By Todd Brickson, Rowmark Ski Academy Program Director

Rowmark Summer and Fall Highlights

Our Academy and Junior Program summer and fall activities have been very busy and productive with ski camps and daily dryland conditioning. Our on-snow preparation period started off with an excellent June ski camp at Mammoth Mountain, CA, where the snow conditions were still fantastic due to a season of record snowfall in the Sierras.

Then in August, our FIS Team had plans to travel to New Zealand for their second ski camp, but poor snow conditions there forced a sudden pivot to Saas Fee, Switzerland, instead. This turned out to be a good decision as they had an excellent camp where they were greeted with excellent weather, snow, and training conditions on a glacier deep in the Swiss Alps. The camp also provided a dynamic experience of Swiss culture.

At the same time in August, our U16s and U14s had a productive camp at Mt. Hood, OR. Many people are surprised to learn that there is year-round skiing at Mt. Hood, but there is! With that said, we did have to endure a couple of days of record heat during the camp. Despite this, the snow held up well for our training as the coaches prepared the snow each day by spreading a thin layer of salt on the snow surface. (This works because the salt melts the first inch of snow, which then causes it to refreeze into ice above the next snow layer, thereby creating a hard, durable surface for each training session.)

In early September, our academy team headed north to Bear Lake, UT, for our annual Academy Fall Orientation Weekend. Here we challenged the Rowmarkers’ teamwork and leadership skills with a series of social and physical challenges, including a mountain bike/road bike/hike triathlon, speedball and volleyball tournaments, beach and water relays, slacklining, and tug-of-war.

As I write this, our Rowmark Academy team is now in Colorado for an eight-day SL (slalom) and GS (giant slalom) camp at Aspen Highlands, while our U14s and U12s are headed to Big Sky, MT, for five days on snow there prior to Thanksgiving break. These camps also challenge the Rowmarkers’ academic and organizational abilities as they miss several days of school for these fall camps and work to keep up with school during nightly study halls proctored by the coaches.

In between all these camps, our teams have been busy with daily after-school dryland conditioning, which includes strength training, core, cardio, agility, coordination, and games, as well as periodic mental training sessions as we finally get on snow full time here in Utah to prepare for the fast-approaching competition season!

Rowmark Staff Updates

This summer we welcomed Andy Hare to Rowmark as our new Junior Program director. Andy brings with him a combined 40 years of ski racing, ski industry, coaching, and program directing experience. Andy started his ski racing career at Ski Butternut in Massachusetts, and then attended Stratton Mountain School in Vermont, where he won several Junior Olympic titles. 

After graduating from Stratton Mountain School, Andy qualified for the US Development Ski Team and spent a year training and racing around the world. He then attended the University of Utah, where won the 1996 NCAA GS National Championship title, was a three-time NCAA All-American, and was the recipient of the Alf Engen Sportsmanship Award. While at the U, Andy also coached FIS level athletes at Snowbird and worked as an intern with Rowmark.

After college, Andy began working at Nordica as the western race service manager. During his 23-year tenure at Nordica, he filled many roles ranging from race service, athlete (he competed in the 2000 X-Games in skier cross), product manager, marketing manager, and director of marketing. During this time Andy worked with a local ski area, Whaleback Mountain, restructuring the race program and as a member of the Board of Directors. Andy and his family then moved back to where he grew up and he was hired as the Ski Butternut program director where he worked for three years redeveloping the program, which grew to 230 athletes and 20 coaches.

Four years ago, Andy and his family had an opportunity to move to Utah, which had been a goal of his since the day he graduated from the U of U. Here, Andy has continued to consult for Nordica and has worked closely with US Ski and Snowboard, Professional Ski Instructors of America, and National Ski Patrol. Andy and his wife, Wendy, our Rowmark team manager, have two children, Parker and Emma, who both attend Rowland Hall. In his free time, Andy likes to ski, ride motorcycles, mountain bike, and spend time with his family.

