Amy Cichanowski, Executive Director
Amy grew up skiing with her family in Winona, MN. She quickly aspired to local and club level racing, attending many Junior Nationals. She started skiing in the high school league in 10th grade and was State Champion (team and individual) in 1988 for Winona Cotter. She went to Middlebury College for one year and skied on the team. She then returned to the Midwest to work with coach Mark Ernst, finishing her Physics degree at St. Mary’s in Winona. She's skied many Kortes (winning three times).
Giants Ridge World Cup 1985 with Juha Mieto
Amy qualified for multiply NCSA and NCAA skiing championships, but in her senior year, she passed up college nationals to go to Europe on a sponsored trip to ski the Engadin marathon. That trip was very transformative for Amy because she saw firsthand how different skiing is in Europe. After her senior year, Amy moved to Vuokatti Training Center in central Finland. That year was an epic adventure of hitch-hiking around Scandinavia and completing in club races three WorldLoppet races.
In 1993 Amy came back to the U.S., moved to Minneapolis and signed on to Team Birkie. She met her future husband, Marc Beitz through Team Birkie and spent the next several years training for Olympic level competition and participating in three Olympic Trials. During these years, in her "free time" she earned an MBA from the University of St Thomas.
Throughout her Team Birkie years, Amy coached masters and juniors. She started coaching high school skiing at St. Thomas Academy in 1999, coaching there for 5 years as an assistant before moving to Burnsville as a head coach. Under Amy’s coaching the Burnsville girls won the state meet in 2009.
In 2005, Amy became the Executive Director of the Minnesota Youth Ski League. She has built MYSL into the premier youth cross-country ski organization in North America. The League membership is now over 3500 skiers in 60 clubs throughout the Midwest. Highlights of her work with the MYSL include:
- Establishing developmentally-appropriate youth racing and programming (Skiwerx) for U8-U14 skiers throughout the Midwest
- Using applied research to design programs that Develop Lifelong Skiers
- Creating a complete and integrated system for youth ski club management
- Recruiting generations of volunteers into the ski community
- Creating the most diverse cross-country ski organization in the country
- Leading the largest cross-country ski swap in the US; expanding access to affordable winter gear
- Mentoring athletes from their youth years into their junior and senior careers
- Partnering with MYSL alumnae, Jessie Diggins, as she rose to become a positive influence and role model for youth
- Organizing Wednesday night Team Sprints at Wirth Park for over 20 years, as a developmentally appropriate introduction to racing for thousands of youth skiers and their parents
Amy holds both US Ski and Snowboard Level 200 and Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Level 2 certifications. She is a US Ski and Snowboard Level 2 Technical Delegate and was on the Minneapolis World Cup organizing committee (both times). She was the Competition Secretary for the 2024 Minneapolis World Cup, and continues in this role for all National and FIS-level events that come to Minneapolis.
She has two daughters, both skiers of course, that are now in college.
Her current projects include building the fundraising base for MYSL to allow the organization to continue its outreach efforts and helping to standardize High School Section meets.
She is, and always will be, a consummate protector of research-based youth skiing development and is a visionary for cooperative and sustainable growth in the ski community.