History
A club, a hill, a family.
For more than 40 years, Team Gilboa has developed alpine ski racers in an environment that values high character, hard work, accountability, perseverance and leadership.
Our history
Twelve kids, one hill, since 1978.
- 1978
Twelve athletes, one hill
Brad Giswold and Bob Smith start the Hyland Hills Alpine Racing Team in the fall of 1978, owned and managed by Hyland Hills Ski Area and the Hennepin County Park District.
- 1984
One hundred racers
Sixty athletes by the 1981-82 season, and 100 two years later. Results follow, in USSA Midwest and Central Division competition.
- 1985
Independent, and renamed
After the 1985 season, Hennepin Parks proposes that the team run itself. The board and coaches agree, and the newly independent 501(c)(3) takes the name of its hill: the Mt. Gilboa Alpine Racing Team, or Team Gilboa.
- 1990s
The Competition Center
A lease with Three Rivers brings the club its own building at the bottom of the hill, built and maintained by Team Gilboa. It is still where athletes, coaches, parents and grandparents gather to watch.
- 2006
An Olympian from Hyland
Alumna Kaylin Richardson races in the Olympic Games in 2006 and again in 2010.
- 2015
Top 30 in the nation
USSA certifies Team Gilboa as one of the top 30 ski clubs in the country. An elite FIS program follows in 2016.
- 2020
A High Performance Center
Gold certified by U.S. Ski and Snowboard, one of only 22 Gold clubs in the nation as of the 2019-20 season, and designated a High Performance Center in 2020.
- 2022
A record at U18 Nationals
Six athletes reach U18 Nationals, the most in club history. Only Vail and Steamboat qualified more from the Rocky/Central region.
- 2026
A Paralympian from Hyland
Alumna Meg Gustafson races in all five alpine events at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, guided by her brother and fellow alumnus Spenser.
- Today
450 athletes
175+ in USSS programs and 250+ in Jr. Race, three managing directors, full-time professional coaches and a volunteer board.
The name
Why Gilboa.
When the team became independent, the board and coaches needed a new name. They looked no further than the hill served by the south chairlift.
That hill is the highest natural point of land in Hennepin County. Some time ago it was given the name Mt. Gilboa, after a mountain in Israel that appears in the Old Testament. The new name was rooted in both geography and history.
The builders
Coaches who raised the bar.
The founders
Brad Giswold and Bob Smith started the team in 1978. Through the 1980s, Coach Giswold, Mark Conway and others raised the funds for new technology and a growing travel schedule.
Niel Atkinson
A Bloomington athlete who raced and then coached with an intense, driven style. He took the program to a new level: international races, national successes, regional wins and state high school titles.
Those who followed
Many strong leaders followed Niel's example, including Andrew and Polly Robar, Dave Samuels and George Balch, building the premier program families know today.
We are not only developing great skiers but raising great people.
In college
Racing in college.
Hundreds of Team Gilboa athletes have gone on to race in college, at the USCSA level and at the NCAA Division I level.
Multiple athletes have won national championships and earned All-American status.
Alumna
Kaylin Richardson raced here until she made the US Ski Team.
A 10 year US Ski Team member and 2-time Olympian, Kaylin began her career in Team Gilboa's Jr. Race program.
- 2006, 2010: Olympic Games, 17th in the combined both times
- 2009: US National Downhill Champion
- 2007: US National Downhill and Combined Champion
- 2007: World Championships team member: team event slalom, 2nd place; super combined, 12th
- 2006: US National Slalom Champion; US National Downhill bronze medal
- 2005: Nor-Am Slalom Co-Champion
- 2004: Europa Cup Giant Slalom Champion; Nor-Am Slalom Champion; Swiss Junior National Slalom Champion
- 2003: Nor-Am Slalom Champion
Alumna
Lauren Samuels raced here until she made the US Ski Team.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Lauren began skiing at age two and raced with Team Gilboa out of Hyland Hills, on her way to the US Ski Team and an NCAA title.
- 2017: NCAA National Champion with the University of Utah, her senior year
- 2013-17: University of Utah ski team, team captain
- 2011: Junior World Championship Team
- 2009: Named to the US Ski Team development (D) team after winning the J2 National Super-G and Overall championships
- Raced for Rowmark Ski Academy and on the NorAm and Europa Cup circuits
- Coached FIS athletes at Team Gilboa and Rowmark Ski Academy
- Salomon: associate category manager, leading Salomon's return and grassroots push in North American alpine racing
- An active voice and panelist on diversity, equity and inclusion in snowsports
- B.S. in Athletic Training, University of Utah; master's in Sports Product Management, University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business
Alumna
Meg Gustafson raced here first.
Born in Edina, Meg and her older brother Spenser started racing for Team Gilboa at Hyland Hills. Today she is a U.S. Paralympian, racing in the visually impaired class with Spenser as her guide.
- 2026-27: U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team, with Spenser as her guide
- 2026: Paralympic Winter Games, Milano Cortina, at 16: raced all five alpine events, with her best result fifth in giant slalom
- 2025-26: Seven FIS race wins in the lead-up to the Paralympics
- 2025: First race with Spenser as her guide, at the U16 Rocky/Central Championships in Vail
- Learned to ski at Hyland Hills, taught by her father Peder, a former Boston College ski racer
Be part of it
The next chapter is yours.
Support the club at the Swap: Friday, October 23, 2026, Hyland Hills