Top Academies Ski with Sprongo
We were looking through our records to figure out who the biggest users of Sprongo are, by number of videos stored and viewed. Three ski academies really stood out with truly extraordinary numbers of video views over several years. But they also have great facilities and outstanding results on and off the snow. These are Rowmark in Salt Lake City, Burke Mountain Academy and Green Mountain Valley School, both in Vermont. If you are thinking of going to a school with competitive skiing as a core requirement, check them out.
Rowmark Ski Academy, Utah: go to school and ski the greatest snow on earth!
Rowmark Ski Academy was founded as a division of Rowland Hall in 1982. About 10% or 30 of the Rowland students attend Rowmark full-time for years 9 through 12. The Rowmark Junior Program also offers an after school/weekend ski program through first to eighth grades. But it is not just skiing the best snow in North America. Rowland Hall also has an exceptional academic program with 100% college placement as well as a history of generating top ski athletes.
Most recently, Rowmark has been offering students the chance to attend training camps in the South Island of New Zealand during the North American off season. The group skied at four areas, including Treble Cone which is my personal favorite. They still had some time off for bungee jumping, river jet-boating and swimming in a South Island lake in the middle of winter(!) All while turning in many strong performances in the end of training FIS giant slalom.
Rowmark is an exceptional ski academy and offers a rigorous, year-round racing program coupled with a great academic high school next to one of the world’s greatest powder ski environments. Plus you get to ski in New Zealand, and experience some of the other great adventure activities down under!
Burke Mountain Academy, Vermont: a lesson in personal drive
I love the story of how BMA started out. In 1970, Martha Coughlin approached coach Warren Witherell to help her achieve her dream of making the US Ski Team. Shortly after, BMA was born as the first of the modern ski academies in the United States! Forty five years later BMA enrols 70 students annually and emphasizes developing the whole individual as the cornerstone to success in life and ski racing, both downhill and Nordic.
BMA has produced numerous top athletes, including 2014 Olympic slalom gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, 117 U.S. Ski Team members, 137 national team athletes and 33 Olympians.
And how about this – the main part of the academic program is during fall and spring allowing the winter schedule to maintain a strong skiing emphasis. But the academic program is still rigorous and over 75% of students applying to college are accepted to their top choices.
Passion for skiing, learning for life is the goal at Burke Mountain Academy. It embraces an ethos of hard work and believes risking failure and learning from success is exceptional preparation for life. They promote their program to student-athletes who wish to dedicate themselves to being the best they can be in alpine or Nordic ski racing and the classroom. Their athletes deserve their reputation for being mountain strong.
Green Mountain Valley School, Vermont; cool Austrian connections
Green Mountain Valley School was set up in 1973 as a winter tutorial school by three Mad River Glen Ski Area coaches, right in the heart of New England’s premier ski region. In 1997, the academy made an inspired decision with the purchase of a facility in Kössen, Austria in the heart of the Tyrol. This gives GMVS athletes access to some of the best training opportunities in the world, including the famed Hahnenkamm track at Kitzbuhel.
Trips to Venice, Salzburg, Munich, and Dachau provide for a deeper education in language, culture and history. Given this plus its strong general emphasis on academic performance, its no surprise GMVS ranked as the Top Independent School in Vermont In the 2015 Niche Rankings.
GMVS has its main alpine training facilities at Sugarbush Resort with Nordic training facilities spread throughout the area. Its student-athletes consistently rise to the top of the competitive ranks. This season, alumnus Drew Duffy beat World Cup, World Championship and Olympic medalists to win the 2015 U.S. Alpine Super-G title.
The athletes also travel to world-class venues throughout the US and Canada. One of these locations is the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe; yes, as in the “Sound of Music”. Just another cool Austrian connection for one of the best ski academies in America.