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PCSS Newsletter - May 2023

By Park City Ski & Snowboard, 05/02/23, 12:30PM MDT

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  • Message from Christie Hind
  • Division Updates
  • PCSS Team Store
  • Scholarship Opportunities

 

What's Inside

Please read on for updates and information about:

 

Donate Today!

All PCSS programs – from PC Shredders where young athletes experience a 12-week program across multiple disciplines, to FIS-aged athletes competing across the globe – require significant resources to support training, coaching, education, travel, and equipment. Financial contributions to PCSS directly support the development of future athletes in our community and their pathways to success. Your donation of any size, one-time or monthly is truly appreciated.

PLEASE HELP MAKE A DIRECT IMPACT BY DONATING TO PARK CITY SKI & SNOWBOARD TODAY!


Message from Executive Director, Christie Hind

To say I am proud of everything the PCSS community (athletes, coaches, parents, volunteers) has accomplished this season is an understatement. This "2022/23 Season Highlights" image provides just a snapshot of our remarkable success, and I hope you are just as proud of all we have accomplished together. 

It was wonderful to come together at our final club-wide event on April 22nd to celebrate our outstanding 2022-23 season. I enjoyed spending time with so many of you who were able to be there in person, and sincerely thank all of you who contributed to our success this year! Cooler than normal temps and a bit of an overcast sky failed to dampen the enthusiasm of participants in our traditional end-of-season celebration. The smiles and good humor of our 2023 Ski Meister participants warmed the day as PCSS families and friends gathered to enjoy each other’s company and revel in the amazing conditions still available for the event.

This year, the Ski Meister was followed by the final Town Series, including  Alpine and Skimo races, that had been postponed due to -- you guessed it -- too much snow! In addition, we hosted a Euro-style après party that included retro/vintage ski attire, a food truck, drinks, and music. It was an exciting way to end the season and we thank all who showed up to help us celebrate!

As the snow starts to melt, we are getting ready for an action packed summer with dryland programs, local and on-snow camps, mountain biking, inline skating, water ramping and more! I hope to see everyone out and enjoying the sunshine!


Division Updates

Aerials

Our 2022-23 season included many outstanding athlete accomplishments, including:

  • Connor Curran, Ian Schoenwald and Amelia Glogowski taking 2nd place in the Team Event at the Junior World Championship

  • Connor Curran and Amelia Glogowski each finished in 3rd place for their individual events at the Junior World Championship

  • Connor Curran took 1st place at the NorAm Grand Prix

  • Connor Curran, Ashton Salwan, Ian Schoenwald and Amelia Glogowski all earned World Cup Starts

  • Cate McEneany competed in Finals at the Junior World Championship

  • Kyra Dossa took 4th place at Canadian FIS Open event

In addition, we hosted multiple events including US Selections in January at the UOP; four (4) separate NorAm events in February at the UOP, and two (2) regional "Aerial Assault" events in January and February.

Alpine

The Alpine team had amazing results across all age groups this season. For U18+ athletes, we had 4 men and 7 women qualify at U.S. Nationals in Sun Valley; 2 men and 2 women qualify at the U18 Nationals in New Hampshire, and Madison Kaiserman finished 16th overall in NorAm GS standings.

At the U16 level, we had 3 men and 2 women achieve two Top 5 and two Top 10 results at the U16 Nationals in Mission Ridge, WA; and 1 male and 2 females qualify at the NPS U16 competition in Burke, VT.

In the Whistler Cup competition for U14/U16 athletes, Jenson Ford and Brooke Goldberg both qualified, and PCSS had the top male and top female winners at U14 Regionals in Jackson Hole. We also had numerous top U12/U14 female podium sweeps in the IMD South Series Qualifiers.

Big Mountain

BMT had a great season and the snow keeps coming with over 600” at PCMR! Closing day on May 1st made certain that we locked in a record breaking year. 

Our end of season banquet this year was incredible, and we are happy so many of you could join us for dinner, a movie, and awards. A great way to wrap up the season. Thank you for such a great year!

