The Mammoth Mountain Ski & Snowboard Team has been named the 2018-19 Club of the Year by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Mammoth Mountain is one of over 400 clubs across the country that provide opportunities for aspiring athletes to achieve their dreams. The award will be presented May 16 at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress in Park City, Utah.

In making its selection, the national organization looked at clubs that provided a strong introduction to multiple ski and snowboard sports, as well as development opportunities for advancement. As a Best in the World athletic organization, U.S. Ski & Snowboard provides opportunities for aspiring athletes to achieve their dreams at all levels. But the ability to meet that goal depends on the support and leadership provided at grassroots clubs across the country. Clubs are an essential resource for parents and an introductory point for young athletes to engage in competitive skiing and snowboarding, and clubs provide an invaluable service in helping young athletes take vital steps along the pathway to the top.

Mammoth Mountain, under the leadership of Director of Athletics Pete Korfiatis, has developed one of the premier ski and snowboard programs worldwide, producing both Olympic champions and weekend rippers, continually placing top athletes on U.S. teams. The program provides fundamental skills in a supportive team environment with a focus on personal goals both on and off the snow. One of the keys to the success of the program is the unique partnerships it has developed with the community, including the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation and Mammoth High School. Additionally, Mammoth Mountain is an official training venue partner of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, further strengthening the ties between Mammoth Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

“As a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Gold Club and High Performance Center, the Mammoth Team is on a continual quest for excellence as we are aware the other clubs and teams across the country are pushing just the same," said Mammoth Director of Athletics Pete Korfiatis. "Mammoth has had a longstanding history of supporting the Olympic movement, whether it’s our home team or U.S. national team athletes. It was a philosophy of our founder, Dave McCoy, and one that still remains within Mammoth Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company. We, as a team, a resort and as a company is honored to receive the award as it’s a first for Club of the Year and Snowboard Club of the Year.”

The program is noted for its depth of tenured coaches with significant competition experience and high level of certification. Mammoth Mountain is a gold level podium club. The program is a past recipient of both Alpine and Freeski Club of the Year, as well as this year’s Snowboard Club of the Year, but it is the first time it has achieved the overall U.S. Ski & Snowboard honor. It is also a regular host for national Project Gold camps as well the National Coaches’ Academy plus both the national team and club training.

“We are fortunate to have so many great clubs providing opportunities for young ski and snowboard athletes. Mammoth Mountain has truly distinguished itself with a high-level program that embraces sport at all levels.”
 - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Club Development Manager Ellen Adams.

 

Adaptive: National Sports Center for Disabled

The National Sports Center for the Disabled is one of the largest therapeutic recreation agencies in the world, with deep roots in adaptive skiing. The Center hosted two major races for Para-Alpine Skiing this past season. The Winter Park Open is an early season development race that the national team uses to identify the next generation of athletes while tuning up their performances to be prepared for World Cup and World Championship competition. It also played host to the U.S. and Canadian National Championships for super-G, giant slalom, and slalom. Under the leadership of Competition Director Erik Peterson, the Center has a reputation for hosting great races and supporting athletes.

Alpine: Burke Mountain Academy

Vermont’s Burke Mountain Academy, under the leadership of Head of School Willy Booker, was recognized not only for its own programs but for its partnership with regional and national programming. Burke has aligned its programming with U.S. Ski & Snowboard to extend value across a wide swath of athletes. The club played host to over 44 races this season including Speed Week and other regional training projects, the Eastern Cup Finals and the January U16 National Championships National Performance Series (NPS) including early training for all three national regions. Burke expanded the knowledge of its staff with professional development opportunities as well as maintaining a strong commitment to both coach and official certification.

Burke athletes distinguished themselves with results at U14 and U16 levels regionally and nationally. At the FIS level, Burke had multiple athletes participating in D Team projects with a strong showing in FIS events.

Cross Country: Stratton Mountain School SMS T2

The Stratton Mountain School T2 Elite Team, under the direction of Nordic Program Director Sverre Caldwell and coach Patrick O’Brien, comprises seven members of the U.S. Ski Team including A Team members Jessie Diggins, Sophie Caldwell and Simi Hamilton, along with 2019 U.S. SuperTour overall winner Julia Kern plus Ben Ogden who contributed to the first-ever Junior Worlds gold medal in U.S. history. First-year team member Alayna Sonneysn took a strong win in the American Birkebeiner. SMS T2 has continued to elevate ski performance at every level from the junior through World Cup and has been a strong partner that demonstrates the importance of common goals and collaboration.

