USCSA prez Paul Wojick leaving post after six years

With numbers at an all-time high, competition more grueling than ever and growing membership numbers, retiring United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard (USCSA) President Paul Wojick can look back on an organization he really helped rebuild from the ground up.
WITH NUMBERS at an all-time high, competition more grueling than ever and growing membership numbers, retiring United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard (USCSA) President Paul Wojick can look back on an organization he really helped rebuild from the ground up.
    Wojick, who has been involved with the USCSA since close to its beginning and was elected president six years ago, is leaving due to term limits that prohibit any one individual from holding the post for more than six years. Wojick, who’s also the former head coach and director of the St. Olaf Ski Team, admitted that it’s time to step down and pass the torch to someone else.
    “I think the program is doing some really positive things right now in terms of developing relations across the entire ski community,” Wojick said. “Relationships with USSA, U.S. Skiing, multiple ski areas, and with our younger skiers and coaches who are looking for a place to send their athletes after high school. The program is in a good place right now and we have some great candidates to take over the organization.”
    Wojick grew up ski racing for fun, but was never given the opportunity to succeed in the sport he grew to love so much.
    “I have always loved the sport,” Wojick said. “And because I never got a chance to become the skier I could have, I have always wanted to give others the opportunity. Learning about the sport at a later age, I acquired a lot of my knowledge from the ski community especially from [Buck Hill’s] Erich Sailer. Skiing is a fantastic environment, and it’s given me a platform to be someone who could effectively support the program.”
    When Wojick first became involved with USCSA the program was in shambles. He was first treasurer, then vice president before he was elected president of the organization.
    “It was not too long prior to when I arrived that the program had really fallen apart,” Wojick remembers. “We found that it was necessary to build it from scratch, so we were really in a process of rebuilding for some time.”
    And rebuild he did. Now the program, rivaling the participation numbers of the NCAA, is a thriving organization with university teams that stretch from East to West.
    Looking back on his years with the USCSA program, Wojick credits his biggest accomplishments to the overall atmosphere he and his committee have created.
    “In general I brought some new and energetic people onto the board and put the whole organization in growth mode,” he said. “It has become so much stronger and is set up for someone new.”
    Wojick plans to stay involved with the St. Olaf Ski Team, a strong program from Northfield, Minn., that has won the President’s Cup at USCSA Championships five out of the past eight years.
    “I think it’s been a great experience,” Wojick said of his years with USCSA. “I hope we have accomplished a lasting program and I think we are in a good position to move forward.”
    Elections for a new president will take place this summer when the board, including Wojick, will vote on a new candidate.