PARK CITY, Utah (October 20, 2020) – USA Nordic has hired Karin Bauer as its new Sport Development Manager, making her the first woman in a sport role in the organization. Bauer was a Women’s Ski Jumping USA member, competing on the women’s ski jumping circuit till 2011, representing the United States in Continental Cups as well as at two Junior World Championships.
Bauer looks forward to reconnecting with a community she enjoyed greatly growing up. “It feels really good to be joining the ski jumping and nordic combined community again! I’m excited to be back in an element that I am very familiar with. I had so many great experiences growing up within this community. Ski jumping was a huge part of my life!” Bauer continues, “I’m excited to reconnect with people that I grew up ski jumping with, and to also meet new people that are now involved in the sport.”
After her retirement from the sport of ski jumping, Bauer graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science then received a Master’s in Public Health Administration- both from the University of Minnesota. “Public health can be defined as promoting the health of people and the communities in which they work, live, learn, and play,” says Bauer. She looks forward to bringing her strengths in program development and management to USA Nordic.
With this new position, Bauer will help clubs with current programs and offer insight and resources as to how these programs can be improved. She also aims to create an environment that is welcoming to new athletes and their families. When asked of the key factors to her success, Bauer mentions, “program availability, athlete recruitment, and most importantly athlete retention.”
“Since creating this Sport Development role in 2014, we have made great strides within our development pipeline. Karin was a great athlete and we look forward to now having her on the USA Nordic staff,” says executive director Bill Demong. He continues, “We are excited about her prior experience and education in Public Health, which will translate well to this new position.”
Bauer has big goals set for herself as USA Nordic’s new Sport Development Manager and data will be her guide. “An overall increase in participation and retention amongst all age groups would be great data points to gauge success in development of these sports.” She also adds, “Coming from a past era of women’s ski jumping, I’d love to see the participation number of girls increase across the board.”
When asked about her favorite memories from her career, Bauer knows the answer right away, “One of my favorite memories is being on the conference call when they announced that women would finally be included at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia in 2014. it was truly a moment of history.” As Bauer reconnects with her sport of the past, she looks to create new memories and foster a love for the sport which will spread across the nation- from Alaska to New Hampshire.