The backcountry program is still getting out and will be touring into the early summer.

On-snow Spring Skiing Camp at Snowbird is scheduled to begin soon! Check it out on the website here. Along with on snow camps, BMT will offer water ramp training, camping, and fly fishing this summer. Take a look at the summer training opportunities here and don’t hesitate to reach out to your head coach or directors with any questions.


Kaya Patterson competes at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks

Cross Country

Cross Country spring and summer programs start on May 8 and registration details and link are available here. Our summer programs involve a variety of activities making the most of the amazing outdoor recreation resources in Park City. We have plenty of sessions using UOP activities and the Center of Excellence. 

Our programs wrapped up in March with a team of 10 athletes and 2 alumni competing for the Intermountain Division (IMD) team at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. The IMD team was led by PCSS XC Head Coach Liz Stephen who helped the team get a 2nd place finish, finishing closely behind New England. Two athletes, Keely Fisher and Bailey Carmack were able to attend thanks to the Gordon Lange Scholarship covering some of the costs. A big thank you to the Nixon family for their support of the scholarship. 

PCSS Cross Country also had a team of 26 athletes travel to Truckee, California to compete in the Western Club Championships. PCSS placed first out of eight teams with many athletes having breakthrough performances. 

Back in Park City, we made the most of the extended ski season. A lot of our athletes, parents and coaches participated in the final Wasatch Citizen Series race on March 18, and also in the end-of-season relay at Soldier Hollow. The Devo team kept skiing in April, for the 1st time ever, thanks to our local groomers keeping the trails in good shape.

We had more than 30 Kickers and Gliders try ski jumping at UOP thanks to the Ski Jumping coaches and athletes who helped out. We hosted a successful "Learn to Skate" ski clinic where athletes from other divisions got to try skate skiing and did amazing!

We also got kindergarteners at McPolin Elementary on cross country skis during the school day, and for many it was their first time on skis. The ample amount of snow sure helped us have a great season but we are incredible grateful for all the work our coaching staff, volunteers and parents do each day to make it a success and see so many local youth finding joy on skis. 

If you have not already done so, please take a minute to fill out the end-of-season survey so we can have continued success in the future!

DEvo Freestyle

Devo Freestyle closed out the winter training season with great conditions! Historic snowfall had groups spending a bit more time developing big mountain skills this year, but we saw great improvement from our athletes across all freestyle and freeski disciplines. 

While competition is not the main focus of Devo Freestyle, we encourage event participation when athletes are interested--and we saw a lot of it this year! Many athletes attended their first competitions at our Devo Series Slopestyle and Mogul events at the UOP. Others went to their first sanctioned events in Moguls, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and/or Big Mountain. We even had 4 Devo athletes attend National Championship events: Ayuna Devine (Big Mountain), Fisher Hove (Slopestyle), Hank Hovermale (Halfpipe), and Blaine Fielding (Slopestyle, Halfpipe). 

Our annual Ski Meister celebration at the UOP was a bit colder than in years past, but we still had a great turnout to wrap up our on-snow offerings! Parents and athletes braved the cold temps and slow snow in style as they tried their luck in the pond skim--we saw some great skims, costumes, and crashes over the course of the day. 

Thanks to all of our athletes, parents, and coaches for making this a great winter season!

Registration is now open for water ramp training this summer at the UOP! If your athlete is looking to develop their air skills and learn some new tricks to bring to snow next season, this is the best way to do so. This is especially true for flips as Devo athletes are not allowed to flip during winter training unless they have qualified on water ramps first! More info on these sessions can be found on our website here.

If you have questions on summer training, please reach out to James Saarela or Ryan Devine.


