U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today a new multi-year partnership with INTENSE, making the lauded brand the Official Mountain Bike and Bike Supplier of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboard Team and U.S. Freeski Team, in an agreement that will extend through 2023.

Common on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Tour, INTENSE will bring its trusted technology to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s elite athletes and passionate fans. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are known for their skills on snow and many incorporate cycling into their cross-training programs, finding the speed and endurance work a near-perfect foil to their sport-specific routines.

“INTENSE has a proven track record with elite athletes on the Mountain Bike World Cup Tour, so it’s exciting to introduce this brand to our World Cup skiers and riders, and their fans” said Michael O’Conor, Chief Revenue Officer for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “INTENSE shares our passion for playing and competing in the mountains and fostering a love of sport no matter if you’re a World Cup athlete or weekend warrior.”

As part of the agreement, INTENSE will provide U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes with bikes, available for use from the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence, in Park City, Utah, which has immediate access to over 400 miles of mountain bike trails throughout Park City. Fans may expect to see INTENSE at domestic ski and snowboard competition this season, pending availability.

”INTENSE was born racing in the mountains. We are super excited to support the ski and snowboard athletes and enthusiasts that not only use mountain bikes as a training platform, but more importantly engage in the active mountain lifestyle during the summer months,” said Jeff Steber, Founder and CEO of INTENSE. “I have always been a skier and my first “corporate job” was for Steamboat Springs ski resort. It’s so cool to see this come full circle and bridge two sports so near and dear to me! It’s an honor for INTENSE to support such an active and engaged group.”

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ABOUT INTENSE
Founded in Lake Elsinore, CA in 1993 and crafted with over 25-years of racing heritage, INTENSE mountain bikes inspire confidence to ride and a striking design. From World Cup downhill races to your first trail ride, experience the INTENSE difference.

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 2020, 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.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) confirmed the 2020-21 World Cup Calendars across all disciplines during the FIS Autumn Meetings, which took place online September 23 - October 9. The 2020-21 alpine, cross country, freestyle, freeski, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping calendars are live and available online at fis-ski.com. 

Freestyle, freeski, and snowboard World Cup competition are set to return to the United States for the 2020-21 season. Three American venues are scheduled to host 22 starts between genders, with freeski and snowboard competitions at Copper Mountain, Colo., and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Calif., and freestyle competitions at Deer Valley Resort, Utah. Previously announced, the FIS Alpine World Cup tour will remain in Europe this season. 

The 2020-21 competition season will look different than in years past due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is working closely with its resort partners and local health authorities to provide competition environments that adhere to required guidelines. 

“The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt across the global sports world, and after having our 2019-20 season cut short, we are especially fortunate to have the opportunity to host events on home snow this season,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “We are grateful to our resort partners in their commitment to providing world-class freestyle, freeski and snowboard competition, and highlighting the talents of our amazing athletes. We have seen success in other sports resuming and are learning from them. COVID-19 has challenged us to be more nimble in our planning, and while we can definitely say what we are doing one week from now, we understand circumstances may change months from now. We are working closely with FIS, our resort partners and local health authorities to plan what these events will look like, and look forward to sharing that information when available.”

The 2020-21 Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix is expected to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year with snowboard and freeski slopestyle and halfpipe competition returning to Copper Mountain, Colo., in December and Mammoth Mountain, Calif., in February.

As is tradition, the first halfpipe World Cup is scheduled from Dec. 16-19 at Copper Mountain, Colo. pending local and state approvals. To encourage social distancing, there will not be spectator zones for the halfpipe competitions at Copper Mountain this season and fans are encouraged to tune in to watch or stream on NBC properties. 

The second annual Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover is also planned for Copper Mountain the weekend of Dec.17-19, pending local and state approvals, and is scheduled to feature both freeski and snowboard World Cup big air competition. The 2020 edition of the Visa Big Air will benefit from natural snow conditions and Woodward Copper’s jump building expertise. Copper Mountain has proved itself as a world-class big air venue and even hosted an Olympic qualifier in the lead up to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang. To encourage social distancing, there will not be spectator zones for the big air competitions at Copper Mountain this season and fans are encouraged to tune in to watch or stream on NBC properties.

From Feb. 3-6, the Grand Prix is positioned to return to the park and pipe mecca that is Mammoth Mountain, Calif. and the famed Unbound Terrain Parks for slopestyle and halfpipe competition, pending local and state approvals. U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, Judd Henkes, Toby Miller, Dusty Henricksen, Sonora Alba, and Carly Margulies all call Mammoth Mountain home and year after year look forward to competing on home snow. 