Freeski: Waterville Valley BBTS

The fabled Waterville Valley BBTS program has been a longtime strong partner with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and has now become a rising star in freeski. Under the leadership of  Shuffleton, the club now has five freeski athletes in the top 10 on the NorAm tour with four podiums including two wins across NorAm and Rev Tour events this season and two athletes invited to Junior Worlds. The club has shown a commitment to the sport as a regular event site and a dedicated U.S. Ski & Snowboard training center with a four-season airbag and trampoline center and a dedicated partnership with its host resort. One of the most prestigious clubs in the Eastern USA over the decades, it currently has nearly 400 members with programs for kids up through international competition.

Freestyle: Killington Mountain School

A longtime strong program in freestyle under the leadership of Kris Pepe, Killington Mountain School offers programming for athletes from six years old up through post-graduate with a track record in delivering athletes to the World Cup level. This year Killington enlarged its opportunities for age and ability level training with the addition of youth sessions to summer on-snow and airbag training camps. Killington also stepped up to organize a wide range of events including the Eastern Championships, Killington Klassic Moguls, KMS Four Season Airbag Extravaganza, Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge and more. Killington had three athletes earn spots at Junior Worlds plus five separate moguls athletes with top-10 finishes at U.S. Freestyle Championships among 14 who qualified to compete. The team also had a strong presence in NorAm and divisional competitions. Thanks to its broad programming reach, Killington saw impressive growth in 2019 with 25 new athletes coming into the program.

Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined: Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club

A long established nordic club program under the leadership of Olympian Todd Wilson, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports saw its program grow to record levels in 2019 - the largest jumping and nordic combined club in the country. Most notably, the club is showing a strong gender balance with the onset of women’s nordic combined in addition to women’s ski jumping. Steamboat women took titles in U20 ski jumping, U16 men’s and women’s nordic combined as well as men’s and women’s team sprint at U.S. Championships. Steamboat also qualified seven athletes for Junior Worlds. The club also played host to a successful men’s and women’s FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup in December - the first women’s event ever held in the USA.

Snowboard: Mammoth Mountain Ski & Snowboard Team

In addition to its overall Club of the Year title, Mammoth Mountain Ski & Snowboard Team was also recognized as Snowboard Club of the Year. With some of the best training facilities in the world in its innovative Unbound Terrain Parks, Mammoth Mountain has consistently produced some of the top riders in the world including Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and U.S. Open champion Maddie Mastro, as well as current Rookie Team members Tess Maud and Dusty Hendrickson. It holds a major USASA event each year, providing a proving ground for young riders. Under the leadership of Program Director Ben Wisner, a level 300 coach, the club has a strong focus on coach certification.

The 2018-19 international competition season has come to a close for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, and what a season it has been. Since elite level competitions began back in August U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes have won a staggering 136 medals in competitions around the world.

There have been a number of standout moments from the season, including Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) setting the standard for the entire U.S. Ski & Snowboard team, and her competitors in all forms of alpine ski racing. Mikaela’s record-breaking season has seen the 24-year-old become the first ski racer, male or female, to win four FIS Alpine Ski Crystal Globes in overall, super-G, giant slalom, and slalom. That in itself is astonishing - it is the equivalent of a track and field athlete winning the 100 and 200 meters, then seamlessly switching disciplines and winning 800 and 1,500-meter titles. The difference in the skills needed to win ski racing’s tech events, slalom, and giant slalom, from the speed events, super-G and downhill, is as acute as the differences between winning sprint events and middle distance races in track and field.

On her way to dominating the sport of ski racing, Shiffrin also broke the 30-year-old record for the most World Cup wins in a season (Shiffrin’s 17 wins beat the previous benchmark of 14 set by Vreni Schneider in 1988-89). She won two World Championship titles - super-G and slalom - in Åre, Sweden, and her chances of reaching the podium in any race she contested were a remarkable 83%. Most impressive of all, Shiffrin posted an astonishing 66% win ratio which is practically unheard of in any form of elite level sport today and reinforces the widely held notion that she is the most dominant athlete competing worldwide in any sport.

“Building off the achievements of our team during last season’s Olympic Games, our athletes have carried forward a drive to perform at the highest levels of our sport. Our athletes worked relentlessly to get the most from their talents, and have achieved at levels that put them amongst the best of the best.  Mikaela Shiffrin has been a prime example.  Her achievements have been truly extraordinary, in the fullest sense of that word, and are the result of talent meeting drive and tenacity. Her exploits are already the stuff of legend, and efforts like hers have fueled a strong performance culture across our team.”
     - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief of Sport Luke Bodensteiner

Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) also reinforced her status as both a dominant competitor and a fan favorite around the world. Kim’s run of wins, which extended back to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the 2018 X Games, was only hindered by injury, but not before she landed her first-ever World Championship snowboard title at Park City Mountain, Utah in February 2019. Kim had already secured yet another X Games, and Dew Tour gold medals and two World Cup wins in the 2018-19 season before adding the title of World Champion to her ever-growing resume with a first run score in the finals of 93.5. Despite a stellar 2018-19 season and an 83% win rate, this is by no means the peak of Kim’s performance. The 18-year-old all-star still has yet to land her frontside double cork 1080 in competition, which will take her to a level of riding which is unheard of in the sport of women’s snowboarding.

