SSWSC Appoints Interim Snowboard Director

Elite Athlete & Freestyle Snowboard Head Coach Maddy Schaffrick Steps Up for 2020-2021 Season

Steamboat Springs, CO - The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) announced Friday that Maddy Schaffrick, seven-year U.S. Halfpipe Team member and current SSWSC Head Freestyle Snowboard Coach, will be filling an interim position as the Director of Snowboarding for the 2020-2021 season, following Tori Billings’ resignation from the role.

“We are so fortunate to have Maddy Schaffrick here at the SSWSC to immediately step up into this role. Maddy’s background in the sport as an elite athlete growing up in Steamboat as a part of the SSWSC, combined with her positive relationships with the athletes and families in our program, allow her to hit the ground running this season. Maddy is an excellent coach and she does a wonderful job supporting the values of the SSWSC in her work,” said Dave Stewart, Athletic Director of the SSWSC.

Schaffrick, having grown up as an athlete of the SSWSC, was on the U.S. Halfpipe Team for 7 years, during which she collected impressive results at X Games and Grand Prix events. Schaffrick joined the SSWSC coaching staff in 2016 as a seasonal coach and became a year-round coach in 2019, holding the position of Head Freestyle Snowboard Coach for four years.

“I’m excited to become part of the leadership team at the SSWSC,” said Schaffrick. “My experiences as both an athlete and a coach at the SSWSC have given me first-hand insights into our community and culture, and I look forward to having the opportunity to carry on the stoke and passion of our awesome coaches and athletes as well as bring forth some new ideas this winter season.”

The SSWSC will conduct a national search for a Snowboard Program Director Position through the winter, with the goal of filling the permanent position in the spring. Until then, Schaffrick will be taking the lead, well-prepared for the season by the groundwork put together by Tori Billings. Billings led the program as Snowboard Program Director for 7 years before stepping down last week.

Billings joined the SSWSC as an athlete in 1997, began coaching in 2010 and accepted the Snowboard Director Position in 2012. In a letter to membership explaining her new career move managing Colorado Sled Rentals, Billings stated, “I have the utmost confidence in the snowboard staff. {Head coaches} Maddy Schaffrick, Thedo Remmelink, Sasha Nations, Erik Gunderson and Trevor Mekelburg will continue to lead an amazing program. They each bring a large amount of passion, knowledge, experience and dedication to the club. I am excited to watch what they will do in the next several years!”

The SSWSC offers youth development programming to approximately 1,000 athletes each year and claims 95 Olympians and 165 Olympic Appearances, more than any other town in North America. Currently the snowboard programs have 71 enrolled athletes.

READ TORI BILLINGS’ FAREWELL LETTER HERE