What's Inside

• Message from Christie Hind
• Upcoming Events
• Playmetrics Tips
• Updates for each PCSS Division
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Join Smith's Inspiring Donations Program
• PCSS Online Store

Message from Executive Director, Christie Hind

It’s so nice to wake up to cooler morning temps! It means that winter will be here before we know it, and we are so excited for the 2024/25 winter season. I hope you are enjoying wonderful late summer activities with your families. Here’s what we have been up to as a club:

Several weeks ago, extraordinary PCSS supporter and host, Mike Engel, held his Backyard Bash fundraiser. The event was lots of fun with over 170 people in attendance who enjoyed wonderful food and drink, participated in live and silent auctions as well as a paddle raise, and then danced the night away. We cannot thank Mike enough for his generosity.  Local Olympians as well as current PCSS athletes spoke eloquently and passionately about the importance of having our local community support PCSS as athletes pursue their dreams and compete at the highest levels of their sports. We were thrilled with the generosity of our community and raised over $35,000 that evening. Thank you to Mike and all who participated!

We were happy to have our coaches, Rick Shimpeno, Emma Garrard, Hatch Haslock, and Dar Hendrickson represent PCSS during KPCW’s recent fund drive. The original goal of raising $4,000 was nearly doubled as the team was able to raise over $7,500 during their time on the air!

On August 25th, PCSS directors, Emma Garrard and Ryan DeVine, participated in Youth United’s (formerly Solomon Fund) Super Sunday event. This event is designed to help kids discover new passions and then develop those skills when participating may otherwise be a financial impossibility. Between them, Emma and Ryan spoke with more than 30 families and over 20 athletes are now planning to register for our upcoming winter programs.

There are a number of other events in September, and you can read more about these upcoming activities below. We look forward to seeing you and your kids as we head into the fall/winter season!

Saturday, Sept 14 - Moose on the Loose Race #4

This final race in the series will be held on the upper trails at the Utah Olympic Park. It will also feature a 5k for anyone age 15 or over. Click here to learn more and register!

We also need additional volunteers for this race, so please check the "Signups" tab at the bottom of your Playmetrics app and sign up to help out.

Saturday, Sept 14 - 2024 Casino Night

Ante Up for PCSS Snowboard! We’re thrilled to invite you to an evening of fun and entertainment in support of the PCSS Snowboard team! Get ready for a night full of excitement:

• Poker and blackjack
• Casino games
• Delicious local food & drinks
• Music by an amazing DJ
• Mini skateboard ramp 
• Meet & mingle with winter sport athletes

Each ticket includes entry into our opportunity drawing. Don't miss your chance to win one of our grand prizes:

1. A week’s stay at a stunning 4-bedroom, 4-bath retreat on Florida’s beautiful 30A! 
2. An exclusive, curated dining experience for up to ten guests at KITA! 

Your participation helps us coach talented athletes, introduce winter sports to more kids, and retain exceptional coaches. We look forward to seeing you there for a memorable evening! Click here to learn more and get your tickets!

Wednesday, Sept 25 - Drug Education Seminar

Parents are encouraged to attend this seminar to learn from Kacey Comer, Senior Police Officer for Park City Police, about local drug trends, the effects of different drugs and how to know if someone is using them.

• Date/Time: September 25, 2024 at 6 p.m. 
• Location: Park City Hospital, Blair Education Center

Making ACH Payments

From the PlayMetrics app, click “Menu” and then choose “Billing."

Then, click “Add” in the “Payment Methods” section. Select “Bank Account,” enter the required information, then click “Save Account."

Alpine

These chilly mornings have surely got us thinking that skiing is just around the corner, and if the fall goes by as fast as August just did, it's gonna be here before we know it! As we move into the fall, everyone is gearing up for dryland, equipment setups, and getting to know all our new staff. We are in a great place this year, with a full roster of coaches from Devo up to FIS.

Alpine registration for the winter 2024-25 season is open for all age groups! As a reminder, registration is also required to participate in Fall Dryland.

Equipment night is next up on September 4th from 5-8 p.m. (see article earlier in this newsletter). This is a great event to say "hi" to your coaches and get the inside scoop on everything gear-related for the season. Hot dogs will be served for free, so come grab a dog, and let's talk skiing! We hope to see you all there!

Cross Country

The Cross Country team wrapped up a great summer of fun and adventure on August 16. The Comp team ended the summer season in Carbondale, Colorado where they trained with the Aspen team including lots of rollerskiing and adventures on trails.

The Devo team's training included hikes, great bike rides and rollerski practices in late July and August. They took several trips to Soldier Hollow to join with the SoHo team and practice on the rollerski course. They also did a scenic rollerski past Provo Falls on the Provo River Parkway. Another highlight was paddleboarding at Jordanelle and hiking Clayton Peak. 

