Located at Lake Tahoe, California, Sugar Bowl Academy is a fully accredited college preparatory high school for competitive skiers. It's a world-class ski academy for Alpine, Nordic and Freeride athletes.

A community of passionate skiers

OUR MISSION

Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy is a community dedicated to providing passionate skiers the opportunity to pursue athletic dreams, academic excellence, and personal growth while celebrating grit, grace, and courage.

Our vision

To be the recognized gold standard for ski teams and ski academies.

Our job is to push you, give you tough love, help you when you fall and cheer for you when you cross the finish line. It's to help you perfect the tiny details, while leading you toward a path where you'll live larger than life.

We’ll help you see your potential even on days you can't see it. We’ll help you balance everything that's coming at you. We’ll help you finish that last mile, understand that equation, learn that past participle, and experience the beauty of the world around you.

We'll help you thrive on the dual pursuit of rigorous academics and competitive skiing in an environment that celebrates hard work and the pursuit of worthy goals.

Those who have come before you have gone on to some of the most desirable colleges and universities in the country, and many have continued their pursuit of skiing on NCAA and club teams at schools.

OUR CORE VALUES

We believe in...

...providing a supportive and safe community which celebrates family, shared values and goals, open communication, and service.

...providing the opportunity to pursue athletic and academic excellence.

...developing strong character with respect, integrity, empathy, and sportsmanship.

...developing confident and resilient people who embody work ethic, accountability, perseverance, and adaptability.

...developing people who lead healthy, happy, and purposeful lives.

Our History

The Sugar Bowl Ski Team Foundation was founded in 1998 by Tricia Hellman Gibbs, a former member of the U.S. Ski Team and a graduate of Williams College. Following in the footsteps of her father, Warren Hellman, who founded Stratton Mountain School in Vermont, Tricia had a vision of developing a world-class junior ski program and academy on the West Coast.

Tricia's passion, support and leadership helped develop Sugar Bowl Academy into a world-class educational institution for competitive skiers on Donner Summit, in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Today, Sugar Bowl Academy is nationally recognized as one of the premier sports academies in the country, and the only ski-in/ski-out ski academy in the U.S.

Our Strategic Plan

Fast Facts

  • Year founded: 1998

  • Ski team & academy enrollment: 500 athletes

  • Number of coaches: 56

  • Current academy enrollment: 50 full year; 17 winter-term

  • Number of coaches who are ski team alumni: 18

  • Number of coaches who have been here 5+ years: 19

  • Number of coaches who have been here 10+ years: 7

  • Academy Staff (coaches, teachers, and support staff): 43

  • Percentage of athletes receiving scholarships and tuition assistance: 47%

  • Percentage of SBA teachers who hold Masters Degrees: 60%