In an effort to share my experience as an older undergrad at Brown University, I am introducing some of the people that I spend time with here in Rhode Island. The first person that I'd like you to meet is Jacqulyn Blatteis. Jac is a traditionally aged senior from Los Angeles, California. She is graduating in two weeks with a degree in neuroscience. She is the co-director of a student group called HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere), and she is a remarkable human being. I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as have! I would love to hear your feedback about this conversation and this idea of sharing my experience through the people in my life. Please email me at noah@noahhoffman.com or get in touch via Facebook or Instagram.

Noah Hoffman

Meet Jacqlyn Blatteis

I am currently in Beitostølen, Norway for the first races of the season. I just finished up a 10-day camp in Sjusjøen, Norway with Andy Newell, Erika Newell and Annie Hart. Today’s conversation is with Erika and Annie, two of the best female skiers in the U.S. who are not currently on the U.S. Ski Team. They both ski for the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team and primarily compete on the U.S. Super Tour circuit. Both have started a few World Cup races but neither has scored World Cup points. They both attended and graduated from Dartmouth College and have super interesting lives outside of skiing. In our conversation we touched on a wide array of topics including the long odds of Olympic qualifying for U.S. women racing domestically, sexism and sexual harassment, eating disorders in skiing, Annie’s political leanings and many other topics. Thanks for joining us!

Annie Hart and Erika Newell Conversation

A conversation with with Dexter Paine, the Chair of the Board of U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSA). Dexter also serves as a vice president and council member of the International Ski Federation (FIS). For his day job, he is a Founding Partner and Chair at the private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC which focuses on sustainable food chain investing and agriculture. He also serves as a Manager of ACS Media Income Fund. Previously, Dexter served as the Chair of the Board at Holderness School and was a member of the International Board of Directors of Right to Play. I caught Dexter via Skype at his office in Midtown Manhattan. This is the second conversation that I’ve recorded remotely, and the sound quality is better than my first attempt, though not perfect. Also, Dexter requested, and I provided to him, the questions for this interview in advance. Enjoy!

Dexter Paine Conversation

A conversation with Nordic Combined Olympic Champion Billy Demong. Billy became the first and only American to win an Olympic Gold Medal in a Nordic sport when he won the 10 Kilometer Individual Large Hill competition in Vancouver 2010. He competed in five Olympics: Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino, Vancouver and Sochi. Billy is now the head of USA Nordic Sport, a new organization that works to further Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping in the U.S. You can learn more about USA Nordic Sport at https://www.usanordic.org/

Billy Demong

A conversation today with Tom Kelly, the vice president of communications at U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSA). Tom is preparing to depart USSA in June after 32 years. He also serves as the chair of the International Ski Federation PR and Mass Media Committee, the chair of the board of the Alf Engen Ski Museum and the chair of the board of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Because of Tom’s long history in the sport, I started by asking him to tell me about the evolution of the sport in this country. We then got into the system for managing athletes after they win Olympic medals, which I found very interesting.

Tom Kelly Conversation

A couple of days ago I had a chance opportunity to talk to Max Cobb, the President and CEO of the U.S. Biathlon Association or USBA. Max also serves as the Vice-President for Sport of the International Biathlon Union or IBU. Because I did not know I would be talking to Max, I did not prepare for this conversation. However, USBA has been a leader among winter sports in urging swift and decisive action against the Russian Federation for the systematic doping outlined in the McLaren report. Therefore, I decided to focus on that topic for the 10 minutes I had with Max.

Max Cobb Conversation

with Luke Bodensteiner, the Executive Vice President of Athletics at U.S. Ski and Snowboard. I’ve known Luke for over a decade, since before I was on the U.S. Ski Team. Before joining U.S. Ski and Snowboard, he cross country skied himself for the University of Utah and at the 1992 and ’94 Olympics. At Utah he won two individual NCAA titles and one team title and he is a 3-time U.S. National Champion. He joined the administration at U.S. Ski and Snowboard in 1996 and became the cross country manager in ’97. In 2001 he took control of Nordic Combined and ski jumping as well when he became the Nordic Director. He was promoted to his current position, Director of Athletics, in 2008. Luke has also authored a book, titled Endless Winter, about his time racing internationally. This was one of my favorite conversations and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Luke Bodensteiner Conversation

A conversation with Robert Lazzaroni, the Nordic Domestic Program Director at U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSA). USSA is the National Federation for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, including Alpine Skiing, Nordic Sports, Freestyle Skiing, Freeskiing and Snowbaording. Before coming to U.S. Ski and Snowboard, Robert spent 17 years as the Nordic Product Manager at Rossignol. He also served as the Manager of Nordic Programs for the Utah Olympic Park which includes the Park City Nordic Ski Club.

Robert Lazzaroni Conversation

A conversation with Tiger Shaw, the President and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSA). USSA is the National Federation for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, including Alpine Skiing, Nordic Sports, Freestyle Skiing, Freeskiing and Snowbaording. Tiger competed in Alpine skiing in the 1984 and ‘88 Olympics. He grew up in Stowe, Vermont and went to Dartmouth College. He came to U.S. Ski and Snowboard from Global Rescue in the spring of 2014.

