U.S. Ski & Snowboard today announced its partnership with R-Zero, the first biosafety technology company dedicated to reducing the spread of infectious diseases. 

Ahead of a critical Olympic season, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has incorporated R-Zero’s IoT-enabled, whole-room UV disinfection system, Arc, into its daily health and safety protocols at its Park City, Utah training facility, the USANA Center of Excellence. Arc’s hospital-grade, sustainable UV disinfection allows U.S. Ski & Snowboard to safely eliminate pathogenic risk on surfaces and air without the use of harmful chemicals. The addition of R-Zero’s biosafety technology is part of the organization’s innovative approach to ensuring U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes are able to continue performing at their highest while training for and competing in Beijing in 2022. 

“Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve been taking a multifaceted approach to ensure our athletes are protected from health risks across the board, and R-Zero’s partnership is a big added step in the right direction,” said Gillian Bower, Director of High Performance at U.S. Ski & Snowboard and a 15-year veteran of the organization. “Health and performance are a priority—not just for our athletes but for our staff. R-Zero’s Arc adds a safe, highly effective and sustainable way we can ensure we’re reducing risks in all spaces and for all parts of the organization.”

Currently, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is using four Arc units in the USANA Center of Excellence to disinfect spaces such as the weight room, physical therapy facilities, performance lab and their aerial practice area, which includes ramps, trampolines and foam landing pits. To optimize athlete health and performance, the team runs R-Zero’s UV-C systems daily in these high-traffic training locations. Later this month, the team will also ship two Arc units to Beijing for use in the upcoming Games. 

“COVID-19 illuminated the need for increased health and performance conditions for professional athletes across the world,” said Grant Morgan, co-founder and CEO of R-Zero. “As the Delta variant continues to surge globally, ensuring the health security of team staff and athletes will continue to remain critical. We are proud to support the entire U.S. Ski & Snowboard organization in creating safer indoor athletic training environments, both here in Utah and internationally.”
 

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About R-Zero
R-Zero is the first biosafety technology company dedicated to making the indoor spaces we share, safer and clinically clean. Founded to help organizations protect the health of people they serve, R-Zero is dedicated to developing the most effective and innovative disinfection technologies, to reduce the spread of all infectious diseases. R-Zero’s first product, Arc [an IoT-enabled, whole-room UV disinfection device] is currently enabling a higher level of health safety for hundreds of thousands of people, across both public and private sector organizations, without the use of chemicals. Today, R-Zero is pioneering the first continuous, automated disinfection ecosystem, enabling every organization to measure and manage indoor health risk with the same level of sophistication and technology that’s become standard across virtually every other industry. Informed by data science, built with AI, ML, and IoT connected hardware, R-Zero’s intelligent disinfection platform provides greater visibility, automation and even smarter risk reduction within the indoor spaces where humans spend their time. R-Zero is backed by leading venture capital firms, as well as thought-leaders from the health, hospitality, sports, commercial real estate, impact, and other industries. For more information, visit www.rzero.com. 
 

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

Creative Assets:
Photo assets of the R-Zero Arc system installed in the USANA Center of Excellence are linked here for use. 
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today the naming of Gillian Bower as the organization's Director of High Performance. As Director of High Performance, Bower will lead more than 30 full-time staff and hundreds of volunteers in the areas of sport science, including athletic development coaches, clinical and sports psychologists, dietitians and data scientists; sports medicine, including certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, doctors and allied health professionals; as well as coaches and club educators, to support U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s national teams and athletes. 

Bower is a Canadian-trained physiotherapist with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Montana and comes into the role with over 15 years of experience at the organization. She has served as a senior clinical specialist, the lead physical therapist, and most recently, the director of sports medicine. 

Bower was instrumental in developing and implementing a COVID-19 plan that ensured athletes remained safe throughout training and competition. Over the last year, she conducted roughly 15,000 tests and with a positivity rate of less than 0.5%. Her work resulted in being named the 2021 Service Provider of the Year by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Bower brings a passion for combining true integrations of sports medicine, athletic development, sport science, coaching, nutrition, psychology and data integration to drive athlete success. 

