PARK CITY, Utah (April 30, 2018) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard will recognize 31 individuals and organizations for Athlete, Coach, and Club of the Year awards at the upcoming U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress. Top honorees this year include Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.), recipient of the Beck International Award, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s top athletic honor, U.S. Snowboard Team’s Mike Ramirez and David Reynolds for Coach of the Year, Troy Price for Development Coach of the Year and Alaska Pacific University for Club of the Year.

Jessie Diggins made history this season when she and teammate Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) brought home the gold medal in the team sprint at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was the first U.S. women’s cross country medal and only the second cross country medal ever following Bill Koch’s silver at the 1976 Games. Diggins also had a spectacular World Cup season with eight podiums, including victories in Seefeld, Austria and Falun, Sweden.

“It is an honor to be receiving the Beck International Award, and I’m extremely grateful to the team that created so many extraordinary racing opportunities this season,” said Diggins. “Our coaches and staff have worked tirelessly, putting the rest of their lives on hold to travel the world with us and help us achieve athletic excellence. Our teammates have put in thousands of hours of training to push the level of skiing in this country forward. This season wouldn’t have happened without such amazing support!”

U.S. Snowboard Team coaches Mike Ramirez and Dave Reynolds led their team of 18 athletes to four Olympic medals, including two gold, three X Games medals, 11 World Cup podiums and an overall World Cup title. Their guidance and dedication to their team have helped U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s slopestyle and big air teams become the “Best in the World!”

As junior program director at Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City, Troy Price has fostered a high level of development for his athletes at Rowmark and the entire intermountain division. He established the division’s development committee nine years ago and has served as committee chair since its inception, playing a key role in managing development projects, running the Tri-Divisional Championships and fielding a Western Region team for this season’s Whistler Cup.

Alaska Pacific University has long supported the development and success of cross country skiing athletes at every level. This season, APU had a total of nine current and alumni athletes compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, including Olympic Champion Randall, Sadie and Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah).

All award recipients will be recognized at the annual Chairman’s Awards Dinner on May 3 in Park City.
 

2018 U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

• Beck International Award: Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; SMS T2)
• Alpine Athlete of the Year: Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle/Vail, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
• Adaptive Athlete of the Year: Tyler Walker (Franconia, N.H./U.S Paralympic Team)
• Cross Country Athlete of the Year: Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; SMS T2)
• Freestyle Athlete of the Year: Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
• Freeskiing Athlete of the Year: David Wise (Reno, Nev.)
• Nordic Combined Athlete of the Year: Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wisc.; Flying Eagle Ski Club)
• Ski Jumping Athlete of the Year: Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.; Norge Ski Club)
• Snowboarding Athlete of the Year: Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.; USASA South Tahoe Series)
   

2018 U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD COACHES OF THE YEAR

• International/Snowboard Coach of the Year: Mike Ramirez + Dave Reynolds (U.S. Snowboard Team)
• Development/Alpine Domestic Coach of the Year: Troy Price (Rowmark Ski Academy)
• Adaptive International Coach of the Year: Graham Watanabe (U.S. Paralympics)
• Adaptive Domestic Coach of the Year: Erik Leirfallom (National Ability Center)
• Alpine International Coach of the Year: Chip White (U.S. Women’s Alpine Ski Team)
• Cross Country International Coach of the Year: Jason Cork + Matt Whitcomb (U.S. Ski Team)
• Cross Country Domestic Coach of the Year: Bryan Fish (U.S. Ski Team)
• Freestyle International Coach of the Year: Matt Gnoza (U.S. Ski Team)
• Freestyle Domestic Coach of the Year: John Dowling (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
• Freeski International Coach of the Year: Ben Verge + Andrew Woods (U.S. Freeski Team)
• Freeski Domestic Coach of the Year: Jesse Mallis (Stratton Mountain School)
• Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined International Coach of the Year: Uroš "Balki" Vrhovec (USA Nordic)
• Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined Domestic Coach of the Year: Colin Delaney (NYSEF)
• Snowboard Domestic Coach of the Year: Brady McNeil (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
   

2018 U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD CLUBS OF THE YEAR

• Club/Cross Country Club of the Year: Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center
• Alpine + Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined Club of the Year: Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
• Freestyle Club of the Year: Winter Park Freestyle Program
• Freeski + Snowboard Club of the Year: Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club

In this update from U.S. Ski & Snowboard, I’m writing to share important topics with which our team is currently engaged.

