Campus News

Westminster Athletes Shine On Snow and Off

Monday, January 17, 2011
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tom Kelly, tkelly@ussa.org

SALT LAKE CITY -- Over 50 U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding athletes have been taking full advantage of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's (USSA) partnership with Westminster College in Salt Lake City. In a snow covered town with the trees and ground glistening with white sparkles as the sun shines down, 22 athletes are currently taking the time to not only excel on-snow but also in the classroom.

Since most athletes are on the road from October to April, athletes attend the spring, summer and fall terms. In a most conducive environment that doesn't make athletes choose between sport and school, Westminster caters to the needs of student-athletes at the highest level. Most impressively, they have maintained an overall GPA of 3.66 as well as two athletes that are proud to call Westminster their alma mater.

"Before and after class I still had time to enjoy summer life in Utah, even during breaks in the class I could go outside and do some rock climbing on the wall on the side of my classroom," U.S. Alpine Ski Team member Travis Ganong (Squaw Vally, CA) said. "Westminster has such a fun and rewarding environment!"

When broken down into the following sports, nordic, freestyle, snowboarding, women's ski jumping and alpine, which do you think carries the highest GPA? Alpine takes the top GPA with an average of 3.91. But the others are far from slackers - all the averages are above 3.3.

"It is awesome to have a place like Westminster where I can go to in the off season to follow my educationally goals," said Ganong, who is currently in Europe for alpine races. "The classes are very interesting and the teachers are very flexible with my crazy schedule."

Now with the season fully underway, the student-athletes hope to carry their academic success into their athletic careers.


For more information on the USSA-Westminster grant tuition program, visit www.westminstercollege.edu/ussa.