Public Invited to Center of Excellence

Tue, Jun  30, 2009 - By US Ski Team

PARK CITY, UT (June 26) – Fans of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding will have a chance to get behind the scenes at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's new national training and education facility, the Center of Excellence, at a July 17 dedication ceremony. The public is welcomed for the dedication beginning at noon Friday, July 17, followed by public tours.

The tours will provide fans with the opportunity to see the unique athletic center firsthand, including the athlete training area, sport science lab and sports medicine rehab facility. National team athletes will be on hand to speak with the public and to sign autographs.

The Center of Excellence opened its doors to the nation's top ski and snowboarding athletes in May, signaling a new era for the century-old sports organization whose roots in Utah go back over 35 years. The 85,000 sq. ft. center will be a showcase for the sports, providing elite-level training and serving as an educational resource for the USSA's members and 400 clubs nationwide.

The Center of Excellence is the home for the USSA's top athletes, a headquarters for the Olympic sports organization, and an educational resource for athletes, coaches, judges and officials and parents. It is part of a long-term vision developed by the USSA over a decade ago, adding to the legacy of athlete training facilities spawned by the Salt Lake City Olympics. Those Games vitalized the culture of athletics in Utah with the opening of the Utah Olympic Park in the early '90s, along with the development of Soldier Hollow cross country skiing facilities and world-class venues like Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort that remain active in competitive skiing and snowboarding.

The Center of Excellence was built on five acres just east of Park City in Quinn's Junction at the intersection of U.S. 40 and Utah 248. It is part of a bustling athletic and medical complex featuring athletic fields, an indoor ice rink, the National Ability Center and a new Intermountain Healthcare hospital.

The dedication ceremony will take place outside the Center of Excellence from 12:00-12:30 p.m. Public tours of the Center will follow from 12:30-3:00 p.m.