Editor's Note: U.S. Ski & Snowboard is honoring its Annual Award Winners through June 1, beginning with the Julius Blegen Award for lifetime service to the organization. Upcoming award announcements will include Athletes of the Year, Clubs of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Athlete Service Awards recognizing those who have taken snow sports to new heights.

Dexter Paine was the consummate leader of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, serving as its chairman from 2006 to 2019. Paine was elected by his peers as the 74th recipient of the Julius Blegen Award, the highest organizational recognition, dating back to 1946.

“To be one of those people who is recognized for the passion that they have for the sport, well, I just really appreciate it.”
– Dexter Paine

Paine’s volunteer leadership benefitted the entire organization, from grassroots clubs to Olympic champions. As a vice president of the International Ski Federation, he continues to support the USA as a respected global player. Despite running a global agribusiness, he made U.S. Ski & Snowboard his priority, attending every Olympics and nearly all World Championships over a 17-year span - accounting for 53 Olympic medals.

The award recognizes established history of distinguished service and a lasting contribution to U.S. Ski & Snowboard and its membership. It is named in honor of Julius Blegen, a key leader of the National Ski Association in the 1930s.

Like many U.S. Ski & Snowboard volunteers, Paine’s passion came from his parents. Growing up in New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Valley, he began going to the ski area at two and took lessons from the Hannes Schneider Ski School. “My dad was a TD (technical delegate), my mom made lunches and was a gatekeeper,” he recalled. Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, he had local heroes like Terry and Tyler Palmer, and Abbi Fisher.

While he attended dozens of Olympic, World Championship and World Cup events, Paine’s greatest thrill was handing out annual awards at the spring U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress.

“The great thing about the awards ceremony is that it’s about the volunteers and the athletes,” he said. “It’s about the people who make our organization successful. I don’t think we step back and appreciate those people as much as we should.”

Paine recounted his youth when there would be 50 parents on the ski hill to make it happen - be it -10 and blowing, or 34 and pouring rain. “You still had these same volunteers - the same ones who met every month to raise money and do all the things to help the club be successful.” 

As chairman, Paine had the honor of giving out the Blegen Award 13 times - a diverse group who all share the same passion. “These Blegen winners share a love for seeing our athletes being successful -  whether that’s a town race or a World Cup. It’s seeing those athletes coming up through our program - who have that chance because of our volunteers,” he said.

“To be one of those people who is recognized for the passion that they have for the sport, well, I just really appreciate it.”

Paine continues to serve in his leadership role on the FIS Council, as well as on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors and its foundation. He is also on the board for US Biathlon.

On May 4, 2020, Toby Miller was featured in a Forbes.com article highlighting his pure passion for the mountains and the sport he loves. Written by Michelle Bruton, the article refers to two different interviews conducted over the past five months, where Toby’s personality undoubtedly shines through. The story covers the biggest challenges of the 2019-20 season, his obsession with video editing, the financial challenges associated with the pandemic, as well his relationships with three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White and Olympian JJ Thomas.

Outside of Toby’s life on snow, Toby shared how the pandemic and quarantine have allowed him to spend time with his family, which otherwise would not possible. Along these lines, Toby explains how his family has always been the foundation of his success. 

Check out Forbes.com for the full story.

"The past year should have been a victory lap for Mikaela Shiffrin. Instead, it left her on empty after she lost first her Nana, then her dad, then her skiing. But she refused to let it break her, and now her spirit is returning thanks to one very special relationship." ⁠—Mirin Fader, Bleacher Report

Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin—"a once-in-a-century type athlete," as former teammate and idol Bode Miller refers to her in the piece—recently shared her story of grief, resilience, love, mothers and daughters, and what it is like to be one of the most dominant athletes on the planet recently with Bleacher Report. 

From losing her dear grandmother "nana" in October just days before the start of the 2019-20 season while in Soelden, Austria to dealing with the heavy weight of the world's expectations after an otherworldly and historical 2018-19 season to the unthinkable tragedy in her father Jeff's passing, Mikaela reveals the crushing pain she and her family have experienced in the last several months in an incredibly raw, poignant manner. 

Bleacher Report writer Mirin Fader had originally reached out back in early January, looking to profile Mikaela and elaborate on the struggles an elite level at the top of their game has to stay at the top of their game, how Eileen (Mikaela's mother) plays an important role in that success, and the challenges Mikaela had been facing in the 2019-20 season thus far. 