We would also like to welcome the following new coaches to our programs:

• Jimena Carlin, FIS (U18 and older) assistant Academy coach
• Tyler Utendorfer, U14 Academy Prep assistant coach
• Sydney Weaver, U14 Academy Prep assistant coach
• Andrea Fiore, U12 All-Star assistant coach
• TJ Weaver, U10 All-Mountain Ripper assistant coach
• Hayley Trockman, U8 Love to Ski head coach

Alumni Updates

We are thrilled to announce that US Ski Team members and sisters Mary Bocock ’22 and Elisabeth Bocock ’23 each earned their first World Cup starts on October 28 in the giant slalom at Sölden, Austria.

At the same time, congratulations to Madi Hoffman ’18, Australian National Team and University of Utah two-time NCAA champion. On November 11, skiing with bib 36, the 23-year-old scored her first career World Cup points in her third World Cup start, finishing 25th in Levi, Finland!

These are huge milestones in these athletes’ young careers, and we are very proud of their impressive accomplishments on the world stage at the highest level of our sport.

On March 1, the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at Utah Olympic Park formally opened for training. This event, the culmination of the second phase of mountain expansion on the park’s west peak, upgraded the park’s training capabilities, which will benefit Rowmark Ski Academy as well as Park City Ski and Snowboard Club and the University of Utah Ski Team, the venue’s three founding clubs.

A 1,200-vertical-foot, full-length super-G, giant slalom, and slalom venue, complete with a high-speed quad chairlift, snowmaking, and lights, West Peak is a state-of-the-art training facility that will long benefit Rowmark Ski Academy and Rowmark Junior athletes.

KCPW: West Peak expansion formally opens at the Utah Olympic Park

Deseret News: New Olympic training and competition ski runs unveiled at the Spencer F. Eccles Mountain Center

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By Troy Price, Rowmark Junior Program Director

The Rowmark Junior program has wrapped up another successful season. This year, we welcomed a record number of new families to our community. I’m pleased with the skill development of these new members; however, I’m very proud of the growth in personal character within the athletes as the coaches reinforced our team values every week. I will recognize our athletes later in the article, but first I want to discuss the remarkable community we have in the Rowmark Junior Program.

Our community of athletes, coaches, parents, teachers, and administrators created an incredible environment where we all placed priority in our core values. By keeping the development of the whole athlete as a paramount, we were able to find the balance in academics and athletics. Moreso, we were able to identify the best opportunities for each athlete. The coaching staff and athletes created an environment of high expectations and inclusivity. They practiced positive character traits in trust and perseverance. Meanwhile, there was always a balance between team pride and sportsmanship. Our Rowmark parents were supportive to all competitors and thankful to the volunteers at each race. I’m very pleased with our team culture and look forward to building upon our successes moving forward.

During the season, we celebrated our increasing diversity at our family day at the Utah Olympic Park with a flag ceremony and ski race for all. With the generosity of a donor, we have established the Trailblazer Scholarship to help support our efforts in bringing more diversity into our program.

We enhanced our introduction level, known as Love to Ski, under the leadership of Tiffany Flygare. Tiffany created a lesson plan each week that kept the young athletes engaged and always looking forward to the following week.

I’m so very proud of the hard work that all our student-athletes have applied this season. They were ready to showcase their talents at their given championships across the Western US. Please join me in celebrating the following Rowmark athletes for reaching their championship events.

U14 Regionals, Jackson Hole, WY

Callie Lipson, Andrew Hanrahan, Luke Kanarowski, and Rhys Schillinger

U14 Tri-Divisionals, Grand Targhee, WY

Paulina Ize-Cedillo, Finley Taptich, Darshan Pani, Jake Snyder, Niklas Tognina, and Wyatt Williams

U12 IMD Championships, Snowbird, UT

Asher Williams, Chet Rhodes, Dylan Kinkead, Elle Wucetich, Elle Hanlon, Hadley Rhodes, Mei Mei Morgan, Nate Snyder, Stella Copeland, and Will Hanlon

U12 IMD Finals, Park City, UT

Dylan Galen, Iris Fisher, Wyatt Daniels, Aaron Chen, Chandler Corcoran, Emmie Walker, Evie Chen, Owen Donigan, Rohan Pani, Zach Mazur, Arya Martinez, Beck King, Bergen Sneen, Cece Quinn, Ceri Pihl, Easton Walker, Eliza Phyfe, Emily Melman, Hunter Stamps, Hunter Fiore, Johnson Philips, Krishna Siripurapu, Lasher O’Connell, Lilla Sneen, Mahadev Siripurapu, Mila Patel, Pedro Huerta Strodthoff, Talia Brylawski, Victoria Hall, Walter Wucetich, and Will Wucetich

It will be a season we all remember for a long time. I’m thankful to everyone for making it successful.

