PARK CITY, Utah - Live Like Sam and the Sam Jackenthal Fund has partnered with U.S. Ski & Snowboard with the shared objective of providing young athletes with the tools to succeed in sports and life with a sense of gratitude.

The Sam Jackenthal Fund of Park City Community Foundation and LiveLikeSam.org was founded by Ron Jackenthal, the father of the late Sam Jackenthal, a Park City, Utah, local and young man of strong character and values who was also a budding and promising world-class athlete. The 16-year-old freeskiing champion passed away in 2015 from injuries suffered in a training accident in Australia. Since Sam’s passing, Live Like Sam has specified a clear set of core principles (CARE) which support the following services: creating curriculum and an education platform with training modules, fostering a network of community service partnerships, as well as establishing funding for merit and need-based scholarships.

“I am really excited about U.S. Ski & Snowboard supporting LiveLikeSam.org,” said Julie Glusker, Director of Athlete Career and Education at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “The mission of Live Like Sam parallels our own organizational mission, ‘to lead, encourage, and support athletes in achieving excellence by empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers, and fans.’”

“Our whole athlete development philosophy at the national team level must have a solid underpinning as young and developing athletes navigate their individual pathways, and Live Like Sam can provide a relevant, meaningful, principled foundation for this process,” added Glusker. “Steeping athlete progression in the Live Like Sam core principles of community, athletics, responsibility, and education (CARE) will ensure that developing athletes grow into capable, caring, and compassionate competitors. Athletes at all levels can appreciate, relate to, and benefit from the lessons of LiveLikeSam.org."

“U.S. Ski & Snowboard's whole athlete development model and mission will benefit from the meaningful foundation of Live Like Sam programs,” said Ron Jackenthal. “As young athletes individually develop in life and in sport, they will thrive athletically and emotionally from the LiveLikeSam.org mission and lessons. I see Live Like Sam as being highly complementary to a performance-based organization. We are focused on whole person development as well as whole athlete development and helping athletes build character on and off the podium. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard values of excellence, passion, integrity, community, team, grit, fun, and safety all align with and complement the Live Like Sam CARE principles.”

The partnership is a natural fit for both organizations as U.S. Ski & Snowboard will provide Live Like Sam a nationwide distribution platform from which to promote its mission, curriculum and philanthropy. Live Like Sam will provide U.S. Ski & Snowboard its curriculum based on CARE principles.

Live Like Sam, although relatively new, has already started making significant contributions to the winter sports community. Since 2017, the Sam Jackenthal Fund has raised more than $125,000 to support more 100 total awards. Additionally, in just a few months since expanding the organization, Live Like Sam brought on 25 community partners. Some of these partners include the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Ski Utah, Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, Woodward, USASA Big Mountain West, and Utah’s own Youth Sports Alliance, Park City Education Foundation, Christian Center of Park City, the Park City Community Foundation, and many more.

In classic Sam Jackenthal fashion, U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Live Like Sam will move forward together with a go-big-or-go-home approach as well as embracing Sam’s coined phrase and philosophy of “Just Jackenthal it!” in their commitment to sport and, more importantly, the community he loved.

“When I think about what Sam would want, I realize he wants us all to go out and live large, be there for others, and be integrated into the community,” said Jackenthal. “That thought has been a big inspiration for me through this loss - and I can now share Sam’s legacy!”

#JoinTheMovement and sign up at www.livelikesam.org and follow @LiveLikeSam.org on Facebook and Twitter as well as @Just.Jackenthal.It and #LiveLikeSam on Instagram. In addition, please consider donating and promoting Live Like Sam to your community and social media network.

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 2019, 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.

About Live Like Sam
Live Like Sam wants every young athlete to be able to develop the confidence and utilize the tools necessary to excel in life – as an athlete and as a person. Fueled by the Sam Jackenthal Fund, Live Like Sam empowers the positive personal development of young athletes through educational programs and services, community-based partnerships, and merit and need-based scholarships. For more information, visit www.livelikesam.org.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, has announced today that Deer Valley Resort will serve as an Official Training Site for American freestyle ski athletes through 2022. The agreement will see U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes training on Deer Valley’s world-class moguls and aerial sites through the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.

