Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) posted a career-best summer Grand Prix Nordic Combined result, finishing 18th Wednesday in Villach, Austria. Teammate Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), also posted a career-best result in 23rd. 

"It's great to see [Loomis] consistently improving,” said USA Nordic Team Director Clint Jones. “These events are a good barometer to see where we're at as we approach the winter competition schedule. Ben has put a lot of focused energy into his training and for it to be paying off is exciting."

Finland’s Ilkka Herola won the event, as Austria's Franz-Josef Rehle was second and teammate Mario Seidl was third. Loomis was 28th in the jumping portion and started two minutes and 24 seconds behind jump winner Rehle. In the 10k roller ski, he posted the eighth-fasted time and finished less than a minute off the podium. Jared Shumate (Park City, Utah) was 33rd Wednesday. 

The Summer Grand Prix, which is the equivalent to Winter World Cup, continues Aug. 24 and 25th in Germany. The 2018-19 World Cup season kicks off Nov. 23-25 in Ruka, Finland.

RESULTS
Men’s Individual Gundersen 10.0 km
Overall Standings (after two of three events)

Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.) took the win in the second Ladies’ Individual Gundersen/5k Summer Grand Prix event in Oberwiesenthal, Germany Sunday. 

“I had never jumped here before, and I’ve obviously never competed in Nordic Combined before," said Geraghty-Moats, who finished second in Saturday's inaugural ladies event. "The second day I felt like everything came together, I felt much more on top of things on the ski jump and was rewarded with a little bit easier ski so I didn’t have to fight so hard to be on the podium.”

Geraghty-Moats showed her cross-country prowess after a good jump and ended her race one minute and 14 seconds ahead of Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova, who won Saturday's event. Germany's Jenny Nowak finished third again Sunday. 

The jumping event shook yesterday’s ranking up quite a bit with Nowak taking a narrow lead over Geraghty-Moats (94.5 m) and Austria's Lisa Hirner (95 m), who shared the second intermediate position with 106.1 points each. This meant a four-second delay on Nowak, who had shown 96 meters (107.1 p.).

In the 5k roller ski race, Geraghty-Moats was never in any real danger of losing the victory after she left Hirner, Nadymova and Nowak behind in the first lap of the race. The Russian and the German skied together for most of the second round but going out on the third lap, Nadymova emerged as the stronger roller-skier and put some distance between her and the local hero. 

In the men's Individual Gundersen/10k, Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) was the top American in 28th. Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) was 30th.

RESULTS
Women
Men
 

Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.) stepped onto the podium, finishing second, at the inaugural Ladies’ Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, Saturday. 

"It was a dream come true to finally be able to compete in women’s nordic combined on an international level,” said Geraghty-Moats after winning the 5k roller ski following her fourth-place result in the jumping portion. "I’m using this weekend to learn the level I have to be at to have success in combined."

Russia's Stefaniya Nadymova won after scoring 102 points in the Individual Gundersen and then holding off a charging Geraghty-Moats by three seconds in the 5k roller ski for the victory. Germany's Jenny Nowak was third.

"I made some mistakes today and learned a lot but I came away with a good result and having had a huge amount of fun competing with small but strong field," Geraghty-Moats added.

In the men's team event, Austria's Franz-Josef Rehrl and Mario Seidl took the victory. For Team USA, Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) finished 11th.

RESULTS
Women individual Gundersen
Men’s team event

Former Park City Ski Team athletes including Olympic champion Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) and brothers Andrew and Max Miller (Park City, Utah) recently joined two-time Olympic medalist, freeskier Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) on Park City Television (PCTV) to talk summer training, Ligety's new family addition and the relocation of his business - Shred Optics - to Park City, fashion, and what's next for all three athletes.  

Andrew Miller is currently on the development team, while younger brother Max is a part of the National Development Group. Both boys looked up to Ligety growing up, and all three athletes have skied for Alpine Director Jesse Hunt - whether while he was the director for Park City Ski Team or alpine director at U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will host its annual New York Gold Medal Gala at the Ziegfield Ballroom in New York City, New York, on October 25, 2018. Olympic ski and snowboard stars including Lindsey Vonn, Red Gerard and Jessie Diggins, among many more, will descend on New York City for the event, now in its 52nd year. The New York Gold Medal Gala plays a critical role in raising funds which directly help ski and snowboard athletes achieve their goals of being the Best in the World.

A small number of tickets are still available for what will be the social highlight of the snowsports world, but demand is high so anyone considering attending should click here to purchase. However, even those who cannot make it to the New York Gold Medal Gala can still take part in the event by bidding on some incredible auction items here. 

