The fall semester may still be in session, but winter has already arrived for Holderness Snow Sports. To date, the Holderness Snow Sports program - a US Ski and Snowboard Gold-certified club - has seen early-season training camps, a World Cup performance by one of our own U18 coaches, and the completion of work on our new on-campus Nordic trails.
 
Finn Boissoneault ’24 Named to US Ski Team’s National Development Group Project
For the second year in a row, Finn Boissoneault ’24 has been named to the US Ski Team’s National Development Group project at Copper Mountain in Colorado. She is one of nine athletes nationwide who were invited to the camp, and the only athlete born in 2005 who attended the camp. When the camp ended in early December, Finn competed against some of the best ski racers in the world at the NorAm Cup races at Copper Mountain.
 
Early-Season Training Camps
More than two dozen U18 Eastern Alpine skiers traveled to Copper Mountain in Colorado over Thanksgiving break for an early-season training camp, while a sizable contingent of U16 athletes racked up training runs at Sunday River in Maine. These camps are a continuation of training camps the school sponsored throughout the summer and fall. Many of the school’s FIS-ranked skiers logged more than 35 days of on-snow training in the offseason, attending camps at Copper Mountain, Saas Fee in Switzerland, and Pitztal in Austria. These offseason camps allow our skiers to log offseason training similar to their ski academy counterparts - all while receiving an excellent boarding school education. “At Holderness, we have a unique opportunity for those kids that are looking for that elite path - both for academics and athletics,” says Director of Snow Sports Ben Drummond. 
 
Holderness Coach Competes in World Cup
A large contingent of our U16 skiers traveled to Killington over Thanksgiving break to watch Holderness U18 Coach Mathilde Nelles compete in the giant slalom at the Killington World Cup. A native of Belgium, Mathilde is no stranger to high-level international competition, having placed 47th in the slalom at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado. A recent Plymouth State University graduate, Mathilde earned NCAA All-America honors last March after placing fifth in the giant slalom at the National Collegiate Skiing Championships at Mittersill on Cannon Mountain. We were incredibly proud to watch Mathilde compete at Killington, and are very lucky to have her coaching our athletes.

Upcoming Competitions
Holderness skiers face a long list of regional and national competitions this season. In December alone, athletes will travel to compete at Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Whiteface, and Stratton Mountain. The ultimate goal for the season is to have Holderness athletes progress to the next level - whether that’s competing in a national championship or just improving as a student-athlete.  “A goal for our program is to send kids to US Senior Nationals, US Junior Nationals, and U16 Nationals,” says Holderness Director of Snow Sports Ben Drummond. “The other measure of success, for kids who aren't quite at that level, is to progress and get better."

Nordic Program: Officially Certifiable
Our extensive campus trail network is now home to a 5-kilometer Nordic skiing venue that includes 2 kilometers of lighted trail and 2.5 kilometers of snowmaking. Since the new trails adhere to international standards of course design (having recently received FIS homologation certification) Holderness can now host local, regional, and even national competitions. We're looking forward to making snow and getting skiers on these amazing new trails.