“Overall our athletes won 136 elite level medals, and that is an outstanding end to our season,” Bodensteiner added. “From Chloe Kim to Toby Miller, Jessie Diggins and David Wise, Lindsey Jacobellis and young Eileen Gu starting to fulfill her promise, we have had an incredible season. However, we cannot sign it off without saying thank you to Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey had planned to come back this season and attempt to win the outright World Cup victories record from Ingemar Stenmark, but it was not to be. Injuries played their part in preventing that, but not before Lindsey signed off her astonishing career with a final podium in the World Championships in Sweden, and I don’t think anyone but Lindsey could have written the script that way. On behalf of everyone at U.S. Ski & Snowboard I want to say thank you, Lindsey, for your inspiration, your hard work, your successes and your battles back to the top, you have set the standard which is now the benchmark for all our athletes. Be best in the world. It is that simple.”

From Shiffrin to Kim, Vonn and beyond, it was a tremendously successful season for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, including many notable performances and results, including the following...
 

ALPINE

Veteran and winningest female alpine skier of all time Vonn (Vail, Colo.) capped off a legendary career with a storybook ending, grabbing a gutsy bronze medal at the World Championships in Åre. Then, at FIS Ski World Junior Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy, River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) won gold in both super-G and giant slalom, while Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, Vt.) grabbed silver in slalom. In the team event, Radamus, Ritchie, Katie Hensien (Redmond, Wash.) and AJ Hurt (Squaw Valley, Calif.) brought home silver. This was America’s strongest showing at Junior Worlds in years, and the team finished third in the Marc Hodler Trophy standings - awarded for overall team performance throughout the series.

“Mikaela isn’t the only success story we have in our alpine team this year,” Bodensteiner said. “Bryce Bennett deserves special mention, finishing his season in seventh place in the world in downhill is a very good step forward, and now we want him to use that as a springboard to go even bigger and better next season and with one eye on Beijing 2022. Similarly, River Radamus has established himself as one of the great up-and-comers, winning two Junior World Championship titles and scoring his first World Cup points. The pipeline is strong but we are not getting carried away - we still have a clear focus on bringing athletes through to the Olympic Winter Games in 2026 and beyond, but we will rightly celebrate the successes enjoyed by the alpine team this year.”

SNOWBOARD

The success enjoyed by the snowboard team was not limited to Kim. Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), the Colorado-based snowboardcross athlete, had not climbed onto a World Cup level podium before he took to the snow at Solitude Mountain Resort in the snowboardcross World Championships finals in February. That record was quickly rewritten as Dierdorff won the World Championship title on day one of the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota. Just two days later and Dierdorff was back in action, this time with teammate and snowboardcross legend Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) who, together, were competing in the inaugural mixed team snowboardcross World Championship finals ahead of the sport’s Olympic debut in Beijing 2022. Despite a technical glitch holding up Jacobellis’ final run, the duo won the final, making Dierdorff an instant two-time World Champion and Jacobellis a six-time World Champ, rubber-stamping her status as the doyen of the snowboardcross community.

Dierdorff and Jacobellis’ U.S. Snowboard Team compatriot Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) was another U.S. Ski & Snowboard athlete celebrating a stellar season as the 2018-19 competitive calendar came to a close as he secured his fifth and sixth FIS Crystal Globes in March by winning the snowboard slopestyle and overall titles. Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.), 2018 Olympic gold medalist was incredibly excited to win his first-ever Burton US Open title in February, an invitation-only competition that features the best riders from around the world competing in Gerard’s home state of Colorado. Another notable achievement coming out of the Burton US Open was Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) making history landing the first-ever double cork in women’s snowboard halfpipe competition.

The 2018-19 season offered two different FIS Junior World Championship events: the 2018 Snowboard and Freeski Junior World Championships in Cardona, New Zealand, as well as the 2019 Snowboard and Freeski Junior World Championships, which took place across five European venues. Combined, U.S. Snowboard athletes earned five medals with Jake Vedder (Pickney, Mich.) and Toby Miller (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) claiming the titles of Junior World Champion in their respective disciplines of snowboardcross and halfpipe. Also, The U.S. Junior World Championship Team took home the 2018 Marc Hodler Trophy awarded to the best overall nation.
 