The FIS Freestyle World Cup is set to return for its 23rd year at Deer Valley Resort on the storied White Owl and Champion courses, pending local and state approvals. The 2021 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International is planned for February 4-6, with moguls Feb. 4, aerials Feb. 5, and dual moguls Feb. 6. Competitions will take place during the day, a notable change from what are historically night events under the lights. To encourage social distancing, there will not be spectator zones for the freestyle competitions at Deer Valley this season and fans are encouraged to tune in to watch or stream on NBC properties. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recognizes that COVID-19 has impacted different parts of the country in different ways and with different timing, and therefore specific event information will be forthcoming as each local organizing committee works through its specific protocols. All events are contingent on local and state health department approvals based on existing and future COVID-19 rules and regulations. FIS, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, local organizing committees, and host venues are taking a unified approach consistent with guidance from federal, state, and local health authorities. 

2020-21 FIS World Cup Calendars

• Alpine

• Cross Country

• Freestyle

• Freeski

• Snowboard

• Nordic Combined

• Ski Jumping

Helpful Resources

• U.S. Ski & Snowboard COVID-19 Information

• FIS COVID-19 Information

Salt Lake City, Utah - Wintersteiger, official supplier to U.S. Ski & Snowboard and exclusive tuning partner for the Center for Excellence, will again be offering equipment support at the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at official training site Copper Mountain, Colo. during the fall training block this year. Wintersteiger’s World Cup dominance and support of the U.S. Ski Team make them the obvious machine tuning choice for both the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team and any race programs training at Copper Mountain.

Wintersteiger returns to Copper Mountain with Racing Technician Mike Beers and Swix Alpine Director Graham Lonetto to offer a full complement of services: ski evaluation, new ski prep, stone grinding, ceramic disc edging, and Wax Future cycling. These technicians will have a complete range of state-of-the-art tuning equipment, including a Scout Plus. The Wintersteiger Scout offers the highest caliber ceramic disc finishing for the most precise tuning of side and base edges as well as World Cup proven grinds to ensure the smoothest, fastest base possible.

Last season during the month of November, hundreds of skis were evaluated and, as a result, many of those skis were tuned by professional technicians onsite. “It was an amazing service for our up-and-coming athletes, many of whom have not received this type of ski preparation before," offered Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. “For 2020, we are excited to continue and grow our partnership with Wintersteiger and Swix at Copper and beyond.”

The temporary shop in Copper will supplement Wintersteiger’s established partner locations in Colorado that are using the same machinery and processes found in factory race rooms around the world. With the ultimate goal of minimizing equipment as a variable in the racing success equation, it is critical that the machines local shops utilize are as serious as the athletes they service. 

More information on location, services, and timing will be available on the US Ski Team, Wintersteiger, and Swix social media pages.  To schedule service at Copper, please contact Mike Beers – mike.beers@wintersteiger.com. 

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With four decades of experience and more than 30,000 ski tuning machines sold worldwide—including 1500 automated ski tuning machines—Wintersteiger is the global market leader in racing service solutions. The Austrian, German, and US Ski Teams as well as ski manufacturers Atomic, Fischer, Head, Rossignol, and Salomon rely on the highest-quality results provided by Wintersteiger ski tuning machines to achieve competition success.

Live Like Sam Day, created in partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Live Like Sam Foundation, is coming up Saturday, Oct. 10. For this year’s second-annual celebration, the organization is not only honoring the legacy of the late internationally-ranked freeskiing champion, Sam Jackenthal, but is celebrating the nonprofit’s renewed focus on providing educational programming and mental wellness initiatives for youth communities.

On Oct. 10, 2015, the Park City community came together for Sam Jackenthal’s Celebration of Life following his sudden passing during a tragic skiing accident in Australia. While his death left behind a huge hole in the hearts of his fellow Parkites, his father, Ron Jackenthal, was determined to honor his legacy of love, kindness, community, and self-compassion by giving back to youth in need. In 2019, the Live Like Sam Foundation officially launched, getting support from partners all over the nation, including U.S. Ski & Snowboard, USASA, Vail Resorts, Woodward Camp, and many more.

