Winter Olympics: Black and Hispanic skiers a rare sight on Western teams as elitism dominates snow sports culture
- American Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win a gold medal in speedskating in Beijing
- The US Alpine sking team members are entirely white while snowboarders and freestyle skiers include Asian-Americans
Take an informal survey of elite American Alpine skiers and snowboarders, and most can name an organisation that exposes Black and Hispanic children from urban areas to winter sports.
Whether it’s on indoor half-pipes in New Jersey, or the Rocky Mountain slopes of Colorado and Wyoming, there seem to be plenty of programmes aimed at developing a diverse new generation of skiers and snowboarders.
So where are the Black and Hispanic American athletes at the Winter Olympics? The US Alpine skiing team members in Beijing are entirely white. The US snowboarders and freestyle skiers include Asian-American riders, but none who are Black or Hispanic.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate,” said Ryan Cochran-Siegle, an American silver medallist in Super-G at Beijing. “We all want to figure out ways to close those gaps between different minorities and their access to skiing.”
The past and present of the Alpine sports are both working against that goal. White and elitist, they were born in the mountains of Europe, and are flourishing for the most part in mountain communities without a lot of racial or ethnic diversity.
Then there is the cost: a single day of skiing can cost US$100 or more, not including travel and equipment rental; owning your own gear costs even more. Wealth and easy access to resorts make a significant difference in one’s ability to progress from recreation-level participation to an Olympic path.