FREESKI

In freeski there were notable performances from a range of halfpipe athletes starting with Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado where Olympic silver medalist Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.), Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) and double-Olympic gold medalist David Wise (Reno, Nev.) swept the podium, proving that the U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Team is nothing short of a powerhouse. Next, Ferreira continued his success and completed a lifelong dream by winning X Games gold in front of his hometown crowd. Following X Games, Aaron Blunck stepped up to defend is World Championships halfpipe title at Park City Mountain on home soil.

The freeski slopestyle team also had an outstanding season including Alex Hall (Salt Lake City, Utah) earning his first ever X Games medal by topping the podium with one of the most creative and technical rail sections seen at elite level slopestyle competition. Another notable moment coming out of the 2019 X Games includes Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) earning her fourth X Games medal with a bronze, but also stomping her left side double cork 1260 in competition. Between Voisin and Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.) each locking in their double cork rotations this season, the U.S. women remain at the forefront of women’s freeski progression.

U.S. Rookie Team member Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.) completed a breakthrough season including numerous milestones starting with earning the title of 2018 Big Air Junior World Champion in Cardrona New Zealand back in August. Forehand continued his impressive performance into November where he earned his first-ever World Cup podium with a second-place finish in Stubai, Austria. Furthermore, only a few weeks ago, he earned his first-ever World Cup victory at Mammoth Mountain, California. His long list of impressive results allowed Forehand to lock in the coveted title of 2019 FIS World Cup Slopestyle Champion.

U.S. freeski athletes also found their fair share of success across the 2018 and 2019 FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships. As previously mentioned, Forehand earned the title of Junior World Champion in big air in New Zealand, followed by a team effort in 2019 where the U.S Freestyle Junior World Championship Team earned the Marc Hodler Trophy. Freestyle and Freeski athletes collected eight medals across the 2018 and 19 Junior World Championship events.

CROSS COUNTRY

Moving on to cross country, a sport which was still enjoying the feelgood factor of the U.S. Team securing their first-ever Olympic Gold in PyeongChang, there was another strong season across the whole U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. In particular, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.), Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.), Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) had some notable successes throughout their season, collectively stepping up to the podium 10 times, and the whole team were celebrating the return of cross country World Cup action to the USA with the announcement that Minneapolis would hold a round of the 2020 FIS Cross Country World Cup Calendar in March 2020.

At the Cross Country Junior Worlds, the men’s relay team of Luke Jager (APU/Anchorage, Alaska), Ben Ogden (UVM/Landgrove, Vt.), Johnny Hagenbuch (Sun Valley SEF/Sun Valley, Idaho) and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars/Anchorage, Alaska) claimed gold, an historical moment for the U.S. Team.

FREESTYLE

The U.S. Freestyle team, comprised of both moguls and aerials athletes, had another terrific winter, especially for Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) who finished second overall in women’s World Cup moguls standings. Teammate Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.), still recovering from major shoulder surgery in summer, 2018, finished her season in style with two trips to the podium in her final events of the season. Arguably, the real highlight of the team’s year was the four nights at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, during the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in February 2019. Tens of thousands of fans braved the cold weather to watch the U.S. athletes take on the rest of the world, and it all culminated with three medals for the home team in front of one of, if not the, most passionate crowd worldwide in the freestyle calendar.

NORDIC COMBINED

Also noteworthy was the outstanding season-long performance by USA Nordic athlete Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.) whose domination of the women’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup saw the American win 10 of the season’s 11 events. That incredible run resulted in Geraghty-Moats becoming the first-ever American women’s Continental Cup overall champion in only the second year of international competition for the young women’s sport.
 

The networks of NBC will broadcast more than 40 hours of coverage of the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, Presented by Toyota, and the FIS Ski World Cup this week.

Mikaela Shiffrin returns to action in Maribor, Slovenia - where she took slalom victories in 2015 and 2017 - for both giant slalom and slalom events Friday and Saturday. Both events will be streamed live on the OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with the second run each day broadcast live on the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - at 7:00 a.m. (EST) for Friday’s slalom and 7:30 a.m. for Saturday’s giant slalom. 

The men’s World Cup Tour heads to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, German, for downhill Saturday and giant slalom Sunday. Both days will be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel, and streamed on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, beginning at 5:30 a.m. Friday for the downhill, and 4:30 a.m. Sunday for first run of GS, and 7:30 a.m. for the second run.

The 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, kick off Friday with snowboardcross action from Solitude, Utah. NBCSN will broadcast the event live at 1:00 p.m. EST, in addition, NBC Sports Gold will stream the event live.

