BOULDER, Colo. (Feb. 27, 2024) – SCARPA, the leading manufacturer of footwear for performance mountain sports, this month launches the third year of its successful SCARPA Athlete Mentorship Initiative (SAMI). Based on a commitment to supporting athlete growth and helping to create a more inclusive and diverse outdoor community, SAMI embarks on another year of empowering the next generation of outdoor athletes.
Created by SCARPA, and run in conjunction with brand partner and technical apparel manufacturer Mountain Hardwear, the SAMI program is designed to create more access, support and opportunity for outdoor athletes from historically marginalized communities. The program will again pair aspiring athletes who are from the BIPOC, LGBTQ and Adaptive communities with mentors from SCARPA or Mountain Hardwear’s athlete teams.
For the 2024 program, SCARPA and Mountain Hardwear introduce the newest class of 12 mentees, a talented group of athletes in disciplines including climbing, mountaineering, running and skiing. During the SAMI program, mentees meet with athlete mentors and SCARPA and Mountain Hardwear staff to work on individual projects and goals. This year’s class was chosen from hundreds of applications for the SAMI program.
“As we enter the third year of SAMI, we’re humbled to see this program has become such a success that we received such an extraordinary number of applications from a range of extraordinary athletes,” said Melanie Hood, Director of Marketing and Communications for SCARPA North America. “That speaks not just to the value of an effort like this working to try to broaden outdoor participation, but to the commitment and excitement that our brand athletes have shown for this program.”
This year’s mentees are Zivia Berkowitz, Brittney Butler, Sarah Carriere, Joshua Harper, Jay Louie, Davis Ngo, Adam Pawlikiewicz, Carlin Reynolds, Ellie Rubin, Gabrielle Tourtellotte, Lindsay Valero and Noah Wheeler. They will be paired with SCARPA athlete mentors, who include Kitty Calhoun, Nathaniel Coleman, Sam Elias, Tim Emmett, Will Gadd, Joshua Jarrin, Gabe Joyes, Shelma Jun, Andrew King, Alex Puccio, Erin Spong and Graham Zimmerman.
The 2023 SAMI class saw some incredible milestones, including the first deaf female and deaf American male to summit Mount Everest, along with a handful of films and video projects, including Guerreras, a film following female Latina climbers.
“The Scarpa Athlete Mentorship Initiative was the push of inspiration I needed to create Escaladores Unidos,” said Xavier Bravo, a 2023 mentee and founder of Escaladores Unidos. “Not only did I develop confidence in my objectives by having so many individuals believe in my vision, but the connections I made with other SAMI mentees, industry leaders, and inspiring individuals will last for years to come. If nothing else, it is quite comforting to know that I will always be part of the SCARPA and Mountain Hardwear families and part of a cohort of athletes that are shaping the future of the outdoor industry for the better.”
For more information about SCARPA and the Athlete Mentorship Initiative, please visit https://us.scarpa.com/community/index.php/athlete-mentorship-program.
About SCARPA and SCARPA North America
Founded in 1938, SCARPA builds performance footwear for climbing, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, trail running and other outdoor pursuits from its headquarters in Asolo, Italy. SCARPA has been owned and operated by the Parisotto family since 1956. In 2005, SCARPA opened its North American headquarters in Boulder, Colo., staffed and directed by veterans of the North American outdoor industry, to oversee sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S., Canada and South America. For more information about SCARPA footwear, visit www.scarpa.com.
About Mountain Hardwear
Mountain Hardwear, Inc., was founded in 1993 and is based in Richmond, CA. We exist to encourage and equip people to seek a wilder path in life. For 30 years, we’ve built essential equipment for climbers, mountaineers, and outdoor athletes and have supported expeditions on the world’s highest peaks. Relentless precision continues to inspire everything we do — our designers sweat every stitch and detail to continuously improve function, durability, and comfort. Mountain Hardwear is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company that distributes its products through specialty outdoor retailers in the United States and 34 countries worldwide.
www.mountainhardwear.com
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