Among the highlights of this year’s Gala live auction is an ultimate VIP experience for four people to attend the 2019 FIS Snowboard Freestyle Freeski World Championships in Park City, Utah. This package includes a sneak-peak behind-the-scenes tour of a competition course, a VIP dining experience at High West Saloon in historic Park City, the use of four Gold Passes for skiing or riding at Deer Valley Resort and/or Park City Mountain and dinner with Kyle Mack, 2018 Winter Olympic Silver Medalist in Big Air Snowboarding, among many others.

“The passionate support from our New York community and everyone who flies in from around the world always makes the New York Gold Medal Gala a festive celebration of our athletes’ journeys to become the Best in the World, “ said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “Each year I am astounded and humbled by the generosity of this community. Without support like this, historic Olympic moments such as those we witnessed during the 2018 Winter Games wouldn’t be possible. This year’s Gala will be a culmination of all of that hard work and a chance to look forward to the next four years.”

The New York Gold Medal Gala will raise nearly $2 million for U.S. skiers and snowboarders through the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Foundation – a critical element of funding for the United States’ Olympic national governing body of ski and snowboard sports. The Gala’s storied history began in 1967 as the Ski Ball, which sought to benefit alpine athletes on the U.S. Ski Team. Today the tradition continues as a celebration of all of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s ski and snowboard athletes, including some of the biggest names in sport. It has become a staple of the New York City social philanthropic scene and provides a grand send-off for athletes before the start of the winter competition season.

This year’s event will be hosted by Gala favorite and Olympic legend Jonny Moseley, gold medalist at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games for moguls skiing. This year’s event chairs are U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation trustees David Saunders, John Townsend III and Dani Virtue. The event will be sold out, such is the demand for tickets, and participants will have a chance to celebrate some already iconic moments from the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, such as Red Gerard’s gold medal in slopestyle snowboarding and Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggin’s historic gold medal in cross country skiing. The night’s program includes a silent and live auction as well as a spectacular technology and dance fusion performance by iLuminate. Labeled as the “best new act in America” during their run on America’s Got Talent in 2011, attendees of this year’s Gala will see dancers in electrified glow-in-the-dark suits performing a dynamic routine guaranteed to dazzle the crowd.

The evening kicks off at 6 p.m. with a star-studded White Carpet immediately preceding the official start of the Gala, from 5 to 5:45 p.m. This is a great opportunity to connect with some of the greatest athletes in the world. Athletes confirmed for attendance so far include:

Lindsey Vonn, 2018 and 2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist; 2010 Gold Medalist, alpine
Shaun White 2006, 2010, 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist, halfpipe snowboarding
Jessie Diggins, 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist, cross country
Red Gerard, 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist, slopestyle snowboarding
David Wise, 2014 and 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist, halfpipe skiing
Alex Ferreira, 2018 Olympic Silver Medalist, halfpipe skiing
Kyle Mack, 2018 Olympic Silver Medalist, big air snowboarding
Brita Sigourney, 2018 Olympic Bronze Medalist, halfpipe skiing
Casey Andringa, 2018 Olympian, moguls
Mac Bohonnon, 2014 and 2018 Olympian, aerials
Ashley Caldwell, 2012, 2014 and 2018 Olympian, aerials
Annalisa Drew, 2014 and 2018 Olympian, halfpipe skiing
Breezy Johnson, 2018 Olympian, alpine skiing
Tess Johnson, 2018 Olympian, moguls
Jaelin Kauf, 2018 Olympian, moguls
Hagen Kearney, 2018 Olympian, snowboard cross
Alice McKennis, 2018 Olympian, alpine skiing
Kylie McKinnon, 2018 Olympian, aerials
Alice Merryweather, 2018 Olympian, alpine skiing 
Brad Wilson, 2014 and 2018 Olympian, moguls
Hannah Kearney, 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist; 2014 Olympic Bronze Medalist, moguls
JJ Thomas, 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalist, halfpipe snowboarding

Based on competition and training schedules, athlete appearances subject to change without notice. 

For ticket purchase and live auction information, please click here.

To stay up to date on the New York Gold Medal Gala happenings, search #NYGoldMedalGala on social media.

The nation’s best alpine ski racers will descend upon New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley Resort in 2019 and 2021 for the Toyota U.S. Alpine Tech Championships - the biggest race the resort has hosted since the White Circus visited in 1991 when Julie Parisien won the World Cup giant slalom.