The World Championships continue Saturday with skicross action from Solitude. The Olympic Channel will broadcast the event live at 3:00 p.m. EST, in addition, NBC Sports Gold will stream the event live. The freeski big air event also takes place Saturday from Park City Resort with the Olympic Channel broadcasting live at 9:00 p.m., and streamed on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Team snowboardcross takes place Sunday at Solitude and will be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel at 1:00 p.m., and streamed live on Olympic Channel.com and NBC Sports Gold. The NBC Sports Network will air a rebroadcast of the event at 5:00 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Friday, Feb. 1
4:00 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1 - Maribor, SLO - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2 - Maribor, SLO - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom - Maribor, SLO - NBCSN*

Saturday, Feb. 2
4:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1 - Maribor, SLO - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2 - Maribor, SLO - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 3
2:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom - Maribor, SLO - NBCSN**
4:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

FREESKI
Saturday, Feb. 2
3:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s skicross - Solitude, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s big air - Park City, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 3
1:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s skicross - Solitude, Utah - NBCSN**
3:30 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s big air - Park City, Utah -  NBCSN**

NORDIC COMBINED
Saturday, Feb. 2
6:55 a.m. - Men’s HS140 - Klingenthal, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Klingenthal, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 3
6:15 a.m. - Men’s HS140 - Klingenthal, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Klingenthal, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Feb. 1
10:00 a.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 p.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Feb. 2
8:15 a.m. - Women’s HS97 - Hizenbach, AUS - NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Feb. 3
8:15 a.m. - Women’s HS97 - Hizenbach, AUS - NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*
9:00 p.m. - Men’s HS235 - Oberstdorf, GER - NBCSN*

SNOWBOARDING
Friday, Feb. 1
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s snowboardcross - Solitude, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 3
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s team snowboardcross - Solitude, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s team snowboardcross - Solitude, Utah - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) has 12 FIS Ski World Cup victories at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and she’ll have three opportunities to add to that total when she returns to the World Cup circuit this week with a pair of downhills and a super-G at the Italian resort. NBC Sports Gold will provide exclusive live streaming of Vonn’s return on Friday at 6:00 a.m. EST. NBC Sports Network will rebroadcast Vonn’s return with a rebroadcast of the women’s downhill at 7:00 p.m. EST Friday.

Vonn was scheduled to race last week in St. Anton, Austria, but heavy snow canceled the downhill and super-G events. The canceled downhill is rescheduled for Friday at Cortina d’Ampezzo, while the super-G has yet to be rescheduled. “I was really excited to race this weekend in St. Anton,” Vonn posted on Instagram last week, “but even more excited that it was rescheduled for Cortina next weekend ... at one of my favorite venues.”

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.), fresh off her latest World Cup giant slalom victory in Kronplatz, Italy, Tuesday, has indicated she will not participate in the Cortina downhill events but will be in the start house for Sunday’s super-G. Saturday and Sunday’s Cortina events, in addition to the men’s alpine combined, downhill and slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, will broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and stream live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. The NBC Sports Network will also air a one-hour rebroadcast of the women’s downhill and super-G Sunday at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST respectively.

Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), who was third in FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Calgary, Alberta, last weekend, leads a highly-competitive U.S. Freestyle Team into the 2019 Putnam Freestyle Cup in Lake Place, New York, this weekend with FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls and aerials. NBC will air next-day broadcast of each event on Saturday and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. EST. Both Friday’s individual moguls and Saturday evening’s aerials will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Classic events highlight the FIS Cross Country World Cup circuit this weekend in Otepaa, Estonia, with a sprint scheduled for Saturday and women’s 10k and men’s 15k classic races Sunday. Both days will be streamed live on the OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with a re-broadcast each day on the Olympic Channel.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup Laax Open takes place in Switzerland this weekend with slopestyle and halfpipe events. Nineteen U.S. Snowboard Team athletes are participating, including Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.). All events will be streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. The Olympic Channel will rebroadcast the slopestyle at 3:00 p.m. EST Friday, and air the halfpipe competition live at 11:30 a.m. EST on Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Friday, Jan. 18
4:30 a.m. - Men’s alpine combined run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Men’s alpine combined run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

Saturday, Jan. 19
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - NBCSN**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN**
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Jan. 19
6:55 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s 15k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

FREESTYLE
Friday, Jan. 18
11:00 a.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 19
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**
7:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**

NORDIC COMBINED
Friday, Jan. 18
6:00 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men’s 5k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 19
5:30 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Men’s 1-k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s 15k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Jan. 18
3:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Jan. 19
3:00 a.m. - Women’s team - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:15 p.m. - Men’s team - Zakopane, POL - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Women’s team - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
4:00 p.m. - Men’s team - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
2:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:10 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
7:30 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV*
 

SNOWBOARDING
Friday, Jan. 18
6:00 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Laax, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Laax, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Jan. 19
8:00 a.m. - Men and women’s parallel giant slalom - Rogla, SLO - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe - Laax, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

A team of 15 junior nordic combined and ski jumping athletes were named by U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USA Nordic to compete in the FIS Nordic Junior World Championships Jan. 20-27 in Lahti, Finland. The event will feature the debut of women’s nordic combined as a medal event at Junior Worlds, proof of the quick progress the sport is making towards hopeful future Olympic inclusion.

