[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. SKI AND SHOWBOARD ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 4, 2005

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a national sports 
organization that began in Ishpeming, Michigan. The United States Ski 
and Snowboard Association is the national governing body for Olympic 
skiing and snowboarding and is celebrating its 100th anniversary on May 
6th.
  Originally founded as the National Ski Association (NSA) in 1904 by 
the local Ishpeming Ski Club, the NSA was the birthplace of organized 
skiing in the United States. The group changed their name to the United 
States Ski Association in 1962 and, as snowboarding grew in popularity 
and gained credibility as a sport, the final name change occurred in 
1997 to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA).
  As the governing body for U.S. Olympic ski and snowboarding, the USSA 
has been consolidated since 1988 with the U.S. Ski Team in Park City, 
Utah where the team has been based since 1974. However, as a tribute to 
the founding roots of the organization, the United States National Ski 
Hall of Fame and Museum is still based in Ishpeming, Michigan where it 
also celebrates its 50th anniversary May 6th. The Hall of Fame proudly 
displays photos and short bios of 342 inductees.
  In the one hundred year history of the USSA, it is proclaimed as the 
most diverse of any Olympic Sports organization with seven different 
athletic sport programs. The USSA Olympic Sports programs include 
alpine, cross country, disabled, freestyle, ski jumping, Nordic 
combined and snowboarding. The USSA manages 14 different men's and 
women's national teams, accounting for half of the Olympic Winter Games 
events.
  In order to be serious international competitors, the organization 
requires the tremendous number of athletes to be trained and supported 
by an ever larger network of people. The USSA is comprised of 30,000 
athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers and more than 100,000 
parents, supporters and devotees. With this powerhouse of world class 
talent and support, the USSA should have no problem fulfilling their 
goal of making the United States of America the best in the world in 
Olympic skiing and snowboarding by 2006.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the United States House of Representatives to join 
me in congratulating the United States Ski and Snowboard Association on 
their first 100 years and in wishing them well in bringing home the 
Olympic spirit and the ``gold'' throughout the next century.

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