Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) took the victory under the lights at the final FIS Freeski and Snowboard World Cup big air season Saturday night in Quebec City, Canada. 

"This contest is always cool to attend because of all the people the come watch," said Marino. "Quebec gets really festive for that night and it really fun to be a part of it, not to mention they do a really good job with the jump every year making sure that because it’s a scaffolding it’s not too sketchy and it’s perfect every time."

The competition kicked off in the afternoon with the freeskiers taking to the 40-meter tall, 90-meter long scaffolding jump set-up located between two converging highway overpasses. A capacity crowd looked on as the best athletes in the world dropped into one of the most impressive venues of the FIS World Cup tour.

Double-Olympic medalist Nick Goepper fell on his first attempt but made a run at the podium after lacing his last two runs and landing a right double cork 1260 Mute to Japan, as well as a right double cork 1260 Cuban. Goepper’s combination put him on the bubble in third place, where he lasted until the number one qualifier and the last rider to drip, Fabian Boesch of Switzerland stomped a perfectly execute right triple cork 1620. Goepper would finish the night just outside the podium in fourth place.

Lukas Muellauer of Austria won the event and Switzerland’s Boesch and Andri Ragettli finished in second and third respectively. Ragettli’s podium finish secured the coveted Crystal Globe in big air.

For the women, Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud topped the podium, Kea Kuehnel of Germany finished second, and Canada’s Elena Gaskell finished in third. Gaskell’’s third-place finish locked in the World Cup big air title.

As the sun set, the lights turned on, and the big air jump quickly became part of the Quebec skyline for the evening as snowboarders lined up for their chance at the massive jump. Marino would take the top spot for the ladies landing all three of her tricks and securing her third consecutive big air podium in Quebec in three years.

On the final run, Laurie Blouin of Canada was the only rider left that could challenge Marino. Blouin landed her final trick in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd, but to Marino’s favor, her final score would only be good enough for second place. As the top qualifier, Marino had a victory lap waiting for her on run three, but she did not let off the gas. Feeding off the crowd, she dropped in full speed and stomped a double underflip to improve on her first run score. Blouin finished second, and Klaudia Medlova of Slovakia closed out the podium in third.

For the men, Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) rode extremely well landing his first two tricks including a beautiful front side flat spinning 1440 Indy. The flat spins are known to be extremely difficult to stop rotating for a solid landing, but Stassel locked it in. Dropping into run two and listening to Kansas, Stassel landed a backside 1260 Mute to move into first with only one run remaining. He was unable to land his final run and improve his score, opening the door for the rest of the field to fight for a spot on the podium.

Seppe Smit of Belgium, would land his final run and move into first where he would finish. Kalle Jarvilehto of Finland and Jonas Boesiger of Switzerland both landed their third run and would move into second and third respectively. Stassel finished fifth.

The Quebec World Cup signals the end of the FIS snowboard season. However, the U.S. Freeski Team will cap off their competition season in Silvaplana, Switzerland, March 29-30 with a full slopestyle program. Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.) will compete for a chance to take home the Crystal Globe as he currently leads the slopestyle World Cup standings.

CUP STANDINGS
Men’s freeski big air
Women’s freeski big air
Men’s snowboard big air
Women’s snowboard big air

RESULTS
Men’s freeski big air
Women’s freeski big air
Men’s snowboard big air
Women’s snowboard big air
 

HOW TO WATCH
All times EDT
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKIING
Monday, March 18
7:00 p.m. - Men and women’s big air - Quebec, CAN - Olympic Channel-TV**

SNOWBOARDING
Monday, March 18
8:00 p.m. - Men and women’s big air - Quebec, CAN - Olympic Channel-TV**

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
 

Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) each won their first U.S. Freestyle Championships individual moguls titles Saturday at New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley Resort.

“I feel like I've been trying for quite a few years and haven't been able to get there yet, so I'm really stoked with (the U.S. title),” said Kauf, who won the U.S. dual moguls title and finished third in the individual moguls at the 2017 U.S. Championships. “There is so much talent on the U.S. women's mogul team...to be able to walk away with a win and stand on top of the podium today means a lot.”

Hannah Soar (Killington, Vt.) posted a career-best U.S. Championship result, finishing second, while Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), the defending U.S. Champion in dual moguls, posted a career-best individual result in third. Johnson will have the opportunity to defend her duals title Sunday at Waterville Valley.

In the men’s final, Andringa, who finished second last year at the U.S. Championships, edged-out a couple of young guns to take his first individual moguls title.

“It means a lot (to win the title),” Andringa said. “There is so much good talent out here, so much young talent out here, that just to be on the podium in an accomplishment in its own. To lay down a good run today, I’ve been struggling all week, it feels really good.”

Nick Page (Wasatch Freestyle/Salt Lake City, Utah) stepped up his game, finishing on the podium in second after finishing 34th at the U.S. Championships last season. While George McQuinn (Winter Park Competition Center/Winter Park, Colo.) improved upon his sixth-place finish from the 2018 U.S. Championships to round out the podium in third Saturday.

