Gwen Allard Elected to U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

U.S. Ski & Snowboard named pioneering snowsports educator Gwen Allard to their Hall of Fame class of 2022.

Gwen spent a half century helping others learn how to ski, with a particular focus on adaptive instruction. She was one of the first to embrace adaptive education and went on to become a well-respected leader within the PSIA for her innovative teaching methodology and her perseverance in rallying the entire ski industry around adaptive sports.

Now in her 80s, Gwen continues to mentor others. She was named to the National Disabled Skiing Hall of Fame in 2001.

“Gwen has been a part of my certification and educational journey from the beginning,” said PSIA-AASI Adaptive Team Coach Geoff Krill. “She was my examiner for my Level I and at the end was right on me to go for Level II and the rest is history. She is fondly known in the adaptive community as ‘mother,’ a role that she has lived up to in guiding us and providing prospective to always push forward and bring the sport to where it is today.”

Geoff said, “For me she is more than just one of the pioneers for adaptive, she is family and has always treated anyone within the snowsports communty as such. Her placement into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame is a win for adaptive sports and the educators who have forged the path forward. The fact that she pushed any of us with disabilities to take on the challenges of which in many cases was uncharted territory is a testament to her vision.”

Gwen is one of nine individuals who will be inducted into the hall in March. Other inductees include X-Games gold medalist, U.S. Open champion and Boarding for Breast Cancer pioneer Tina Basich; America’s first Olympic snowboard medalist Shannon Dunn-Downing; the ‘father of freestyle snowboarding’ Terry Kidwell; speed skier C.J. Mueller; freeskiing pioneer Kent Kreitler; former U.S. Alpine Ski Team coach Phil McNichol; longtime Ski Racing International publisher Gary Black; and legendary Mammoth Mountain and Alterra Mountain Company leader Alan ‘Rusty’ Gregory.