Fall programming for both the Devo and Comp teams started on September 26, switching back to after school practices. Many of the Comp athletes will also participate in high school sports in the fall including mountain biking, cross country running and soccer. The whole Comp team recently participated in the evening "Under the Lights" track workout with the PCHS cross country running team. 

A big congratulations to the Cross Country athletes who received YSA Circle of Excellence awards. Ian Carmack was awarded the Sam Jackenthal Show Stopper Award for coming from behind to clinch the win for the Junior National Championship relay team. Ian also won the Champion Award alongside teammates Tegan Hoffman, Root Roepke, and Augie Roepke. All-Star Award recipients were Liam Demong, Luke Miller, Keely Fisher, Phoebe Zaniello, Rhys Weidenhamer, Tory Hoffman, Liam Snihurowych, Jaydon Crouch and Lucas Fassio. 

Thank you to the families who came to the Youth United (formally Solomon Fund) Registration Event on August 25 at Park City Mountain hosted by Park City Community Foundation. This event helps us better serve our community by making sure more kids have the opportunity to cross country ski.

We hope to see many of you at the final Moose on the Loose race on Saturday, September 14. This event will also include a 5k race participants who are age 15+.

Finally, winter registration is open and training begins in November and December. If you have any questions please reach out to egarrard@parkcityss.org.

Freeride

Freeride is gearing up for fall training but there are still opportunities for Airbag training weekly Wednesday-Sunday through October 13, and weekly Water Ramp training Friday & Saturday through the end of September. Follow this link to view the schedules and times available, or reach out to your head coach with any questions.

Upcoming Fall Dates:

• Equipment Night - Wednesday, September 4th, 5:00-8:00pm at the UOP (for athletes registered for Winter programming).

• Early Bird Discount on Registration Fees - ends on Saturday, September 14th!

• Woodward Wednesday - September 18th, 6:00-8:00pm. Trampoline/inline training for athletes registered for Winter programming

If you have any questions about winter programming, follow this link for our website or reach out to your head coach:

Freeride Head Coach: Sawyer Stroud, sstroud@parkcityss.org

Freeride Skills Team Lead Coach: Nate Stott, nstott@parkcityss.org

Freeski

Freeski is turning their sights to fall training but we still have weekly Airbag training Wednesday-Sunday through October 13th, and Water Ramp training weekly Friday & Saturday through the end of September. Follow this link to look at schedules and times available for our sessions or reach out to your head coach with any questions.

Upcoming Fall Dates:

• Equipment Night - Wednesday, September 4th, 5:00-8:00pm at the UOP (for athletes registered for Winter programming).

• Early Bird Discount on Registration Fees - ends on Saturday, September 14th!

• Woodward Wednesday - September 18th, 6:00-8:00pm. Trampoline/inline training for athletes registered for Winter programming

If you have any questions about winter programming, follow this link for our website or reach out to your head coach:

Freeski Head Coach: Ian Punnett, ipunnett@parkcityss.org

Comp Team Head Coach: Teddy Goggin, tgoggin@parkcityss.org

Freestyle Aerials

We hosted the "Ultimate Airwave" on August 24th, and the event was a huge success! The competition included athletes representing Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, China and the United States.

Next up, PCSS athletes and Jack will head to the third and final US Ski & Snowboard Project Gold camp in Lake Placid, September 18-22. In addition, winter planning is underway for both hosted and travel competitions.

Freestyle - All Skills

Freestyle - All Skills athletes just wrapped up another productive summer on the water ramps! We had a bunch of new and returning athletes working on things from getting more comfortable in the air, learning their first flips, and even a few working on qualifying their flips to take to snow. Looking forward to next summer, we are excited to announce that construction is under way for our new “mini” water ramping jump! This jump will give us another step in our line of progression and adds a smaller feature for younger and less experienced athletes to get comfortable jumping into the pool. 

Now that summer training has ended, we are turning our attention to fall and winter training. Winter registration for Freestyle - All Skills is now open and spots are filling up fast! By signing up early you get the benefit of claiming a team jacket (limited number of jackets and sizes available on a first-come, first-serve basis) and having the opportunity to participate in our dryland trampoline sessions at Woodward starting in October.

Freestyle Moguls

The Mogul team has returned from a great camp in Perisher, Australia. The weather was mostly warm and sunny, with soft snow on the challenging mogul course, “Toppa’s Dream.” We sent a huge "thank you" to our Australian mogul friends for being great hosts. The camp included twelve training days where we used the terrain at Perisher for morning drills, and in addition to the mogul course we used the absorption roller tank and jump site. Training volume was plentiful and productive for all. The afternoons included frisbee golf and gym time. 

