Medical Director Roalstad to leave USSA on Dec. 31

By Published On: November 17th, 2006Comments Off on Medical Director Roalstad to leave USSA on Dec. 31

Melinda Roalstad, the first full-time medical director for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, is leaving the organization on Dec. 31. Roalstad has helped professionalize the medical programs and services for USSA on a national and international scale.

 

MELINDA ROALSTAD, the first full-time medical director for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, is leaving the organization on Dec. 31. Roalstad has helped professionalize the medical programs and services for USSA on a national and international scale.
    Roalstad, who started with the ski team in 1990 as a sports physiologist and team trainer for the freestyle squad, helped expand the physician pool, the critical network of doctors who provide coverage for most training and competitions for the 15 teams of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. She also helped establish the official medical providers and designed the systems that treat acute-injury situations, from worst-case scenarios with emergency evacuation to more routine episodes, from injury to rehab and recovery.

    She has no immediate plans but will be exploring several opportunities and challenges, she said. “I've been lucky to have had an amazing, devoted staff and many dedicated volunteers who have genuinely contributed to the vision, and I've dealt with such outstanding athletes for about 15 years," she said, "but it's time for me to try something else."

    USSA President and CEO Bill Marolt hailed Roalstad's "incredible legacy of commitment and service to our athletes. In the process, she's totally professionalized our approach to medical services …

    ”Tirelessly and with great integrity, Melinda has built a world-class medical program for USSA with the ultimate goal of providing the best possible service to our athletes. Plain and simple," he said, "she established the protocols and systems, which have made USSA's medical program one of the leaders among national governing bodies in Olympic sports
worldwide, not just in the United States.
    "But, beyond USSA, Melinda's been a leader in the International Ski Federation medical program and community, a behind-the-scenes driving force in our sports. It's never been about Melinda, it's always the athlete for her and we're going to miss that kind of expertise and dedication," Marolt said.

    Roalstad grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and graduated from the University of Colorado and later the University of Miami with a master's degree in exercise physiology; she worked to create a private performance center in Steamboat Springs, Colo., which initially involved her with USSA. She later earned a physician's assistant certificate and license from the University of Utah. Roalstad served twice with USSA, from 1990 to 1996 (in 1991 she was named assistant director of sport science) and returning in 1998 as alpine women's team physiologist before being named USSA's initial full-time medical director in 1999. She was medical supervisor for the FIS during the 2003 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    "This was a very hard decision to make because I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished in building this medical program into a model for others. We have such a great group of doctors involved and other medical personnel," Roalstad said. "But there comes a time, and I've felt for a while that I wanted to look at some other opportunities and challenges. I hope to continue working with the FIS Medical Committee because I'm proud of all the good things that are at work with the committee, and how they benefit our sports and certainly our athletes and other nations' athletes. It's an important role.

    "I'm thankful for the talented people I've worked with through the years. We've done some terrific things in building a medical program based on integrity and respect as well as a vision of the service that must be provided for our athletes … and USSA has the potential to achieve even better things for our athletes," she said.

— USSA

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