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PCSS Newsletter May 31, 2019

By PCSS, 05/31/19, 2:30PM MDT

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  • Moving Forward: Letter from Christie Hind
  • PCSS Partners with LiveLikeSam.org
  • ELITEAM Camps
  • PC 200 & Red Bull 400 - THIS WEEKEND

LOOKING FORWARD: A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERIM DIRECTOR, CHRISTIE HIND

I am honored to serve as Interim Executive Director at PCSS. As a member of the PCSS Board of Managers and a parent of a PCSS freestyle athlete, I feel privileged to lead the organization as we prepare for the 2019-20 season. 

It has been inspiring over the last month to work alongside the talented and committed professionals who make up PCSS. First and foremost, I want to thank our coaches and staff. Their dedication to bringing best-in-class winter programming to kids in this community is unparalleled. 

Thank you to our athletes and parents. Our PCSS athletes spent countless hours applying maximum effort toward both training and competing, and I congratulate them for an outstanding season. As a PCSS parent, I also understand that supporting a winter sports athlete is an “all-in” commitment, and I salute our parents for the logistical, financial, and emotional support you’ve provided to your kids. 

To the large community of supporters who have invested their time and money to ensure PCSS continues to grow and thrive – including our all-volunteer board, stakeholders, volunteers, underwriters, alumni, and fans – thank you for your contributions to another successful season as well as your ongoing support as we prepare for even greater things in 2019-20. The sustaining strength and tenacity of the winter sports community is Park City amazing and inspiring.

With this newsletter, we officially kick off summer! Please take a moment to review what's new at PCSS. Please also reach out any time to give me your feedback and ideas. This organization counts on everyone in our community to help keep our programs and vision alive! 

Warmly, 

Christie Hind
Interim Executive Director 


CLUB NEWS

DOUG LEWIS ELITEAM CAMP

PCSS is partnering with ELITEAM Training Camps to provide a high-level, off-season camp for alpine ski racersfreeskiers, and freestyle athletes ages 9-13 to train them physically, mentally and nutritionally so they become more complete athletes. ELITEAM will give them the tools to pursue not only their competitive goals more effectively in the winter, but the concepts learned will help them with other sports as well as in the classroom. Activities will include ski specific exercises, running, hiking, mtn biking, ropes course, obstacle courses, dance, dryland slalom, body-weight strength training, cooking, sandpit slalom and more!

  • Ages: 9-13 yrs
  • Dates: Aug 12-16
  • Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8:30am - 4:30pm
  • Ability: competitive alpine racers, freeskiers, and freestyle athletes
  • Participant Maximum: 45
  • Cost: $550 ($100 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot)

Campers will be provided snacks, but must bring their own lunch. All Campers will receive a free water bottle and ELITEAM shirt.

For more information and to Register click HERE


SUMMER TRAINING AT THE UOP - PUNCH PASSES 

AERIALS, FREESTYLE DEVO & MOGULS TEAMS

Punch Passes are available with these teams for summer water ramp training. If your athlete has a busy summer schedule or is just interested in getting a taste of water ramp training with one of our teams this is a great option!  Please see team specific summer registrations on our website for

PCSS & LiveLikeSam.org

An Exciting new partnership!

LiveLikeSam.org and the Live Like Sam Fund have partnered with Park City Ski and Snowboard with the joint mission of helping position young athletes to navigate not only the highest levels of athletic success but also develop essential life skills like resilience, mindfulness, discipline, grit and building healthy relationships.

Under the PCSS/LSS partnership, PCSS will provide LLS with a meaningful opportunity to share and promote its CARE (Community, Athletics, Responsibility and Education) principles with the PCSS-wide community. PCSS and LLS will closely collaborate on curriculum focusing on character development.  LLS will provide PCSS its curriculum based on CARE principles to PCSS athletes, coaches and family members.  

Please read the full press release HERE

As our Interim Executive Director Christie Hind said, “Sam serves as a reminder to all of our athletes and families of what it means to stand on the shoulders of someone who embodies PCSS’ core values: Integrity, Team, Respect, Passion and Accountability. The opportunity to teach our athletes the skills they need to excel athletically and the character/leadership skills they need to thrive in life is important and core to our mission."


WINTER REGISTRATION OPENS JULY 1!

In a snow sports town like Park City, it's never too early to start planning your next Winter!


UPCOMING EVENTS

RED BULL - JUNE 1

PCSS Nordic Team's Premier fundraiser and most exciting event of the year!

Red Bull 400: The Red Bull 400 returns to the iconic Utah Olympic Park in Park City on June 1, 2019. With a starting point of 6,870 feet this 400 meter near-vertical sprint will challenge competitor’s speed, endurance and determination to the top of the breathtaking 2002 Winter Games ski jump. This ultimate power endurance test is open to 1,200 registrants and features seven different registration options: Individual Men’s and Women’s Solo; COED Heat, Individual Men's and Women’s Custom Heat Time; COED Relay 4 x 100, Red Bull 400 Heat Buyout. 2018's highest venue sits an energy-sapping 2,126 meters above sea level.