“Deer Valley’s Champion run is known as the premier run of the Freestyle World Cup,” said Luke Bodensteiner, Chief of Sport for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “To have it available to our team for training throughout the season affords us world-class on-snow preparation nearby our Center of Excellence and the Utah Olympic Park, rounding out the best training situation that we could imagine. Deer Valley’s world-class snow and terrain is a huge asset for our team, and they’re fully committed to supporting our vision of being best in the world.”

Deer Valley is the annual preeminent stop on the FIS Freestyle World Cup circuit and has been hosting aerials and moguls events since 1999, including the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Freestyle skiing runs through Deer Valley’s history. The late Stein Eriksen, known as the “Father of Freestyle,” served as the resort’s Director of Skiing for more than 35 years and the resort has been an official training site for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team since 2013. Most recently Deer Valley played host to the 2019 Aerials and Moguls disciplines during the FIS Snowboard-Freestyle-Freeski World Champs event during which three Americans podiumed at dual moguls on the final evening to a hometown crowd of over seven thousand screaming fans.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. Moguls team will train on Champion ski run in season (December to April annually). The Champion course is a champion-maker. Renowned as the longest and steepest moguls course on the World Cup circuit, athletes who podium on it are likely to be the athletes on Olympic podiums. U.S. athletes will have exclusive access to full length mogul lanes, including top and bottom jumps. Deer Valley will provide snowcat time for two course builds per season (excluding the World Cup build) and lift and/or snowmobile access along training lanes. If available, the White Owl ski run aerial site will also serve as a training opportunity for U.S. aerial athletes.

“Deer Valley’s long-standing commitment to freestyle competition isn’t only about hosting elite international competitions,” said Resort President and COO Todd Shallan. “We are honored to continue our relationship with U.S. Ski & Snowboard as an official training site for their mogul and aerial athletes as they continue their quest for Olympic Gold in 2022.”

For more information about U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Deer Valley Resort’s partnership, contact U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Tom Webb, at tom.webb@usskiandsnowboard.org.

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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 2019, 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.

About Deer Valley Resort
Deer Valley Resort located in Park City, Utah, revolutionized the ski industry by providing the first-class service one would receive at a five-star hotel. The ski-only resort offers 21 chairlifts, 103 ski runs, six bowls, 300 annual inches of powder, 2,026 acres of alpine skiing, limited lift ticket sales, 14 restaurants, three elegant day lodges, hundreds of luxury accommodations and a renowned Ski School and Children’s Center. Deer Valley is honored to be ranked as the United States’ Best Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for six consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.deervalley.com

PARK CITY, UTAH – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has confirmed today that Devin Logan, an athlete on the U.S. Freeski Team, has accepted a three-month sanction from USADA for an anti-doping rule violation regarding the use of a CBD product that contained higher than labeled levels of THC. The original sanction of six months was reduced to three months following Logan’s completion of a USADA anti-doping educational tutorial.

Logan’s three-month period of ineligibility began on December 7, 2018, the date she accepted a provisional suspension, and ends on March 6, 2019. Additionally, as the use of any illegal substance by U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes is expressly forbidden by the terms of the agreement U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes sign when they join the team, further corrective action was taken by U.S. Ski & Snowboard with Devin Logan as a result of the USADA tests.

“I made a serious mistake and I accept that completely,” said Logan. “I was using a CBD product that I felt was helping me, but I trusted that the product did not contain any more than the tiny trace elements of THC that it said on the packaging. After I was notified by USADA that I’d tested positive for THC we tested the product I was using and it was immediately clear that the levels of THC in the product were, in fact, much higher than labeled. However, I know this is not an excuse. I should not have trusted the product and I want this to be a serious lesson for anyone using CBD products. They may have benefits, but using CBD products comes with major risks and I am the proof of those risks. Whether you’re an athlete or anyone using CBD, be really careful, that’s what I want people to take from what I have been through. I certainly won’t be making that mistake again.”

“Devin has accepted full responsibility for the mistake she made, and this is an important lesson for anyone using CBD products,” said Tiger Shaw, President, and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Devin’s tests showed that she had ingested THC but she was unaware that the product she was using would lead to this sanction. That is not an excuse in any way, but it is an important point to note. Anybody using CBD products should be aware that they may contain THC, whatever the packaging says.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is a leading voice in the international fight against doping of all kinds, aiming to rid the world of the scourge of performance-enhancing drugs used by athletes to gain an unfair advantage, and the organization hopes that the lessons learned by Devin Logan will be taken on board by athletes worldwide.