"There is a critic living inside Mikaela, constantly demanding she reach for a bar she can't ever touch because she is raising it every day.

Every race, every training, she inspects herself. She has to be this way. Because she is after something much deeper, much more difficult than dominance itself: sustaining dominance."

With the Sports Illustrated feature and other big projects mid-season, there simply was no room at the time in her schedule, and then Mikaela's world came to a screeching halt in early February when she faced yet another challenge—the sudden loss of her father, her "family's CEO" and their "mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything," as she described Jeff in a post announcing the tragedy. 

Slowly, Mikaela returned to the mountain—a place she felt closer to her father. Slowly, she returned to the start gate. Then, a month later, she got on a plane and traveled to Åre, Sweden for the final World Cup races of the season. She knew that her mother and the coaches didn't expect for her to compete and that just getting on the place was a win in their eyes, but she wanted to race. 

"But Mikaela had her mind made up: She was racing. 'More than the results, or prize money,' she says, 'those races were going to be good for my actual heart.'"

A global pandemic had other plans, as the races were cancelled mere hours after Mikaela had announced her return, but Mikaela showed incredible resiliency in returning to the mountain. And when she returned to Edwards, Colo., Mirin called once again, and Mikaela was ready to share her story. It was not the story either woman had planned on, but it is a beautiful tribute to Mikaela's father Jeff. 

Read the entire piece on bleacherreport.com.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Freestyle Ski Team nominations for the 2020-21 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season. Thirty-one athletes have been nominated to the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, which includes aerials and moguls. 

Nominations include four new members: Landon Wendler and sisters Madison and Kasey Hogg to the moguls team and Dani (Karyl) Loeb to the aerials team. These young athletes show a promising look at the future of American freestyle skiing. 

2020-21 will bring the freestyle skiers to the FIS Freestyle FIS World Cup Championships in Zhangjiakou, China, which will serve as test events for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Athletes will get a preview of what’s to come at their sports’ most prestigious events. 

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official U.S. Freestyle Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2020-21 Freestyle Nominations

(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

U.S. Moguls Team

Men
Casey Andringa (Boulder, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/6/95)
Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 12/15/97)
Joel Hedrick (Fort Collins, Colo.; Winter Park Competition Center; 5/30/97)
Alex Lewis (Carlisle, Mass.; Killington Mountain School; 11/16/99)
Nick Page (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 8/1/02)
Landon Wendler (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Winter Sports Club; 10/12/2000)
Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.; Wasatch Freestyle; 6/5/92)

Women
Sabrina Cass (Cheshire, Conn.; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 3/27/02)
Nessa Dziemian (East Hampstead, N.H.; Park City Freestyle Ski Team; 4/14/94)
Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/15/00)
Tess Johnson (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 6/19/00)
Kasey Hogg (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 1/8/2003)
Madison Hogg (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 2/15/2001)
Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 9/26/96)
Kai Owens (Vail, Colo.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 8/16/04)
Kenzie Radway (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 6/22/03)
Morgan Schild (Pittsford, N.Y.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 8/25/97)
Hannah Soar (Somers, Conn.; Killington Mountain School; 6/4/99)
Avital Shimko (Manhattan, N.Y.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 4/24/96)

U.S. Aerials Team

Men
Quinn Dehlinger (Cincinnati, Ohio; Elite Aerial Development Program; 6/8/02)
Chris Lillis (Pittsford, N.Y.; Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team; 10/4/98)
Jon Lillis (Pittsford, N.Y.; Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team; 8/20/94)
Eric Loughran (Pelham, N.H.; Loon Mountain Freestyle; 12/4/95)
Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 8/13/98)

Women
Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 9/14/93)
Kaila Kuhn (Boyne City, Mich.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 4/8/03)
Dani (Karyl) Loeb (Pintlala, Ala.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 8/10/2001)
Megan Nick (Shelburne, Vt.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 7/9/96)
Megan Smallhouse (Reno, Nev.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 1/16/01)
Winter Vinecki (Gaylord, Mich.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 12/18/98)
Madison Varmette (Stafford, Va.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 5/8/96)

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team nominations for the 2020-21 competition season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

“In a world of uncertainty, we remain determined and excited to nominate one of the deepest teams we have fielded in years." 
- Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Director Jesse Hunt

Double-Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin and 2019 Xfinity Birds of Prey victor Tommy Ford headline the list of both accomplished and emerging athletes heading into the 2020-21 season. The 2019-20 season was a step in the right direction for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, with 15 FIS Ski World Cup podiums, one Junior World Championship medal, and seven NorAm titles. Mikaela led the way with 13 podiums and six victories in 19 World Cup starts, despite missing nine races. She’ll head into 2020-21 as the winningest slalom skier of all-time, with 43 slalom victories, and ranked fourth on the all-time win list behind Marcel Hirscher (67), U.S. Ski Team alumna and Land Rover ambassador Lindsey Vonn (82), and Ingemar Stenmark (86). 