The camp concluded with the team competing in the Australian National Championships. This FIS event allowed the athletes to get in the start gate in the off-season to check in on their mindset training, and competition tactics. Megan Ciaglo took home the hardware placing 3rd in the Junior category, Jackson Crockett earned two top ten results, Zoe Dwinell and Emma Bosco also earned a top ten result, while rookie team member Sebastian Turchin earned a top twenty result in his first FIS event. The team will now enjoy a few days off before getting back on the water ramp for fall training.

Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined

With our kids back in school, we’re into our fall session of ski jumping. This is an exciting time of year, as the evenings start to cool down and the approach of winter becomes tangible.  

Backtracking to summer, the highlight was definitely the 25th Annual Springer Tournee here at the Olympic Park. We hosted athletes from around the nation for this summer tradition in the middle of July. The week kicked off with the highly anticipated athlete mentorship day where each of our U10-U16 athletes had the opportunity to be coached by National Team athletes both on the hill and in a dryland session. In the midst of the competitions, we spent an evening bonding as a community with a Main Street scavenger hunt and Red Banjo pizza party. This event, graciously hosted and created by the Toly family, was an instant classic! 

We finished the Springer Tournee with a bang and a brand new event - not just ski jumping, but a live performance!  Thanks to the support of the Summit County Restaurant Tax, we were able to produce a Saturday evening event that featured a unique format on the large hill ski jump, live TV quality video boards, beer from Offset and food from Lush’s BBQ, and a concert from the bluegrass group the Theoretical Blonde. Be sure to check out this amazing highlight clip from the event! 

As a reminder, winter registration is available, with options from Youth Development’s Learn 2 Fly to Fundamentals and Comp Team. Sign up now and give your child a chance to fly this winter!

Skimo

If this summer’s training is any indication, PCSS Skimo athletes are going to be flying on the skintrack this winter! And as the saying goes, skiers are made in the summer, so we’re more than optimistic! Most of our athletes are busy crushing the NICA mountain bike circuit, while a few others are focusing on trail running, and many of our race athletes are also staying strong with strength and conditioning in the Center of Excellence.

As the largest portion of our team is training on mountain bikes this fall, we have our eyes on their participation in the high school series. Our athletes opened this season with a great race at Soldier Hollow on August 17.  Highlights from our athletes included Izzy Crandall taking 1st in JVA, Addisyn Lundberg 2nd in Varsity, and four in the top 20 in Varsity boys (Cohen Flach 7th, Tanner Antinori 11th, William Hanley 13th and Océon Carlson-Smith 17th). 

Now looking towards the winter, we are excited to share that we are starting a team rental fleet!  For our Skimo families and participants reading this, please remember to register for the winter season now in order to secure rental gear and team jackets! Register here!

Lastly, mark your calendars for the 2025 PC Town Series races!  Dates are: Jan 24, Feb 6, Mar 7 and April 4.

Snowboard

The Snowboard team has been busy sessioning the airbag, and we also have a Thursday evening session on the Center of Excellence Vert Ramp (see photo). There has been quite a bit of enthusiasm for these venues, and both new and returning athletes are putting in work and learning tricks and skills.

The Snowboard Team invites you to attend our new fundraiser - "Casino Night" on Saturday, September 14th at the SkullCandy headquarters. The event will be a blast and offers an evening of good fun, food and drink with PCSS staff members and your family and friends. Click here for more information and to register now. 

Winter registration is open and we can’t wait to see you all in your snowboard boots! The early bird discount ends on September 15th, so be sure to sign up or reach out with any questions. There are also Fall Dryland offerings as described on our website. Please contact Rick at rshimpeno@parkcityss.org or your coach if you have questions or want additional information.

Youth Development

Registration for all Youth Development programs is open and spots are filling up fast! The Skillz & Drillz program is already full and, due to the high demand, we have added two additional nights! With the addition of Monday and Wednesday evenings, we can now move most, if not all, of the kids who were on the waitlist into that program. To learn more about the Monday/Wednesday addition and how to register, please reach out to Ryan DeVine at rdevine@parkcityss.org 

We still have plenty of space in some of our other Youth Development programs, and one we would like to highlight this month is the Learn 2 Fly ski jumping program. Learn 2 Fly offers the unique opportunity to fulfill every child's dream of flying through the air.  Participants will learn the fundamentals of ski jumping from our trained coaches in a controlled environment. Using our steady progression model, athletes will safely develop skills on our Bump Jump, 10 Meter and then 20 Meter hills. Head to www.parkcityss.org for more information and/or to register.