When the calendar turns from July to August, kids across America hope that time freezes and summer lasts forever - but school is just around the corner. For the athletes of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, there is no “summer vacation” and instead of preparing to return to school, they are gearing up for the next World Cup season. But being an elite athlete doesn’t mean giving up school, national team members just have to get more creative to complete high school and pursue higher education. 

When rookie aerial skier Megan Smallhouse (Reno, Nev.) got serious about her training in her quest to make the U.S. Ski Team, she decided to attend all four years of high school online through North Star Online School.

“I was able to plan my workload so that when I was traveling for competitions, I could focus solely on competing."
    – Megan Smallhouse, U.S. Freestyle Team 

Balancing training, competing and school was no walk in the park. It required Megan to be strategically organized about her time, planning her week out in advance to make sure she had enough time for assignments outside of training. “School provided me with a healthy outlet outside of sports,” she reflected. “It allowed me to take my mind completely off skiing, and put my energy into something else. Striving for success in more than one area of my life provided a healthy balance for me.”

Moguls skier Olivia Giacco (Redding, Conn.) echoes Smallhouse’s sentiments. Giaccio used last season as a gap year between high school and college to focus completely on skiing. “It was great to focus on skiing last year but it is good to have another outlet during the season,” she says. “I’ve found having something to put my mental energy into besides skiing when I’m off the hill to be helpful.”

Giaccio has already been accepted to Columbia University and plans to attend full time when she hangs up her moguls skis. Wanting a taste of what college would be like, she attended a creative writing program through New York University during the month of June, living the dorm life. Although away from the team, Giaccio didn’t stop training. Staying in close contact with her coaches, she was able to follow her workout and nutrition program.

Through the immersive program, Giaccio earned eight credits and explored an area of study close to her heart. “I have always been interested in writing since I was little,” she said. “I love to tell stories. I started my blog which details my training, competitions and feelings and reflections of it all. I have run that since made the U.S. team, going on four years now. I’m not sure what I want to study once I attend school full time, probably something humanities-based, but writing is definitely an avenue I want to explore.”

Moguls teammate Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) took advantage of spring offerings as well with May-mester through the University of Colorado Boulder. “May-mester worked well because it’s one course for three weeks, three hours a day every day, on campus,” he explains. “I didn’t have much training going on at that time, no ramping or skiing scheduled. And I did my workouts at CU.”

Andringa is pursuing a degree in engineering. While he has limited options for online engineering courses, he is currently a sophomore because he’s completed his general requirements already, and takes engineering courses as time permits during the offseason. “Engineering excites me,” he says. “I want to have a degree in that hopefully within a year or two after I retire. I’m trying to get into renewable energy and give back to the skiing world by helping the environment.”

Moguls team athlete Hannah Soar (Somers, Conn.) was able to juggle three college courses and a skiing schedule while attending Union College for the spring trimester. “It was nice to go in class to get the full college experience,” she said. “I moved into a dorm, had a roommate from Bombay. It was cool to meet other people, and my professors were really great. It was nice to dig deeper into the classes being there in person.”

If three courses weren’t enough, Soar packed in a full training load as well. “I followed my workout regimen at night after my classes: lifting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Tuesdays and Thursdays I did a HIIT and Abs class at school,” Soar said. “On weekends I would ski. My Econ class ended at 10:30 a.m. on Fridays, and then I would drive two hours to Killington and ski 1 to 5 p.m. I skied Saturday and Sunday, and then drove back to school Sunday night. It was busy but super fun.”

Juggling school and skiing are more difficult while on the road, and many athletes opt to take an online course during the World Cup season to give their brains a break from skiing. Andringa recalls being in Kazakhstan and not having service to complete an assignment. “I had to email my professor - I barely got the email out - saying ‘Hey I can’t do my work this week. I’m in Kazakhstan but flying back Sunday,” he said. “I can submit by Tuesday.’ He was pretty good about it as long as I kept him in the loop.”

For the elite snowsports athlete, the road to education is not as straightforward as peers in their age group experience. However, The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Career and Education (ACE) department are committed to creating “whole person development” as ACE Director Julie Glusker likes to say. “Whole athlete development serves to enhance an athlete’s athletic performance, to inspire their education and career achievement, to increase their sport longevity, and to encourage enduring association for them with U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” Glusker explains. 

Freeskier Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.), a junior a Dartmouth,  enjoys the balance between attending fall and spring trimesters and competing in the winter. “I feel very lucky to be able to do both and I think that going to school benefits my skiing because when I do get the opportunities to ski, I am fired up and work very hard since I know that time is sometimes limited.” 

