Letter from our Executive Director |
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Dear Families -
There is a palpable energy in the air at Howelsen Hill these days! With the first snow of the season and the snow-making firing up, everyone is excited for the start of winter. Make sure your athletes are ready for the season; order and pick up your Howelsen Hill pass now! We finished mountain bike season with stellar performances at State Championships and have athletes on snow in Austria and Copper Mountain. Team orientations are underway, and our staff will welcome new families to the club with New Member Orientation on November 3. Last weekend, the ski and sport swap was one of the most successful ever, and the Warren Miller movie DAYMAKER will help kick off the season in early November. This is our favorite time of the year!
Brian Krill has been hired to take over as Executive Director next summer. Until then, he is committed to his role as Director and Head of School at Sugarbowl Academy and supporting his daughter as she finishes high school. I will remain in the Executive Director role until Brian joins us next summer. I am thrilled to be part of this fantastic team and for the winter ahead!
Many of you have asked how you can get involved in helping with the community Winter Sports Center proposal. We are excited about the energy this project has generated supporting upgrades to facilities at Howelsen Hill. The youth of our community is our most important asset! The Winter Sports Center will ensure the viability of our programs as well as preserve the heritage and legacy of Howelsen Hill by engaging youth in winter sports. This facility will have broad community access, from toddlers on trampolines to strength and conditioning for future Olympians. Support for the Winter Sports Center demonstrates how much our community values youth recreation and the positive impact of physical movement on overall wellness and mental health. We have asked the city staff and City Council to allow us to give the Winter Sports Center concept a chance. A project of this magnitude and the potential public benefit deserves an opportunity for community input. We look forward to an update from the city and engaging those of you who are interested in supporting our effort over the next few weeks.
Thank you for your support, and think snow!
Sarah Floyd
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Thank you to our Jacket Sponsors! |
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We will have one additional pick up day on November 3 from 4-5:30pm in Olympian Hall prior to New Parent Orientation at 6pm. Volunteer HERE
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New Parent Orientation
November 3 at 6pm: New to SSWSC this year? Join us for new parent orientation Thursday, November 3, from 6-7pm in Olympian Hall, Howelsen Hill Lodge (2nd floor on the right). Topics covered include a club overview, opportunities for children, what they need this season, what to expect from coaches, how to find your way around, competitions and MORE!
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The Mountain in My Mind
SSWSC is proud to partner with REPS (Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide) to show The Mountain in My Mind, a ski and snowboard film about mental health. There are two showings on Saturday, November 5, one at 5pm and one at 8pm. There will be great raffles before each show. Click HERE for tickets and information.
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Winter Program Fee Scholarship - Applications due November 15
Winter program fee scholarship applications are due on November 15. Scholarships are awarded on November 30. This scholarship is intended to help families with winter program fees based on financial need. This scholarship is available in ADDITION to the EZ scholarship. CLICK HERE TO APPLY.
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It's time to pick up your Howelsen Hill Pass!
Howelsen Hill Season Passes are available for PURCHASE/PICK UP NOW! Do not wait until your first day of training to pick up passes! The Howelsen Ticket Office is open Monday-Thursday, 2-6pm, and Friday, 8am-noon.
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New Annual Support Partners Announces! |
Yampa Valley Bank is now Title Sponsor of our two Signature Events: Winter Carnival and Jumpin’ & Jammin’ |
Cloud 9 Integrated Systems from Bronze to Silver |
Steamboat Specialties from Bronze to Silver |
New Bronze: Alpine Lumber |
New Bronze: Northwest Data Services |
Podcast Support Partner: Honey Stinger |
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Athlete Safety and Howelsen Hill Snowmaking
The Howelsen Hill snowmaking crew has been working around the clock taking advantage of this week’s low temps to get the hill ready for the season. The high pressure snowmaking hoses and high voltage electric cables serving the snow guns both present real danger to anyone who gets too close. In the interest of safety, nobody other than the Howelsen Hill snowmaking crew should be near the snowmaking operations without prior approval, including on the entire face, the Poma line, jump flats, and magic carpet area, both when the snow guns are running and when they are idle. We need everyone’s help to make sure kids stay a safe distance from the snow guns and let the trained professionals make the snow. Thank you!
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SSWSC Featured Silver Support Partner:
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New Program- Senior Team Skimo
Devo Skimo is a NEW program for the SSWSC, introducing athletes to the fundamentals of ski mountaineering, racing, and training. This programs is for athletes ages 14+. Skimo (ski mountaineering) racing was recently accepted as an official Olympic sport for 2026 in Italy. This is a chance to be a part of one of the first dedicated youth programs in the U.S. focused on ski mountaineering training and racing. Learn More!