Park City Ski and Snowboard is the host if this year’s event. Proceeds from the race go to buy new equipment, wax, and support for the youth Nordic athletes of PCSS

Register HERE
Questions? Contact Race Director Alan Alborn Aalborn@parkcityss.org

Volunteer for the Red Bull 400

We are still looking for volunteers to help us with these events.  Please spread the word and come help out!

Sign Up to Volunteer HERE


NEWS FROM OUR TEAMS


2019 Alpine Team at the end of season Banquet

ALPINE TEAM UPDATE

Park City Ski & Snowboard Alpine Team Awards Banquet 2019

The 2018-2019 PCSS Alpine racing season was filled with exciting moments that were re-lived among a crowd of 450 people on Saturday night April 27th at The Grand Summit Hotel @ Canyons Village. It was an evening to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of the PCSS Alpine Team athletes as well as those individuals who have contributed to the success of the team.

Program Wide Award Highlights: Skier of the Year – Lauren Macuga; Cathy Swing Award – Allison Tardiff; David Wright Award – Cooper Iacobelli; Eagle Award – Karen Korfanta & Mollie Laramie (Park City Mountain); Newspaper Award – Dan Macuga; John DeBaun Spirit Award – Jeff Butz;
Coaches Outstanding Achievement Award – Jason Lance (Head U14 Coach); Atomic, Living the Core Values Award – Lillie Walden; Rossignol, Teamwork Core Value Award – Maggie Fogarty; Shred, Passion Core Value Award – Cayan Winans.



Coach Wyble honored by US Ski & Snowboarding

FREESKI TEAM UPDATE - PARK & PIPE AND BIG MOUNTAIN

We are very honored to announce that Head Park & Pipe Coach Ryan Wyble was just named "Domestic Freeski Coach of the Year" as well as "Overall Development Coach of the Year by US Ski and Snowboard".  Congratulations Ryan!

Registration for Summer Programs and Camps Now Open
  • This summer the Freeski Program is offering multiple three week training blocks during which your athlete can train on the water ramps and/or air bag at the UOP. New this year, you can also sign up for one week blocks if you will not be here for the entire three week session. 
  • Three on-snow camps will also be offered as well and you can link a camp with training periods leading up to the trip. Summer training is the safest way to learn new tricks to put on snow next season.
  • We are also offering skateboard and in-line skate nights (starting next week) and camps. See the website for further details. A UOP summer pass is required for the water ramps and air bag.
Big Mountain Competition & Camps

There is an IFSA competition at Beartooth Pass, MT,  June 18-19. We are also working on an on-snow camp in July. Reach out to Eric if you are interested and want more details.

Host Families Needed

PCSS Freeski currently has two athletes (one male and one female) looking to to live with PCSS families. See our Host Family webpage for more information and to reach out to these individuals directly. You can also contact Hatch for more information.

End of Season Results and Shout-Outs
  • IFSA North American Junior Freeride Championships - Brayden Smith, Alli Macuga and Talbott Palmer represented the team at at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, British Columbia. Talbot placed 4th in the event and 13th overall, Alli placed 5th overall, and Brayden Smith placed 56th overall for the season in the North American Rankings.
  • Junior World Championships - 3 of our PCSS athletes representing the USA to Klappen Sweden for the Slopestyle and Big Air events. Troy Podmilsak, Zane Severson, and Rodney (AK) Koford all competed in both events and collectively earned multiple top 10 results. Alumni Rell Harwood also competed and placed 3rd in Women's Slopestyle. 
  • USASA Nationals - The Park & Pipe Team took 44 athletes to Copper Mountain in April.  This was a new team record for number of qualified participants! Podium results include: Open Class Women - Riley Jacobs placed 1st in Slopestyle, 3rd in Halfpipe ; Junior Class (16-17) Women - Isabel Parada placed 1st in both Slopestyle and Rail Jam, 2nd in Halfpipe and 5th in Skier Cross making her the Overall Champion; Breaker Girls (12-13) -  Ella Beutler placed 3rd in Slopestyle and Marley Leavitt placed 3rd in Halfpipe; Menehune Girls (10-11) - Jackeline Kanzler placed 3rd in Halfpipe; Breaker Boys (12-13) - Ben Fethke placed 1st in Half Pipe; Menehune Boys (10-11) - Kye Sivo placed 3rd in Skier Cross.

It was a great wrap to an epic season and all athletes and families should be proud of their hard work, progress and accomplishments this past season. We hope to see you this summer!

