A Letter from U.S. Ski & Snowboard CEO Celebrates a Momentous 2025-26 Season

Sophie Goldschmidt_, President & CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard has reached out after a bumper season:

"It was a momentous year for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. As we officially close out the 2025-26 season, I’m reflecting on everything we have accomplished this year, both on and off the snow and where we are heading from here.

Our team pushed boundaries and raised the bar in most areas. We competed around the world at the highest level of skiing and snowboarding, from the opening World Cup in October to the final finish lines in early April. Statistics, of course, paint the picture of what we accomplished, and our statistics are impressive. This season, we won 17 Olympic medals, eight Paralympic medals, five Nations Cups, 13 Crystal Globes and had 152 World Cup podiums. We hosted 11 domestic World Cup events, with tens of thousands of cheering fans in attendance and reached millions more around the world through broadcast and social platforms. We supported tens of thousands of members throughout our system, building the pipeline for what is to come.

Statistics

But when we look at all we accomplished, it’s as important to remember who was behind it. Our success this season is a result of thousands of people working together towards a common goal. It’s because of our athletes, staff, partners, donors, members and fans that we were able to achieve so much. That drive continues now that the season has wrapped, rooted in a shared belief that there is always more to improve and accomplish. We are not complacent and will continue to aim for greater success across all areas of the organization – it’s what fuels the relentless work ethic that defined this season and will help us in the future.

ON THE SNOW

At the Games, U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes made up 40% of Team USA, with 97 of 232 Team USA athletes coming from our organization and we brought home more than 50% of the medals. At the Paralympics, 32 of our athletes represented Team USA and won eight medals, an impressive step up from five in Beijing.

Our athletes delivered when it mattered most. Mikaela Shiffrin, Alex Ferreira, Breezy Johnson, Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran, Chris Lillis and Liz Lemley all captured Olympic gold medals. Lemley, Jaelin Kauf and Ben Ogden won multiple medals, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Paula Moltzan, Jackie Wiles, Jessie Diggins, Gus Schumacher, Mac Forehand, Chloe Kim, Jake Canter and Alex Hall each added to the medal count. In the Paralympics, Kate Delson, Noah Elliott, Brenna Huckaby and Mike Schultz led the way for the Toyota U.S. Para Snowboard Team, while Patrick Halgren and Andrew Kurka earned podium finishes for the Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team. Together, these performances underscore not only individual excellence on the biggest stage, but the strength of 10 different programs built to compete – and win – on the world stage.

The 2025-26 World Cup season was also not to be ignored. Between all 10 teams, we had 152 World Cup podiums and five Nations Cups, with notable moments including the women’s alpine team winning its first Nations Cup in 44 years and Shiffrin, Diggins, Delson, Elliott and Olivia Giaccio securing the overall Crystal Globe in their sports – one of the most valuable honors in winter sport, ranking that athlete as No. 1 in the world.

But it’s not just results on the elite circuit that illustrate our season’s success. Our athletes had wins at all levels, including at the development level, highlighted by the next generation winning titles at the Stifel Success Tour NorAms, Toyota U.S. Championships, SuperTours, Europa Cups, Holeshot and iHeart Rev Tours. Success at these events is a direct reflection of a strong pipeline — one that we’re investing more into than ever before.

OFF THE SNOW

Historic performances are only possible because of what happens off the snow.

At our USANA Center of Excellence powered by iFIT headquarters in Park City, every department plays a role in building success. From sport science and coaching to marketing, partnerships and operations, our team works together with a shared purpose. The “One Team” mindset is not just a philosophy – it’s how we operate every day.

We are driving results beyond competition.

Since Beijing 2022, we have increased our overall revenue by over 100%, from $34 million to over $72 million in 2026. Our partnerships continue to expand, with brands like Dunkin’, U.S. Army, iCapital and J.Crew joining our ecosystem just this season – and another very exciting global brand joining our team in mid-May. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach when signing with us and that mindset has led us to grow our commercial and media partnerships and enter brand-new categories that wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.

We are hosting some of our biggest and most successful fundraisers to date. We’re reinventing what’s possible from a VIP experience, with the launch of The Crest Club, which gives our guests a behind-the-curtain look at the biggest ski races in the world and offers experiences only we can provide. We’ve launched Insider, our fan club designed to bring fans closer to the athletes and the energy that drives U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Our donor base is another major reason for our continued success in our overall revenue. Whether long-time Trustees or new donors, this engagement in our sports makes a real difference, representing nearly one-third of our revenue year-over-year. And the support has led to new initiatives, such as our first-of-its-kind development campaign, Pathway to Podium, which raises funds that directly benefit development-level athletes and teams. When our grassroots level is strong, this helps to fuel further elite-level success in the future.

We are a unified brand that depends on storytelling, not just standings, which has pushed us into new spaces.

Our social media impressions have grown impressively, increasing by more than 700% compared to the last Games, while earned media grew by more than 2,000%. Broadcast viewership reached record levels, with the Olympic Winter Games drawing the largest audience since 2010, with an average of nearly 24 million viewers each day in the United States – a 96% increase over Beijing. The Paralympics saw a 27% increase, with 22 million tuning in over the 10 days of competition.

Three documentaries premiered this season in partnership with NBC, ESPN and many talented filmmakers and production companies. Docuseries On The Edge: World Cup Ski Racing highlighted the 2025-26 FIS Alpine World Cup season, featuring many of our key athletes on ESPN+ and Disney+.

Diggins gave a vulnerable, never-before-seen look into the life of one of the most decorated athletes on the planet and how mental health shaped her life and career in Threshold on Peacock. And the women’s moguls team took viewers behind the scenes of what it takes to make the hardest Olympic team in Qualified on Peacock and YouTube.

While we break into new spaces, we also see what’s in front of us. We are continuing to invest our energy into other areas that really matter to us. This season, our HERoic initiative expanded around the Stifel HERoic Cup, with Stifel awarding $60,000 to women across all ski disciplines. We also continued the conversation about how climate change is directly affecting our sports’ future through our Easy Green initiative, collaborating with advocacy organizations at events and in the media.

Thanks to our evolving and improving culture, continued success on the snow and the broad marketing and content expansion per the above, it’s been exciting to see how the brand perception of our organization and sports is being so positively received and growing. This is demonstrated by the significant increase in attention we’re getting from the media and prospective partners, which was especially noticeable around the Games.

All of this progress – on and off the snow – comes back to this community around our sports. To the U.S. Ski & Snowboard family, which includes our athletes, their families, our members, donors, partners, suppliers, fans and more – THANK YOU. As I mentioned earlier, we are not complacent. There is always more work to do and by recognizing that, we’re already one step ahead. We’re ready to imagine what’s possible now as we prepare for the future. Keep following along."