DrJeff wrote:boston_e wrote:Stache wrote:No argument at all that an NCAA D1 athlete is better than an intermountain ski club athlete.Mister Moose wrote:Define world class -Stache wrote:Good question, has KMS/KSC ever produced a World Class Skier??
I'd argue that NCAA D1 athlete > intermountain ski club athlete... but putting that aside, their website lists a handful of Olympians and national champions.
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In the US for alpine D1 programs, there are currently 12 mens and 13 women's programs in the entire country. That's roughly 280 womens and 260 mens D1 alpine skiing scholarships across all 4 academic years in the country. When you factor in that on many D1 programs, a decent percentage of their scholarship athletes come from non US ski academies and/or intermountain club programs, the overall level of a D1 alpine program is better than an intermountain club program.
Not all athletes at a ski academy or intermountain club program will ski for a D1 school
And a few of those schools, Harvard and Dartmouth come to mind, don't offer athletic scholarships to either their Alpine or Nordic Ski racers. On the other hand Divisions I through III compete together, so there are really more than those 12 schools with programs. The likes of Middlebury, for example, can compete with the big boys at UVM and Dartmouth.