Waterville Valley Resort will play host to the slalom, giant slalom, and parallel slalom events March 23-26, 2019. The parallel slalom event will be a new addition to the U.S. Alpine Championships calendar.

“The introduction of the parallel event into the U.S. Alpine Championships tech week is an effort the alpine department has been advocating for and is excited about,” noted U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Director, Jesse Hunt. “It’s a format that spectators understand and enjoy. With the introduction of more parallel events in the World Cup, as well as the team event in the Olympic Games’ calendar, it’s important we begin to place more focus on the event. The inclusion of parallel into U.S. Alpine Championships is proof of our commitment to developing our young talent to reach the podium for this discipline at all levels in the future.”

At this point, the plan is to run the current International Ski Federation (FIS) format for the parallel event:

• Qualification: one-run, single-pole “traditional-style” SL (120-200m VD), for each gender

• Heats: two-run, dual paneled SL for 32 athletes (80-100m VD; 5 heats), per gender

FIS is currently considering modifications to their format, which will be determined at the fall FIS meetings. Based on these conversations, format and qualification details will be modified accordingly for U.S. Alpine Championships.

“We are looking forward to bringing elite ski racing back to Waterville Valley Resort,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief of Systems and Operations Calum Clark. “The membership and fan base in the east is vast and extremely engaged with the sport, and our athletes love competing in front of them. Julie Parisien had a commanding and inspiring World Cup victory there in 1991, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited to bring some of the best ski racers in the world, like two-time Olympic gold medalists Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety and Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, back to the resort in hopes that they too will inspire the next generation.”

Waterville Valley Resort shares the enthusiasm for hosting the event. “This will be the biggest race that Waterville Valley Resort has hosted since our last World Cup in 1991. The whole team is excited to be bringing elite racing back to Waterville Valley,” says Waterville Valley Resort’s President and General Manager, Tim Smith. “I know our guests and pass holders won’t want to miss the opportunity to see these athletes in action.”

The downhill, super-G and alpine combined events will take place prior to the Waterville Valley events, and the venue will be announced shortly. Much like the 2015-2018 Sugarloaf, Maine/Sun Valley, Idaho venue arrangement, U.S. Ski & Snowboard looks to continue the successful long-term calendar plan to move the annual celebration of American ski racing to top resorts around the United States. That said, U.S. Ski & Snowboard will be looking to the west for 2020 and 2022 and the announcement will be forthcoming.

About Waterville Valley
Waterville Valley is a four-season resort set on 540 private acres surrounded by 360° of National Forest. Sitting atop the 4,004-foot Mt. Tecumseh, “New Hampshire’s Family Resort” features 265 acres of skiable terrain, a vertical drop of 2,020 feet, 60 trails, 11 lifts, and 74k of groomed Nordic terrain nestled in the valley below.  Shuttles provide easy access to year-round events, shopping, and dining in the Town Square as well as a variety of lodging options, including country inns, condominiums, and all-suite hotels. This year Waterville Valley Resort continues on Phase II of a multi-year capital improvement and expansion project. For more information, visit waterville.com.

Event Schedule
March 16    Downhill Training - Sugarloaf, Maine
March 17    Downhill Training - Sugarloaf, Maine
March 18    Downhill (NorAm Cup Finals) - Sugarloaf, Maine
March 19    Downhill (National Championships) - Sugarloaf - Maine
March 20    Alpine Combined (National Championships) - Sugarloaf, Maine
March 21    Super-G (National Championships) - Sugarloaf, Maine
March 23    Slalom (National Championships) - Waterville Valley Resort, N.H.
March 24    Parallel Slalom (National Championships) - Waterville Valley Resort, N.H.
March 25    Women’s Giant Slalom (National Championships) - Waterville Valley Resort, N.H.
March 26    Men’s Giant Slalom (National Championships) - Waterville Valley Resort, N.H.

The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team welcomes two familiar faces to their aerials’ coaching roster. Dmitriy Kavunov has joined as Head Coach of the Elite Aerials Development Program (EADP) in Lake Placid and Eric Bergoust has joined as World Cup Aerials Coach in Park City. Both Kavunov and Bergoust have storied aerials careers and are excited to be back with the organization.

Kavunov comes from a gymnastics background and was an aerialist in Uzbekistan from 1982 to 1984. “There was no official team at that time, it was more like a club,” Kavunov said. “Me and a couple of guys would go out and practice ourselves.”