“I am excited to see Gillian take this critical position heading High Performance,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “Gillian has demonstrated her leadership throughout her years with the team, but this past year she excelled in managing our COVID-19 challenges on top of her normal duties. This meant an extraordinary increase in administrative and complex work for Gillian and her teammates in Medical and High Performance as those departments navigated this new world with skill and resilience. Long hours and endless challenges were the norm. Please welcome Gillian as our new Director of High Performance.”

“Gillian was the best possible choice for the position,” said her predecessor Troy Taylor. “I could not be happier with the selection and there is certainly no one more qualified or respected by athletes and staff alike. I am honored and feel immense personal satisfaction that the organization felt there was such an amazing candidate pool internally at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. I wish her the best of luck as she leads a talented team into the 2021-22 season and beyond.”

Bower replaces Taylor who was in the position of Director of High Performance for the past six years

“Troy has been an amazing mentor and I know I have some big shoes to fill,” said Bower. “I’m forever grateful for what he’s done for me and our organization. I’m excited to pick up where he left off and I look forward to the upcoming Olympic season. Our high performance team has a strong culture in place and an immense knowledge base. I am proud to be part of the continued growth and success within our department and at the organization as a whole.”

Minnesota sport leader Darryl Landstrom, a long-time regional and national volunteer sport leader, was honored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard with its highest honor - the Julius Blegen Award. Landstrom, who grew up as a ski jumper and nordic combined skier in Duluth’s Chester Park Ski Club, found his pathway as an alpine ski racing leader, first in Central Division and now chair of the national Alpine Sport Committee.

Landstrom became the 75th recipient of the Julius Blegen Award dating back to 1946. The award recognizes established history of distinguished service and a lasting contribution to U.S. Ski & Snowboard and its membership. It is named in honor of Julius Blegen, a key leader of the National Ski Association in the 1930s.

He was recognized Friday, May 21 during the virtual annual meeting of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard board of directors.

“Darryl has been a powerful and unique leader, volunteering his time for decades to bring people together behind the scenes in our sports,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chairman Kipp Nelson. “He has been a true governance pioneer for our organization, always able to align everyone around a common direction to move the sport forward.”

When an injury sidelined Landstrom from competition at the age of 21, he turned his attention to volunteering, primarily in support of junior alpine ski racing in the then U.S. Ski Association’s Central Division. His leadership skills and motivation to help youth ultimately saw him lead alpine sport committees in Central Division, Rocky/Central Region and today as the national Alpine Sport Committee chair and a member of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors.

His work in the midwest was pivotal in helping to increase the international ski racing presence in the Central Division. He was instrumental in scheduling the first night FIS slalom at Boyne Mountain, Mich. as well as securing giant slalom course homologation at Lutsen Mountain, Minn., now a perennial stop on the spring FIS racing tour in the USA.

Landstrom has also served an important role within collegiate ski racing. He has served as a board member of the U.S. Collegiate ski Association as well as chair of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Collegiate Subcommittee and as the U.S. representative to the International Ski Federation’s University Racers Subcommittee.

Along with his service to alpine ski racing, Landstrom has also volunteered to help with myriad other sports organizations. Among them are USA Nordic, the national leadership organization for ski jumping and nordic combined, the Minneapolis-based Loppet Foundation, a multi-sport program known for its cross country skiing programs, and the Minneapolis Ski Club, a leading ski jumping club in the Twin Cities.

Landstrom’s positive impact on the sport has stemmed from his ability to bring people together on issues and create synergies - known as an approachable, transparent and athlete-centric leader. He was instrumental following a 2013 McKinsey study in aligning division, regional and national sport leaders to create affiliation agreements and to update the U.S. Ski & Snowboard bylaws. He continued that work to restructure the governance of the Alpine Sport Committee, creating a more impactful governing body.