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Mountain Bike Team Finishes Strong at State Championships
Steamboat High School Mountain Bike team took home four podium finishes and 2nd overall for division two at the State Championships held last weekend, Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the CMC Spring Valley Campus in Glenwood Springs. The races, originally scheduled for two days, changed to a single day due to the snow and cold weather, but athletes and parents pulled together to make it a stellar day for the team! A total of 23 SSWSC athletes competed, representing Steamboat Springs High School and Steamboat Mountain School. Varsity racers included: Caleb Haack, Thomas Cooper, Aidan Haack, and Primo Famiglietti. JV racers included: Kyan Strong, Jace Rabesa, Thomas Miller, Abby Olson, Caroline Landers, Jesse Weaver, Madeline Rochon, Mary McLarnon, Liz Lipscomb, Aiden Kerrigan, and Wren Capra. Sophomore racers included: Dietze Gibson and Ian McLarney. Freshman racers included: Luke Bedell, Thomas Agosta, Ryan Montgomery, Eva Minotto, Anna Rhodes, and Emma Crocker. The race length was 13 miles for varsity riders and 9 miles for JV, Sophomore, and Freshman riders.
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STATEWIDE RESULTS:
Aiden Haack - 4th for Varsity Boys
Mary McClarnon - 1st JV Girls
Abby Olson - 8th JV Girls
Eva Minotto - 2nd Freshman Girls
Anna Rhodes - 7th Freshman Girls
Ryan Montgomery - 6th Freshman Boys
Shout out to Wren Capra for winning the Slingshot Award! Wren started her race in 108th place, the last row of starters and finished 12th, passing well over 90 other racers. FULL RESULTS HERE.
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Jumping finishes summer season in Park City
Last week our U16/U20 ski jumpers closed out the summer season in Park City, UT, with one final training camp. The athletes took over 30 rides on the 100-meter jump in three days! They also took an afternoon to play on trampolines and fly into foam pits at Woodward. The coaches call it air awareness training, but they'll be the first to admit it's more about having fun than anything else. The team finished the week with a race up the 134-meter jump. Much like the Redbull 400, the athletes sprinted up the entire hill as fast as possible in heats based on gender and age. Haley Brabec took 3rd in the junior girls' class with a time of 06:18!
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Freestyle Team Travels to Austria
The U17/19 Freestyle athletes have finished a successful and productive training camp in Hintertux, AUT. The 10-day on-snow camp was an excellent opportunity for early-season training on a FIS level mogul course in winter conditions. “It is challenging to find mogul venues in October, and we were excited to hear that Hintertux Resort and Austrian Racing Camps were going to build a course on the glacier,” said program director Sam Tarrant. “Thank you to both organizations for their work and organization.” Many of the athletes attending this camp had never traveled to or skied in Europe, so they also took too a few days off to go site seeing.
In addition to training on the mogul course, there was plenty of open terrain for flats skiing and a few days with fresh snow, making the morning free runs a blast. The SSWSC team shared the training venue with teams from all over, including national teams from Kazakstan, Germany, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic. The athletes are excited to return home to some snow in Steamboat and look forward to skiing in Colorado soon!
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Cross Country athletes compete in Second Annual Schutzenski Festival at Soldier Hollow
Four current SSWSC cross country athletes, Trey Jones, Henry Magill, Charley Lodwick, Tristan Thrasher, alumnus Noel Keefe, Finn O’Connel, Simon Zink, and Niklaus Malacinski competed in the Second Annual Schutzenski Festival at Soldier Hollow on October 15 and 16. The event included elite and open-class rollerski cross country and biathlon races. On Saturday, in the 10K race, Trey Jones came in 20th (1st youth competitor) and Henry Magill 34th. Alumnus Finn O’Connell came in 5th, Simon Zink 16th, and Niklaus Malacinski 26th. On Sunday, SSWSC alumnus Noel Keefe won the sprint race, Finn O'Connell came in 7th, and current SSWSC athlete Trey Jones was 12th. Henry Magill earned a junior podium 3rd place for the sprint race. Charley Lodwick was 22nd and had the exciting opportunity to race in a sprint heat with Olympian Jessie Diggens! Athlete Tristan Thrasher also posted fantastic results - 2nd for the 7.5K biathlon and 4th in the open men’s mass start biathlon.
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Presented by Alpine Bank |
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The Freestyle program would like to recognize Xander Tatar-Brown for his dedication, hard work, and leadership. Tatar-Brown is a long-standing member of the SSWSC Freestyle Program, entering a postgraduate year with his sights set on the FIS NorAm Grand Prix Series.
Xander is always willing to help, mentor, and motivate his teammates; especially notable is how he inspires the up-and-coming athletes. During this fall’s on-snow training camp in Hintertux, Austria he was able to develop his competition run with speed and a high degree of difficulty aerial package, including a back full and cork 1080. Freestyle Director Sam Tarrant states, "Xander is a pleasure to coach. He is task orientated and trusting of the learning process. He makes each day productive by sticking to the training plan and making smart athletic decisions with the coaching staff. Congrats Xander!"
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The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Show |
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Check out last week's episode:
The Parent Trap: Navigating winter sports for three very different kids.
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Seven Steamboat athletes confirmed on U.S. snowboard, Alpine and freestyle national teams. Read Here
Steamboat mountain bike team dominates across all age groups at state. Read Here
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THANK YOU TO OUR ANNUAL SUPPORT PARTNERS |
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GOLD Annual Support Partners |
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SILVER Annual Support Partners |
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BRONZE Annual Support Partners |
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