The U.S. Ski Team, operated under the auspices of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and association have been headquartered in Park City, Utah.
These athletes represent the best athletes in the country for their respective sports and compete as a team at the national, world and Olympic level.
*The first U.S. Ski Team was officially named in 1965 for the 1966 season, however the United States participated in skiing at all Olympic Winter Games and sent various athletes to World Championships prior to the '66 season.
1882 - First U.S. Ski Club Founded
The first ski club in the United States was founded in 1882. The Nansen Ski Club of Berlin, New Hampshire, was founded by Norwegian immigrants and named in honor of Norway's legendary Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen. It continues to operate.
1905 - National Ski Association Founded
The National Ski Association, the forerunner of the present-day United States Ski and Snowboard Association, was founded on Feb. 21, 1905 in Ishpeming, Michigan. A meeting was held by the Ishpeming Ski Club in conjunction with a 1904 ski jumping meet in Ishpeming - but the association was not formed at that gathering. Club President Carl Tellefsen proposed holding a meeting after the 1905 jumping meet – a national meet - to found a ski association which, among other duties, would oversee jumping tournaments. In 1905, the association was formally organized during a meeting attended by officers from the Ishpeming, Minneapolis, Red Wing, Stillwater and Eau Claire ski clubs. On Feb. 21, 1905, Carl Tellefsen announced the National Ski Association - and said he was its first president.
1910 - International Ski Commission Formed
Skiing grew throughout the last two decades of the 19th Century in Europe, including Russia; the first ski club in Switzerland was formed in 1863 and national associations were created in Russia (1896), Czechoslovakia (1903), the United States, Austria and Germany (all in 1905) and Norway, Sweden and Finland (1908).