Pursuing an education has given Krass a deeper appreciation for her ability to ski competitively. “Growing up, I've always thought it was very important to have a balance between my ski career and my personal life, which consists of my education as well as other activities that I enjoy. This is important to me because as much as I love skiing, I do know that I won't be able to do it forever, and with all the injuries you don't really know when your career could be done. I know that I will always have my education to go back to once I am done with skiing and I'm excited about the opportunities that will come from that.”

Glusker estimates about two-thirds of the 176 national team members are working to complete high school or college courses. Through services such as academic advising and planning, college application support, exam proctoring and tuition reimbursement, ACE strives to make it as easy as possible to pursue education while pursuing athletic excellence. 

A major draw for national team members pursuing college courses is ACE’s tuition reimbursement program. The Marolt Athlete Endowment program is funded by the Borgen-Swartz, Eccles Fund and the Davis Family Fund. Athletes may receive up to $6,000 in reimbursement for college tuition twice annually. They can apply in late fall and early spring and are reimbursed for tuition, required registration fees, and books. This past year 60 athletes took advantage of the program and 43 athletes are currently awaiting their reimbursement from this past June cycle.  

“Going to school is important because it broadens your mind and how you look at the world,” said Soar. “I know they always say critical thinking is what’s taught in college, but it really is. I think it ties in really well with skiing - you can just look at things with a different perspective and makes you appreciate it more. I really enjoyed going to school for 10 weeks and making new friends but I was extremely excited to get back to training once I was done with my last final.”
 

For the second year in a row, U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes took part in the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Speaker’s Bureau program – an intensive, year-long training program offered to a small group of athletes and alumni to hone their speaking skills and learn what it takes to be a successful keynote speaker. This year the opportunity was offered to all Team athletes, across sports.

Coordinated by Athlete Career & Education (ACE) Director Julie Glusker in partnership with Danny Slomoff and Slomoff Consulting Group, the initial program takes place over a two-day period of time at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah with Slomoff’s team of three consultants, and will continue throughout the year with participants and consultants remotely until next summer.  

“We are grateful to Danny and his team for generously sharing their expertise and impactful coaching to help our athletes develop excellent speaking and presentation skills,” said Glusker. “They guide each individual athlete through a progression to learn and hone a challenging skill – speaking effectively and purposefully in public.”

One of the main goals of the program is to build their skills so athletes are able to create income through appearances. Ultimately, Slomoff Consulting Group is working with Glusker and U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw to get athletes in front of 80-100 active business leaders and understand the value in inviting these athletes to their organizations to speak. Several athletes already are being paid significant speaker fees for appearances. Both Slomoff Consulting Group and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, along with trustees and donors who support the organization, will be finding paid speaking opportunities for these Speakers Bureau participants.

Slomoff has worked with Shaw for several years, and for the last four years has worked with several athletes and staff from across sports in a pro bono fashion. At the close of this year’s Bureau, which took place on July 28-29th, Slomoff addressed the group, getting emotional about their success and progress throughout the previous two days. 

Slomoff explained to the group why he got into working with Olympic athletes in the 1980s and shared that coaching speakers in business is very similar to how athletes are coached in sport, “The first thing I’m told about you is that you’re a world-class athlete,” Slomoff reflected. “Then we go through these two days and I find that you’re really interesting people. You’re doing things in your young lives that most never experience, or do not experience until much later in life. You’re all very impressive to me. I love the risks you took, the way you treat each other, believe in each other, turn to each other for advice, and more. I thank you all for that.” 

Participants echoed Slomoff’s sentiments about the impact of the program. Freeskier and Olympian Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) said, “I liked from the get-go, that it was more about the positives. The coaches were so great at reassuring us when we were flustered.” Graham Watanabe agreed with Voisin, and added that he was thankful for not only the two-day program, but also the opportunity to work with coaches throughout the year. 

“You’re graciously offering up an additional year, and that excites me – these two days have been huge, but there’s so much more to come,” Watanabe noted. “My coach brain turns on watching other people set goals and achieve them in a short period of time. It’s not common, you don’t see it occur in athletics very often. As athletes, we set long-term goals, 5-10 years, so it’s pretty cool to make that short-term demand of yourself and to hit it.” 

Two-time FIS Junior World Ski Championships silver medalist, River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) said, “For the line of work we’re in, these are very valuable skills. Being able to learn from Danny and his consulting group is super valuable. I’m generally very critical of myself – how my voice sounds, how I carry myself – just having to go in with no judgment and learn improvements, is so valuable.” 

From here, the program participants will work with their respective coaches throughout the next 12 months to further hone their speaking skills. This remote work with the Slomoff coaching staff will include helping athletes find and secure speaking opportunities, draft and write speeches and presentations, and practice delivery modes and styles. 