Since the organization’s founding, Live Like Sam has provided more than $100,000 in merit and needs-based scholarships to deserving youth who exemplify the Live Like Sam core values of character, athletics, responsibility, and education. U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s core values of integrity, passion, fun, team, excellence, and grit closely align with Live Like Sam’s mission, making the partnership between the two organizations a perfect fit.

“I am very excited to have such a great partnership with Live Like Sam and we are looking forward to what future collaboration will bring,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of Sport Education Gareth Trayner. “The mental health and wellbeing of our athletes, coaches and members is of critical importance to us and we are always looking for ways to better resource and support our communities. The incredible wealth of material that Live like Sam is producing will play a pivotal role as we move forward in building the next generation of lifelong lovers of sport."

As Live Like Sam looks to the future, the organization has big plans to help youth communities gain access to mental wellness resources so they can become emotionally, socially, and mentally fit for adulthood. Part of the foundation’s renewed focus includes a commitment to develop educational programming that aims to destigmatize mental wellness and help youth communities strengthen their coping mechanisms through practicing self-compassion.

“We’re not an organization focused on loss, we’re an organization focused on life,” explains Ron. “Sam is so full of life: Even after his passing, he is still making a positive impact on people’s lives. Our goal is to help others live a positive, compassionate life like Sam’s, and part of that means creating the tools and resources for them to do exactly that.”

On Oct. 10, Live Like Sam invites everyone to celebrate Live Like Sam Day either online or by attending the live event at Utah Olympic Park from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m MDT. The day encourages people to put self-compassion and kindness first by performing acts of self-love and random acts of kindness. For those participating online, the organization has provided a list of self-compassion and random acts of kindness activities that people can use as a source of inspiration to celebrate the day. You can get involved by posting about your celebration online using #LiveLikeSamDay. Live Like Sam is also hosting a silent auction online for those unable to attend the live event in-person. The silent auction features more than 50 auction items valued at more than $50,000, and all proceeds collected will go towards furthering the Live Like Sam mission to champion mental wellness in youth communities. Learn more about the Live Like Sam Foundation by visiting www.livelikesam.org.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Sports Education Department has partnered with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to create a Club Excellence Fall Summit Webinar Series, which will take place every Wednesday evening in October beginning on October 7. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard's development programs support the vision and mission to make the United States the "Best in the World" in Olympic skiing and snowboarding. But that wouldn't be possible without engaging and dedicated coaches at all levels who are out there working to support athletes striving to reach their full potential.

The Club Excellence 2020 Fall Summit will aim to spark insights into each topic's foundational principles by increasing awareness, providing practical examples from the ski and snowboard community, and engaging in reflective exercises. These sessions are designed to build upon one another, keeping participants focused on what is most important: coaching. This Fall Summit includes five sections of participant engagement for each webinar: Pre-Work, 60 Minute Presentation, Panel Discussion, Post-Work, and Survey.

 Register for all four Sessions: HERE

*Please note all four sessions will be recorded and available for viewing following the conclusion of each session. 

 Session Details: 

• Session 1 - Coaching Philosophy: Your Why, Values, & Mission - October 7
  In order for you to have an influence on others, you need to know yourself. Your philosophy is an intentional guide to align your thinking, your values and your behaviors as a coach...
• Session 2 - Planning: Intentions, Standards, Communication - October 14
  Success for our athletes tomorrow depends on how we prepare for it today. In these incredibly complex and uncertain times, identifying target themes, establishing standards of performance, and clearly communicating to staff and athletes is indispensable...
• Session 3 - Coaching: Attention, Cueing, & Questioning - October 21
  Have you ever considered how YOUR performance in training influences your athlete’s learning? Enhancing how you start training, using intentional language to coach during training, and capturing the learning at the end of training will ignite your athlete’s skill development...
• Session 4 - Review: Debrief, Feedback, & Next Steps - October 28
  One of the greatest losses in potential doesn’t happen before or during training, but at the very end.  Deliberately debriefing captures new information and insights to close the learning loop for the day, and carry progress into tomorrow...

The United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) is hosting a golf fundraiser with two different ways to participate and support the grassroots development of U.S. snowboard and freeski athletes.

USASA is a 501(c)3 non-profit that acts as the first step in the Olympic pipeline, supporting the development of U.S. snowboard and freeski athletes through 500 regional events held annually. By supporting USASA you're fostering the development of the next generation of U.S. Ski & Snowboard icons and Olympians.