Tiger Shaw Conversation

A conversation with Brayton Osgood, the Men's Cross Country Skiing Head Coach at Dartmouth College. Brayton is is one of my best friends and this conversation begins a little more casually than some of the others. Brayton graduated from Dartmouth himself in 2003 with a degree in mathematics. He was the captain of the Dartmouth Ski Team and a 2-time NCAA All-American. After college, he skied professionally for many years. He represented the U.S. at the Under-23 World Championships and at the World Cup Races in Whistler 2009. During his career he won three Super Tour Races. While skiing, he worked as a programmer for Amp Sports. After his ski career he was an assistant coach for Ruff Patterson, his predecessor at Dartmouth, and then he got a Masters in Accounting and Business Administration from Northeastern University.

Brayton Osgood Conversation

A conversation with Schone Malliet, the founder and current head of the National Winter Activity Center or NWAC in Vernon, New Jersey. The NWAC works to introduce under-resourced kids from the New York City metropolitan area to winter sports. They partner with organizations such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America to bus young people to the center on property formerly known as Hidden Valley, an alpine area with lights and snow making entirely owned and operated by NWAC exclusively for NWAC participants. They provide each participant with equipment, mentoring, healthy meals and even clothing as needed, to get them on the hill with an instructor. They are a non-profit and their programs are made affordable to participants. Having already expanded to snowboarding, NWAC is now expanding to include Nordic skiing. Schone is a former marine captain and pilot. He is an African American who grew up in the South Bronx. He studied Econ at Holy Cross College and then earned an MBA at Pepperdine University. He worked in finance at Wells Fargo before becoming the executive vice president of the National Brotherhood of Skiers and the CEO of the National Winter Sports Education Foundation. This is the first interview that I’ve done remotely and the audio quality is not perfect. Thanks for bearing with me as I learn the best ways to record these conversations. The NWAC website is http://winter4kids.org/. To support their mission, you can donate online or call the center at 973-846-8250.

Schone Malliet Conversation

A conversation with John Caldwell, the 'Father' of Nordic skiing in the U.S. John competed in the 1952 Olympics in Nordic Combined and coached the U.S. Ski Team and the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1960, '64, '68, '72 and '84 Games. He coached Nordic and taught math at The Putney School from the mid 1950s until his retirement in 1989. His athletes at The Putney School included Bob Gray ('68 and '72 Olympics), Martha Rockwell ('72 and '76), Mike Gallagher ('64, '68 and '72), his son Tim Caldwell (4-time Olympian and World Cup podium skier) and Bill Koch (the only American to have won an Olympic medal in cross country skiing). John authored The Cross Country Ski Book which sold over half a million copies and helped popularize cross country skiing in America. He founded the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) and was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. He has 2 grandchildren currently on the U.S. Ski Team and his nephew, Zach Caldwell, is my coach. In early August John was interviewed by Jason Albert of FasterSkier.com for the Nordic Nation podcast. In this conversation I tried not to replicate what Jason did, so I focused my questions on things that are more personal to me. I also kept it casual. You can find Jason's conversation with John here: http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/nordic-nation-calling-john-caldwell/

John Caldwell Conversation

A conversation with Peter Graves, Olympic Announcer and Television Sportscaster and Commentator. Peter is a former head coach of cross country skiing at Harvard University and skied for Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He commentated at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, he was on ESPN's SportsCenter during the 1984 and '88 Olympics. He did mountain bike commentary for ESPN, TSN (Canada) and EuroSport. He was a public address announcer at the Olympics in Sydney 2000 (biking), Salt Lake City 2002 (Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Cross Country Skiing and Ski Jumping), Athens 2004, Vancounver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. He is scheduled to do PA announcing for Alpine Skiing for PyeongChang 2018. He has also commentated for numerous World Championships and World Cup events in cross country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, alpine skiing, mountain biking, biathlon and road cycling. In addition, he has been at every running of Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota and has worked the American Birkebeiner.

Peter Graves Conversation

A conversation with Andy Newell. Andy is a U.S. Cross Country Ski Team member and 3-time Olympian. He has represented the U.S. in 8 World Championships and has finished on the World Cup podium 3 times. We talked about his early career, his decision not to go to college, his struggle to translate success in qualifying to success in sprint heats, his recent trips to Norway, X Ski Films, Athletes for Action and Protect Our Winters, and what is coming next for him.

Andy Newell Conversation

A conversation with Cami Thompson Graves, the Director of Skiing and the Women's Cross Country Skiing Head Coach at Dartmouth College. Cami has been at Dartmouth for almost 30 years. Prior to coaching she raced at St. Lawrence University and then for the U.S. Ski Team from 1985-87. She represented the U.S. at the 1985 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. She is a member of the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) Board of Directors, a former member of the NCAA Skiing Rules Committee, the Chair of U.S. Ski and Snowboarding's Cross Country Committee and a member of U.S. Ski and Snowboarding's Board of Directors. Finally, she represents the U.S. on the International Ski Federation's Ladies Cross Country Committee. Five of the ten current women on the U.S. Ski Team either have skied for Cami or are currently skiing for her. In the conversation we talked about how skiing has changed in the last 30 years, Cami's transition from athlete to coach, how she runs the Dartmouth program, her goals for each of her committee positions, NCAA skiing's role in the U.S. development pipeline and her future in skiing.

Cami Thompson Graves, Director of Skiing at Dartmouth College, Conversation

Student at Brown University. Adventurer. US Anti-Doping Athlete Representative. 2x Olympian in Cross-Country Skiing. Global Athlete

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Noah Hoffman

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