Athletes involved included: 
Alex Bowen (Springville, N.Y., Aerials - Freestyle)
Quinn Dehlinger (Cincinnati, OH, Aerials - Freestyle)
Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho, Alpine)
River Radamus (Edwards, Colo., Alpine)
Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska, Cross Country Alumna)
Megan Smallhouse (Reno, Nev., Aerials - Freestyle)
Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont., Pro Halfpipe and Slopestyle - Freeski)
Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont., Pro Slopestyle - Freeski)
Graham Watanabe (Hailey, Idaho, Snowboard Cross Alumnus)

At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins not only won the first gold medal in cross country skiing for Team USA, but they also put forth the belief that the United States can compete, and win, at the highest levels of international competition. It is that belief that is motivating the next generation of athletes to put in the hard work not only during the competition season but during the summer well before the first snowflakes fall.

In conjunction with the four cross country regions - Alaska, West, Central, and East - and supported by U.S. Ski Team staff, the recently held Regional Elite Group camps laid a solid foundation for the next generation of medal contenders on the roads of Park City, Utah; Lake Placid, NY; Ironwood, Mich.; and on the snow on the Eagle Glacier in Alaska. In all, more than 100 athletes took part in the four regional camps.

“Each generation of skiers is evolving with the sport and pushing the limits which builds a super inspiring and progressive training environment,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Cross Country Development Coach Bernie Nelson, who noted that the athletes were “well prepared” physically and mentally for the camps and ready to own “the process and explore new approaches.” 

“The main goal of these camps is a collaboration. We want the athletes sharing and learning from one another.”
 – U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Development Manager Bryan Fish.

Empowering local clubs in the overall development process, and involving the athletes every step of the way, are key to developing a pipeline to the national team. The Regional Elite Camps play a huge role in this process as the national team coaches and local clubs have the opportunity to work together. In addition, athletes are actively looking for areas to improve and learn.

“Our club programs are strong and our athletes are invested,” Nelson said. “I see a shift in ownership; athletes are more involved in the process, asking more questions about the training process and approach each session with a growth mindset.”

Summer is the time to build a fundamental endurance base with a focus on distance and technique training. That said, it is important throughout the year to touch on intensity, strength, and speed, Fish noted. The Regional Elite Group Camps, combined all of the training elements with each athlete's individual training program, to provide an opportunity to focus on improving endurance, strength, and technique through ski, and roller-ski drills, and time trials.

“Time trials throughout the summer are effective in stimulating intensity and speed and also allows for targeting mental and physical energy toward the elements of the sport we need to continue to improve upon in the closest environment we will face in the winter – in the arena of competition,” Fish said. “The camps provide a great place for such time trials, for it allows for athletes to review where they are in a particular training attribute in comparison to their peers.”

Adding time trials during the summer not only offers the athletes an opportunity to peg the needle a few times and check the engine with some friendly competition, but it also provides another opportunity to increase their overall training load. An increased training load is something Fish and the entire coaching staff has seen over the past six years. In 2013, the average regional athlete trained an average of 418 hours annually. That increased to 465 hours annually in 2017. And in 2019, the average regional athlete is on par to hit 468 hours of structured training time.

These numbers were provided by the athletes through three simple questions, including: How many hours total did you plan to train last year? How many hours total did you actually train last year? And, how many total hours do you plan to train next year? “These questions point towards setting goals and having a plan,” Fish said. “It also points an athlete toward consistent training year-round. The message is getting through, for we see our junior athletes more prepared at camps. They are more fit, more skilled, and more focused.”

This increased attention for form, fitness, and focus can be attributed to the skilled club and regional coaches that lead these camps and are putting in the lion’s share of hard work with these athletes at home on a day to day basis. In addition, current and past World Cup athletes also attended the camps to give back and help the next generation. Their attendance at the camps increases the focus of our junior athletes, but most importantly, they built on the belief that the United States can win at cross country skiing at the highest levels of the sport.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recently named Ryan Wyble as the U.S. Freeski Team national development coach for slopestyle and big air. Wyble joins the team with 10 years of coaching experience with some of the nation’s top clubs including Park City Ski & Snowboard, Team Park City United, and Axis Freeride. 

“The team is so fortunate to have Ryan as the coach leading our rookie slopestyle team,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Head Freeski and Snowboard Coach Mike Jankowski. “This crew has tons of momentum with Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.) winning the FIS World Cup overall title last season as a rookie. The rookie athletes are all currently working on adding super high-level tricks to their game, and it’s key to have someone with Ryan’s passion and experience leading that charge.”

Wyble was recently honored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard as the 2018-19 Development Coach of the Year, so it’s only natural Wyble continues his work with the next generation of freeskiers as a member of the U.S. National Team staff. Wyble’s skill set will complement the talented roster of U.S. coaches, and he has already seamlessly integrated into the program throughout the Timberline summer training camp recently held at Mt. Hood, Ore.