AERIALS TEAM UPDATE

Four of our PCSS aerialists competed at Jr. World Championships in April.  Way to go Kaila Kuhn, Megan Smallhouse, Dani Loeb and Tasia Tanner! 

Kaila Kuhn and Megan Smallhouse also qualified for the ‘19/‘20 US Aerial team.  Congratulations ladies!

Our athletes are already back in the pool, thankfully with wetsuits! Bring a coat and come watch them jump! 


DEVO FREESTYLE TEAM UPDATE

It's hard to think about summer with the weather this week but we have some great training options for the Devo athletes.  Summer registration is live on the PCSS website!  Check it out!

Water ramp camp

This 5-day camp is for skiers or snowboarders ages 7-18 looking for a week long camp experience where they can learn new tricks and progress their jumping skills all in the safety of the Utah Olympic Parks Olympic training pool.  Each week of camp consists of 4 full days of water ramping and trampoline training with some of the best coaches Park City Ski and Snowboard has to offer. The camp also include one “rest day” on Wednesdays where participants will get to experience all the rides, drop tower, zip lines and adventure courses at the Utah Olympic Park.

Camps run weekly starting June 10th - August 23rd

Air camp

This 5-day camp is geared towards skiers age 7-12 who are new to the sport of freestyle and are looking for a multi-sport, week-long, summer camp to help progress their jumping and air awareness skills.  The camp includes 2 days of jumping into the Olympic training pool at the Utah Olympic Park, 2 days of Nordic jumping and an “air” incorporated activity day that includes diving at Ecker Hill as well as the UOP ropes course, zip lines and drop tower. Each day will also include an hour long session on the trampolines to help gain confidence and become more comfortable while in the air.

Weeks offered are July 22nd-26th and August 5th-9th

Freestyle Development Summer Training

The Devo Freestyle program is focused on athletes getting into the sport of Freeskiing and those who have been in the sport looking to progress their skills.  Each day of training includes a dynamic warm-up, 1.5 hours water ramping, 3 hours trampoline, and a lunch break.  Training can be purchased in 3 week periods with 1 or 2 days of training per week or daily punch passes in 5 or 10 increments.

Weeks offered: June 10th – August 16th


MOGUL TEAM UPDATE

Summer is here, and training has begun!
The mogul team is headed to Squaw Valley memorial day weekend for an on snow camp. Squaw just had two feet of snow so there should be great conditions! 

We are currently training Wednesdays at the COE through June 5.  Sign up in advance on the moguls page of our website and please come out and bounce with us.  

Registrations for all summer moguls camps and water ramping are online, please sign up soon.

Summer Ramp Schedule:
  • Friday, June 7 - Sunday, September 29
  • Tuesday 3:30-6:00pm
  • Wednesday 3:30-6:00pm
  • Thursday 3:30-6:00pm
  • Friday 3:30-6:00pm
  • Saturday 10:30am-1pm & 3:30pm-6:00pm
  • Sunday 10:30am-1 pm


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

NORDIC TEAM UPDATE 

Our greatest fundraising opportunity of the year is right around the corner!  Please come out and support the PC 200 and Red Bull 400 next weekend, May 31 - June1.  There are still open registration spots for athletes for both events as well as plenty of open volunteer spots!  Please see the information further up in this newsletter.


Nordic Ski Jumping

We will be hosting what we are calling “Sugar Glider” camps for energetic 8-12 year old athletes. Join us 4 mornings in a week to supercharge your athletic skills in a fun and inclusive environment. We will focus on the A, B, C’S of athletics, Agility, Balance, Coordination, and Speed all while building Character, Confidence and Courage. The day will be filled with skill building curriculum while we learn the basics of ski jumping on or small Nordic jumps with our experienced coaches.  Camper must have alpine skis, boots, and a helmet. 

Dates: June 10-13, Jul 8-11, Aug 12-15
Schedule: Mon-Thurs, 8:00am-1:00pm
Ages: 8-12 years
Skill Requirement: Intermediate skiing, Independent equipment management
Participant Maximum: 15
Cost: $270
REGISTER


SNOWBOARD TEAM UPDATE

End of Winter Season Highlights:

The last week of March brought us to Copper Man, CO for the 2019 USASA National Championships.  We had 20+ snowboard team riders qualify to attend and we celebrated 9 Freestyle podiums as a Team!  It was a fun week and we are proud of all of our riders!

Notable Mentions from Nationals:
  • Steele Stark in the 8-9 y/o Grommet boys division was 1st in Slopestyle/3rd in Halfpipe/3rd in Rail Jam. Steele also won our End of Season Snowboard Team Full Time Rider – Most Improved Award
  • Parker Giblin in the 16-17 Youth Men’s division was 1st in Slopestyle/2nd in Halfpipe. Parker won our End of Season Snowboard Team – Male Rider of the Year Award
  • Alec Little in Open Class division (pro division/no age restriction/most difficult division) was 3rd in Slopestyle. Alec will receive a US Team Project Gold camp invitation to train in Mammoth.


