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Show SPORTS The Park Record. CROSS-COUNTRY SEASON MINERS GIRLS SOCCER OFF AND RUNNING, B-2 WINS OPENER, B-3 www.parkrecord.com B-1 SAT/SUN/MON/TUES, AUGUST 25-28, 2018 Business leader pivots from technology to turns Editor: Ben Ramsey sports@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.15704 Twitter: @ParkRecSports HOLE IN ONE On Saturday, Aug. 18, Karl Sunden shot a hole in one on Hole 2 at Park City Golf Course using an eight iron. New PCSS director formerly worked at Oracle and Workday BEN RAMSEY YOUTH TENNIS PROGRAMS The Park Record Park City Recreation will be hosting its youth tennis programs soon. The first round of the Fall Junior Tennis Program starts Monday, Aug. 27. Experience groups range from beginner and intermediate to advanced tournament players. Visit parkcityrecreation.org or call 435-615-5401 to register. John Kanarowski has spent the past 20 years working in the tech industry, a body of work which might make him sound like strange fit for the position of executive director of Park City Ski and Snowboard. But Kanarowski says he is passionate about the snowsports that the club facilitates and has a long history with skiing and snowboarding. The 48-year old put on his first skis while living in Germany at Garmisch-Partenkirchen – a massive resort complex near a military base where his father, a colonel in the U.S. Army, was stationed during Kanarowski’s youth. As a result, Kanarowski skied with Ski-Club Garmisch team for 14 years, Kanarowski said. Though his father was transferred to other bases around the world, the family continued to visit the resort near the Germany-Austria border for years to come. Kanarowski said his love for skiing has traveled with him since, including a detour into snowboarding in the late ‘90s, when Kanarowski spent a few years living in Sugar House. He got his first boarding turns at Park City Mountain Resort. Between then and now, he’s worked as an accountant for Merced Systems, which develops sales software, was a manager at ubiquitous software corporation Oracle. After that, he was the senior director for the Salt Lake Citybased Workday, and was the general manager and senior vice president of Periscope Holdings, which sells software that handles big business. So when he saw the opening at Park City Ski and Snowboard, he viewed it TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE The Park City Ice Arena has invited the public to try ice hockey for free on Tuesday, Aug. 28, or Thursday, Aug. 30, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. The event is designed to provide kids between the ages of 4 and 12 a completely free experience to try youth hockey. The organization’s coaches will be on the ice to assist children in learning the basics. Participants do not need previous skating or hockey experience. The Park City Ice Arena is also offering ice skating lessons on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings for children ages 3 years to adults. Visit parkcityice.org or call 435-615-5707 for details. SHEEPDOG FESTIVAL The 16th annual Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship and Festival will return to the Heber Valley over Labor Day weekend. From Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, the festival will feature sheepdogs and handlers from around the world in herding competitions. Admission prices for children start at $6 online, $11 for adults and $10 for seniors. For full ticket prices and scheduling go to soldierhollowclassic. com. Please see Sports briefs, B-5 COURTESY OF PARK CITY SKI AND SNOWBAORD John Kanarowski took over the executive director position at Park City Ski and Snowboard this summer, after interviewing in spring. Until taking the job, he spent most of his career working for technology companies. as a way to converge two large parts of his life seamlessly. “I saw that it combined passion for skiing and competitive skiing, as well as (a need for) someone who could run the business and administrative side of the organization,” he said. “I realized I had both of those – a strong passion in skiing and the business and administrative experience, too.” After consulting the decision with his wife and kids, he applied for the job, and was eventually accepted in June after a two-month vetting process following the departure of Jesse Hunt, who left to become alpine director for U.S. Ski and Snowboard. He’s now set to lead an organization with more than 900 members. Disrupting powder Kanarowski said the main difference between his previous jobs and his new role will be a change in product and a change in customers. However, he said there’s also a lot of overlap. “In a technology company, (customers’ needs are) what drives the innovations — focusing on the customer — and I think you can take that same approach to what we do as a ski club as well, and really focus on what are the services we are delivering to our families and athletes, what we’re doing well, and also understanding what we can improve,” he said. He plans on using his experience in research to better serve PCSS’s customers. One of Kanarowski’s main goals is to solidify a multi-sport program that would allow skiers to rotate through different sports on different days, including alpine ski racing, ski jumping, and cross-country skiing. The goal — a holdover from Hunt’s time and one of the reasons for the club’s consolidation last year — is to allow kids to sample different sports so they are better able to find their strengths and passions among a smorgasbord of activities. “We have the building blocks, and there’s a lot of demand from customers, particularly for younger kids, to do something more like that and get that broader, multi-sport base,” Kanarowski said. “We can deliver on that.” The other objective is to lower the overhead for parents and grow the club’s participation. “That’s another thing we’ve been hearing from families,” Kanarowski said. “They are passionate about (PCSS’s sports offerings) and they realize these are not inexpensive sports, but on the other hand, I think people are asking ‘Hey, how can you deliver this programming at a lower price point; how can you make it more accessible to a broader set of families here in the community.’ We will work on that.” He said the club does not yet have a silver bullet for lowering the cost of participation, particularly with equipment, though PCSS does offer rental programs for some ski gear. New frontiers The club is also seeking to expand its backcountry education and activities. Under Hunt, PCSS adopted a ski mountaineering race program which trains at the Utah Olympic Park, and Kanarowski said the club will both expand the current program and add backcountry education for kids and parents this year. He said the programs are a natural fit because of the club’s current offerings. “We have big-mountain programs, we have all-mountain programs, so it’s really making sure they are learning the skills to be safe,” he said. After taking over, Kanarowski said his transition has been like ones previous, where as a new hire he has been “drinking from the fire hose” to familiarize himself with the job and the orPlease see Director, B-4 THIS WEEKS SPONSOR Team Alpine understands how precious your vacation time is and we are committed to creating for you the most personalized, knowledgeable and efficient travel experience you’ll ever have. 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Call today to book your one of a kind vacation: 1-800-755-1330 WHAT’S HAPPENING August 26th • THEME: Pool Party MAIN STAGE sponsored by Delta Airlines 10 - 11 am 11 - 1 pm 1 pm 1:45 pm Awards 2 - 5 pm Soft Music Something Like Seduction Polka Ensemble Walk a Mile in Her Shoes - Peace House Dr. Bob FARMERS MARKET STAGE (Located on 5th St. next to the Post Office) 10 - 2:30 pm 3 - 5 pm Eric Heidememan Tessa and Caitlin KIDS ACTIVITIES • Park Silly Bounce House • Rock On Climbing Walls • Clo Creations by Chelsea Face Painting • Mechanical Bull • Balloon Artist • Henna THANK YOU SPONSORS NON-PROFITS + LOCAL AWARENESS (Located on 7th Street) Root’d The Speedy Foundation Peace House - Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Ssejejinja Children’s Foundation STROLLING PERFORMERS/ MUSICIANS David De Carolis - Magic Michael MacNamara - Viola Carlos Emjay - Music Celeste - Balloon Maker VODKA JUNE 3 - SEPT. 23 (EXCLUDING AUG 5,12 & 19) • EVERY SUNDAY • 10 AM - 5PM PARK CITY’S HISTORIC MAIN STREET • NOT FOR PROFIT, JUST FOR FUN! 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