“Ryan brings a wealth of on hill expertise combined with an extraordinary moral character,” said U.S. Freeski Slopestyle/Big Air Pro Team Coach Dave Euler. “The rookies are an amazing group of athletes and I can’t wait to see what they can accomplish on and off the hill under Ryan’s lead. I could not be happier to have him joining the team.”

This past season Wyble had six athletes named to the U.S. FIS Junior World Championship Team. In addition, he was a former competitor in slopestyle and also was a featured athlete in 4bi9 Media Ski Films from 2007 to 2012. 

Wyble’s role will focus on working year-round with the rookie team athletes to help them reach their potential in hopes that they eventually graduate to the pro team level. He will also work with ski clubs across the country to identify and develop young talent at the club level, in addition to creating transparency with the next generation of athletes as it relates to the athlete development pipeline, and how each individual can eventually progress all the way to the U.S. National Team.
 

The Utah Olympic Park was buzzing with excitement as athletes from across the nation flew for national titles in ski jumping and nordic combined.

Before getting into Saturday's jumping competition, the nordic combined skiers went head to head in a mass start race up the Utah Olympic Park road on roller skis. The mass start format, which is slowly being introduced to the World Cup circuit, flips the order of nordic combined. Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) crossed the finish line first followed by Jared Shumate (Park City, Utah) and Stephen Schumann (Park City, Utah). This meant that Fletcher went into today’s ski jumping competition with a sizeable lead on Jared Shumate and his other teammates.

On the women’s side, Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) won Friday night’s race ahead of Tess Arnone (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). Though she would head into Saturday’s jump with an advantage, she still needed to fend off Tess Arnone on the jump hill for the title.

On the jump hill, Grant Andrews and Annika Malacinski proved to be the best jumpers in the nordic combined event. Andrews flew 92.5 meters while Malacinski flew 70 meters. Malacinski started the sport of nordic combined just under two years ago. Saturday she won her first national championship. 

However, Malacinski is already looking forward. “First I want to better my technique, work on flying, and get faster at skiing,” she says. All of this is with one specific goal in mind. “The end goal is the Olympics,” she says. In five days Malacinski will head to Europe for a training camp, eager to keep improving at the torrid rate she has since starting the sport just two years ago.

While Malacinski’s long jump was enough to cement her title, Grant Andrew’s impressive jump couldn’t quite catapult him into the lead over Fletcher- though it was an exciting effort. Fletcher now has four national titles and continues to set the standard for the nordic combined team. “I’m getting older so it’s nice to show that I can still beat up on the younger guys a bit,” says Fletcher laughing. When asked if he was worried about any of his younger teammates he says, “I was definitely a little worried about Jared, he’s been progressing really well and Grant has been putting in good jumps.”

In the end, Fletcher’s speed on the course still keeps him unrivaled. Now Fletcher and the rest of the nordic combined team will take some time to recover before the Norwegian team arrives in Park City for a joint training camp. This will give the American athletes some exposure to the top competitors in the sport including World Champion Jarl Magnus Riiber.

In the ski jumping event, we saw some very close competition. After the first round, Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill) and Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, N.Y.) were the leaders with 99 and 88.5 meter jumps respectively. Lussi went into the second round with a comfortable 10-point lead over Anna Hoffman (Madison, WI). Hoffman has had somewhat of a breakthrough summer posting career-best results so far. She continued that trend Saturday improving her second jump to 85.5 meters, not enough to oust Lussi but enough to land on her first-ever national championship podium.

This was Lussi’s third national title in ski jumping but, Saturday was extra special for her. The last time Lussi competed on this hill in Park City was during the 2018 Olympic Trials when she blew her knee out “I figured since I’ve been training on this hill the last few weeks, that I had put that behind me. Though the other day, I tweaked my knee a bit.” This definitely turned national championships into a mental battle for Lussi. “In the end, I had to have a little self-talk and I said to myself that I was going to jump.” Lussi’s then had two very solid jumps in today’s competition. She raised her skis above her head in the outrun and pumped her arms in celebration- smiling to the crowd. “I took it and went with it,” says Lussi.

Bickner headed into the second round with Casey Larson (Barrington, Ill.) and Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) seven and nine points behind. Consistency is key so Bickner by no means had things locked up. That is until he stomped down a 100-meter jump in the second round. When asked what it feels like to land at 100-meters Bickner says, “It’s not the most comfortable thing but it’s definitely a ton of fun.”

Bickner now has three national titles next to his name. This one was special though after a year where he claims there were some struggles. “I’ve had to fix a lot of things this summer, it’s been a lot of work,” says Bickner. The season is incredibly long and we are only in the middle of summer, however, progress is always celebrated. “Coming out and winning this title shows that I’m headed in the right direction,” says Bickner. He hopes to keep things moving in that direction as he flies off to Europe next week to compete in a few Summer Grand Prix events.

