2025 Legacy Award
• Elite Racer • Record Holder • Mentor and Coach
Keith Poore
Few athletes embody West Virginia ski racing as completely as Keith Poore.
Raised on Snowshoe Mountain, Keith began skiing at just two years old and entered NASTAR racing by age five. By age seven, he was already the overall champion of the Canaan Snowshoe Mini Series. From that point forward, his life was defined by competitive skiing at the highest levels available to a West Virginia athlete.
As a junior racer, Keith competed at elite regional and national events, including the Eastern Future Stars Camp at Whiteface, the North American Junior Alpine Championships, and multiple Eastern Junior Olympics. He attended Burke Mountain Academy and began racing in the FIS circuit as a teenager. Throughout his junior career, he consistently placed among the top competitors in fields of more than 100 racers.
At Lees McRae College, where he competed on an athletic scholarship from 1999 through 2004, his team captured multiple USCSA conference and regional championships. Keith earned Individual Southern Conference titles and qualified as a USCSA National competitor, where he finished 11th overall and earned both Athletic and Academic All-American honors.
Resilience and Competitive Legacy
In January 2003, Keith sustained a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula while racing. One year later, he returned to competition and finished second overall at the USCSA Mid Atlantic Regional Championships, winning the Giant Slalom.
Two decades later, in April 2023, he shattered his left tibia and fibula while skiing with his children in Colorado. Once again, he returned to the sport. Keith holds the record for overall victories in both the Snowshoe Cupp Run Challenge and the West Virginia Governor’s Cup, with more than 20 Cupp Run titles spanning two decades. His dominance across multiple eras of West Virginia ski racing stands unmatched in West Virginia ski racing history.
Coach, Mentor, and Role Model
Keith began coaching in 2005 as Head Coach of the Lees McRae Ski Team and became Head Coach of the Snowshoe Junior Ski Team in 2006. For 18 years, he coached at Snowshoe, shaping generations of racers and helping raise the competitive standard of ski racing in the region. In 2023, he began coaching with the Timberline Race Team.
He currently holds a Level II USSA coaching certification and continues to pursue professional development to build one of the strongest ski development programs in the southeastern United States.
Keith credits his father, Mark Poore, as his greatest personal inspiration, and professional icons such as Marc Girardelli as influences on his racing career. His experiences as both competitor and coach have shaped a philosophy grounded in discipline, accountability, and thoughtful decision-making.
One formative lesson came as a teenager, when he jumped from a stopped lift to avoid being late to a championship event. The decision nearly cost him his season. Instead, it became a defining teaching moment that he has carried into his coaching career, using it to help young athletes understand responsibility and consequences on the mountain.
Legacy
Keith Poore represents a rare combination of a lifelong competitor, a record-setting champion, a resilient athlete, and a dedicated coach. From national junior championships to state-level dominance to nearly two decades of coaching in West Virginia, his influence spans generations.
His commitment to developing young athletes and elevating ski racing in his home state continues to shape the sport's future. Recipient of the Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia Legacy Award in recognition of his enduring impact on ski racing and mentorship in the Mountain State.