April 12, 2024

Dear Vermont Academy at Mount Snow Families and Friends,

Our time at the Matterhorn and on the mountain has officially come to a close this season. A few of our snowboard and freeski athletes earned the honor to compete in the USASA Snowboarding and Freeski National Championships held at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Congratulations to those athletes and coaches for their outstanding performance. Continue reading to see the exciting results!

The year was one filled with special moments like our night at the Matterhorn in February when we came together for our annual fundraising event, Pawprints & Powder. This event raised vital funds for our school, all to benefit our student-athletes and the VA at MS program. Thank you to all who attended and bid or donated items to make the auction a success!

We faced challenges this year that included warm and rainy weather, however all persevered, and we ended our year on a high note, leaving a positive impact on our students, athletes, and staff.

Speaking of staff, I was honored to host them for our annual staff appreciation event where the group of coaches, teachers, and administrators were able to unwind and celebrate the end of the year. A special thank you to our entire staff and to all the Vermont Academy employees that have supported our program.

Peter and the Vermont Academy at Mount Snow team

What a team!

End of Year Awards

On March 22 and 23, we celebrated the achievements of our students and athletes. The stories accompanying this recognition is surely a highlight of the year.

The full list of recipients can be found here. Congratulations to all!

The U14 Team with coaches at the Alpine Awards night.

Student Athlete of the Year and U14 Coaches Award recipient, Violet Kelly. She had an amazing year with many trophies and medals to prove it. Way to go!

U16 Academy Excellence Award. What a year for Hugo! Hugo is being honored with U16 Academy Excellence award and Coach Speedy’s Best Performance of the Year Award. Congratulations, Hugo!

Alpine News

As the VA at MS 2023/24 U16/18-FIS season comes to an end, it is apparent that this season ranks amongst my very best of over five decades of coaching! I was blessed to work with some amazing, hard working, and dedicated athletes who gave it 110% each and every training and race day. They were some super special human beings, and it contributed to a true team building experience. We bonded together to become more of a family than a ski team, celebrating each other's best results and personal achievements, with encouragement for one another on a daily basis.

With that said, the boys and girls of the VA at MS U16/18-FIS program put together one of the best results of any year at VA at MS, including capturing the coveted New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Boys' Alpine Skiing Class C Championship, not won by us since 1981! We ended our season with a team lunch and a bowling trip to Brattleboro Bowl. Have a great spring and summer, and I hope to see you next year!

Coach Speedy

Some U16/U18 highlights were:

Sammy - 5th Place Berkshire East SL

Ben - 5th Place Sundown SL

Mauro - HS Champs 3rd Place SL, Bromley 3rd Place SL

Patrick (“Patch”) - HS CT States 2nd Place, 3rd Place CT SL shootout, USSS 1st Place Bosquet SL, 5th Place Jiminy Peak GS, 2nd Place Berkshire East GS

Hugo - HS champs 1st Place GS, 1st Place mens overall Lakes Region Class C Championships, USSS Jiminy Peak SL 1st Place, Catamount GS 1st Place, Catamount SL 2nd Place Bromley SL 2nd Place, Jiminy Peak SL 3rd Place, Berkshire East SL 5th Place, USSS Sundown SL 5th Place

Our team of over 40 alpine athletes from ages 9-19 concluded the season with races this past weekend at Cochran's Ski Area and Mount Snow. The highlight of the weekend included several athletes participating in Mount Snow's annual Sink or Swim competition and their performances were fantastic!

Snowboard News

The Snowboard Team finished up the year earning spots in the USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain in Colorado! The team scored big the first day of the trip after an 18" snowstorm and were able to get first tracks in the back bowls. The team trained hard for the rest of the week and the results showed during competition time!

Some notable stand outs:

-Grace, Elizabeth, and Mia all made finals for Rail Jam

-Elizabeth and Mia both finished 7th and 8th overall for Slope Style

-Elizabeth got 5th overall in Giant Slalom

-Grayson earned 3rd overall place for Menehune Boys

-Elizabeth earned 2nd overall place for Breaker Girls

Our athletes all landed their runs and hit the goals they set out for themselves!

Freeski News

The Vermont Academy at Mount Snow Freeski Team has had an incredible time and amazing performances at Copper Mountain in Colorado for USASA National Championships! The weather has been challenging for these competitions, but the team has been taking it in stride and doing some of their best skiing despite the tougher conditions.

After training hard all season, it has been incredibly rewarding to see the team performing at such a high level in national competition, and the results have been fantastic! VA at MS Freeski team athlete Skyler earned the gold medal and national champion status in rail jam ages 15-22 for women and a second place finish in slope style for 15 and 16 year old girls. VA at MS athlete Micah earned an outstanding fourth place finish in rail jam ages 15-22 for men against a field of 80 athletes. Go team!

Congrats, Skyler!

A Vermont Academy Minute

Next week at Vermont Academy, the school will be holding its Earth Day tradition. The morning includes community service projects on campus and the surrounding areas. Following a picnic lunch of locally sourced food, the afternoon is comprised of activities, music, art and more. Follow along on social media to see the happenings of the day!

Support Vermont Academy at Mount Snow's Annual Fund