Last month, several of the top J2 racers were glaringly ab-
sent from the Marriott J2 Championships at California’s Mam-
moth Mountain, raising some hackles. They were all Burke
Mountain Academy skiers.
“We aren’t sending some to the National Junior Camp either,”
said headmaster Kirk Dwyer, “and I suspect we’ll take more
grief for that.”
The issue at J2 Nationals was magnified, said Dwyer. “I think
we qualified the most skiers,” he said, “and I think we still had
as many as anybody from the East there.”
But not some of the top guns. The short answer is racer
management.
“It was a decision of the athletes, coaches and parents,” said
Dwyer. “One had a torn ACL and one couldn’t afford it. Two
others were management issues. They needed additional
training. Until they [USSA] pay for everything, athletes and
parents need to make decisions.”
One problem, the obvious one, is the distance. Mammoth is
a continent away from East Burke, Vt. Another problem, from
a racer management viewpoint, is that there were no other
races in the area on the schedule. In other words, it was a
costly cross-country trip for one race start per discipline. Not
a lot of bang for the buck.
Burke Mountain Academy has a long history in American ski
racing, and a strong reputation. Seeing a Burke van in the
parking lot, for a young ski racer, means the race will have a
serious edge to it.
“I can remember that,” said ski commentator Steve Porino,
a graduate of Burke. “There clearly was a mindset that we
Where Was Burke Academy? Burke Mountain Academy racer Mikaela Shiffrin.
“Management issues” kept top J2 racers from this year’s Championships By Hank McKee
were tougher. That we worked harder. It was a high-volume
school in my day, but I do know — I was coached by Kirk
— that as much as there was that heritage at Burke, he was
very much a racer-management guy.”
Porino said showing up in force for races with the Burke
crew was a game changer. “I think kids probably gave us too
much respect,” he said. “If there are one or two you have to
look out for, that’s one thing. When it’s a whole bunch it’s
another.”
Surely things evolve and change, but there is a constant in
this case. The constant is not only to pump out enough hard-
working ski racers to intimidate, but also to nurture high-
quality ski racers.
“Mikaela Shiffrin is the racer-management poster child,” says
Porino. “What did she have, 11 race starts two years ago?”
Being a 16-year-old World Cup racer changed that plan
some. “Last year Mikaela had, I think, 23 starts,” said Dwyer,
“and three different peaks. If you plan well, you will have to
skip some races. Sending Mikaela to World Juniors probably
wasn’t best for the athlete.”
As a longstanding member of USSA’s Alpine Competition
Committee, Dwyer has had a hand in national planning and
a voice heard around the table.
Having sent several of his top J2 athletes to Quebec instead
of Mammoth, he knew, was going to raise some hackles. “It
doesn’t mean we are against a project, but we have to look
at what is best for the athletes,” said Dwyer. “In general I’m
largely in favor of that national project. In different situations
and circumstances.”