RESULTS
Men’s Nordic Combined
Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
Grant Andrews (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
Stephen Schumann (Park City, Ut)

Women’s Nordic Combined
Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
Tess Arnone (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)

Men’s Ski Jumping
Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.)
Casey Larson (Barrington, Ill.
Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)

Women’s Ski Jumping
Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, N.Y.)
Anna Hoffman (Madison, Wis.)
Annika Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, Colo)
 

Two-time Olympic gold medalist (and one-time silver medalist) Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, Colo.) recently moved into her "sanctuary" new home in the Rocky Mountains and NBC's Natalie Morales was there for an exclusive tour of the home, including her spread of FIS Ski World Cup globes, World Championship medals and beyond. 

In a new NBC series called "At Home with Natalie," Morales aims to share the homes of celebrities, their favorite nooks, and what makes them so special. NBC launched the series with Shiffrin's episode, which highlighted the fact that Shiffrin worked with local designers from afar (while she was competing in Europe!) to make the look come to life. One such company she worked with was local wood company Arrigoni Woods, who sources 100+ year old reclaimed wood from Switzerland and Austria - places that are near and dear to Shiffrin's soul, seeing as though she spends much of her time in Europe. 

The Olympic medalist worked with the gurus at Home Outfitters to design her home, but she had a good idea of what she wanted from the get-go.

"I pulled pieces from almost every place that I've been to," she said. "That's one of the coolest things about traveling is I can see things that I love and styles and feelings that I get and kind of pull it in here."

One such feature? A wall full of 100-year-old reclaimed wood from Austria, a familiar place for the traveling skier.

Over the years, Shiffrin explained, she's been influenced by certain European design styles, and gravitates towards a Zen feel that mixes the old and the new. One of her favorite areas of the house is a spacious, open bedroom she calls her "lair."

But Shiffrin doesn't live in the house by herself. Since she spends so much time on the road, the skiing champ was keen on having her parents live with her.

"When I am home it is important for me to be able to be around family," she said. "I'm lucky that they were willing to (move) again with me because I don't think I would have been able to move here and live here alone and kind of live in my dream house as my first house if they weren't willing to do that."

In order to get the point across to the crew of incredible builders and designers from afar while she was traveling - and breaking records on the World Cup tour all season - she would paint or draw pictures of her vision, which the builders and designers would interpret guided by Shiffrin's parents - Eileen and Jeff Shiffrin - to see it to fruition. The house includes everything from state-of-the-art eco-friendly components to a therapy pool in the background. 

"It's so incredible to have been able to work with so many local businesses and designers to make my dream home come to life," Shiffrin commented. "After such a long and busy season, it was such a treat and so special to come home to this new space. I remember those first couple of nights of sleep - it was the deepest sleep I had in so long. This new home feels like a sanctuary to me. It's special." 

Watch the full segment on Today.com. 

On Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, the stars, fans and some of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s greatest supporters, will descend on New York City to celebrate the organization’s marquee event, the New York Gold Medal Gala. 

The Gala is a critical element of funding for the United States’ Olympic national governing body of ski and snowboard sports, and the single biggest fundraising event for the organization - it is expected to raise nearly $2 million this year. Support from fans and donors allows elite ski and snowboard athletes the opportunity to train and compete at the highest levels. Since its inception, American ski and snowboard athletes have earned an impressive 101 Olympic medals - 39 of which are gold. 

In its fifty-third iteration, this year’s theme, “Inspired by the Stars,” reminds fans and athletes alike the reason behind the grueling work it takes to be an elite team member. It takes drive, passion and grit to sweat it out every day in the gym, chase snow year-round across the globe and get in the start gates every week during competition season. Skiing and snowboarding’s rich history of sport innovators serves as inspiration for athletes such as Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood Calif.), who landed the first-ever double cork, “the crippler,” in women’s snowboard halfpipe competition last season. And hearing those cheers and cowbells at the finish coral make it all worth it.

The New York Gold Medal Gala can trace its roots back to 1967 from its humble beginnings as the New York Ski Ball held at Tavern on the Green. Quickly becoming more than just a fundraiser, the Gala established itself as a pivotal cultural event in Olympic sport. Over the years, Olympic skiers and snowboarders have graced the stage of some of New York’s most notable venues from the Plaza, Pierre and Waldorf Hotels, to the Hammerstein Ballroom, and even the deck of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier docked on the Hudson River.

The Ski Ball concept was created at a time when the U.S. Ski Team was starting to take center stage in a sport that was just creating a global World Cup tour. A group of prominent New York businessmen, led by J. Negley Cooke, the head of Sterling Drug, were seeking a way to energize support for the athletes of the U.S. Ski Team. After the success in 1967, the group ramped it up in year two at the Waldorf-Astoria, gaining support from major American corporations like Eastman Kodak and Pontiac Motors, with more than 1,300 attending, raising $75,000 for the athletes – an unprecedented sum for the time.

