Check out the core training executed by Jessie Diggins during her summer training at Vermont's Stratton Mountain School.

 

 

 

 

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard has officially announced a multi-year partnership with Givego, an on-demand virtual coaching and connectivity platform built by athletes, for athletes. 

Givego’s one-of-a-kind virtual learning platform connects users to experts through an easy to use and intuitive app, allowing anyone the ability to connect and learn from some of the world's best experts and professional athletes. Today, users simply upload a video using their mobile device, describe what aspect of their sport they are looking to improve, and their choice of expert can respond within minutes.

“Givego’s ability to provide on-demand feedback to skiers and riders around the world directly complements our mission to encourage and support athletes, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers, and fans,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “In addition to providing a valuable resource to key stakeholders, Givego also contributes to an athlete’s financial well being by compensating them for their expertise. We could not be more excited to support elements of our development pipeline and athlete experience alongside Givego.”

"We exist to make dreams possible," says Willie Ford, founder & CEO of Givego. "Whether you're a world champion, a young athlete with big goals, or someone who simply wants to be their best, we help you. We could not be more excited to bring Givego to the greater community of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard."

Customers can expect the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Givego experience to launch in September. To learn more, visit: www.givego.io or download Givego from the App Store to receive your free session.

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About Givego 
Givego is an online marketplace built by athletes for athletes in Salt Lake City, UT. Givego delivers a proprietary mobile technology that connects passionate sports enthusiasts with world-renowned experts across multiple disciplines with the sole objective of helping athletes improve. Givego’s community of experts range from Olympic and professional athletes to some of the most sought-after instructors and coaches certified by leading NGB’s.
 

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
 

Olympian speed skier Alice Merryweather shared in early December that she has been struggling with an eating disorder and she had opted to sit the 2020-21 season out to recover. In a recent piece that hit both digital and print editions of Women's Health, Merryweather shared that her treatment helped her to learn to enjoy everyday life again. 

In the piece, as told to Women's Health's Amy Wilkinson, Merrweather shared, 

I’ve been skiing since I was 4 years old and racing since I was 8. Throughout high school, I never felt insecure—I was confident in my body and proud of being strong. Once I achieved my goal of making the World Cup team, though, there was no huge next step to take, and I turned my focus and perfectionism inward. I became more conscious of what I looked like and what I was consuming.

The turning point was when the World Cup season was cut short in the spring of 2020. I’d fallen short of my goals, and on top of that, I was taking a heavier class load than usual at Dartmouth College, and my housing where I was going to be training fell through. It was a perfect storm of stress. I found a reprieve—and thought I was gaining control—through my diet. I stopped eating enough, but I would justify it with excuses like “I didn’t work out that hard today.”

My boyfriend, Sam, was the first person to mention the words eating disorder to me. He noticed I couldn’t manage my emotions. I also complained about being cold, even on hot summer days, which is a symptom. I brushed it aside. I was making the right athletic choice, I reasoned.

Merryweather recently returned to snow with her team for a successful spring prep period camp at Official Training Site Mammoth Mountain in California and has been working hard in the gym at the USANA Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. She plans to return to competition for the 2021-22 season, with hopes to compete at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. 

Read the full piece at Women's Health.

July means two things for two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin: double session strength and conditioning workouts in the gym and hitting the red carpet for the ESPYs: the biggest sports awards night of the year to celebrate the best players, moments, coaches, and games in sports. She shared a glimpse behind the scenes with People magazine as she prepared for her red carpet moment with her Norwegian boyfriend (and 2020 FIS Ski World Cup Overall Crystal Globe winner) Aleksander Aamodt-Kilde. 

First thing's first. Shiffrin hit the gym to start off the day with U.S. Ski & Snowboard coach Jeff Lackie, saying, 

I'm currently in the middle of a strength and conditioning block preparing for the big upcoming season (headlined by the 2022 Beijing Olympics), so I snuck in an a.m. workout with my coach Jeff Lackie.

Shiffrin also caught up with U.S. Ski & Snowboard teammate and fellow Olympic champion Chloe Kim, congratulating her for her fifth ESPYs Award, this time in the "Female Action Sports Athlete" category. 

Check out the full article at People.com.

Congratulations to all the competitors and class winners at the Summer Fun National Championships! It was great to get back on skis again in July after a most unusual winter.

AGE CLASS RESULTS:  Masters GS          Juniors GS          Masters SL          Masters GS

PHOTOS:  See all racer photos from Brian Robb Photography

2021 Summer Fun Nationals Combined Winners

 

2021 Summer Fun Nationals Skoch Cup WInners

2021 Putzi Cup SL Winners - Sawyer Mattson & Charlotte Morris
Photo Credit: Brian Robb Photography

2021 Eigenvector Fastest Family - Brent, Parker, and Grant Anderson
Photo Credit: Brian Robb Photography

Top 10 Super Seed GS 2021 Summer Fun Nationals

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.”