The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) is located in Steamboat Springs,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. SSWSC has produced 88 Winter Olympians, including 14 sent to the

2014 Winter Games , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...

. Some of the more well-known Olympians including 6-time Olympian Todd Lodwick, 5-time Olympian Billy Demong, 1992 Bronze Medalist Nelson Carmichael, 2002 Silver Medalist Travis Mayer, and Caroline Lalive.

Winter Sports training

The SSWSC is a multi-sport ski club located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, that provides winter and summer athletic programming. It is the oldest ski club west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. Its home ski area is

Howelsen Hill Howelsen Hill Ski Area is a small ski area located on Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It is not a typical alpine ski area, as it includes a series of ski jumps, the largest with HS127. History The ski area has produced 89 Olympi ...

, owned and operated by the City of Steamboat Springs. That area provides terrain for most of the winter sports, and has lights for night operations. The Steamboat Ski Area provides the Club and its athletes much support on the slopes of its . The SSWSC was selected by the US Ski Team as its national Club of the Year in 2007, 2004, and 1999. There are four main types of skiing/snowboarding in the SSWSC.

Alpine Skiing/Racing

The

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

branch of the SSWSC is the largest branch, with about 400 children. The racers enrolled are split into development and

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

racers when they are young. The SSWSC coaching staff teaches fundamentals to the young racers. Approximately 60 coaches work with this program. They train at Howelsen Hill and Mt. Werner.

Freestyle

The SSWSC freestyle program is one of the best in the country. They have about 175 athletes, ages 7 through adult, training in mogul skiing, aerials, half pipe, skier cross, freeskier and

telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is n ...

. Nineteen coaches handle the coaching duties and athletes train at Howelsen Hill and Mt. Werner, in the Steamboat Ski area.

Nordic

The SSWSC Nordic Program includes cross country, special (Nordic) jumping, Nordic combined and biathlon. Approximately 160 athletes participate and are instructed by a staff of 23 coaches. This program has produced a large number of national team members for the US Ski Team in their respective sports. They train at the Howelsen Hill ski area, which has one of the most complete Nordic jumping complexes in North America. The Nordic Combined program was recognized as USSA's program of the year in the 2006/07 ski season.

Snowboard

The SSWSC Snowboard program was selected as the top program in the country in 2006/07 and awarded the Snowboard Program of the Year. They have approximately 170 athletes, and a staff of 25 coaches. The program includes instruction in freestyle snowboarding, alpine snowboarding, and boardercross. This group trains at Howelsen Hill and Mt. Werner.

Notable members

* Arielle Gold (born 1996), Olympic bronze medalist, Junior World Champion, and World Champion snowboarder *

Taylor Gold Taylor Gold (born November 17, 1993) is an American Olympian snowboarder. He competes in the halfpipe. He is a two-time U.S. Revolution Tour champion, 2013 Copper Mountain Grand Prix/World Cup champion, 2014 Burton US Open champion, and 2014 ...

(born 1993), Olympian snowboarder

References

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External links

Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
Sports clubs in the United States Sports in Colorado Routt County, Colorado Steamboat Springs, Colorado Ski clubs 1914 establishments in Colorado Sports clubs established in 1914