2018 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS About U.S. Ski & Snowboard .....1 Athlete Safety ................29 Awards ......................61 Chairman’s letter ...............2 Avalanche Training . 30 Major Event Partners ......... 64 Vision/mission/goals/values .....3 Sport Education ..............32 Partners......................65 Tiger Q&A.....................4 Podium Clubs................ 34 Suppliers & Licensees......... 66 2019 World Champs ............6 High Performance Centers .....36 Medical Suppliers .............67 Year in Review .................8 Foundation ...................37 Alpine Review ................10 Events ...................... 44 Cross Country Review .........13 NASTAR .....................47 Freeski.......................17 Marketing ................... 50 Freestyle .................... 20 Financials ................... 54 Jumping/Combined ...........23 Board of Directors.............57 Snowboard ...................25 Trustees......................58 Membership ..................28 Club list ......................59 2018 ANNUAL REPORT | ABOUT 1 ABOUT U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD U.S. Ski & Snowboard is an Olympic sports organization providing leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders, 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. Established in 1905, U.S. Ski & Snowboard receives no direct government support, operating solely through private donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to fund athletic programs to assist athletes in reaching their dreams. Photo © Getty Images 2018 ANNUAL REPORT | CHAIRMAN’S LETTER 2 CHAIRMAN’S LETTER Dexter Paine is a former ski racer who grew up in New Hampshire and has led U.S. Ski & Snowboard as chairman since 2006. He also sits on the International Ski Federation’s governing FIS Council, a role he has had since 2014. Paine is a successful global businessman, serving as chairman of Paine Schwartz Partners, a New York-based private equity firm which invests in the food and agribusiness sectors. He will be leaving his role as chairman of U.S. Ski & Snowboard after 12 years in May, 2019. The last year has been an incredibly busy and successful twelve months centers will be huge difference makers in the future. The initiation of Thank you for allowing me to lead U.S. Ski and Snowboard and for your for U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the people at the heart of our team, our Project 26 which is focused on alpine development is providing a new commitment to building excellence across the organization and providing athletes. We have earned medals in South Korea, World Cup podiums template for building for the future, as is our expansion in on-snow opportunities for young athletes so that they can achieve their goal of around the globe and, of crucial importance, we have had the strongest regional centers. being Best in the World. possible focus on creating a safe, secure environments for athletes of all Finally I want to welcome Kipp Nelson as the incoming chairman. He was sports, free from hazing, bullying and sexual misconduct. As an organization some of our greatest success has come in freestyle, snowboard and freeski. This February athletes from nearly 40 nations will an outstanding, inspired choice by the board. I have known Kipp for more Looking first at the 2018 Season, the Olympic Winter Games were an come to our hometown and three remarkable Utah resorts for the FIS than a decade and look forward to working together as he takes the helm opportunity for us to cheer the success of our athletes. It’s also a time as Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in late January. in May 2019. leaders to look retrospectively at what we It is always exciting to host the World’s do as a sports organization to prepare our best athletes and celebrate the success of athletes to achieve their goals, as well as our sport. I would encourage everyone to providing a pathway for others to pursue “It was a year where we attend and cheer for all the athletes who their dreams. We had some remarkable took some great strides are competing. moments in PyeongChang, winning 15 Dexter Paine medals including seven gold. We saw On behalf of our athletes, officials, coaches Chairman repeat gold medals from Jamie Anderson, forward to the future.” and clubs, I want to thank all of our David Wise and Mikaela Shiffrin, Shaun supporters for providing your time and U.S. Ski & Snowboard White won the third gold of his career, and dedication that allows our young men and we saw the future come alive with teens Chloe Kim and Red Gerard taking women to pursue a sport they love and gold. My personal highlight in Korea was watching Kikkan Randall teamed to achieve their dreams. The 2018-19 season will be my last as chairman with Jessie Diggins win one of the most enjoyable and inspiring gold of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, but I will continue to be passionate about our medals of the Games. mission and team. In my 13 years in this leadership role, my greatest pride has come from the partnerships we have forged with all of our It was also a year where we took some great strides forward to the future. stakeholders allowing us to join together in helping our athletes achieve The dramatic expansion of our regional club-based high performance remarkable success. 2018 ANNUAL REPORT | VISION, MISSION, VALUES AND GOALS 3 VISION MISSION The vision of U.S. Ski & Snowboard The mission of U.S. Ski & Snowboard is is to make the United States of to lead, encourage and support athletes America the Best in the World in in achieving excellence by empowering Olympic skiing and snowboarding. national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans. VALUES GOALS Integrity Achieve athletic excellence Passion Grow the visibility of our sports Fun and brand through our athletes Team Engage, lead and grow our communities Community Cultivate organizational excellence Excellence Achieve financially sustainable growth Grit Safety 2018 ANNUAL REPORT | TIGER SHAW Q&A 4 TIGER SHAW Q&A Tiger Shaw, a two-time Olympian, The majority of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athlete members are youth. What steps are being taken to safeguard them? concluded his fourth season as president A lot’s been written about sexual misconduct. But it’s broader than that, and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard in including hazing, bullying and other issues. It’s very important for us to maintain the safest possible environment for all of our athletes. We invest 2017-18, looking back on the Olympic significantly each year in supporting the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the season and the pathway ahead for the independent organization that provides education and an anonymous platform for reporting and investigation. An adherence to background progressive sports organization. screening of every single coach, official and staff member associated with U.S. Ski & Snowboard is an important piece of the work we do, as is ongoing education and communication of responsibilities and channels Tiger, reflecting back on your first four years while looking into for reporting. Every single person involved in sport today needs to ensure the future, what are your key areas of focus? that athlete safety and the work the U.S. Center for SafeSport is doing is Transparency and engagement remain paramount. We will be stronger if a fundamental part of their culture. It takes all of us working together to we work together. Feedback from our regions, divisions and clubs is vital protect our youth and all our athletes! for our success. I want to hear from our members and I want everyone to be engaged in our success, especially our athletes as they are at the very heart of everything we do. What about safety on-snow? Our sports are exciting. But they must be conducted properly with a focus on safety. Our education and certification of competition officials What initiative is U.S. Ski & Snowboard taking in the area of and maintaining safety protocols at all times is vital. Groups like the athletic development? Kelly Brush Foundation have kept a focus on safety through education As a Best in the World athletic organization, we have a primary focus on and access to course protection. The Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Snow development for the future. This season we launched a new program in Safety Foundation (BRASS) is doing good things in raising the profile alpine after several years of research. Project26 was the research that of avalanche safety. Our partnership last spring to provide U.S. Ski & led to changes and serves as a model for our other sports in athletic Snowboard coaches and athletes with both Level 100 and Level 200 development and coaches education. We also expanded our regional High avalanche training was an important step for us. We are also working Performance Centers at U.S. Ski & Snowboard clubs around the country. on athlete safety in competition and training through our medical and That will take the science we’ve developed at the Center of Excellence and sport science team, looking at prevention of injuries and how to manage transfer that knowledge to athletes locally. athletes back to competition. How does coaches education fit into that plan? Budgeting is a balancing act. How are you managing the need Ultimately, our thousands of professional U.S. Ski & Snowboard coaches for greater elite athlete funding? deliver knowledge to athletes at the club level. That’s paramount. We Athlete funding remains a priority. We know we need to close the gap are continuing our efforts to provide more education for coaches and to and we are moving in that direction. We have some amazing support enhance quality through certification. At the core of all of this are our 400 Photo © Sarah Brunson services for athletes.