About

Carrabassett Valley Academy is a private alpine skiing, snowboard and freestyle academy based in Carrabassett Valley, Maine

Carrabassett Valley, Maine

Carrabassett Valley is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 761 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...

, at the base of Sugarloaf/USA. Established in 1982, the school has trained and schooled the likes of Olympic

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

 competitors Bode Miller

Bode Miller

Samuel Bode Miller is an American alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and is generally considered the greatest American alpine skier of all time...

, Seth Wescott

Seth Wescott

Seth Benjamin Wescott is an American snowboarder. He is a two-time Olympic champion in the snowboard cross.-Life and career:Wescott was born in Durham, North Carolina, and lives in Carrabassett Valley, Maine...

, Kirsten Clark and Emily Cook. Jeremy Jones

Jeremy Jones

Jeremy Jones may refer to:* Jeremy Jones , snowboarder, big mountain riding, Jones Snowboards* Jeremy Jones , snowboarder, freestyle & jibbing, Burton et al.*Jeremy Jones...

, eight-time Snowboard Magazine

Snowboard Magazine

Snowboard Magazine is an independent snowboarding publication. It was founded in April of 2004 by Mark and Liz Sullivan. Soon they were joined by Jeff Baker, Aaron Draplin, Gary Hansen and Jason "J2" Rasmus. Most of the crew were previous employees and/or contracted employees of Snowboarder Magazine...

Big Mountain Rider of the Year, also honed his snowboarding and academic skills at Carrabassett Valley Academy. Since 1982 CVA has produced 11 Olympians, 80 National Titles, 10 X-Games competitors, 19 NCAA and USCSA

USCSA

The United States Ski Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association is the sports federation for collegiate team ski racing and snowboarding in America. In excess of 150 colleges from coast to coast, the USCSA fields some 4,200 men and women, alpine, Nordic, freestyle and snowboard athletes in over...

 All-Americans, 28 national team members, and six world champions. The intent and purpose of Carrabassett Valley Academy is to foster individual student development by providing the optimum balance of excellence in athletic training, with a focus on competitive skiing/snowboarding, college preparatory academics, and responsible living. College preparatory academics and world class athletic training combine to produce balanced student-athletes. Programs in alpine ski racing, freestyle moguls and freeride skiing, big mountain riding and skiing, snowboarding, and nordic skiing are available to students from 8th grade to post-graduate.

Notable graduates & athletes

• Bode Miller
  Bode Miller
  Samuel Bode Miller is an American alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and is generally considered the greatest American alpine skier of all time...
  
   - 2004/2005; 2007/2008 Alpine Overall World Cup Champion; Olympic Gold, Silver, & Bronze Medalist,
• Seth Wescott
  Seth Wescott
  Seth Benjamin Wescott is an American snowboarder. He is a two-time Olympic champion in the snowboard cross.-Life and career:Wescott was born in Durham, North Carolina, and lives in Carrabassett Valley, Maine...
  
   - 2006 and 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist, Snowboard Cross,
• Jeremy Jones
  Jeremy Jones
  Jeremy Jones may refer to:* Jeremy Jones , snowboarder, big mountain riding, Jones Snowboards* Jeremy Jones , snowboarder, freestyle & jibbing, Burton et al.*Jeremy Jones...
  
   - 7 time Snowboard Magazine Big Mountain Rider of the Year
• Kirsten Clark - US World Cup & Olympic Ski Team Member. US National Downhill Champion
• Emily Cook - US Olympic Freestyle Team Member
• Julie Parisien - US World Cup & Olympic Ski Team Member. US National SL/GS Champion

History

Carrabassett Valley Academy is the offshoot of the Sugarloaf Regional Ski Educational Foundation (SRSEF), which began operations in 1969 to help racers and freestylers sharpen their skills for competitive skiing. While the tutorial program was successful, members of the SRSEF and others soon became interested in establishing a ski academy at Sugarloaf in order to allow young athletes to stay in the Western Mountains of Maine rather than attend ski academies out of state.

In the winter of 1982-1983, spurred by visionary H. King Cummings and other enthusiastic pioneers, Carrabassett Valley Academy opened its doors for the first time as a five-month, winter-term tutorial program.

CVA's charge was to develop a school for student-athletes based on the Greek ideal of developing equally the body, mind, and spirit. With its initial 15 students, the program was designed to provide young athletes with a high quality college-preparatory academic program while allowing for and emphasizing time on the mountain. The following year CVA relocated to the former Capricorn Lodge as a full-time ski academy and college preparatory program. Since that time, CVA has seen many exciting changes and reached a number of goals and milestones including the first snowboard, big mountain and freeride programs. Following the development of a new campus plan twenty-two acres of land was purchased; a soccer field, 29,000 sq. ft. Antigravity Complex and new residential dormitory have been constructed. Click here for a more detailed CVA historical timeline.

Facts in Brief

Enrollment/students (as of 1/27/2011

* 99 students
* 72% male, 28% female
* 57% boarding, 43% day
* 37% receive financial aid
* Students are from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois Michigan, Connecticut, Nebraska, Maryland, Florida, Scotland, England, France, New Zealand, Spain, Georgia/Russia, South Korea, Germany, Scotland and Canada.

Faculty

* 14 teaching faculty
* 15 coaching faculty
* 3:1 student/faculty ratio
* average class size 12 students

Notables

* 11 Olympians - 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal
* 28 National Team Members
* 72 National Titles
* 10 X Games competitors - 5 medals
* 21 NCAA and USASA All Americans
* 6 Times Best Big Mountain Snowboarder of the Year

Campus

* 25 acres
* new dormitory opened school year 2007-08
* Antigravity Complex (29,000 sf) with Olympic quality trampoline and weight room, skate park with bowl, full court, climbing wall and aerobics room
* Sugarloaf - 2,820-foot vertical drop, the legendary snowfields
* Appalachian Trail and miles of biking and running paths.