initiatives to support DEI in the sport. Rivers has engaged productively to help the organization plot its course and to raise awareness across its membership and the entire sport community.

“When Henri got involved with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, he did not hesitate to step up into a leadership role,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “He had many connections which he immediately leveraged to join his efforts surrounding DEI with us, including many hours working on our DEI Committee as well as leading two well-attended virtual roundtables.”

Rivers has been an avid skier and outdoor enthusiast for more than 45 years. He is a professional ski instructor, certified master teacher, and children’s specialist as well as a U.S. Ski & Snowboard alpine coach, jury advisor, referee, and official, coaching in the alpine race program at Windham Mountain in the Catskill region of New York.

He was selected for the award by U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s DEI Committee. Moving forward, annual recipients will be selected by the DEI Committee based on a matrixed review of various factors reflecting the nominees’ impact on advancing DEI. The criteria include leadership of DEI in ski and snowboard, advancing education, collaborative coalition-building, development of equitable systems, and implementation of effective programs.

The DEI Committee, chaired by U.S. Ski & Snowboard Club Development Manager Ellen Adams, was founded in 2017 to increase racial, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity at all levels of skiing and snowboarding.

“Henri has shown great patience, an indomitable spirit, and quiet conviction in his engagement with those of us who have a great deal to learn,” said committee member Sheryl Barnes.

“He is really the main inspiration for the work done by our DEI Committee. He is the reason we continue to educate ourselves, evolve our strategies as an NGB, and push for a more diverse ski and snowboard community in the United States.”
 - U.S. Ski & Snowboard DEI committee member Elise Saarela

“I consider myself an ally for inclusion and equity,” said committee member Jamie Nagle. “Yet, as I listened to Henri speak recently about his experience as a black man, an athlete, and a coach, I couldn’t help but ask myself if I was really doing all I could to advance diversity, equality, and inclusion. He has taken the trials and experience of his past as a call to action to effect positive change.”

“Watching our supporters and allies awaken over the past 15 months and supporting the cause of racial equality, inclusion and diversity have been deeply felt,” said Rivers. “I believe what we are witnessing is a new era of challenge - white America is awakening and understanding our foundation was not put in place to the benefit and equality of all citizens. Our existing system needs to be dismantled and rebuilt for the betterment of society.”

Rivers cited U.S. Ski & Snowboard for adopting principles to nurture diverse communities rooted in understanding and respect, educating constituents emphasizing diverse communities, and supporting innovation to enhance retention of underrepresented groups.

“I look forward to U.S. Ski & Snowboard amply funding its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative over the next four years, leading the way to an equitable future for all sports organizations and our global community.”

An engineer and project manager by trade, Rivers is the founder of Drumriver, a New York-based renewable energy company. He first became involved with NBS in 1996. He became an NBS national team coach in 2003. Five years later, he was appointed administrator of its Olympic Scholarship Fund, growing the national team to 15 athletes. He became competition director in 2016 and was elected president in 2020.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Official Training Site Timberline Lodge & Ski Area played a perfect host to the U.S. Freestyle Mogul Ski Team’s first on-snow jump-focused prep camp of the 2021-22 season. 

“Our main objectives for this camp were to focus on jumping, to take the work we put in at the [Utah Olympic Park] water ramps and bring it to snow,” explained Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “We want to make sure what the athletes are doing on the ramps and on the tramps are translating to snow.”

Gnoza noted that jumping went well overall, every athlete is progressing and putting in the reps for their higher degree of difficulty tricks. “As we get prepared for this Olympic qualification season, high execution numbers and ability is important. The difference between a seven point and an eight point jump is huge.” Mogul runs often come down to the smallest of details. Are the athletes balanced? Is there good symmetry? How is the landing? “These are all questions we’re trying to answer in anticipation of increasing high executions and minimizing deductions.”

Athletes took full advantage of bringing tricks back to snow. Kai Owens worked on her cork 7 and cork grab, and was even starting to blend in some cork 10 - not seen very often on the women’s side. 

 

 

 

 

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“The first on-snow camp was awesome!” she said. “I always really enjoy our Timberline venue. I’m very thankful to our coaches for all the work they put into our jump site. Since it was our first camp back on snow it was nice to get a feel for on-snow jumping again. I’m looking forward to ramping again so I can fine tune some tricks and hopefully bring some more tricks to snow for the next on-snow camp!”

