Long heralded as one of the best winter sports clubs in the US, the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) will elevate its training capabilities with the addition of a championship-caliber Alpine Training and Competition Venue located at the Steamboat Ski Resort. Work on the venue is expected to break ground early summer 2015, with plans for opening the course to athletes in November 2015. “The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club has a 100–year tradition of training great athletes and leaders,” said Jim Boyne, executive director of the SSWSC. “Our world class facilities, combined with unparalleled community support, have allowed us to build an Olympic heritage unlike any other club. This new venue is a key component in ensuring that SSWSC remains one of the most successful and competitive winter sports clubs in the nation.”

World-class coaching can only go so far without the facilities to support the athletes’ skills. The Alpine Training and Competition Venue at Steamboat Ski Resort will allow local alpine, telemark and alpine snowboard athletes to excel by giving coaches the ability to control on-mountain conditions and the firmness of the snow surface, which is considered THE critical factor in modern ski racing. Alpine athletes who were previously forced to travel to other ski resorts to train on courses with competitive snow surface, proper course length, and ideal terrain will now be able to remain in the Yampa Valley while achieving their training and racing goals. This new venue complements the current SSWSC facilities by serving the direct needs of the alpine racing programs, while freeing up room on the slopes of Howelsen Hill to better serve both the club’s programs, as well as recreational skiers.

“We are known as Ski Town, U.S.A. because of the world class facilities found in Steamboat,” said Chris Diamond, president and chief operating officer of the Steamboat Ski Resort & Corporation. “The addition of this new venue for the Winter Sports Club is a natural progression for our community and will nurture the next generation of winter sports athletes.”

Howelsen Hill has been the main training ground for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club for more than 100 years, as well as access to terrain at the Steamboat Ski Resort. Through these strong partnerships, competitive level facilities are in place for club programs, notably Nordic Combined and Freestyle. These venues have not only helped train the club’s athletes and attract the highest level of competitors, but have allowed Steamboat to host numerous events. The SSWSC hopes the new training facility will attract elite athletes for training, similar to the mogul course at the Park Smalley Freestyle Venue on Voodoo trail at the Steamboat Ski Resort, and allow Steamboat to host high level alpine racing competitions.

“The new venue has ripple effects for the community,” says Boyne. “Not only can we provide world-class training facilities to support our athletes as they pursue their goals, but by bringing in more alpine events Steamboat receives world-wide exposure and an economic boost.”

The new championship caliber alpine course will be located at the Steamboat Ski Resort to the skiers’ left of the Sitz and See Ya trails and will be dedicated primarily for the use of SSWSC athlete and competitors for training and competition. To finance the new venue, SSWSC has launched the Creating Champions campaign with a goal of fundraising $2.35 million. SSWSC has already achieved more than 50% of its funding goal with $1.3 currently committed to the project. To support the Creating Champions Campaign please visit: www.sswscCreatingChampions.com