Open Letter on Diversity in Our Sport

[Tricia]

More potential progress
Thanks to @McEl for sharing this.
Chuck Harris will speak or be on a panel.

Greetings and Happy Spring!

We are excited to announce that registration is now OPEN for the Virtual 2021 Club Excellence Conference!



We invite all club leaders, coaches, board members, volunteers, officials and others to join us in a collaborative day of learning. Presentations will include strategically curated content based on the three pillars of Athletics, Business/Operations, and Community/Culture. Coaches who attend will receive 8 continuing education credits to keep certifications current.





Monday May 17th, 2021

10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

Schedule – *Subject to change - check back as we will be posting more detail in the near future.


Registration Options:

• Individual registration: $40.00: REGISTER HERE
• Group of 5-9 attendees 5% discount
• Group of 10+ attendees 10% discount
• If you are interested in the conference, but cannot join the live date – you can still register and will receive all communication, recordings and resources from the conference.

For group rates please contact [email protected] with a list of attendees and emails then call 435.647.2050 to register. Participants on your list will still need to register individually to gain access to the webinar join link, but will be provided a coupon code for pre-paid registration.

Thank you to our Title Sponsor: World Cup Supply




​

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sport Education Team


Schedule:

SCHEDULE
Subject to change. Also check back as we will be posting more detail in the near future.
All times are Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

10:00am - 1:15pm MDT

WELCOME - Tiger Shaw - U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO

“Cornerstones of Quality Parenting in the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Ecosystem”
presented by Travis Dorsch - Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Families in Sport Lab in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Utah State University

“Mental Health Programs and Resources” presented by Dr. Jessica Bartley - USOPC Director of Mental Health Services

“Emotional Quotient (EQ): Emotional Awareness for Coaches and Athletes” presented by Mackenzie St. Onge - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Career and Education Coordinator
Self-awareness for a coach will only improve their ability to connect with and relate to their athletes, it’s a skill we don’t always learn so taking the time to be intentional about personal development is key. Reinforce the idea that you can’t pour from an empty cup… you can’t teach things you don’t practice or aren’t aware of.

1:15 - 2:00pm MDT

CLUB AND COACH ANNUAL AWARDS
Join us as we recognize and celebrate this year’s Club and Coach of the Year Awards as well as those cubs that have achieved Podium Level Certification.

2:00 - 5:30pm MDT

“Reflections on a Year of COVID - Wins, Losses, and Differences that Might Endure” presented by Chip Knight - Alpine Development Director; Ashley Diebold - Sport Development Manager Snowboard, Freeski, Freestyle; Bryan Fish - Cross Country Development Coach

Snowball Effect: Growing & Keeping Our Momentum in Championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our Sport
U.S. Ski & Snowboard has always sought to advance opportunities in our sport, but this past year we heard brave voices within our community call for more action and challenge us to open our arms wider. Hear from DEI Committee Chair Ellen Adams, Coach Charles (Chuck) Harris, and Board of Trustees member and National Brotherhood of Skiers President Henri Rivers reflect on the roots of our DEI efforts, the actions inspired by Coach Harris’s June 2020 Open Letter on Diversity, and how we are executing on our desire to broaden access to our sport for a wider range of underrepresented communities in an inclusive and equitable way. This panel will be moderated by Annie Kao, Founder of Ascent Inclusion Consulting and former Assistant General Counsel of Vail Resorts.



“Creating an Environment and Culture of Athlete Safety and Wellbeing”
Are you familiar with all the resources available to support your goal of making every athlete and coach feel safe, valued, and supported? Tune in as guest speakers join us to talk about Avalanche Awareness, Suicide Prevention, SafeSport, Stop the Bleed, Venue Safety, and more.

 

[Tricia]

An interesting article about Diversity in the SLC Tribune;

‘We love the mountains. The only difference is the color of skin.’ Utah, U.S. ski resorts coming to grips with their lack of diversity.

The ski industry has long known that having a clientele that is 90% white is not healthy nor sustainable. The social uprising that began in the summer of 2020 provided the shove many resorts and ski businesses needed to begin to evaluate their own and industry-wide biases and begin an overhaul...

www.sltrib.com

Lamont White's exhibit is being talked about a lot

Skiing In Color

Snowbird is honored to display select prints of Lamont Joseph White's "Skiing in Color" in the Snowbird Center. Learn more about the artist and his vision for his latest collection of paintings.

www.snowbird.com

 

[LiquidFeet]

Another of Lamont White's paintings. I love this.

 

[Tricia]

Lamont White's exhibit is being talked about a lot

Skiing In Color

Snowbird is honored to display select prints of Lamont Joseph White's "Skiing in Color" in the Snowbird Center. Learn more about the artist and his vision for his latest collection of paintings.

www.snowbird.com

Lamont posted on FB in the NBS group that he has some of his art at the Alf Engen Museum. I will make a point of going to see it while we are in town and hope to meet Lamont.
His work is inspired.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

I just happened upon this thread now. I'm not sure how I missed it the first time around. It is a very interesting discussion. The only way to make a change is to be the change, and I think this discussion is a great starting point. It is very eye opening to be a "minority person" even for a short while. I had 2 pretty eye opening experiences of that sort in my life. Only one is relevant to this discussion. When I first moved to the US, I was young and "blissfully" unaware of the differential treatment of black people at the university I was attending. Canada didn't really have racial issues at that time. The problem was all about the French/English struggle in Montreal where I grew up. I had to take a US history class to complete a requirement. I took an African American history class because it sounded interesting. When I walked in, everyone stopped talking and just stared at me. The professor assumed I was lost and looking for a different class. It was the most awkward situation that I had experienced thus far in life. I stayed in the class, but I don't think I opened my mouth to speak for about a month. In fairness, everyone was really nice to me. I just didn't feel I had anything to offer to the discussion and was feeling very insecure. I wasn't experiencing racism, and the awkwardness was my own insecurity, but I can see why kids would not feel welcome joining a sport in which very few role models look like them. I also still wonder why other white kids didn't take the class. The professor was one of the most interesting teachers I ever had.