Through the years, the ball became a fixture in a crowded New York City fundraiser landscape. It has long been a popular event for celebrities, business leaders and politicians. It has showcased great entertainers, from the orchestras of Michael Carney and Peter Duchin, to popular stars like Sheryl Crowe, the B52s, Counting Crows and more.

But the event’s real success has come from the deep integration of athletes, serving as a seasonal send-off and celebration. For over 50 years, America has celebrated its greatest ski and snowboard champions on stage in New York City, providing a sought-after evening of fun for athletes before the start of the competition season.

Be a part of the celebration from wherever you might find yourself on October 24. National ski and snowboard team athletes are privately funded and receive no government assistance. Technology connects us more than ever and fans can show their support remotely. Auction items will be available for bidding starting Monday, September 2, and online participation is encouraged during our silent auction, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST on October 24. Follow along on social with #NYGoldMedalGala.

Over a pair of warm and muggy summer days, while a number of the athletes of the U.S. Cross Country Ski were enjoying summer skiing on the Eagle Glacier in Alaska, members of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and staff from U.S. Ski & Snowboard were hosted by the Loppet Foundation - organizers of the Fastenal Parallel 45 Winter Festival - for in-depth planning meetings around the first FIS Ski World Cup Cross Country event on American soil since 2001.

When the best cross country athletes gather at Theodore Wirth Park, just a few miles west of downtown Minneapolis, on March 17, 2020 (also St. Patrick’s Day) they will be greeted by thousands of fans and a challenging 1.7k freestyle sprint course for an exciting evening event that will cap a four-day festival featuring amateur races and live music.

Eight months before miles of television and timing cable is placed, the finish stadium is built and the athletes arrive, FIS Cross Country Race Director Michal Lamplot already feels the excitement of a successful event.

“What we have seen here shows that both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the local organizing committee are well on their way to hosting a very successful event. Everyone is enthusiastic and very well prepared. It was a great meeting, these two days, and we are sure that the event will be a success and we are very optimistic about the first (cross country) World Cup event in the U.S. after a lot of years.”
 – Michal Lamplot, FIS Cross Country Assistant Race Director

“The impression I received from the FIS folks is that we’re on the right track,” said Mike Bono, chairman of the local organizing committee comprised of Loppet Foundation staff and volunteers. “We have a path to get there, and we have very competent people that will get us there.”

Already more than a year of planning has gone into hosting the World Cup event, from course design to transportation planning to facilitate the arrival of the expected 20,000 fans. But the Loppet Foundation is no stranger to big events. They host events annually that draw an excess of 25,000 participants and spectators to the 759-acre park that features not only cross country skiing but snowshoeing, tubing, sledding, fat biking, and a snowboard/freeski terrain park.

This season’s event, which organizers hope will be the first of many, comes on the heels of the FIS World Cup freestyle and classic sprints March 14-15 in Quebec City, a frequent stop on the World Cup circuit. After the Minneapolis event, a number of athletes will travel on to Canmore, Alberta, Canada, March 20-21, for the final three events of the World Cup season, including a freestyle mass start, classic pursuit, and mixed relay events.

With a jammed-packed schedule for the final week of the World Cup season, and a challenging sprint course at Wirth Park featuring a trio of short, punchy climbs, the athletes will need to be on their best form.

“I think it’s going to be a good course,” Lamplot said. “Good uphills, technical downhills, so I think it is going to be a really good sprint course for sure.”

With a late-afternoon start time, fans will have the opportunity to experience the event and all the surrounding festivities from beer gardens, to the expo village and live music. In addition, they will enjoy an up-close view for cheering on world-class athletes throughout many areas of the course with both free and paid admission ticket opportunities. In creating a festive atmosphere for spectators, the Loppet Foundation hopes the event will introduce many new fans to the sport.

“We want the spectators to have a great time, and we want to get more people interested and involved in cross country skiing,” Bono said. “There are a number of people that are not aware of the sport, and I think when they see the World Cup athletes here, they will come away with a much different idea and feeling about the sport.”

Tickets for the 2020 Fastenal Parallel 45 Winter Festival FIS Cross Country World Cup go on sale next month. For more information about the event, visit the official event website at mnworldcup.com.
 

From July 8-12, nine U.S. Snowboardcross Team athletes led by Head Snowboardcross Coach Peter Foley headed to the acclaimed Whistler Bike Park in British Columbia for an innovative summer training camp. Athletes arrived in Whistler to the team house where they would all stay together for the course of the team cohesion camp or ‘rad camp’ as the riders like to call it. With clear goals and high expectations, the camp turned out to be special and productive focused on athletic, cultural, and personal development.