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Three Rowmark Ski Academy women swept the podium at a NorAm GS in Stratton, Vermont: Madi Hoffman ’18 (University of Utah/Australian National Team) was first, Mary Bocock ’22 (US Ski Team) was second, and Elisabeth Bocock ’23 (US Ski Team) was third! In the giant slalom (GS), Mary was first, Elisabeth was third, and Madi was fourth.

Mary Bocock won both the NorAm Super-G and Overall NorAm Titles for 2023, and earned World Cup starts for 2023–2024.

Rowmark alum and US Ski Team member Katie Hensien ’18 is 23rd (third American!) at the World Championships GS in Courchevel Méribel, France, in her first World Championships.

Congratulations to Rowmark Ski Academy/Rowland Hall alum and US Ski Team member Breezy Johnson ’13 on her sixth-place finish in the World Cup Finals Downhill in Soldeu, Andorra. This result culminates an impressive return from a season-ending injury last year.

NCAA National Championships
White Face, NY March 8-11

Madi Hoffman continued on her incredible roll by winning both the GS and slalom (SL) at the NCAA Nationals, propelling the University of Utah to its fourth consecutive national championship. Also, Zoe Michael, who attended Rowmark/Rowland Hall from 2016 to 2018, and who skis for the University of New Hampshire, was 19th in SL and 28th in GS, while Sophia Yubero ’17, a senior at Middlebury College, was 15th in SL and 22nd in GS.

Congratulations to all on a strong finish to their competition season!

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Below are the competition highlights of Rowmarkers who captured top finishes during the last month of the competition season.

U18 National Championships
Mittersill, NH, March 9–15

Four of our U18s qualified for and competed in the prestigious U18 Nationals at Mittersill, NH: Brooke Brown, Lili Honey, Cam Prichard, and Karsten Schillinger. First-year U18 Brooke Brown was impressive in the downhill (DH), with 11th place, while first-year U18 Karsten Schillinger scored 18th in slalom (SL).

Western Region U16 Championships
Sun Valley, ID, March 21–24

Nine of our U16 team members competed in the Western Region U16 Championships at Sun Valley. For the boys, Jack Hoffman had an outstanding week, with a fifth and seventh in super-G (SG), second in SL, first in giant slalom (GS), and first overall! Freddy Gowski skied well in the GS into sixth place, and first-year U16 Teo Shamah was impressive with an 11th in  SL. For the girls, Vivian Turner had two great races, with a seventh in SG and sixth in GS, while Sophia Hijjawi was fast with 14th in GS and 16th in SL. Congratulations to all!

With their performances, Jack Hoffman and Vivian Turner both qualified for the U16 National Championships in Mission Ridge, WA.

IMD Tri-Divisional Championships
Grand Targhee, WY, March 23–26

Nine of our Rowmark U16 and U14 team members traveled to Grand Targhee for the Tri-Divisional Championships (Intermountain, Northern, and Alaska Divisions), where four feet of snow fell during the series. Due to all the snow, the GS race was canceled, but they were able to pull off the SG and SL (and a lot of epic powder skiing). Jax Salinas broke through with a second place in SG, and Kendall Kanarowski matched him with second place in SL.

FIS Spring Series
Big Sky, MT, and Palisades Tahoe, CA, March 30–April 11

Our FIS Team had their final races of the season at the Big Sky, MT, and Palisades Tahoe, CA, Western Region FIS Spring Series races, competing against stacked fields. Rowmark alum and US Ski Team member Mary Bocock ’22 won the first Palisades GS. Brooke Brown had several strong races, including an 11th, 13th, and 15th in GS (on the podium for U18s in third), 13th in SL, and 18th in SG over the two series. Lili Honey skied to a 10th (fourth for U18s) and 15th in GS, and a 20th in SL at Big Sky. Grace Venverloh was 19th in SL at Palisades. Also at Big Sky, for the boys, Cam Prichard was 15th in GS, while Jack Zipp was 18th in SL and Jamison Oleksy was 20th in SL. At Palisades, Karsten Schillinger impressed with a 14th in SL (fifth for U18s), and Ian Hanrahan was 19th in SG and 20th in GS.

