Dartmouth Ski Teams have spawned 86 Olympians. Dartmouth's varsity skiing program is one of the most visible collegiate ski programs in the world, with a history dating back to the inauguration of the sport, hosting the first ski race in the world. Out of the spotlight, but still very much sharing in the success of this program, are the Dartmouth Development Ski Teams.
The Development program is a unique one at Dartmouth. There are no other sports at the College that have a recognized development program, and a waning few that have even junior varsity levels. However, the development team has played an increasingly powerful role in the success of Dartmouth skiing.
Throughout its past, the development team has played many roles in the ski program at Dartmouth. Originally created to accommodate the overwhelming number of skiers who wished to be on the men's alpine team, it has since then slimmed to a highly competitive group of alpine and cross-country skiers each year.
The cross-country development team is slightly larger, but trains in conjunction with their varsity level teammates. The team goes away during the Christmas break for some big mountain training and assured snow conditions, heading to Mt. St. Anne in Quebec for the past four years. This allows the team some intensive training time and some bonding time.
The development teams compete in USSA races as well as a handful of regional FIS and Eastern Cup races.
In the past few years, the success of the program has been astounding. Besides their visible role in setting up and acting as officials for the Dartmouth Winter Carnival, the development team is sending two alpine skiers, Sam Damon '04 and Jan Wellford '03 to the Alpine Junior Olympics at Sugarloaf, Maine this week. Wellford had his first race victory this year in a Giant Slalom race earlier this season.
Despite the ineligibility of a second Dartmouth team into the EISA carnival circuit, in which the varsity squads compete, it is nearly a certainty that the Development teams could finish with a strong showing at these carnivals. This demonstrates not only the strength of the development teams, but also in turn the overall dominance and depth of the Big Green ski programs.
Much of the success of the teams is due to the advance in coaching staff in the past decade. Alpine coach Vincent Gross joined the program six years ago, after the team had been through a string of short-term coaches.
Returning to Dartmouth after graduating in 1999, Chris Shaner took over this year as coach of the Cross-Country development team.
These development teams offer highly accomplished and successful skiers a chance to hone their skills in a fun and yet competitive setting.
Alpine development captain Lizzy Carrol '02 sums up her experience on the team saying, "We take our training and racing very seriously and represent Dartmouth at every race we go to ... being a development teamer means enjoying each other's company and, most importantly, remembering that skiing is all about having fun."