SUPPORT USASA VIRTUALLY:

From Sept. 1-25, USASA, along with 18Birdies App, will be hosting a virtual golf fundraising event. Golfers participate in individual stroke play at the golf club of their choice and compete against other virtual USASA tournament players. 18Birdies will weigh each courses’ difficulty using their customized algorithm creating a virtual leaderboard that lets you know where you stand throughout the event period (Sept. 2-25). Prizes will be awarded to the top golfers.

HOW TO JOIN AND PLAY!

Play your round of golf at over 35,000 courses listed in 18Birdies App anytime between Sept. 1 and Sept. 25

• Click here to buy tickets to attend the event virtually
• Once you purchase your ticket, you will get an event code in your email
• Download 18Birdies App on googleplay or the appstore to your smartphone
• Enter your event code
• Choose any course and play your round of Individual Stroke Play
• Check 18Birdies virtual leaderboard to see where you rank with your friends and other USASA virtual players

SUPPORT USASA IN PERSON: First Annual USASA Golf Classic: 

On Sept. 25, USASA will also be hosting the First Annual USASA Golf Classic fundraiser presented by Alpine Valley and Devil’s Head Resort with guest Olympians Justin Reiter and U.S. Snowboard Team Alumnus Jonathan Cheever at the McHenry Country Club in McHenry, Ill. The tournament will be Best Ball format with loads of fun prizes including a $20,000 hole-in-one and a four day golf package at French Lick Resort.

Click here to learn more about USASA and to enter the USASA Golf Classic. 
 

September 10 marks World Suicide Prevention Day, an opportunity to remember those affected by suicide, create awareness, remove stigma, and to focus efforts on directing treatment to those who need it most.

Mental health and suicide prevention are more than just topics to focus on for one day or one month a year. Findings from a national survey involving over 2,000 U.S. adults (conducted by The Harris Poll) released Sept. 1 found the overwhelming majority (81%) believe, as a result of COVID-19, suicide prevention needs to be a national priority.

As the Olympic National Governing Body of skiing and snowboarding in the United States, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s mission is to empower athletes to achieve excellence, including providing the resources and tools necessary to ensure mental well being. Through a partnership with The Speedy Foundation, U.S. Ski & Snowboard will provide mandatory QPR Institute training for all staff. QPR Training will also be free and highly encouraged for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, members, and board members. 

QPR Training is based on three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide: Question, Persuade, and Refer. The QPR Institute’s mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. Those trained in QPR learn how to recognize suicide warning signs and are better equipped to question, persuade and refer someone in potential danger to help. QPR can be learned in as little as one hour. 

To register for complimentary (normally $29.95), online & on-demand QPR training via The Speedy Foundation, follow the steps below:

1. Click here: qprtraining.com/setup
2. Enter this code: SPEEDYFOUND
3. Select Create Account
4. Complete and submit your registration form
5. QPR will display (and email you) the newly created Username and Password
6. You can then log-in to begin training at qprtraining.com
7. Learn to save a life.

Mandatory staff QPR training is an important step in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s recently revamped internal mental health committee’s plan and oversight of the organization’s mental health resources. This internal committee is led by USOPC Sr. Sport Psychologist Alexander Cohen and U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sports Medicine Director and Lead Physical Therapist Gillian Bower, with participation from key staff members and coach and athlete representation. U.S. Ski & Snowboard has also made an annual commitment to complete the NCAA Mental Health Best Practices Self Assessment. Results and recommendations are reported directly to the mental health committee for review and implementation.

More detail on the newly structured committee will be posted on the organization’s mental health and wellness section of usskiandsnowboard.org prior to the start of the 2020-21 competition season.

If you or someone you know is experiencing an urgent mental health issue, we encourage you to text HOME to 741741, or call (800) 273-8255 to speak to a mental health professional. In the process of helping yourself, you may be inspiring courage in others to seek help as well.

If you are a U.S. Ski & Snowboard athlete, member, or staff, and feel you need support or would like to talk, don’t hesitate to reach out to USOPC Sr. Sport Psychologist Alexander Cohen as a resource.

Alexander Cohen, Ph.D., CMPC
Sr. Sport Psychologist
United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
alexander.cohen@usoc.org
(O) +1 719-866-3180 (M) +1 719-216-6376

QPR Institute
QPRInstitute.com
QPR For Sports
QPR Quiz

Mental Health Resources
USOPC/Team USA
The Speedy Foundation
Michael Phelps Foundation
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Crisis Text Line
Mental Health First Aid