U16 National Championships
Mission Ridge, WA, April 2–6

Two of our U16s competed in the prestigious U16 Nationals at Mission Ridge, WA. Jack Hoffman was eighth in the SG and in second place after the first run of GS before slipping to 15th after the second run. Then in the SL, he was in fifth after the first run before a mistake took him out of contention. Nevertheless, it was clear that Jack had podium pace in both races. Vivian Turner was 18th in the GS (ninth in the second run) and an impressive fourth in the parallel team event.

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By Troy Price, Rowmark Junior Program Director

The Rowmark Junior Program is enjoying the early snowfall. We recently returned from a ski camp in Loveland, Colorado, with our Academy Prep group. Since our last article, we have enjoyed a camp at Mt. Hood in June with both the All-Star and Academy Prep groups, then an additional Mt. Hood camp in August for the Academy Prep group. Mt. Hood continues to provide excellent training opportunities to advance athletes’ skills during the off-season.

Returning to school in August, we shifted our focus to our physical conditioning and getting everyone set up with their new ski equipment. September and October provided more time for conditioning, as well as our annual parent meetings for each program. We have recently completed our dryland training sessions, along with our annual fitness testing. We had so many athletes set personal records in several test areas. This is a great reflection of the growth mindset used throughout our program. We are very proud of our team environment, which allows every student to pursue their personal best as they are encouraged by their teammates.

It was great to host our annual fall BBQ to welcome our new members and to share highlights from the summer and fall. We had to take a couple years off due to the pandemic, so it was so fun to unite as a team.

As mentioned above, we have now moved into our fall on-snow prep period. These early season camps and local training sessions will prepare our athletes for the upcoming competition phase. We have a full roster, with a record number of 22 athletes in our All-Mountain Rippers program, along with 16 All-Stars and 14 Academy Prep athletes. Our Love to Ski program for first and second graders is filling up fast too.

Our Academy Prep program has already returned from their first ski camp in Colorado (please see the summary of their camp below from Coach Matt Brown). They are now getting ready for our next camp in Sun Valley. The All-Star program will join them in Sun Valley as well, followed by our All-Mountain Rippers and Love to Ski programs starting up in December.
 
From Coach Matt Brown:

We had three days of beautiful Colorado sunny skies at Loveland Ski Area.

The hospitality from our hotel was perfect, with spacious rooms and space for meetings, studying, and ski tuning; hot breakfast; a short one-minute walk to restaurants for dinner; and a close distance to our afternoon dryland activities.

We want to congratulate the athletes and coaches for coming in with a huge growth mindset to learn and support each other as a team over the entire camp. The daily schedule was super busy, with a 6 am wake-up for movement prep and breakfast, followed by loading, a ski session, conditioning, and study hall. We ended our day at 9 pm, with lights out.

We skied for about four hours each day, with the kids split up randomly into different groups each day with different coaches, allowing athletes and coaches to find what works best for each individual and to get to know each other on a deeper level.

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By Todd Brickson, Rowmark Ski Academy Program Director

We are excited to be celebrating Rowmark Ski Academy’s 40th anniversary this school year! We are looking forward to our March 11–12 celebration weekend, and invite our current Rowmark families and alumni to join us for a weekend of activities, including free skiing with friends, a dual ski race, BBQ tailgating, hors d’oeuvres, and remarks and a slideshow at the Utah Olympic Park on March 11. More details to come!

We welcomed three new staff to our Academy team this summer. Peter Girardi is our new men’s FIS head coach and conditioning coach; Rowmark and Rowland Hall alum Tristan McInnis ’14 returns to our staff, this time as our women’s FIS head coach and equipment manager; and Ben Throm joins us to assist both Peter and Tristan with our FIS teams. All three have hit the ground running and we are thrilled to have them on board.