Emmett Miller, Mason Schwarzenbach, and Leo Dailey after competing at the Intermountain Freestyle regional competition at the UOP in February

Moguls

The mogul team had a very busy year with competitions in August and then November through April. Despite many challenges, our athletes persevered and we are so proud of all their hard work and accomplishments. The PCSS Mogul Team had three athletes qualify for World Cup Starts this season - LuLu Shaffer, Kylie Kariotis, and August Davis. LuLu went on to ski to two top-ten finishes on World Cup. 

On the NorAm Tour, PCSS Mogul athletes claimed six total podium finishes from three athletes including a win in duals at NorAm Finals from Kylie Kariotis and a second place finish in singles at NorAm finals from Jackson Crockett. Megan Ciaglo and Evelyn Harris both finished second in their age groups at Junior National Championships in Steamboat, CO. Skylar Slettene and Kylie Kariotis qualified for Junior World Championships where they both landed on the podium with second and third place finishes on duals day, respectively. Our season wrapped up with a FIS Open competition at Snowbird where LuLu Shaffer claimed the top spot on the final day of competition. 

PCSS Moguls hosted two regional events this season at the UOP on the intermediate mogul course on the Hyeway lift. It was so fun to see athletes of all ages and abilities compete together! We also hosted our annual Intro to Mogul Day in late December to get young up-and-coming skiers excited about the sport of mogul skiing! This is a free event and is always so fun to share our passion for skiing with the next generation. 

In April we were able to build our new mogul course on the new West Peak expansion at the UOP. This was a great training venue for the spring leading up to the FIS Open event, and we are so excited to have this new FIS-level venue for our athletes moving forward. Thank you to everyone who helped make this dream a reality for these amazing athletes! 

The PCSS Mogul Team will now take a couple weeks off to rest and recover before starting dryland and water ramping in May. Preparation for next season starts soon and summer registration is open on the website. Please reach out to Mogul Program Director, Mikaela Wilson with any questions!

Park & Pipe

PNP just wrapped up our season with a great showing at USASA Nationals this year. Freeski took home 33 medals for Big Mountain West of which PCSS contributed 23 medals, landing us in the top spot of freeski at Nationals. We are incredibly proud of all the athletes, some making personal bests, others taking home medals, and everything in between. The energy was unmatched and we can’t thank you all enough. 

Our end-of-season banquet this year was incredible, and we are happy so many of you could join us. We had a rail jam at the UOP, followed by awards, pizza, and potluck-style side dishes. A great way to wrap up the season!

In the next few weeks, our summer camps and programming registration will be live on our website, in the meantime you can look at our training options here and start planning your summer. Please direct any of your questions to directors and head coaches. We can’t wait to see you all out there!


Seniors Ethan Romer and Wesley Perkins

Skimo

PCSS Skimo wrapped our season at the end of March with a beautiful afternoon for a final ski at the UOP and a team potluck. We recognized some standout achievements and award-worthy athletes, including our most improved athletes - Owen Crandall, Aidan Gale and Addyson Lundberg and Team Spirit Award winners - Océon Carlson-Smith and Griffin Briley.  Additionally, we honored our graduating seniors, Wesley Perkins and Ethan Romer.  Next fall, Wesley plans to attend Montana State University and Ethan is heading to Stanford University. We wish them success as they enter their next chapters!

In the final weeks of the competition season our athletes traveled far and wide. Sam Kirschner and Griffin Briley raced at the Youth World Cup Final in Val Louron, Spain. The two joined a group of athletes from our neighbor team, Silverfork, and contributed to a strong US showing. Griffin continued his impressive season with a win in the U18 vertical race and a 2nd place in the U18 individual. Our team also saw representation at the 2023 Caldera Burn US Cup final in Mammoth, CO, as well as the Grand Traverse Ski race from Crested Butte to Aspen, CO.

As our athletes transition to the trails, we will continue to offer training opportunities. Beginning in May, our summer Skimo program will include two days per week of strength training at the Center of Excellence. Click here for details and to register.


