The slopes of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows gained more prominence with the announcement this week that the Lake Tahoe ski resort will be designated as an Official Training Site of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced a five-year agreement with Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. The Lake Tahoe resort joins Mammoth Mountain, Deer Valley in Utah, Copper Mountain in Colorado and Timberline Lodge in Oregon as one of only five official training sites across the country.
In addition to being a training site for the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is a U.S. Ski & Snowboard High Performance Center, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Site, and a World Cup event last season.
The resort currently has six athletes on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team, more than any other resort or race program in the country. Among the Squaw Valley participants in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were Julia Mancuso, Marco Sullivan, Travis Ganong and Nate Holland, a boarder crosser.
“Since hosting the Olympics in 1960, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has produced some of our nation’s best skiers and snowboarders,” said Luke Bodensteiner, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief of Sport. “As a World Cup venue, a NASTAR resort and home of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Ski Teams, both U.S. Ski & Snowboard gold certified clubs, it has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the development of athletes and providing the resources they need to succeed at the elite level.”
As an Official Training Site, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will host U.S. team athletes for elite training sessions at the resort at key times during the season.
Additionally, the High Performance Center and Development Center designations connect Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Team staff with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Park City-based Center of Excellence and other high performance centers across the country to share best practices in strength and conditioning, sport science and sports medicine, while also acting as a central training and education site for U.S. Ski & Snowboard clubs in the region.
“This is a true honor,” said Todd Kelly, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Ski Team Program Director. “Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows have a number of phenomenal on-hill training venues for all U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. We look forward to welcoming them to our resort and supporting their needs while they are here.”
Host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, 1969 and 2017 FIS World Cup’s, and this year the NASTAR National Championships, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and the surrounding communities of Truckee and North Lake Tahoe have a strong connection to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.
With athlete representation at every winter games since 1964, many current and former U.S. Ski Team athletes credit the resort’s diverse and challenging terrain for much of their success.