The men’s team was highlighted by Tommy, with solid and consistent skiing, finishing his career-best season ranked fifth in the world in giant slalom with six top-15 results, four top-five results, two podiums and a massive victory by .80 seconds in Beaver Creek, Colo. He is joined by a men’s team with considerable depth, specifically the men’s speed team—which had four athletes finish in the top-20 in the world in downhill for the first time ever: Travis Ganong (13th), Ryan Cochran-Siegle (14th), Bryce Bennett (16th) and Steven Nyman (20th). 

The 2020-21 season will feature the much-anticipated FIS Ski World Championships in Cortina d’ Ampezzo, Italy, February 8-21, 2021. Following the premature end to the 2019-20 season with the cancellation of FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo due to the coronavirus outbreak, the athletes are looking forward to competing in the Dolomites. Cortina d’Ampezzo is a favorite classic venue on the women’s World Cup circuit where the U.S. women’s speed team has enjoyed a lot of success.  

The 43 athletes nominated will be supported by a strong coaching staff, committed to “winning at every level,” which is Alpine Director Jesse Hunt’s mantra. “In a world of uncertainty, we remain determined and excited to nominate one of the deepest teams we have fielded in years,” noted Jesse. “We have a great mix of veteran athletes and bold young prospects, from World Cup winners Ted Ligety, Steven Nyman, Travis Ganong, Tommy Ford, Alice McKennis, and Mikaela Shiffrin to our recently named development team athletes. We are building a system to win at every level of the alpine pipeline.”

Athletes nominated to the team are scheduled to open the season with their first on-snow training camps this summer, pending COVID-19 considerations. 

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high-performance staff, and education opportunities.

A 2020-21 staff announcement will be forthcoming, while an official Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2020-21 Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM
Men
Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 7/14/1992)
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club; 3/27/1992)
Tommy Ford (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation; 3/20/1989)
Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 7/14/1988)
Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 8/31/1984)
Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard/Sundance Ski Team; 2/12/1982)                     

Women
Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho; Rowmark Ski Academy; 1/19/1996)
Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.; Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation; 8/17/1988)
Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 3/13/1995)

B TEAM
Men
Sam DuPratt (Park City, UT; Park City Ski Education Foundation; 11/28/1993)   
Bridger Gile (Aspen, Colo., Aspen Valley Ski Club and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/15/1999)
Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 6/15/1991)
Jimmy Krupka (Waitsfield, Vt.; Dartmouth College and Green Mountain Valley School (7/15/1998)*
Sam Morse (Carrabassett Valley, Maine; Carrabassett Valley Academy; 5/27/1996)
Kyle Negomir (Littleton, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/3/1998)
River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 2/12/1998)
Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, VT; Green Mountain Valley School; 9/5/2000)
Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/University of Denver Ski Team; 11/5/1998)
George Steffey (Lyme, N.H.; Stratton Mountain School; 8/8/1997)
Luke Winters (Gresham, Ore.; Sugar Bowl Academy; 4/2/1997)

Women
Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 4/4/1999)
Alice McKennis (New Castle, Colo.; Sunlight Winter Sports Club/Rowmark Ski Academy; 8/18/1989)
Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.; Attitash Race Team/Stratton Mountain School; 10/5/1996)
Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, Minn.; Buck Hill Ski Team/Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 4/7/1994)
Nina O’Brien (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Squaw Valley Ski Team; 11/29/1997)
Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, Ore.; White Pass Ski Club; 7/13/1992)

C TEAM
Men
Cooper Cornelius (Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski Club; 6/20/1999)
Isaiah Nelson (Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club; 4/3/2001)

Women
Katie Hensien (Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy; 12/1/1999)
AJ Hurt (Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 12/5/2000)
Nicola Rountree-Williams (Edwards, Colo.; Loveland Ski Area; 7/7/2002)
Zoe Zimmermann (Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy; 5/16/2002)