The Academy’s summer and fall activities have been very busy and productive, with ski camps and daily dryland conditioning. Our on-snow preparation period started off with a June ski camp at Copper Mountain, Colorado, and an August camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon. Despite the ongoing drought-related challenges, both camps presented excellent summer skiing conditions and our team made excellent headway with their technical, tactical, and conditioning goals.

In early September, our team headed down to Southern Utah for our annual Academy Fall Orientation Weekend. For this year’s trip, we spent two days rafting, paddleboarding, swimming, and camping at the Nefertiti Recreation Area on the Green River. We also challenged the Rowmarkers’ teamwork and leadership skills with a series of water relays and beach games.

On October 1, our FIS team traveled to Stelvio, Italy, for two weeks for their third ski camp of the prep period, where they were greeted with excellent weather, snow, and training conditions on a glacier deep in the Italian Alps. The camp also provided a dynamic cultural experience and challenged athletes’ academic and organizational abilities, as they missed seven days of school for it.

In late October, both our FIS and U16s drove over to Copper Mountain, Colorado, for an excellent four-day camp, where an early cold snap and aggressive snowmaking provided excellent mid-winter snow conditions on their training arena at the top of the mountain at 12,000 feet of elevation.

As this goes to publication, our Rowmark team will be back in Colorado just prior to Thanksgiving break for an eight-day slalom and giant slalom camp at Aspen Highlands. This will wrap up our preparation period camp slate, as we get on snow full-time here in Utah upon our return.

With that said, we could not be more excited about the opening of the phase-two mountain expansion on the west peak of the Utah Olympic Park this winter. Phase one opened in 2019 and, in combination with the Eagle Race Arena at Park City Mountain Resort, has already provided us with a huge upgrade to our training quality and volume. Phase two/west peak is a 1,200-vertical-foot, full-length super-G, giant slalom, and slalom venue, complete with a high-speed quad chairlift, snowmaking, and lights. This will clearly be a state-of-the-art game changer for our Academy and Junior Program teams, and we couldn’t be more grateful to our incredibly generous donors who helped make this a reality. We can’t wait!

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By Troy Price, Program Director
 
As we wrap up another season, there are so many areas where the Rowmark Junior Program has been successful. I’m very proud of our team culture. As part of our team values, we focus on the skills of perseverance and determination. We continued to persevere through some challenges associated with the pandemic. We continued to keep our community healthy and executed our mission of providing our athletes with an amazing experience.

As part of our team culture, we benefit from the involvement and support from our amazing parents. Being a ski racing parent is not an easy task. There were several times that I was so grateful to have a community that supports each other and steps up during the difficult times, as well as one that enjoys each other as we celebrate improvements and successes along the way.

Our training sessions at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) and Park City continue to provide the ideal mix of terrain and course sets, allowing our athletes to develop new skills. We also continue to benefit from our use of the Ikon Pass as we free ski our local resorts of Deer Valley, Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, and Brighton.

The continuation of our Love-to-Ski program for first- and second-grade students was a great success. Thanks to Wendy Hare for leading this group. Big shout-out to our Middle School athletes as they served as mentors, paving the way for the next generation. This was yet another area where the UOP venue provided exactly what we needed.

Below you will read about our competition highlights. I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks for our amazing coaching staff. I’m honored to have so many great coaches return year after year; I’m so pleased with our new hires too. Our coaches are professionals in the industry, and they take so much pride in the character development of each athlete. Thank you, Matt, Parker, Mary, Madi, Guy, Eric, Penny, Charley, Kate, Megan, Jay, Wendy, and Tiffany. You are the key to our ongoing success and the athletes love you.

Competition Highlights

Throughout the season we strive to peak during March and April. This all starts with our fitness training in the fall, on-snow training, and our sports psychology sessions. Everything builds as we move through the qualifiers and prepare for the championships, critical races in the closing of our season. Below are competition highlights of current Rowmarkers who captured top finishes during the last month of the season.