XC Devo Spring Training in Round Valley

X-Country Team

Our spring training is underway and enthusiasm is high even when it is raining and snowing. We are preparing for our biggest fundraisers of the year the Park City 200 and Red Bull 400 May 31st and June 1st at Utah Olympic Park. 

We have a number of seniors graduating next week and off to new and exciting places and most continuing to pursue cross country skiing. Geneva Humbert will go to St. Lawrence on a ski and running scholarship, Victoria will go to Montana State University and ski in the Bridger Ski Foundation Post Graduate program, Skylar Patten will ski for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Post Graduate Program, Claire Oberg will attend Brown University, and Natalie Thompson will study to be Physical Therapy Assistant at Salt Lake Community College. These team members will be greatly missed but we are thrilled they came through our programs, are incredibly well-rounded and have bright futures. We recently had two PCSS Nordic alumnis graduate from University, Sophie McDonald, from Northern Michigan University, and Brenna Egan from University of New Mexico. Both skied all four years for Division 1 programs. We continue to have skiers compete in college including Savanna Fassio, who received a scholarship for Northern Michigan, Leah Lange who skis for University of Utah on a scholarship and Julia Lazzaroni who skis for Colby College.

Our summer practices start June 10th and include multisport activities and ski-specific summer training. The Comp team will go to Bend June 7th for and on-snow camp with other clubs from across the nation.



Emily Fisher, Youth Sports Alliance Executive Director (left), Claire Oberg, Victoria Olson and Caron Keim, JANS Chief Financial Officer (right)

STEIN ERIKSON YSA OPPORTUNITY ENDOWMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to Claire Oberg and Victoria Olson of our PCSS X-Country team!

Claire and Victoria were selected to receive $3,000 scholarships from the Stein Eriksen YSA Opportunity Endowment to use toward university expenses.  YSA gives two scholarships annually to Park City High School graduating seniors to help with university expenses. Selection criteria includes participating on a YSA-affiliated winter sports team during high school and maintaining a 3.0 GPA.

Well done ladies! 


VOLUNTEER UPDATE

Thank you again to everyone who came out this past season to volunteer their time for our club!  Based on the Volunteer tracking form submissions this spring, we had about 55% of our families volunteer this season.  Thank you to all of you!  We literally can NOT do it without your time and support!  
All work deposit refunds have been processed! For everyone who paid the deposit originally with a credit card, please check your card statements to see that the refund has been processed.

___________________________________________________
 

We would like to acknowledge the families of the following athletes for going above and beyond in their volunteer time this season:

40+ hours: Ella Beutler, Jake Brand, Jackson Crockett, Camden Goodman, Taylor Hockersmith, Esteban Hoffman, Kylie Kariotis, Ava & Wade Kelly, Alex & Luke Mallen, Julien Markewitz, Lauren & Dylan Penze, Owen & Hadley Platt, Wynter Probert, Trevor Reilly, and Sammi Worthington

50+ hours: William Berry, Andrew Bird, Drew Dana, Emma Davis, Zoe Dwinell, Rawley Ford, Dekker Hageman, Phillip Koch, Macey Olden, Tyler Phillips, Zev Rosenfield, Xander Sivey, Pippa Townshend and Luke Trombley

100+ hours: Wes & Emily Campbell, Rachael Haerter, Josie Johnson, Marley Leavitt, Lauren Macuga, and Augie Roepke

___________________________________________________
 

Volunteer efforts are crucial to the overall success of our club, teams and our athletes!  Providing our athletes with the opportunities to compete at home requires significant volunteer support!  Our volunteer numbers also figure greatly into the future financial health of our club when it comes to grant applications, stakeholder commitment and community support.  As our club continues to develop and grow let's all work together to increase our volunteer commitment!  It would be amazing to see that 55% grow to upwards of 75% next year!  Let's do it!

In an effort to encourage greater family commitment we would love to hear from any and all of you with ideas and suggestions as I work to improve our Volunteer Program.  Please email Katherine Hughes at khughes@parkcityss.org with your thoughts. 


UOP EXPANSION UPDATE

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Mountain Expansion Project – the future, world-class training facility behind the UOP.  This athlete-focused project will expand the training season and increase the quality and quantity of training options. We believe this is a game-changer for all of our athletes. 

The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission unanimously approved UOLF’s Conditional Use Permit for Phase 1 of Project on May 27th and construction is underway! The lift has been purchased and contractors are on site and ready for excavation and installation.

We are approximately halfway toward our fundraising goal of $3,000,000. If you have not yet contributed to this important project please consider doing so today at www.parkcityss.org. For more information contact chind@parkcityss.org


THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS