East Burke, VT (May 21, 2016) – Burke Mountain Academy (BMA) is a step closer to seeing its student-athletes train inside the Ronnie Berlack Center (RBC) following the May 21 official groundbreaking ceremony. Attended by more than 250 enthusiastic BMA students, staff, parents, alumni and donors, the groundbreaking event celebrated the imminent construction of the academy’s new $2.8M state-of-the-art physical training facility for its alpine and nordic student athletes.
Set to open in late fall of 2016, the new facility will add 15,000 square feet of training and functional space to the campus, including 6,100 square feet of turf field and 4,700 square feet of training area with rubberized flooring and sophisticated training equipment. The RBC will be home to high-performance programming in strength and conditioning, sports psychology, sports medicine, nutrition, athletic movement, injury rehabilitation, coaching development, wellness, as well as research in and dissemination of the latest work in sport science. Open year-round, the facility will also be accessible to local partner programs for summertime training programs.
The building will proudly bear Ronnie Berlack’s name in memory of his lasting legacy as an accomplished BMA athlete. Ronnie graduated from the academy in 2012 and lost his life in an avalanche in Soelden, Austria on January 5, 2015 during a camp with the U.S. Ski Team development squad. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) recently established the Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Safety and Security (BRASS) Foundation in memory of Berlack and his teammate Bryce Astle to increase awareness, promote training and education, and advance investments regarding athlete safety and security.
“I’m beyond ecstatic today,” said Steve Berlack, father of Ronnie Berlack, men’s FIS coach at BMA and lead on the project’s silent fund development efforts. “Thanks to everyone’s incredible contributions to date, this project is coming to life. I know Ronnie would be extremely proud of the meaningful impact this project will have on the future generations of Burkies.”
In addition to its primary athletic development functions, the building’s open floor plan will allow for community events including spontaneous sports, competitive play and larger organized events such as graduation. The enhanced space will also create opportunities for BMA
to host other athletic and educational opportunities including summer dryland camps, regional training and testing projects, coaches’ clinics, and revenue-generating seminars.
“It’s terrific to see the whole community rally behind this amazing project,” says Jory Macomber ’80, former Vice President of Athlete Career and Education at USSA and incoming head of school at BMA. “As emphasis on sport specialization continues to increase, it’s essential for BMA to remain ahead of the curve and to reassert its leadership in the area of adolescent athletic preparation for alpine and Nordic ski racing. By investing in this world-class infrastructure and developing new programs, BMA will be in a strong position to empower its student-athletes to reach their fullest potential while also producing thought leadership that will benefit the entire sports system.”
For more information about the RBC, visit: //burkemtnacademy.org/skiing/ronnie-berlack-center/
Release information provided by Burke Mountain Academy.
