U.S. Skimo Athletes Get Boost With “Project Podium”

Skimo is an endurance sport where competitors don speed suits and race up the mountainside with skis and skins.

Cookler explained that stateside, the sport remains niche, which has made securing sponsors difficult. The USSMA is the governing body for U.S. skimo races and the U.S. skimo National Team. It’s a non-profit run by volunteers and, until recently, has been funded by the occasional donation and membership fees. For the most part, U.S. National Team members have historically had to spend their own money on staying in Europe during the winter, where World Cup skimo races are held.

However, with skimo’s Olympic debut approaching—in 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously approved the inclusion of skimo in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics—the USSMA received a significant boost.

Last week, the USSMA announced the launch of Project Podium. The initiative will give its athletes greater support thanks to a donation from Mike Paulus, a technology company founder and entrepreneur. The organization also shared that Paulus’ donation enabled Cookler to be hired for her new position as Head of Sport.

“I invested in USA Skimo because it's an organization at an inflection point. The combination of impressive new leadership and the Olympic opportunity provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow the sport both at an elite performance level and mass participation,” Paulus said.

Cookler, who previously competed in skimo for the U.S. National Team, founded Silverfork Skimo, a youth team based in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. With Silverfork, she has worked to nurture skimo’s next generation of talent.

“We are incredibly excited to have Sarah join us in a full-time capacity as Head of Sport. Finding a Head of Sport with Sarah’s background and skill set fulfills our most important mission, which is to lift USA Skimo to a globally competitive level,” said Anthony Armstrong, Executive Director of USSMA.

Project Podium has a simple premise and goal: earn medals for U.S. skimo athletes. Cookler called the initiative “Olympic-driven.”

“This year is the first significant privately funded donation that has allowed us to actually allocate money specifically to funding, fully funding, our top athletes,” she said. Now, some USSMA athletes won’t need to worry about paying their way through the European World Cup circuit, which, Cookler explained, “should help significantly in lessening the stressors that they have and put more effort towards top performances.”

To achieve the aim of Project Podium, Cookler will focus on supporting USSMA athletes by hiring coaches and obtaining resources so they can succeed in the World Cup and, if everything goes as planned, earn Olympic qualifications.

“Olympic qualification criteria is earned through the World Cup, so they have to be there,” said Cookler.

Her duties go further, though. The new Head of Sport is also tasked with expanding skimo’s foundation in the U.S. To her, the hope is that these efforts will create a grassroots space that funnels promising skimo athletes to the top. “I think, you know, this is a big turning point for the sport,” said Cookler.

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