Also pushing the envelope was Olivia Giaccio. Giaccio worked a back full and a cork 7, and also dabbled with her cork 10. 

“I was pretty stoked with how awesome the jump venue was, thanks to my coaches and Timberline Lodge,” said Giaccio. “The sweet venue made it easy for me to work on some of my bigger tricks and to improve the consistency of my landing quality.”

Nick Page used the camp to run through his full jump repertoire noting his “main focus was continuing to work on my competition tricks and bring them to a very high level of execution with lots of confidence. I worked on a lot of cork 1080s, cork 1440s, and cork 7-grabs — which are all starting to feel very consistent, which is nice! I look forward to getting back onto the water ramps soon to perfect them even more.” 

An abundance of snow and the “Olympic quality jump site” Timberline provided meant sharing the training venue with other nations as training opportunities are still limited around the world due to impacts from COVID-19. Canada took advantage and had some of their top athletes training up on the Palmer Glacier. Ikuma Horishima of Japan, one of the top mogul skiers in the world, reached out to the U.S. Team and trained with the group at the UOP and Timberline in what the team described as a “sportsmanship exchange program.”

“He has been self-coached while in the U.S., so it’s not like we’re checking training plans, but his close proximity to the team has been really nice,” said Gnoza. “For our athletes to get to know him better and him us better, it’s great to have these cultural exchanges. He’s been a lot of fun for all of us to watch and contributed to a very positive training environment.”

“Having Ikuma train with us this last month was great!” said Page. “I have been close friends with him since I was 12 years old. Ikuma and I are both in the small handful of men (only other is Mikael Kingsbury) that can do a cork 1440, so being able to jump and train with him was extremely productive. I got to stack myself up against another very high-level jumper; and with that came great challenges. We each got to push each other and compete during training — which is what our sport is all about.”

 

 

 

 

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Casey Andringa executed his first on-snow flips in over two years, having been sidelined by injuries, surgeries and rehab since 2019. “It’s exciting to see Casey back out there on snow with a high level of energy as he progresses towards his hopeful return to competition,” said Gnoza. 

 

 

 

 

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The first Timberline camp of the 2021 summer marked Bryon Wilson’s first on-snow prep camp as World Cup Coach for the moguls team since joining the staff in May. “Bryon’s been a great addition to the staff,” said Gnoza. “He worked hard to get to know everyone’s skiing and jumping during camp and has integrated himself to the staff and with the athletes. It’s been really awesome to have him.”

Moguls break for a recovery period before beginning their next summer training cycle July 6. 

“During this prep season, I’m aiming to get as consistent as possible with every aspect of my run, so focusing in on my jumps separately at this point in the prep was key,” explained Giaccio. “My mindset is pretty centered around confidence and clear, simple intent with each trick I perform; I’m looking forward to continuing that focus moving into the next block of water ramps and when we go back to Hood in July!”

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

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin caught up with the Associated Press' Pat Graham ahead of Father's Day to discuss the relaunch of the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund, the challenges of the 2020-21 season, and the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. 

Graham wrote, 

Mikaela Shiffrin’s tentative plans on Father’s Day: Dinner with family. Perhaps a board game or a movie. Definitely some Jimmy Buffet or Paul Simon music.

Because that’s the sort of celebration Jeff Shiffrin would’ve wanted.

Rarely a day goes by when some image, moment or song doesn’t remind the American skiing great of her dad, who died on Feb. 2, 2020, after an accident at his home in Edwards, Colorado.

The two-time Olympic champion can still hear his calming words of advice (a simple “focus” was a biggie). Or see him drumming on the steering wheel to whatever tune was on the radio. Or envision those family dinners followed by a lively board game.

“It’s not like this day, Father’s Day, is really anymore emotional,” Shiffrin said. “Because I can’t miss him more than I already do on a daily basis.”

Jeff Shiffrin's legacy lives on through the recently relaunched Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund. In the original campaign, launched in 2020, U.S. Ski & Snowboard raised more than $3 million to help offset training and competition expenses through the pandemic. This season, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team and the Shiffrin family are hoping to raise $250,000 for a direct-to-athlete fund.

Through the money raised on behalf of Jeff Shiffrin—and support from the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund—U.S. Ski & Snowboard was able to make a COVID-19 hardship payment of $1,300 each to its ’20-21 national team members. Take moguls skier Tess Johnson for instance: She put the money toward her summer lodging expenses in Park City, Utah, while she trains.