In 1985, after the first sanctioned FIS World Cup Aerials event, the discipline became an official sport in the Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR) and Kavunov became the team’s coach. It was during this early time of aerials in the USSR that Kavunov started coaching Lina Cheryasova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan), who won gold at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. “Lina was the athlete that put Dmitriy on the map,” noted Todd Ossian, head aerials coach for U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

In 1992 Kavunov went back to Uzbekistan to coach aerials until 1999 when he moved to New York to coach gymnastics. During his time in New York, he worked with the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). From there Kavunov coached the Canadian aerials team for six years, the last two of which he worked specifically with their development program. In 2008 Kavunov helped start the EADP for U.S. Ski & Snowboard and was with the program until 2010. For the next eight years Kavunov contracted with the Russian Federation, working through two Olympic cycles.

It’s come full circle now for Kavunov with U.S. Ski & Snowboard as he returns to running the EADP. “I’m excited to be back with the EADP, which I helped start. Without the EADP there wouldn't be a opportunity for aerial athletes to train for Olympic-level competition since there are [few] club-level aerials teams in the U.S,” Kavunov  said.

“We’re so excited to have Dmitriy back. He helped build our current team,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard C-Team Aerial Coach Emily Cook. “He’s coached our two current World Champions and Grand Prix Champion. We’re looking forward to him being a part of that process for new athletes.”

Following Kavunov’s departure from the EADP in 2010, Eric Bergoust took up the mantle of head coach until 2013. Bergoust was an aerialist on the U.S. Freestyle Team from 1989 - 2006.  He competed in four Olympics (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006) and won gold at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games Nagano, Japan. Bergoust has consulted with U.S. Ski & Snowboard for the past five years and is now back as the World Cup Aerials Coach.

“It will be fun to work with the national team athletes that I coached during my time at the EADP,” Bergoust said about being at U.S. Ski & Snowboard full time.

“Having Bergy back with [us] is so awesome,” Cook remarked. “He was an amazing teammate and I am really looking forward to coaching with him full time now. He has a massive technical knowledge of the sport and the athletes are so fortunate to be learning from one the best.”

Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) finished 11th in the HS135 at a Summer Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, Saturday.

Bickner sailed 125.0 meters in his first jump, and his second was 122.0. Russia's Evgeniy Klimov won the event with jumps of 132 and 129 meters.

"We should be satisfied with that result against this strong field of competitors, but there is still some space for improvement," said Bine Norcic, men's ski jumping head coach for USA Nordic. "We are confident to go to the next events and I am sure that this 11th place was not the best one of the season." 

RESULTS
Men's Large Hill Individual

Alpine Director Jesse Hunt rejoined the U.S. Alpine Ski Team at the helm, as Alpine Director this spring - a role he formerly occupied from 2002-09. He recently sat down with Sean Higgins from Ski Racing Media to discuss his past success and his future plans for the Team, including Project 26. 

During Hunt's previous tenure as Alpine Director, the U.S. Alpine Ski Team had an incredible depth and talent, featuring now-alumni Bode Miller, Daron Rahlves, and Julia Mancuso, as well as current Team members Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) and Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah). “Winning at every level” became the mantra associated with Hunt as NorAm titles, World Junior Championships, Olympic and World Championship medals, and World Cup globes were all secured while he was at the helm of the program.

"One of our efforts is to support development the way it needs to be supported because it hasn’t been supported to the level it needs to be supported. I think that’s something that I’ve identified and the organization has identified and I think the country as a whole has identified,” Hunt explains. “The question now is how do we move forward with a sustainable approach to development and support it financially the way it needs to be supported and still take care of athletes that are further up in the system.” 

Hunt believes that, though it is a tough time right now, there is also a great opportunity. “That’s really what compelled me to get back involved. I feel like I can make a difference and I feel like I have enough experience to understand where the resources need to go and how they need to be deployed and how we can affect some change and move the program.”

Read the full story on SkiRacing.com

Rest is important to ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, as it is to any athlete. But she says the idea of rest is more than a necessity, it's something she relishes; part of her brand, one might say.

But this season, it's taking on a new meaning.

Midway through last winter, over which Hendrickson finished 19th at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, she was approached by Sleep Number, a manufacturer of luxury mattresses.

"They've been a great partner," she said of her sponsor at the USA Nordic Summer Soiree at Jeremy Ranch Country Club. "I sleep a lot – like, 9 to 10 hours every night."

... Read the full story by Ben Ramsey in the Park Record