New Hampshire’s Franconia Ski Club was named Development Club of the Year for its longstanding commitment to fostering a love of winter sports and raising successful athletes in its community. Recently, the significant investment in facilities and training venues has provided new opportunities for programming and partnerships and set the club up for continued success. 

Over the past decade, the Franconia Ski Club has grown to become one of the most notable development programs in New England. Its membership has grown from 40 in 1998 to 192 this past year and a waiting list for 2020-21. The club impacted development across the region, as well as nationally, with the first phase of the Mittersill at Cannon Mountain Improvement Project, with a $4 million investment in trail and lift development. The next phase, including the Mittersill Performance Center, is underway. The venue was the site of the 2017 NCAA Championships and the 2019 U.S. Junior Championship Super-G.

The club has taken the NHARA U14 state title from 2016-2020, and the U12 title from 2015-2019. The club has a host of athletes ranking in the top five YOB in the east and top 15 in the nation. Franconia’s Dylan Welch is ranked number one in the country in slalom for YOB 2004.

Introduced in 2019, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Club of the Year Award is an award presented to a member club that has distinguished itself in providing outstanding youth development programs. Key criteria include exceptional or unique programming focused on developing athletes ages 13 and under; providing opportunities for youth to enter the sport, providing a positive, engaging experience for young snowsports athletes; commitment and encouragement of youth athletic development; implementation of best practices and innovation for long-term athlete development; use and support of U.S. Ski & Snowboard resources intended for development levels; conversion of athletes to higher levels of involvement, participation and competition; develops and encourages a lifelong passion and enthusiasm for participation in snowsports. 

The Franconia Ski Club is a silver certified U.S. Ski & Snowboard Podium Club, presently working on its gold certification.

“Our mission at the Franconia Ski Club is to impart the joys of skiing and the lifelong lessons of healthy competition. All of our programs take that mission to heart, using it as a guiding principle in the development of our athletes. We focus on providing our athletes with the highest level of alpine racing instruction available and fostering within them a love of and respect for the sport.  This approach, along with access to the world-class training and racing facilities at Mittersill at Cannon Mountain, has allowed us to develop some of the best athletes in not only the Eastern Region but also the U.S.”

- Eric Price, Program Director