ETA: half of my husband's family is of Mexican descent. I am of Irish descent and my son inherited those racial markers - ginger hair and super fair coloring. When he was born, the whole family stood around pointing out how white he was ---- I believe the word translucent was used.

 

[Wendy]

I just happened upon this thread now. I'm not sure how I missed it the first time around. It is a very interesting discussion. The only way to make a change is to be the change, and I think this discussion is a great starting point. It is very eye opening to be a "minority person" even for a short while. I had 2 pretty eye opening experiences of that sort in my life. Only one is relevant to this discussion. When I first moved to the US, I was young and "blissfully" unaware of the differential treatment of black people at the university I was attending. Canada didn't really have racial issues at that time. The problem was all about the French/English struggle in Montreal where I grew up. I had to take a US history class to complete a requirement. I took an African American history class because it sounded interesting. When I walked in, everyone stopped talking and just stared at me. The professor assumed I was lost and looking for a different class. It was the most awkward situation that I had experienced thus far in life. I stayed in the class, but I don't think I opened my mouth to speak for about a month. In fairness, everyone was really nice to me. I just didn't feel I had anything to offer to the discussion and was feeling very insecure. I wasn't experiencing racism, and the awkwardness was my own insecurity, but I can see why kids would not feel welcome joining a sport in which very few role models look like them. I also still wonder why other white kids didn't take the class. The professor was one of the most interesting teachers I ever had.


ETA: half of my husband's family is of Mexican descent. I am of Irish descent and my son inherited those racial markers - ginger hair and super fair coloring. When he was born, the whole family stood around pointing out how white he was ---- I believe the word translucent was used.

Your experience reinforces my belief that if more people had experiences where they were the minority, that might help develop some empathy. However, you can’t force those sorts of situations on people, either. You raise an interesting question: “Why didn’t other white kids take the class?” While not trying to peg you for being “old,” I wonder if today, those types of classes have more diverse student rosters than even a decade ago.

I live in a pretty lily-white area…..rural PA, lots of PA “Dutch.” However, the organic research farm where I work has a program for Black farmers. It’s so cool to work alongside Black people who are learning to farm, hearing their stories. It’s a breath of fresh air.

What’s also cool is that all of my grand nieces and nephews are of mixed race. My historically white family is becoming more brown.

I’ll feel a lot better when our historically white sport of skiing attracts more people of color.

 

[jt10000]

Canada didn't really have racial issues at that time.

It did. Massive systemic racism toward indigenous people. Not talked about widely enough so you may not have known about it.

In any case, thanks for your sharing.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

It did. Massive systemic racism toward indigenous people. Not talked about widely enough so you may not have known about it.

In any case, thanks for your sharing.

Truth. I’m not sure that was true so much in Montreal though. I was only 17 and pretty isolated.

 

[scott43]

It was true in Montreal. I think it's more you were sheltered and young. No offense intended.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

It was true in Montreal. I think it's more you were sheltered and young. No offense intended.

None taken- it was 1977 and everybody was getting out of Montreal so the only topic of conversation was the need to leave.

 

[skibob]

None taken- it was 1977 and everybody was getting out of Montreal so the only topic of conversation was the need to leave.

Now all I hear from my wife is how awesome Montreal is and we have to visit soon!

 

[scott43]

I mean..it's a great city. The separation issue and the St. Lawrence Seaway kinda doomed it to backslide. But it still has great culture and downtown.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Montreal is an amazing city. I haven’t been in many years. We plan to go one of these days but wil go either late spring or early fall.

now- Back to Topic and sorry for the birdwalk

 

[Tricia]

The conversation is still alive which says a lot.

Rivers Named Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Champion Award Recipient

Henri Rivers is the inaugural recipient of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Award.

usskiandsnowboard.org

 

[Tricia]

I'm encouraged to share this.

Henniyah Rivers

warrenmiller.com

 

[Tricia]

The continued discussion on diversity is compelling and we are not letting it rest.

 

[newboots]

I'm encouraged to share this.

Henniyah Rivers

warrenmiller.com

Ahh, she must be Henri Rivers' daughter!

 

[Yo Momma]

Ahh, she must be Henri Rivers' daughter!

Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 this Sunday @ 6:30 am ESPN 2 from Saudi Arabia. He is another true Diversity Champion! He's "Bringin' it!" and openly challenging "The Kingdom" on human rights.

 

[scott43]

Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 this Sunday @ 6:30 am ESPN 2 from Saudi Arabia. He is another true Diversity Champion! He's "Bringin' it!" and openly challenging "The Kingdom" on human rights.

You know..I didn't like Lewis that much originally..I thought he was a bit of a crybaby. But I admire him for standing up and speaking the truth. He's matured a lot, as you would expect as he's older now. But yeah..much respect for saying what many people think but are too afraid or too paid-off to say. And man he's fast.

 

[Yo Momma]

Drive to Survive on Netflix.... To get everyone in the mood for the race.