Squaw Valley Academy Sponsors Olympian Travis Ganong & Unveils Scholarship

Squaw Valley Academy is pleased to announce a partnership with alpine skier and previous student, Travis Ganong. Ganong is a Tahoe resident, Olympian, World Cup Winner, World Championship medalist and United States Ski Team member. Effective immediately, Ganong will be the academy’s Director of Snow Sports.

Born in Truckee, California, Ganong grew up in North Lake Tahoe and learned how to ski at Squaw Valley when he was two-years-old. Following in his older sister’s footsteps, Ganong progressed from the Squaw Valley’s Mighty Might program to the Squaw Valley Ski Team before being nominated to the United States Ski Team at only 16-years-old. Since then, he has dominated the men’s alpine circuit winning World Cups, National Championship titles and claimed the silver medal in Downhill at the 2015 World Ski Championships. Ganong represented the United States of America at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi as well as he was a 4-time United States World Championship Team member. As the leading American Downhill skier on the Audi FIS World Cup tour, Ganong’s eyes are set on representing the country again in South Korea for the 2018 Olympics as well as at Beijing’s 2022 Olympics.

“Skiing has provided me with so much passion and joy in life, and one of my goals is to pass on that passion for the sport to the next generation of athletes,” said Ganong. “Growing up, I got to ski and train on the best mountain in the world [Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows], which really helped me get to where I am now, but we didn’t have a great option for a high level academic experience while traveling and competing at a young age. Squaw Valley Academy is filling that gap now by providing that comprehensive learning experience in Squaw Valley and working with the teachers and the coaches to provide a world class academic/athletic experience. I’m excited to see the development of the next generation of elite athletes coming through this new partnership, and I hope that through my involvement and interaction with Squaw Valley Academy, I can help inspire these future student athletes.”

Starting in the 2017-18 Academic Year, Squaw Valley Academy’s new Competition Ski Program enables alpine ski racers to achieve a college-preparatory education while training full-time with Squaw Valley Ski Team and racing at the U14, U16 and FIS level. Focused on the development of the student-athlete, Ganong will add a unique elite-athlete perspective to the experience at Squaw Valley Academy through his mentorship role as Director of Snow Sports.

“Travis is an incredible athlete, role model and hometown hero,” said Bill Grant, Squaw Valley Academy Head of School. “We are excited to have him represent our academy and help launch our new Competition Ski Program.”

As part of this newly-aligned partnership, the Travis Ganong Scholarship program has been created. This scholarship will be awarded annually to two promising student-athletes that embody Ganong’s passion for education and alpine ski racing. This merit-based award provides full or half tuition until graduation and is open to all students entering grades 9 and 10 for the 2017-18 school year. For more information and to apply for a Travis Ganong Scholarship, please visit www.sva.org/travis-ganong-scholarship.