“In my mind, there were three main goals heading into this trip,” said Foley. “From a team culture standpoint, I wanted to continue to shift perspectives with the athletes, focusing not just on themselves as individuals, but rather as members of a team with a common mission. In regards to the mountain biking element, moving downhill through terrain at speed is a critical skill that applies directly to snowboardcross. Being able to learn and pick up new skills is something that everyone can benefit from. My hope is that everyone takes the culture of learning to the snow and other aspects of their lives.”

There was a wide variety of mountain biking experience and skill levels amongst the participating members of the team including 2019 FIS World Champion Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Olympic medalist Alex Deibold (Manchester, VT.), Hagen Kearney (Telluride, Colo.), Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, Utah), Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.), Senna Leith (Vail, Colo.), Mike Lacroix (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Livia Molodyh (Hubbard, Ore.), and 2018 Junior World Champion Jake Vedder (Pickney, Mich.). 

Although the trip was centered around mountain biking at one of the best bike parks in the world, Foley had more in store for the group upon their arrival. Luckily these athletes are no strangers to speed and heights in their line of work because their first adventure was not for the faint of heart. Athletes headed straight up to the top of the Sasquatch Zipline, North America’s longest zipline which reaches a top speed of over 90 miles per hour and travels a distance of 1.36 miles. The zipline starts at about 5000 feet and connects Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. This definitely got the blood flowing to kick off the camp. 

The following morning, the group came together for a team culture session to align individual goals with a team mission for success. This is a novel idea for athletes who, by the nature of their sport, are constantly competing against each other for World Cup starts, Olympic team nominations and even for a spot on a podium at any given race. The baseline concept is that the better the team works together, the stronger the dynamic, the better everyone will perform. For many, the team-building exercises could be considered uncomfortable for introverted individuals, but the team persevered and in doing so developed strong relationships.

“To truly develop trust within a team, it means increased understanding and empathy while working your teammates,” said Foley. “To some extent, this means being vulnerable and completely transparent with the group.”

The exercise began with athletes openly and willingly answering difficult questions. For example, “If only one person were successful on the team, how would the morale be?” The questions even dove into their personal lives discovering what keeps everyone up at night and how everyone feels about where they are at in their careers. If there was any veil over the true fears, aspirations, and feelings of the team, they were long gone by the end of the discussion. 

Following the discussion, athletes jumped into an improvisation exercise where each individual would act as if they were in another team member's shoes. To act like someone else, you must do your research. Therefore, the task acted as a catalyst to ask discovery questions with each other and truly explore things they never knew about their teammates. Some questions were about snowboarding, some about family, and even childhood. After the discovery session, athletes were asked to report back and ‘perform’ as the other individual. The general vibe after the discussion and improvisation exercise was one of unification and understanding. In addition, you can imagine there was a comedic element as professional snowboarders tried their hand at character acting. 

“I was super stoked for the opportunity to come to Whistler and spend time working together as a team off the snow, said Vedder. "We have a lot of talent and in an individual sport where we are constantly competing against each other,  it's important we find the right way to all work together. I was really happy with the outcome of the camp and we are all excited for the season.”

After the team culture meeting, the riders got to do what they do best, go fast and have fun. They hired two professional instructors, including ZEP Techniques Professional Instructor Ross Dunlop, who quickly became engrained in the group throughout the team’s stay in Whistler and stuck with the athletes far beyond his initial time commitment. The team rode lift access trails from 1 to almost 7 p.m., enjoying every second of what the terrain had to offer. 

Following a heavy day of riding and instruction, athletes headed out on their own on day three to ride. Another team session followed the morning of riding, this time led by Cecily Elmas, the former Mindful Performance Manager at Lululemon, and Co-Founder of BeGuided. In this session, athletes focussed creating a document that clearly outlined on goals, values, and standards as it related to team culture. After the meeting, everyone finished off the day with more lift access riding.

The team meeting in Whistler was dubbed ‘rad camp’ by coach Foley and the athletes, but it’s not the first of its kind. Perhaps the greatest rad camp of all time was 2011 in New Zealand, where athletes trained on snow both on course and freeriding, visited the major bungee jumps in the area, and even went heliboarding. If that wasn’t enough, they stopped in Fiji on their return home to catch some waves and do some jetski assisted surfing.

To the untrained eye, you may think a trip to Whistler or New Zealand for an action sports athlete is just a vacation. The reality is these world-class snowboardcross athletes get approximately only six hours per year on an actual boardercross course with not much room for growth. This begs the question - how do you get better when you are off-snow both mentally and physically? Foley answers this with creative solutions that former coach Jeff Archibald and Foley have been pumping out for years. It’s about keeping athletes sharp, out of their comfort zones, and ready to learn. This summer’s Whistler rad camp accomplished these goals from an athletic, cultural and personal development perspective. 

