Holderness earns US Ski & Snowboard Gold Certification

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named Holderness School a Gold-certified club, the highest honor awarded to affiliated ski programs.

“U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Podium Club Certification Program requires a rigorous, mission-driven self-assessment and review of best principles and practices in eight areas of organizational performance,” says Club Development Manager Ellen Adams. “As a Gold-certified club, Holderness serves as a model of excellence, both organizationally and athletically, and is a valuable resource to winter sport in the United States.”

“We are honored and humbled to have U.S. Ski and Snowboard recognize Holderness School as a Gold-certified club,” says Head of School Phil Peck. “This is an affirmation of our commitment to snow sports excellence, and we are excited to continue building on the momentum of our vision to be the very best program we can be.”

That vision is brought to life through significant investments in personnel, program, and facilities to affirm its role as one of the premier snow sports schools in the country, says the school. A $6 million gift supports the construction of the Mittersill Performance Center at Mittersill Slopes at Cannon Mountain – a U.S. Ski Team training venue and home to Holderness Eastern Alpine racers – as well as the construction of an on-campus freeski air bag jump and a 5-kilometer homologated cross country skiing venue that will incorporate 2 kilometers of lighted trail and 2.5 kilometers of snowmaking. In addition to hiring Director of Snow Sports Ben Drummond and several new Eastern Alpine coaches, Holderness School recently launched an Eastern Alpine Gap Year Program to further support college-bound skiers. The Nordic program, too, earned 2020 Club of the Year honors from the New England Nordic Ski Association.

“The Gold certification achievement is an honor and provides validity to the new movement of the snow sports programming as a whole at Holderness,” says Director of Snow Sports Ben Drummond. “The certification shows our continued support for the overall development of the whole student-athlete in line with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard standards of excellence.”

The process of achieving Gold level certification as a club provides an opportunity for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the national governing body, to assess a club’s current situation and determine areas of need. “The certification programs give our clubs the resources they need to assess and improve their structure and programs to meet their organizational goals and the goals of the thousands of U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes across the US,” says Sport Education Director Gar Trayner.

Gold-certified clubs possess a heightened level of accountability to maintain and build upon areas of both strength and improvement, to ensure the longevity and stability of the organization and to help, through feedback and observation, to grow the cumulative strength of clubs throughout regions and across the country.

Release courtesy of Holderness School.