Reflecting on the 2018 season, we have much to be proud of - from the Olympic Winter Games to the World Cup and Grand Prix circuits, to all major events in which our incredible athletes excelled. While we have had a number of great successes, this season has also revealed areas where we are simply falling short of our ambitious goals and objectives. My laser focus and that of our entire organization is on improving our operations, the culture of our teams and the effectiveness of our overall athletic development systems, all of which is aimed at helping our athletes become, and remain, the Best in the World while providing a safe and healthy environment.

Like every organization striving for excellence, we have, and always will have, challenges to face and tackle. We must always be committed to a culture of continuous improvement. We have made plans to address key challenges and opportunities over the last several years that we are already executing. At the same time, we are also carefully listening and responding to input and challenging every assumption and plan. We embrace public dialog and the feedback we receive from all quarters. We also hear and understand the need for more transparency. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you some key updates within our organization:

• Team structures: We are restructuring our freestyle and alpine departments to provide a new and renewed focus on domestic and development level programming combined with supporting our national teams. These restructuring efforts will be ongoing, and are focused on improved culture and domestic program integration.

• Athlete safety is of paramount importance and a fundamental priority for our organization. We are continuously evaluating how we improve SafeSport training, awareness and enforcement at all levels of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s operations. Additional details on this critical work will be discussed further during U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress in early May.

• Financial transparency is of critical importance and a goal of this organization. We publish information which gives clear details of our operating budget (available here), and will publish mid-May when our 2019 budget is final and approved, additional information about sport-specific athlete costs and benefits involving funding allocations and the specific steps we are taking to increase funding and decrease costs for our athletes. This includes the Bob Beattie Travel Fund and other campaigns supporters have so generously helped us all to create. Benefits of being a team member will also be detailed, including our highly utilized significant career and academic support.

The upcoming U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress, May 1-5 in Park City, Utah will be the perfect opportunity for attendees to learn more about the important topics that our team is engaged with, and to provide thoughts, ideas and feedback on the changes we are implementing to help us achieve our vision and goals by executing our mission. Those who know me and this organization know that we always welcome any and all feedback. We are listening carefully and working hard to make U.S. Ski & Snowboard stronger, with our core focus, as ever, on athletes.

Thank you for your continued support.

Tiger Shaw
President & CEO
U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Applications are now being accepted for more than 600 volunteer positions as Utah prepares to host the 2019 FIS Freestyle, Snowboarding and Freeski World Championships, Feb. 1-10, 2019.

Volunteers for the 2019 World Championships will enjoy a front row seat to all the action and have the pleasure of welcoming more than 1,300 athletes and teams from 36 countries. In addition, volunteers will be rewarded with lift ticket vouchers from the host venues  - Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain and Solitude Mountain Resort. They will also receive official event uniforms and meals during volunteer shifts. A variety of volunteer positions are available, including on-mountain and off-mountain opportunities.

“A strong, dedicated group of volunteers are key to successfully executing this world class event, and showcasing Utah’s Olympic and winter action sports legacy,” said Calum Clark, Chief of Systems and Operations for U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Volunteers are asked for a minimum commitment of four, eight-hour shifts from January 12 – February 11, 2019 and are primarily based at the three host venues. A minimal number of positions are also available at the Salt Lake City International Airport, Park City Welcome Center and in the town of Park City.

The 2019 FIS World Championships will feature more than 25 different medal events across eight sports, making it the largest winter sports event Utah has hosted since the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain’s history of hosting World Cup events combined with Utah’s rich Olympic legacy and support of sport played a large role in securing the bid for Worlds back in 2014. Solitude Mountain Resort was added to the venue line up in August 2016. All three resorts have successfully hosted test events, including snowboardcross and skicross events at Solitude as part of the 2017 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.

For the 2019 World Championships, moguls and aerials events are scheduled to take place at Deer Valley Resort. Park City Mountain will host halfpipe, slopestyle and big air competitions and Solitude Mountain Resort will host snowboardcross and skicross.

To apply as a volunteer for the 2019 World Championships, please visit the 2019 World Championships website: https://2019worldchamps.com/volunteer-faq