“I'm both honored and humbled,” said Landstrom on receiving the award. “When I consider past recipients, it is hard to imagine being part of this legacy group.” He cited numerous role models including past Blegen recipients Anna McIntyre, who nominated him, former board chair Bill Slattery, his longtime friend the late Bob Dart and last year’s recipient Paine. “They have been role models for me and I hope that I can be the same for future Blegen Award recipients.”

Landstrom credits his parents’ support and the friendships he gained with other 10-year-olds as a motivating factor for his initial pathway into the sport. And the ongoing friendships with peers have kept him going over decades. “The friendships during my tenure with U.S. Ski & Snowboard are enormous and invaluable,” he said. “I admire the commitment and transparency of staff, the alpine community and the other disciplines with which I continue to engage.”

In addition to his governance work, Landstrom has spent plenty of time on the snow from packing the landing hill on ski jumps, hauling gunny sacks of snow up scaffolding, working as a gate judge and referee, and even a stint as timer and announcer for divisional alpine races.

This past year Landstrom took on leadership of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s COVID Commission, developing policies and principles which helped guide the organization through a challenging season.

Today, the Duluth native lives in Wayzata, where he is a Twin Cities businessman. He splits time with his mountain home in Winter Park, Colo., and remains a very active skier himself, as well as following the career of his U16 alpine ski racing grandson. He was nominated for the award by Anna McIntyre, the 1996 recipient of the Blegen Award. 

JULIUS BLEGEN AWARD HONOREES

• 1946 Roger Langley
• 1947 Arthur J. Barth
• 1948 Fred McNeil
• 1949 John Hostvedt
• 1950 Fred C. Bellmar
• 1951 Douglas M. Burckett
• 1952 F.C. Koziol
• 1953 Albert E. Sigal
• 1954 Harold A. Grinden
• 1955 Burton H. Boyum
• 1956 John B. Carson
• 1957 Olav Ulland
• 1958 T. Lee McCracken
• 1959 Robert C. Johnstone
• 1960 Dr. Amos R. 'Bud' Little and Malcolm McLane
• 1961 Sepp Ruschp
• 1962 J. Stanley Mullin
• 1963 Ralph A. 'Doc' DesRoches
• 1964 Robert Beattie
• 1965 Merritt H. Stiles
• 1966 Evelyn Masbruch
• 1967 C. Allison Merrill
• 1968 Willy J. Schaeffler
• 1969 William Berry
• 1970 Earl D. Walters
• 1971 Gustav Raaum
• 1972 James Balfanz
• 1973 Charles T. Gibson
• 1974 Sven Wiik
• 1975 Byron Nishkian
• 1976 Dr. J. Leland Sosman
• 1977 Gloria Chadwick
• 1978 Richard Goetzman
• 1979 Graham Anderson
• 1980 Bill Beck
• 1981 Not awarded
• 1982 Hank Tauber
• 1983 Robert Thomson
• 1984 Ed Hammerle
• 1985 Robert Oden
• 1986 Bill Slattery
• 1987 Jim Page
• 1988 Whiting Willauer
• 1989 James H. “Red” Carruthers
• 1990 Nelson Bennett
• 1991 Tom Corcoran
• 1992 Nick Badami
• 1993 Serge Lussi
• 1994 Fraser West
• 1995 Gerald F. Groswold
• 1996 Anna McIntyre
• 1997 Faris Taylor
• 1998 Irv Kagan
• 1999 Thom Weisel
• 2000 Dr. Richard Steadman
• 2001 Warren Lowry (posthumously)
• 2002 Not Awarded
• 2003 Jim McCarthy
• 2004 Howard Peterson
• 2005 Michael Berry
• 2006 Peter Kellogg
• 2007 Charles Ferries
• 2008 Gary Black, Jr.
• 2009 Lee Todd
• 2010 Tom Winters
• 2011 Joe Lamb
• 2012 John Garnsey
• 2013 Barry 'Bear' Bryant
• 2014 Bill Marolt
• 2015 Allen Church
• 2016 Bob Dart (posthumously)
• 2017 Ted Sutton
• 2018 Bruce Crane (posthumously)
• 2019 Thelma Hoessler
• 2020 Dexter Paine
• 2021 Darryl Landstrom