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Men
Jacob Dilling (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, 10/19/1999)
Kellen Kinsella (Edwards, Colo.; Dartmouth College and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 8/7/2001)
Trent Pennington (Shalimar, Fla.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 5/8/2002)*
Jack Smith (Sun Valley, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/24/2001)
Bradshaw Underhill (Newbury, N.H.; Killington Mountain School; 3/10/2000)*

Women
Lauren Macuga (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 7/4/2002)
Ainsley Proffit (St. Louis, MO; Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy; 3/21/2001)
Allie Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 9/1/2001)*
Emma Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 7/23/2003)
Alix Wilkinson (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 8/2/2000)
Isabella Wright (Salt Lake City, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 2/10/1997)*

*Newly named to the U.S. Ski Team

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Freeski Team halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air nominations for the 2020-21 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

Nominations for this year’s team illustrate the natural progression through the U.S. freeskiing athlete pipeline with new faces across the rookie and pro teams. Leading the way for the U.S. is an elite group of five Olympic medalists and, coming up through the ranks is an energetic and talented group of rookies from freeski programs around the country. 

U.S. athletes are coming off a spectacular 2019-20 season earning 20 podiums at World Cups and 12 podiums at X Games and Dew Tour. The U.S. Freeski Team is prepared for a challenging World Championships season ahead with 25 pro-level and 15 rookie freeskiers taking to elite international competition.

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Freeski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high-performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official team announcement will be made in the fall.

2020-21 U.S. Freeski Team Nominations
(Hometown; Club; USASA Series; Birthdate)

HALFPIPE
PRO TEAM
Men
Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/12/96)
Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Aspen/Snowmass Series; 8/14/94)
Birk Irving (Winter Park, Colo.; Winter Park Freeride Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/26/99)
David Wise (Reno, Nev.; 6/30/90)
Lyman Currier (Boulder, Colo.; Winter Park Freeski Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/28/94)
Hunter Hess (Bend, Ore.; Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation; Central Oregon Series; 10/01/98)
Taylor Seaton (Avon, Colo.; 7/16/90)
Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/17/00)
Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/31/99)

Women
Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.; Intermountain Series; 1/17/90)
Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.; Mount Snow Academy; Southern Vermont Series; 2/17/93)
Annalisa Drew (Andover, Mass.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Southwest Colorado Series; 5/28/93)
Carly Margulies (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Freeski Team; Unbound Series; 12/24/97)
Abigale Hansen (June Lake, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Freeski Team; Unbound Series; 5/26/98)

ROOKIE TEAM
Men
Hunter Carey (Winter Park, Colo.; Winter Park Competition Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 6/12/02
Connor Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Series; 9/26/03)
Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.; Winter Park Competition Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/29/01)
Sammy Schuiling (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/16/00)

Women
Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.; Winter Park Freeride Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 2/27/02)
Hanna Faulhaber (Carbondale, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 9/04/04)
Riley Jacobs (Oak Creek, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/14/03)

SLOPESTYLE / BIG AIR
PRO TEAM
Men
Alex Hall (Salt Lake City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 9/21/98)
Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 8/4/01)
Colby Stevenson (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 10/3/97)
Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Hanley Consulting Inc.; Rocky Mountain Series; 3/14/94)
Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.; Midwest Freeskiing Association; 5/21/97)
Kiernan Fagan (Brownfield, Maine; Wy’East Mountain Academy; Rocky Mountain Series; 1/18/02)
Deven Fagan (Brownfield, Maine; Wy’East Mountain Academy; Rocky Mountain Series; 1/18/02)
Cody LaPlante (Truckee, Calif.; Squaw Valley Freestyle and Freeride Team; North Tahoe Series; 2/15/02)

Women
Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 12/14/98)
Caroline Claire (Manchester Center, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 2/2/00)
Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.; Missoula Freestyle Ski Team; 10/29/96)

ROOKIE TEAM
Men
Hunter Henderson (Madbury, N.H..; Waterville Valley BBTS; New Hampshire Series; 12/28/02)
Richard Thomas (Orono, Minn.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Upper Midwest Snow; 8/16/01)
Troy Podmilsak (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 8/23/04)

Women
Rell Harwood (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 6/1/01)
Marin Hamill (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 4/5/01)
Grace Henderson (Madbury, N.H.; Waterville Valley BBTS; New Hampshire Series; 4/28/01)
Bella Bacon (Ellicottville, N.Y.; Agenda Freeski; Western New York Series; 1/29/04)
Jenna Riccomini (Port Matilda, Penn.; Team Summit Colorado; Rocky Mountain Series; 3/12/04)

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team nominations for the 2020-21 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

“The 2021 U.S. Cross Country Team has more depth than any team in modern American cross country ski racing history!”
 - Davis U.S. Cross Country Team Program Director Chris Grover.