“Rad camp was the most fun,” said three-time Olympian Gulini. “It was the perfect combination of team building, cross-training, and pushing the boundaries of our comfort zone. From North America’s longest zip line, to Whistler’s world-famous bike park. We laughed, learned, and grew tremendously as a team. Rad camp has started our 2019-20 U.S. Snowboardcross Team off to an epic start.”

Follow the U.S. Snowboardcross athletes this summer as they prepare for their competition season ahead.

FOLLOW U.S. SNOWBOARDCROSS

Mick Dierdorff - FB: @mickdorff, IG: @mickdorff, TW: @mickdorff
Alex Deibold - FB - @alex.deibold, IG: @adeibold, TW: @adeibold
Hagen Kearney - FB: @hagenkearneysbx, IG: @hagenkearney, TW: @hagenkearney
Faye Gulini - FB:  @faye.gulini, IG: @fayegulini, TW: @fayegulini
Jake Vedder - FB: @jakeveddersbx, IG: @jake_vedder, TW: @jake_vedder
Nick Baumgartner - FB: @nickbaumgartner12 , IG: @nickbaumgartner, TW:@nickbaumgartner
Senna Leith - FB: @sennaleithsbx, IG: @sennaleith
Mike Lacroix - FB: @mike.lacroix.73, IG: @mlacroix12
Livia Molodyh - FB: @livia.molodyh, IG: @liviamolodyh

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named Vladimir Lebedev as Head Aerials Coach for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. Lebedev will take over the position from Emily Cook, who has served as interim head coach since Todd Ossian left the team in May after a nine-year tenure. 

“We are excited to announce Vladimir as our head aerials coach for the U.S. Ski Team,” said Jeremy Forster, director of freestyle for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Vlad is widely respected within the aerials community and brings a history of coaching success with him to this team. His passion for the sport and clear vision sets a high standard for his athletes. I look forward to working with him in his new position.”

Born and raised in Uzbekistan, Lebedev was introduced to the sport of aerials skiing when he was five by his uncle who was president of the Uzbekistan Ski Association. Lebedev worked his way through the ranks and eventually moved to Moscow to compete for the Russian National Ski Team for 10 years, from 2000 - 2010. He earned a bronze medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, the crowning achievement of his professional aerials skiing career. In 2011, Lebedev made the tough decision to move from competing to coaching, after sustaining a second injury to his right knee. 

Lebedev coached the Russian development team for four years, until the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. From 2014 - 2017, Lebedev served as a World Cup coach. His athletes earned an impressive 12 medals at the Junior World Championships during his tenure, four of which were gold. He found success with Kristina Spiridoniva, who finished third in the Aerials Grand Prix in 2018, as well as with Ilya Burov, who earned a bronze medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. 

Prior to being named head aerials coach for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Lebedev served as a World Cup coach for the U.S. Moguls Team. Because of his expertise in aerial maneuvers, Lebedev was instrumental in helping many U.S. athletes improve their air executions on the moguls field. 

Eric Bergoust will remain on staff as World Cup Coach along with continuing his efforts in Development. He looks forward to working with Lebedev in his new position. “I’m excited to continue as World Cup Aerial Coach, working with Vladimir,” said Bergoust. “Vlad and I have been friends for over fifteen years and we work well together because we are both committed to doing whatever it takes to help our team succeed.”

Lebedev enjoys coaching because of the challenge. “All the athletes on the team are different. It’s up to me and my staff to find specific goals for each of them. We have a lot of conversations in the gym, on the ramps, on snow, etc, to come up with a strategy that works for each person. Coaching, especially in a discipline like aerials, is not like a regular nine to five job. Every day is a new and different day. I have to be in tune with each athlete, with how they’re feeling, etc, to make adjustments.”

One of Lebedev’s biggest goals moving into the 2019-2020 competition season is to create a cohesive team culture. With the end of the Ossian era, Lebedev knows it is important to get the athletes and staff all on the same page so that there is continuity and progression moving forward. 

Beyond the immediate, Lebedev has his sights set high for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing which will include the new Team Aerials event. “I am working on developing specific athlete plans through the 2022 Olympics. I break these down from yearly, to seasonal, to monthly, to daily goals. A lot of it is general because we are constantly making changes depending on how the day-to-day goes.”

Lebedev transitioned from the moguls to the aerials coaching staff this spring and the aerials athletes are already responding positively to him as a leader for their team. “After knowing Vlad for over a decade and working with him for the past couple months in Park City, it is obvious to me and my teammates that he is going to lead this team in a phenomenal fashion,” reflected three-time Olympian and 2017 Aerials World Champion Ashley Caldwell (Asburn, Va.). “The experience he brings from being an athlete, a coach for Russia, and a coach for the U.S. Moguls team, coupled with his enthusiasm and character are going to make for an unstoppable leader and head coach.”