Shiffrin reflected, 

“My dad loved all sports,” Shiffrin said. “He just loved to see the work that athletes put into it, and the success they have from that work. He found it inspiring.”

After winning four medals in four events at the Cortina 2021 World Championships, the burning question everyone has of Shiffrin is just how many events she will compete in at the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. 

After all, it’s a big upcoming season with the Winter Olympics in Beijing around the corner. She’s thinking big, too — possibly competing in four or five events. The one up for discussion may be the downhill.

“I just want to see how things are going as we get closer, because the last thing I want to do is compete just for the sake of competing when I know that I have teammates who are dying for that spot,” said Shiffrin, who captured slalom gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the giant slalom title during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games along with silver in the Alpine combined. “I’m not going to take that unless I really, really have a positive feeling about what I can do.”

Read the full article on APNews.com. 

Learn more/donate to the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund.

On the tail of her wildly successful children’s book A-B-Skis, Olympic skier Libby Ludlow is launching a Kickstarter for her follow-up book, Goodnight Chairlift. The perfect bedtime story for young skiers, Goodnight Chairlift is a playful journey across a ski area as the sun sets on an epic day. Readers wish ‘goodnight’ to the chairlift, the terrain park, and more. After all, everything at the ski area must go to sleep at night—except, of course, the snowcats. Internationally known illustrator and Park City ski instructor Nathan Jarvis, who also illustrated A-B-Skis, brings various ski area icons to life through his beautiful illustrations, silly scenes, and hidden items to search and find.

Goodnight Chairlift is leveled-up from A-B-Skis, Ludlow explains, “It will appeal to more advanced readers and mountain-goers because it features quirky insider terminology, but the book is still inclusive of all levels through its fun glossary in the back.” She also points out that she didn’t write Goodnight Chairlift just for skiers, “my snowboarder friends will enjoy the book just as much as skiers.”

Considering A-B-Skis won four book awards in 2020 and has sold over 5,000 copies, Libby’s standards for this follow-up project are anything but low, “A-B-Skis was so well- received, it’s not an easy act to follow.” But despite the pressure, Ludlow couldn’t be happier to bring a second book to market. She’s been through the entire process before—from the crowdfunding campaign to printing the book overseas. “Self-publishing isn’t easy, but I know what it takes to be successful. I can’t wait for Goodnight Chairlift to make it into kids’ bedtime story rotation. I know they’ll love it just as much, if not more, than A-B-Skis.”

The Kickstarter will run for thirty days, during which people can pre-order discounted and signed copies of the book. Orders are scheduled to be delivered to backers just in time for the ski season in early December 2021. Access to the Kickstarter campaign can be found at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/abskis/goodnight-chairlift.

Learn more about Goodnight Chairlift on Kickstarter. 

––

Libby Ludlow is a former 10-year member of the U.S. Alpine Ski Team, a 2006 Olympian, mother of two little skiers, and lifelong writer. Nathan Jarvis is a PSIA certified children’s specialist ski instructor whose illustrations have appeared in Highlights Magazine and scores of children’s books. Together, Libby and Nathan published A-B-Skis: An alphabet book about the magical world of skiing in 2019. The book won four book awards in 2020, including Best Book in the American Book Fest. A-B-Skis is available online on Amazon and sold at shops and ski resorts across the country. Goodnight Chairlift: A bedtime story for little rippers by the creators of A-B- Skis, is Nathan and Libby’s second collaboration. Goodnight Chairlift was written for readers age 4-10 years old.

In addition to the recent staffing changes, the U.S. Alpine Ski Team has announced that Graham Flinn has been named the new head men's development coach, and has already kicked off his work on the mountain at Official Training Site Timberline Lodge and Ski Area. 

Flinn rejoins U.S. Ski & Snowboard with a strong background from both working at the club and the U.S. Ski Team levels over the last ten years. "During his prior work with the USST’s Development Team, Graham was instrumental in our men’s program winning four medals at the World Junior Championships, as well as helping to advance many individual athletes to the upper levels of the National Team," said Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. 

Flinn will oversee all of men's development, a role formerly occupied by 19-year U.S. Ski & Snowboard veteran Sasha Rearick. Most recently, Flinn has been leading the FIS program at Rowmark Ski Academy, where he recently earned Intermountain Division's Coach of the Year honors. While at Rowmark, Flinn also coached newly-named U.S. Ski team development team athlete Mary Bocock, whose dream to make the national team has come true. 

Flinn lives close to the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah, and his official start date was June 14.