PCSS Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined athletes recognized for their achievements, work ethic and team spirit at the end of season awards

Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined

PCSS Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined’s athletes wrapped their competitive season by hosting Western Regionals Championships at the UOP in March. We battled another snowy week leading up to the event, but proved once again that we could have the hills in competition shape with the hard work of our staff and the Olympic Park employees.  Our athletes continued to enjoy quality training after Western Regionals before our last jumps of the season on March 19th! We usually struggle with warm temps and soft snow to jump at that time of year - but that certainly wasn’t the case this year!

Our athletes, coaches and parents gathered one last time for our end-of-season party at the end of March. We recognized a number of athletes for their skills, sportsmanship, improvements and contributions to the team.  Rachael Haerter was honored with the prestigious Alf Engen Award - a long standing award given to a PCSS athlete who best exemplifies the competitive spirit, sportsmanship and leadership that are characteristic of Alf Engen (considered the father of ski jumping in Utah). Visitors of the Alf Engen Museum will see Rachael’s name on the trophy this summer. 

Now that the snow is melting, our eyes are turned to summer jumping! Our Comp Team will start back up with dryland training at the Center of Excellence in early May, and all of our programs will be back at the hill starting June 5th. Click here for more information, including information on our summer camps - open to all abilities.

Snowboard

The PCSS Snowboard team wrapped things up with a Bang this season. The energy and vibes were high during our last few training sessions at Park City Mountain prior to USASA Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The crew was productive and the weather cooperated for once this season with some prime training opportunities.

The team secured 36 top 10 finishes at Nationals and 14 top 5 results. Our athletes were competing against the best junior riders in the country. Willie G. Corollo had an outstanding week and landed first overall in his age group. Jonah Ingersoll finished 5th overall in his age group and was impressive on his board! Sadie Rifkin took 1st in the Rail Jam & Slopestyle and 2nd in the Halfpipe. Not bad for kids who rode a ton of powder this season! Rori Avelar landed her Slope Style run and on the podium in 2nd Place in Open Class Women. What an awesome week in Copper!

The team finished up the season with a BBQ on the deck of the mini pipe at Park City Mountain. The park crew had things in fine condition for the team and the weather cooperated for a great Saturday of shredding with friends and hot dogs! Thanks for coming out everyone and let’s keep in touch this summer!


Registration for summer programs is open now!

Youth Development

Youth Development recently wrapped up a successful first season as a division! We had nearly 100 young athletes participating in the various programs and it was incredible to see how much improvement everyone made over the season. We are looking forward to building off our success this season as we continue to provide inclusive and world class training opportunities for the young athletes in the community. 

Now that the winter season is over, it is time to look forward to our summer programs and camps! PCSS youth development offers a wide range of program and camp options from mountain biking, water ramping, inline skating and our multi-sport “air camp.” Registration is live and spots are filling up fast, so don't wait too long to sign up!


get Your PCSS Swag On!

If you didn't know, there is a PCSS Team Store exclusively for all apparel PCSS. Scroll through the catalog of apparel items, from hoodies to t-shirts to bags and caps. We've got something for everyone! The best thing besides all this awesome gear is that you can buy at any point. So come get your "Swag On"! To top it off, a portion of all proceeds go directly back to PCSS!


Scholarship Opportunities

Following is a summary of a variety of scholarship opportunities that are currently available. Click the name of the organization for additional details about each scholarship offered, and to complete the application process.

Scholarship/Link Description Eligibility Important Dates
The PCSEF Board of Trustees is committed to providing financial assistance to PCSS Alpine athletes in order for them to pursue ski racing excellence. These scholarships provide critical funds for qualified, talented athletes who otherwise would be unable to pursue their ski racing ambitions. Award will be applied directly to participant’s PCSS Alpine tuition expense, camps, competitions or other projects PCSS Alpine athletes enrolled in a full-time U14, U16 or FIS level program Applications accepted on a rolling basis
The i9 Sports Association offers scholarship grants of up to $150 to offset youth sports program participation fees Athletes under age 18 Applications accepted on a rolling basis; grants awarded in Feb, May, Aug, and Nov