The team includes four men and four women on the jumping team, with five men and two women qualifying for the nordic combined team.

Selection was made from a series of qualifying events, including international events as well as world rankings through January 13.

Jared Shumate (Park City, Utah) is the unchallenged leader of nordic combined team. Shumate started the season with sixth and seventh places in the Steamboat Springs Continental Cup, both personal bests.

“I expect that he will fight for the top 10 in both individual competitions,” says USA Nordic coach Tomas Matura 

The rest of the nordic combined athletes will be competing in their first ever Junior World Championships. It’s a young team which will grow from the experience of competing on the world stage.

Tess Arnone (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) competed in last year’s exhibition event in Kandersteg, Switzerland. She will be looking to build on her 29th place last year and gain valuable experience as the lone U.S. entrant in the first women’s medal event. Arnone is currently ranked 10th in the Continental Cup standings – showing a very positive start to her season. Also, qualifying is Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) who had progressed quickly as a nordic combined skier after taking up jumping less than two years ago.

The women’s ski jumping team has shown great progress over the past year. The squad is young with some great up-and-coming talent. All four of the women’s team members qualified with their results at the Continental Cup level earlier this winter. 

“Last winter we had two athletes in the top 30 and our highest finish since 2013, Logan Sankey at20th. This year we have the potential to see all of these girls finish in the top 30,” said USA Nordic coach Blake Hughes.

Annika Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Paige Jones (Park City, Utah) enter the new year ranked 10th and 13th respectively in the FIS Cup standings.

Andrew Urlaub (Eau Claire, Wis.), Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Greyson Scharffs (Park City, Utah) are all members of the USA Nordic Junior National Team, which was formed for the first time this past summer. They have progressed extremely well. Canden Wilkinson, the final member of the team recently moved away from nordic combined to specialize in jumping.

“He surprised us all with securing his spot for the Junior Worlds,” says USA Nordic coach Jan Druzina. “Our goal this season is to show consistency and good jumps in the competitions. A Top 30 finish is realistic, but we know surprises are always a possibility.”

Dean, Urlaub, and Scharffs are all coming off great finishes at the Park City, Utah FIS Cups. This should give them confidence as they head towards Lahti. 

The Junior World Championships will be held on the same venue that was used for the 2017 Nordic World Championships. The first event for Nordic combined will come on January 23 with jumping beginning on January 24.

2019 FIS NORDIC JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

Men’s Nordic Combined Team

• Bennett Gamber, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Beckett Ledger, Lake Placid, N.Y., New York Ski Education Foundation
• Niklas Malacinski, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Evan Nicholas, Lyme, N.H., Ford K. Sayre Memorial Ski Council
• Jared Shumate, Park City, Utah, Park City Ski and Snowboard

Women’s Nordic Combined Team

• Tess Arnone, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Annika Malacinski, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club

Men’s Ski Jumping Team

• Decker Dean, 18, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Greyson Scharffs, 17, Park City, Utah, Park City Ski and Snowboard
• Andrew Urlaub, 17, Eau Claire, Wis., Flying Eagles Ski Club
• Canden Wilkinson, 16, Steamboat Springs, Colo., Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club

Women’s Ski Jumping Team,

• Annika Belshaw, 16, Steamboat Springs, Colo, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Paige Jones, 16, Park City, Utah, Park City Ski and Snowboard
• Anna Hoffmann, 18, Madison, Wis., Blackhawk Ski Club
• Samantha Macuga, 17, Park City, Utah, Park City Ski and Snowboard

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) is back in action to kick off the first full week of 2019 World Cup action with a Tuesday evening slalom in Flachau, Austria. NBC Sports Gold will offer exclusive live streaming as Shiffrin goes for her eighth-straight World Cup slalom victory at 12 noon EST for the first run, and 2:45 p.m. EST for the second run.

The first speed events of the season for the women are also scheduled for this weekend in St. Anton, Austria, and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), has announced that she’ll start alongside her U.S. Ski Team teammates Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.). However, all are anxiously watching the weather forecast closely as snow is expected throughout the week. NBC Sports Gold will offer exclusive live streaming of both the downhill and super-G this weekend.

Though she is the current leader in the World Cup super-G standings, Shiffrin has stated she will not race in this weekend’s super-G and downhill in St. Anton, but does plan to return to speed next weekend in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

On the men’s side, giant slalom and slalom events are scheduled for Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, and Sunday. Leading the U.S. Ski Team will be Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.), Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.). The Olympic Channel will broadcast the second run both days, with live streaming of the first and second runs available on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Fresh off the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships, newly crowned classic sprint champion Ida Sargent (Craftsbury, Vt.) joins Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.), Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.) Hailey Swirbul (El Jebel, Colo.), and Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) for this weekend’s FIS Cross Country sprint and team sprint events in Dresden, Germany.

On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.), Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley, Idaho), Erik Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) for sprint action in Dresden. Both days will be streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with daily recaps broadcast on the Olympic Channel. The L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships also wrap up Tuesday in Craftsbury, Vt., with the freestyle sprint. Live streaming begins at 8:45 a.m. EST.

Freestyle kicks back into action with a FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Calgary, Canada, their first competition of the new year. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), hot off back-to-back first-place finishes in Thaiwoo, China, will be wearing the yellow leader's bib and leading her team into Saturday’s competition. The event will be broadcast live on the Olympic channel and streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday.

Font Romeu, France, is hosting the first FIS Freeskiing World Cup slopestyle of 2019, and U.S. Freeski Team members Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.), Devin Logan (Manchester Center, Vt.), and 2018 Olympic slopestyle silver medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) are scheduled to compete. Live streaming will be available on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with a recap show airing on the Olympic Channel at 2:00 p.m. EST Saturday.

Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) leads the way for the U.S. Snowboard Team as the FIS Snowboard World Cup circuit continues with a slopestyle event in Kreischberg, Austria, Saturday and Sunday that will stream live exclusively on NBC Sports Gold.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup continues for both the men and women this weekend, with the men competing in a pair of HS135 events in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and the women competing in two HS137 events in Sapporo, Japan.

Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) will be the lone USA Nordic representative in Italy, while current Nordic Combined Continental Cup leader Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.) will be joined by Nita Englund (Florence, Wis.) and Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, N.Y.), who returns to international competition following a knee injury at last year’s Olympic Trials. OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold will provide live streaming of both events, with a recap show airing on the Olympic Channel Saturday and Sunday.

Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) continues to build form heading into this weekend’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Val di Fiemme, Italy, featuring a pair of individual events and a team event. Fletcher, who posted the fasted 10k freestyle skate in last Sunday’s World Cup, will be joined by USA Nordic teammates Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) this weekend in Italy. All events Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Tuesday, Jan. 8
12:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom run 1 - Flachau, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
2:45 p.m.  - Women’s slalom run 2 - Flachau, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
4:15 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1 - Adelboden, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s downhill - St. Anton, AUT  - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2 - Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Adelboden, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s super-G - St. Anton, AUT  - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

CROSS COUNTRY
Tuesday, Jan. 8
8:45 a.m. - U.S. Cross Country Championships freestyle sprint - Craftsbury, Vt. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming

Saturday, Jan. 12
7:15 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Dresden, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Dresden, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 13
6:40 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Monday, Jan. 14
12:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - NBCSN**

FREESKIING
Saturday, Jan. 12
4:20 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Font Romeu, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Font Romeu, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV*

FREESTYLE
Saturday, Jan. 12
3:30 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Calgary, Alberta - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

NORDIC COMBINED
Friday, Jan. 11
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:25 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:05 a.m. - Men’s team sprint 7.5k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:25 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Jan. 11
11:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 qualifying - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
2:20 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
5:00 p.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*
7:50 p.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
10:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
5:00 p.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*

SNOWBOARDING
Tuesday, Jan. 8
12:45 p.m. - Men and women’s parallel slalom - Bad Gastein, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Wednesday, Jan. 9
7:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team parallel slalom - Bad Gastein, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
6:30 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Kreischberg, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard prides itself in having some of the most elite winter sport athletes in the world. Without the help of top-tier training centers and development clubs, however, the goal of being the best in the world would be nearly impossible for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes.

The High Performance Center program, which was initiated in 2017, is the main way for the organization to connect with the growing training facilities across the country, as well as identify aspiring athletes that have the potential for the national team. This program encourages certified gold and silver clubs, who have excellence in athletic development, sports science, and sports medicine, to become a designated High Performance Center (otherwise known as HPC) with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, in hopes to improve the national system and developmental pathway for athletes.

“The whole process is to help elevate everyone,” says High Performance Coordinator for U.S. Ski and Snowboard Calin Butterfield. “We try to approach areas where we feel we can add value to bring everyone up to the same level, as well as learn from these centers to internally improve.” Butterfield, along with his team, has the goal of implementing consistent communication and collaboration with these clubs to elevate the nation as a whole in preparing athletes for snow sports competition.

The process for becoming an HPC for U.S. Ski & Snowboard starts with registering as a U.S. Ski & Snowboard club. Any U.S. Ski & Snowboard club has the opportunity to become certified as a bronze, silver, or gold status training facility by proving organizational, administrative, sports programming, and financial stability. Once a club is considered silver or gold status, they have the option to apply for HPC status and be reviewed for the program. According to Butterfield, the club must have “a fully functioning performance team,” which includes sports medicine staff, performance training or athletic development coaches on site, medical directors or strong relationships with a medical clinic, a facility to train, and some access to nutrition for athletes.  

Once a club becomes a High Performance Center, U.S. Ski & Snowboard provides consistent structured programming throughout the year. “We do multiple education workshops, where we go to them, try to bring them together as regions, or bring them all here to the Center of Excellence. Both HPC staff and our own staff benefit by learning in a collective, unified way,” says Butterfield. In addition to workshops, the staff of each HPC is encouraged to visit the Center of Excellence (COE) in Park City, Utah to spend time with national team coaches/sports development staff and create a proper communication network. “I also make visits to each HPC at least twice a year to observe, talk shop, and form that deeper connection,” says Butterfield.

Although it is only in its second year, the HPC program is rapidly growing to include some of the best training facilities and clubs in the country. In the first year, eight Gold-level clubs opted in to become an HPC: Burke Mountain Academy, Killington Mountain School, Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS), Stratton Mountain, Carrabassett Valley Academy, Squaw Valley Mountain, Sugarbowl Mountain, and Sun Valley Ski Academy. Almost 13 national alpine team athletes came from these clubs prior to their HPC designation, proving how worthy and valuable they are to U.S. Ski & Snowboard.  

Starting in the summer of 2018, two new developmental clubs, Proctor Academy ski area in New Hampshire and Mammoth Mountain in California, received the HPC title. These two clubs were reviewed and quickly accepted after it was decided that a partnership would be mutually beneficial. With many athletes training at both these facilities, as well as having long-standing relationships with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, there is much excitement for these partnerships.

"The impact from Proctor's HPC status has been immediate for our athletes and for our coaching staff. Collaboration with peer HPC clubs and talented U.S. Ski and Snowboard staff has provided real-time access to information, training, and collaboration to keep our program at the forefront of new developments in the sport of alpine skiing. From the weight room to on hill training environment, the partnership validates our commitment to keep our program advancing, and never allowing us to get complacent."

- David Salathe, Proctor Academy’s Alpine Program Director

“Our longstanding commitment to athletic excellence has been a Mammoth Mountain value since its inception. Becoming an official High Performance Center with US Ski and Snowboard was an integral step in our ongoing tradition of supporting the Olympic movement. We look forward to our continued partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Their Sport Science program, staff, and resources are truly world class. The Mammoth Mountain Ski & Snowboard Team is excited to see the development of our athletes and staff. Additionally, we are honored to play a part in the large-scale strategy of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s quest to further build upon the strength of the country’s winter sports programs.”     

-  Pete Korfiatis, Mammoth Mountain’s Director of Athletics

The potential impact of these HPCs is crucial for further success in winter sports. Not only will HPCs provide athletes to U.S. Ski & Snowboard Teams, but they will assist in creating a more cohesive, consolidated system for teaching and training.

“We are going to need to lean on the HPC clubs to further drive education at local and regional clubs,” says Butterfield. With the natural sharing of personnel, methods, techniques, and even athletes, the HPC program has a goal of unifying the snowsport community. “We are trying to systemize so that a) everyone is speaking the same language and b) we as a national governing body (NGB) are doing what we need to be doing to support the growth of the system outside of just the central location here at the Center of Excellence,” says Butterfield.

Troy Taylor, High Performance Director for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, agrees with this goal. “This is a 2 to 3-way education process. Yes, it’s about our systems and processes being implemented into these clubs, but it’s also about us learning techniques from them and about clubs collaborating between themselves and sharing the best practices,” he remarks. “From our perspective, we really value these partnerships and the motivation towards driving these programs towards success.”

With consistent collaboration, a clear vision for improvement, and the dedication to creating a more unified system, the HPC program has the potential to have a lot of impact on the success of the United States in snowsport competition. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is nothing short of proud to able to partner with these powerful centers and continue the work to become the best in the world.