Club Excellence Hits The Road With US Ski & Snowboard

What makes a club “excellent?” Is it world-class training facilities? A coaching staff with resumes rivaling those of national teams? Is it about how many athletes qualify for the national team or get recruited to top-tier college programs? Or is it about much, much more than what can be quantified on results sheets and information brochures?

There is a myriad of components that must work together in order for a club to succeed. Yes, success on the slopes is a top priority for many; but in order for those hopes to come to fruition, things like education programs for coaches and staff, fundraising initiatives, fostering a healthy athletic culture, and long-term planning must all fall into place.

Thankfully, the staff at U.S. Ski & Snowboard has a plan. For the past 10 years, a national Club Excellence Conference has been hosted in Park City, Utah, each May by U.S. Ski & Snowboard as a way for clubs to get together and take part in workshops, panel discussions, and presentations aimed at tackling those very topics.

Past attendance numbers of the national Club Excellence Conference in Park City usually hovered around the 150 mark. Seeing a need for a more personal connection between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the regions, the Club Excellence Conference hit the road. This fall, a total of four regional conferences will take place at clubs across the country.

“With over 350 clubs nationwide, many of which are unable to send representatives to Park City, we wanted to develop a program that allows us to continue supporting all clubs in every region of the U.S.,” says U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of Sport Education Jon Casson. “While these are aimed at club leaders and coaches in each region, anyone interested in supporting our vision of being best in the world in Olympic skiing and snowboarding is welcome to attend.”

Casson and his staff hope that these regional conferences will provide an opportunity for smaller clubs that do not have the resources to send representatives out to Utah to attend a regional conference within driving distance.

With Killington Mountain School/Ski Club in Vermont and Buck Hill Ski Racing Club in Minnesota holding their conferences in October, the final two are set to take place this month at the Squaw Valley Ski Team in California and Team Summit in Colorado on Nov. 3 and 16, respectively.

Ski Racing Media was lucky enough to attend the first regional Club Excellence Conference on Oct. 8 in Killington, Vt. Check out what the event was like and what you can expect from future conferences in our video below:

Registration for the remaining 2017 Regional Club Excellence Conferences is available at U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s education shop.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard 2017 Regional Club Excellence Conferences

Western Region
Host: Squaw Valley Ski Team
November 3, 2017
Squaw Valley Resort
Olympic Valley, Calif.
Registration

Rocky Region
Host: Team Summit
November 16, 2017
Copper Mountain, Colo.
Registration