“From our seasoned veterans who will be focused on bringing home hardware from the 2021 FIS World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, to the members of the Development Team, who can nearly all boast having at least one World Junior Championships medal, this team offers so many ways to win," Chris said. "Athletes in this group have systematically broken down every barrier in cross country performance that traditionally blocked American athletes, including World Junior gold, to World Championships gold, to Olympic gold.”

The 2020-21 team is highlighted by an experienced group of World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic Winter Games athletes, including Olympic gold medalist, Jessie Diggins, and 2020 FIS Junior World Championship double-gold medalist Gus Schumacher.

The 2020-21 team also includes the largest D Team squad ever nominated with 11 athletes, including members of the gold-medal-winning 2019 and 2020 FIS Junior World Ski Championships men’s relay team: Luke Jager, Ben Ogden, and Johnny Hagenbuch. The D Team also includes all four members of the silver-medal winning FIS Junior World Ski Championships women’s relay team: Kendall Kramer, Sydney Palmer-Leger, Novie McCabe and Sophia Laukli. 

“The strength of the 20- 2021 U.S. Cross Country Team speaks to the commitment and professionalism of the community that has helped these athletes achieve excellence,” Chris said. “Our coaches’ education system, the stability and quality of our development preparation projects, and the dedication and knowledge of our club and school coaching partners have been instrumental in helping these athletes succeed internationally.

“The big steps forward over the last two decades have happened via community collaboration and pulling in the same direction,” he continued. “Together, we’ve created a truly American solution that meets the needs of our culture and our geography.”

Athletes nominated to the team are scheduled to open the season in with their first training camp in Park City, Utah (pending COVID-19 considerations). 

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2020-21 Cross Country Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM
Women
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 11/21/89)
Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 12/21/88)
Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 3/22/90)
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 8/26/91)
Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 9/12/97)
Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/10/98)

Men
Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 5/14/87)

B TEAM
Women
Katharine Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School/Dartmouth College; 11/17/97)

Men
Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/11/93)
Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 1/28/92)
Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00)
Logan Hanneman (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 6/2/93)

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Women
Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 2/19/98)
Novie McCabe (Winthrop, Wash.; MVNT; 12/15/01)
Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, Alaska; NSCF-FXC; 6/25/02)
Sydney Palmer-Leger (Park City, Utah; Sun Valley Ski Ski Education Foundation; 2/4/2002)
Sophia Laukli (Yarmouth, Maine; Middlebury College Ski Team; 6/8/00)

Men
Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 10/1/2001)
Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska; APU/University of Utah; 1/17/00)
Noel Keeffe (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; SSWSC/University of Utah; 8/24/99)
Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School/University of Vermont; 2/13/00)
JC Schoonmaker (Tahoe City, Calif; Auburn Ski Club; 8/12/00)
Hunter Wonders (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 8/7/98)
 

Hanna Faulhaber understands the role the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club has played in making her into one of the country’s best young halfpipe skiers. That’s why it meant so much when the club recognized her accomplishments like it did earlier this week.

“It’s pretty big. My whole life I’ve been skiing with AVSC,” Hanna said. “They’ve helped me out so much, especially the past few years. I’ve been progressing so much and my coaches have been helping me along the way. It’s been meaningful.”

Faulhaber, 15, was presented with the Andy Mill Award on Tuesday by AVSC, the highest individual honor the club awards annually. This year was a bit different, however, as the awards banquet went virtual amid the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the usual in-person affair, AVSC posted a roughly 36-minute video online to announce the 2019-20 season award winners.

Read Full Aspen Times Story Here

Watch AVSC 2020 Awards Banquet Here
 

The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team trains, travels and competes across three continents any given season and the FIS World Cup circuit takes them to some far corners of the world. To give you some perspective, 2019-2020 saw both teams in Kazakhstan and Siberia. Competing at the highest level through multi-day flights and jetlag is no small feat. Sharing favorite TV binges and movies to download on Netflix, trading books and listening to podcasts together creates a sense of home during those long weeks on the road.

