FRANCONIA, NH (Oct. 1, 2015) – U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) ski racers from across the east will benefit from a newly designated USSA Training Site with the Mittersill race and training venue at Cannon Mountain Ski Area in Franconia, NH. The new training venue is the result of a partnership between the USSA and the State of New Hampshire, Franconia Ski Club and Holderness School—all of which have a rich history in the sport. Aggressive project timelines may allow for on-snow training as early as the 2015-16 season, and the venue will impact thousands of USSA alpine racers in the east.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association has designated New Hampshire’s Mittersill race and training venue at Cannon Mountain as a USSA Training Site.
- Partnership: The on-snow training facility is a public/private partnership between the State of New Hampshire’s Cannon Mountain Ski Area, Franconia Ski Club and Holderness School. The Mittersill race and training venue will be a public project with a public purpose.
- On-Snow Training: The first phase of the new alpine ski racing training venue is under construction and limited on-snow training may be complete for the 2015-16 season at the Mittersill Ski Area, adjacent to Cannon Mountain in Franconia. The venue is comprised of two legendary Mittersill trails: Baron’s Run, which will be the speed venue for super G and giant slalom, and the Taft Slope, which will have an adjacent T-Bar and offer high-efficiency slalom and giant slalom training.
- Legacy: The Franconia Ski Club, which dates back to 1933, has a rich and deep legacy in alpine ski racing including Olympians Joan Hannah, Julia Ford and Bode Miller. The club organized the first World Cup held in North America in 1967. One of the most prominent academies in the USSA system, nearby Holderness School dates back to 1879 with ski racing programs beginning in the 1920s.
- Economic Benefits: The training center will provide enhanced economic benefits to the North Country region of New Hampshire with increased visits by USSA clubs from around New England.
- Accessibility: Mittersill’s location makes it easily accessible from many Eastern Region clubs and is just 2.5 hours (138 miles) from Boston, via the interstate.
- Trail Work: Trail development is now underway with direct engagement by Project Manager Ted Sutton, one of the most highly regarded International Ski Federation (FIS) trail certifiers, Franconia Ski Club Director Rich Smith, a veteran of nearly three decades of coaching, veteran U.S. Ski Team coach Mike Kenney and longtime U.S. Ski Team, club level and current Holderness School Director of Snow Sports Georg Capaul. Inclusion of snowmaking capabilities and surface lift facilities are currently underway.
- Rebirth: The ski runs on the mountain shared by Cannon and Mittersill date back to 1933. Mittersill, founded by the Baron Hubert von Pantz of Austria in 1945, was one of the prominent ski areas in the east until it went dormant in 1984. Local efforts to bring it back, through a partnership with the State of New Hampshire and the U.S. Forest Service, resulted in it re-opening in the 2009-10 season with a new chairlift added a year later.
- Funding: Both the State of New Hampshire and the Federal Government have invested in the project because of its economic and educational impact on the region. The USSA supported the project by providing a channel for future contributions through a new infrastructure fund designed to provide donors with a means of supporting highly impactful regional and national projects that benefit athletes.
- USSA Opportunities: The Mittersill training site at Cannon Mountain will be available for USSA regional development projects and is expected to be a site for major USSA events in the future. The partnership calls for 20 days of on-snow training and race projects, and will act as host to the 2017 NCAA Championships giant slalom and slalom events.
QUOTES
Tiger Shaw, USSA President and CEO
Cannon Mountain and Mittersill have such a rich legacy in New England skiing and racing. The Mittersill training site is an outstanding example of how the USSA can partner with local clubs and academies to bring added value to athletic programs that will impact a broad range of athletes. The State of New Hampshire, Franconia Ski Club and Holderness School have created a partnership that will be of great benefit to thousands of ski racers in the USSA Eastern Region.
Chip Knight, USSA Alpine Development Director
The Mittersill training site is a unique opportunity for grassroots and elite developing USSA athletes to have access to a high-caliber, dedicated training site located in the east. It’s really exciting to think of aspiring young skiers making repeated quality laps in three events, and how that training volume will translate into better USSA athletes down the road. Mittersill is a testament to Cannon Mountain, Franconia Ski Club and Holderness School’s dedication to being part of ski racing’s future.
Rich Smith, Franconia Ski Club Director
The terrain of the hill at Mittersill is incredible. Kids will have the ability to experience terrain continually coming at them—a lot like that of European tracks—and what they have to do to make it work. This is something that’s really lacking in our country, so when American kids go over to Europe they’re thrown into unfamiliar territory. It has everything from steeps to rolls and a nice flat on the bottom featuring built-in terrain. When I was Eastern Region coach I remember Chip Knight telling me “If you want to learn how to win a World Cup, you better know how to ski flats.” Speed venues are shrinking in America due to the manpower that it takes to fence and maintain them, but we’re 100 percent committed to making this project happen. It won’t go away.
Julia Ford, Franconia Ski Club Alumni and Sochi Olympian
As an athlete coming from the East, I am extremely excited about the Mittersill training facility. From someone who has trained all over the U.S. and raced everywhere, I am even more excited. Mittersill offers a training opportunity not yet offered in the U.S., let alone the East. It is a racer's dream: hot laps, lots of terrain, hard snow—in an area that loves skiing and is passionate about racing. To me, Mittersill is an ideal place for diehard ski racers; a place to improve, unite teams and athletes, push development forward, and spread the love of ski racing in a region that is deep in legacy but has never had this level of a training opportunity.