U14 Regionals, Mammoth, California

Our Academy Prep program set a record, qualifying seven athletes to Regional Championships. This event is held for the top 60 U14s in the Western US and is the pinnacle of the Rowmark Junior Program, providing a clear path as the athletes continue their ski racing journeys. Congratulations to Ruby Rosh, Sophia Hijjawi, Tallulah Proulx, Teo Shamah, Lukas Postnieks, Luke Kanarowski, and Chase Dennis.

Top Performances: Sophia Hijjawi (second in slalom and sixth in giant slalom), Teo Shamah (fourth in slalom)

Tri-Divisonal Championships, Jackson, Wyoming

This event provides an additional tier for our U14 and U16 athletes as they compete alongside Northern and Alaska divisions. Congratulations to Andrew Hanrahan, Eli Rankin, Rhys Schillinger, Jax Salinas, Jameson Moore, Wyatt Williams, and Jett Winkler.

Top Performance: Andrew Hanrahan (fifth in giant slalom)

IMD Championships, Sun Valley, Idaho

This is the premier event for our All Star program and a common outcome goal for our U12s. This event brings the best 50 U12s from Utah to race with the best 50 U12s from Idaho and Wyoming. Sun Valley provided an exceptional race environment for our athletes. Congratulations to Addison August, Dylan Galan, Gabrielle Hanlon, Harper Jensen, Callie Lipson, Mei Mei Morgan, Zoe Rankin, Finley Taptich, Elle Wuetich, Will Hanlon, and Asher Williams.

Top Performance: Callie Lipson (sixth in giant slalom)

IMD Finals, Snowbird, Utah

This event provides a great environment, allowing everyone to have a final race. Our Rowmarkers crushed it, once again peaking at the right time. Congratulations to Cate Abuhaidar, Evelyn Chen, Chandler Corcoran, Lucy Dahl, Viktoria Hall, Paulina Ize-Cedillo, Makenna Karr, Romann Brandolini, Aaron Chen, Paxton Cichos, Owen Donigan, Pedro Huerta Strodthoff, Logan Karr, Dylan Kinkead, Rohan Pani, Nilkas Tognina, Andrew Wentz, and Will Wucetich.

Top Performances: Paulina Ize-Cedillo (first in giant slalom and second in slalom), Lucy Dahl (fourth in giant slalom and fourth in slalom), Cate Abuhaidar (sixth in slalom)

YSL Finals, Snowbasin, Utah

This is the premier event for our All Mountain Rippers. The YSL Finals brings all the programs across the state of Utah together. We are very pleased with the progress this group has made throughout the year. They have a strong foundation to build upon as they continue their journey. Congratulations to Evelyn Chen, Evelyn Donigan, Emi Salmon Garbett, Viktoria Hall, Makenna Karr, Chandler Corcoran, Wyatt Daniels, Logan Karr, Dylan Kinkead, Rohan Pani, Aaron Chen, Owen Donigan, Pedro Huerta Strodthoff, William Wucetich, and Beck King.

Top Performance: Evelyn Chen (10th in giant slalom)

OHG Spring Series, Bozeman, Montana

This event provides a great environment, allowing everyone to have a final race. Our Rowmarkers crushed it, once again peaking at the right time. Congratulations to Andrew Hanrahan, Luke Kanarowski, Rhys Schillinger, and Wyatt Williams.

Top Performance: Luke Kanarowski (second and third in the slalom races)

IMD Spring Series, Grand Targhee, Wyoming

This event brings together the best U12s and first-year U14s for a fun series focused on skill development. The athletes competed in a giant slalom, dual slalom, and a Kombi. Congratulations to Callie Lipson, Finley Taptich, Romann Brandolini, Andrew Hanrahan, Niklas Tognina, and Wyatt Williams.

Top Performance: Andrew Hanrahan (third in giant slalom)

Snowcup Series, Snowbird, Utah

This event invites the second-year U14s to race up with older athletes, including our own Academy athletes. Congratulations to Sophia Hijjawi, Tallulah Proulx, Chase Dennis, Jax Salinas, and Teo Shamah.

Top Performance: Sophia Hijjawi crushed it, finishing second in giant slalom and third slalom OVERALL; Teo Shamah, Chase Dennis, and Tallulah Proulx all had top-three finishes for the U14 age class

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