With COVID-19 cutting the competition season short and pushing back when teams can train together, athletes are spending an unusual-for-them amount of time in one place. It’s an unprecedented time in the sports world. Athletes are turning their living rooms and backyards into gyms and training via GoToMeeting with their coaches. Many are relishing the opportunity to spend so much time with family and are getting creative in staying connected digitally. 

 

 

 

 

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You can currently find me fangirling over @jessiediggins new book with my favorite lil nugget 😽!! Definitely a recommended read during all of this madness...🤓

A post shared by og 😘 (@oliviagiaccio) on Mar 19, 2020 at 10:39am PDT

The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team gives you their top recommendations for movies, books, TV shows (including some guilty pleasures) and podcasts. If you’ve exhausted your Netflix and Hulu queues, we hope these lists bring you some inspiration to mix up your usual living room routines.

MOVIES

1. Remember the Titans

2. My Best Friend’s Wedding 

3. Star Wars

4. Harry Potter

5. Jumanji

6. Wolf of Wall Street

7. He’s Just Not That Into You

8. Aladdin

9. Step Brothers

10. The Other Guys

11. Marvel Universe

12. What About Bob

13. The Man from Snowy River 

14. Across the Universe 

15. What Women Want 

16. A Knight's Tale 

17. Anything Alfred Hitchock

18. Notting Hill

19. Lincoln Lawyer

20. Pirates of the Caribbean
     

BOOKS

1. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

3. Educated by Tara Westover

4. Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

5. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

6. The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

7. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

8. Candide by Voltaire

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series by Steig Larsson

10. Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

11. Open by Andre Agassi

12. Becoming by Michelle Obama

13. Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

14. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

15. The Dirt by Motley Crüe

16. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, M.D.

17. Fall of Giants Trilogy by Ken Follet

18. Clifton chronicles by Jeffery Archer 

19. The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristen Harmel 

20. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 

21. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 

22. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

23. I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

24. Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

25. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

26. The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

27. Sh*t my dad says by Justin Halpern

28. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell 

29. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

30. 1984 by George Orwell

TV SHOWS

1. The Office

2. Friends 

3. The Bachelor

4. Seinfeld

5. One Tree Hill

6. Friday Night Lights

7. Grey’s Anatomy

8. Gotham

9. The 100

10. Stranger Things

11. Futurama

12. Grace and Frankie 

13. Love Is Blind

14. South Park

15. How I Met Your Mother

16. All American

17. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

18. Vampire Diaries

19. Modern Family

20. Riverdale

PODCASTS

1. Pod Save America

2. Pardon my Take

3. The Daily

4. Yoga Girl Daily

5. Chicks in the Office

6. Fore The Tour

7. In the Arena with Bobby Carroll 

8. Stuff Mom Never Told You 

9. The Joe Rogan Experience

10. Bertcast’s podcast

Did you know that the U.S. Moguls Team is training together virtually in #OperationHomebody? Athletic Development Coach Josh Bullock created a workout plan that includes a weekly themed challenge - last week celebrated Goggles For Docs. Or that mogul skier Nessa Dziemian rallied her teammates and competitors to an art challenge on social media for the month of April? Aerial skier Winter Vinecki shared a home workout routine for members of the U.S. Navy and teammate Ashley Caldwell is dreaming of getting back on snow from her Park City home. 

COVID-19 has impacted our daily lives in significant ways, but hopefully, the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team’s suggestions can offer you more entertainment enjoyment with their favorites. 

On Thursday, April 30, U.S. Freeski legend Tom Wallisch hosted a virtual Pacifico Happy Hour with some of the U.S. Freeski Team’s top athletes. Double-FIS World Champion Aaron Blunck, Olympic bronze medalist Brita Sigourney, and the 2020 X Games double-gold medalist Colby Stevenson all tuned in with Tom to catch up and spread some positivity during a difficult time. 

The U.S. Freeski crew discussed how they have been spending their days in quarantine, shared some of their favorite moments from the 2019-20 season and even got creative testing their artistic skills. Tom kept the athletes on their toes by having them field rapid-fire questions. Thanks to Tom, Brita, Aaron, and Colby, we can all take a step back and realize that we are in this together. It doesn’t matter if you are a professional skier, parent, student, or one of the many amazing frontline medical workers helping our country, it’s critical we all find ways to unwind in a responsible fashion during these times. In this case, it seems like sipping on a Pacifico with your friends was just right!

Enjoy responsibly.