RESULTS
Men’s U.S. Championships individual moguls
Women’s U.S. Championships individual moguls

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) skied to a 10th-place finish, and Sophie Caldwell finished 11th, in the FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle sprint in Falun, Sweden, Saturday.

Bjornsen, who had the fourth-fastest qualifying time, came into the event with optimal fitness heading into the finals races of the season.  Also qualifying for the heats were Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) in 14th, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) in 21st.

“It was one heck of a tricky sprint race out there today,” said Bjornsen. “With tough snow conditions, course time was limited, which made for some interesting snow. Deep and punchy! My qualifier was a fun surprise and made me feel really good about my fitness right now.”

There were many crashes on the downhill sections on a rapidly deteriorating track.  Diggins, considered one of the stronger downhill skiers, was leading her quarterfinal heat when she fell.  Caldwell also fell in her semifinal heat.

“My quarter-finals worked out perfect, and I felt great about my tactics and skills on the course,” continued Bjornsen. “As I took off for the semi finals, the snow had started to refreeze, so it was unbelievably tricky skiing. I had myself in a perfect position leading over the top of the first climb and came out of the corner ready to fire away. Unfortunately, the Slovenian stepped on my ski, and I went down briefly. The stop, go, gave me enough of a flood in my legs that I wasn't able to make the gap back up.”

The women’s race was won by Stina Nilsson of Sweden, with Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway in second and Maja Dahlqvist of Sweden in third.

Two U.S. men qualified for the heats with Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) in 16th, Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley, Idaho) in 26th.  Neither advanced past the quarterfinals. Norway swept the podium Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway in first, followed by Emil Iversen and Sindre Bjoernestad Skar.

The World Cup continues Sunday with a men’s 15k freestyle and a women’s 10k freestyle before heading to Quebec City, Canada, next weekend for the World Cup Finals

RESULTS
Men’s Sprint Finals
Women’s Sprint Finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Sunday, March 17
6:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k - Falun, SWE - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:30 a.m. - Men’s 15k - Falun, SWE - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - Women’s 15k - Falun, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

A short, but thrilling FIS Snowboard World Cup snowboardcross season came to a close in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, Saturday and U.S riders finished out the season strong. With four World Cup stops, five races, and an incredibly successful 2019 FIS World Championships, the U.S Snowboardcross Team was in the mix the entire season.

For the women, the Veysonnaz finals could not have been scripted any better, as the six-time FIS World Champion, and three-time World Cup Champion, Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) and Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic came into the final event tied at the top of the overall World Cup SBX standings with 3,400 points each.

Samkova won the event, as Chloe Tespeuch of France finished second, and Michela Moioli of Italy capped of a strong season in third-place. Jacobellis finished fifth after winning the small final. The FIS World Cup standings would finish with Samkova winning the Crystal Globe and Jacobellis in second. Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, Utah) finished a respectable 11th place in Veysonnaz.

Although Jacobellis didn’t take home her fourth World Cup title, she did complete another historic season. Jacobellis, the winningest snowboardcross athlete in history, earned her 30th World Cup victory this season, and her sixth FIS World Championship title in the inaugural team boardercross event with 2019 individual snowboardcross champion Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). In addition, Jacobellis found success outside of the World Cup tour successfully hosting the ninth rendition of the Supergirl Snow Pro, providing increased opportunity for female snowboard athletes to follow their dreams. Jacobellis continues to be a staple and leader in the snowboardcross community at 33-years-old.

For the men, Hagen Kearney (Norwood, Colo.) was the top U.S. finisher in fifth-place. U.S. Snowboardcross team mates DIderdorff and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.) finished in 14th and 15th respectively. Lucas Equibar of Spain won as Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria finished second and claimed the Crystal Globe, while Cameron Bolton of Australia closed out the podium in third-place.

Notable U.S. finishes in the World Cup overall standings include 2018 FIS Junior World Champion Jake Vedder (Pickney, Mich.) finishing ninth. Not only did Vedder earn a top-10 finish in the overall standings proving he is in mix with the best in the world, but he also earned his first-ever FIS World Cup podium in Cervinia, Italy, at the first stop of the season. Teammates Dierdorff, Kearney, Alex Deibold (Manchester, Vt.) and veteran Nate Holland (Sandpoint, Idaho) finished 13th, 14th, 16th and 20th respectively.

Holland suggested that, after 16 seasons on the snowboardcross World Cup, he’s likely to be hanging up the race bib and retiring after Saturday’s competition. Last season’s winner in Veysonnaz, Holland has seven World Cup victories, 17 podiums, two world championship podiums, and eight X Games gold medals to his name, and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest SBX riders of all-time.

If Holland chooses not to return next season, the U.S. Snowboardcross Team is set to fill the veteran’s void with strong young riders like Vedder, Senna Leith (Vail, Colo.) and Cole Johnson (Reno, Nev.) coming up through the ranks. In addition, Dierdorff, Baumgartner, Kearney, Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass.) and Olympic medalist Alex Deibold continue to prove they can find the podium on any given day. The future is bright for the U.S. Snowboardcross Team.

CUP STANDINGS
Men’s snowboardcross
Women’s snowboardcross

RESULTS
Men’s snowboardcross
Women’s snowboardcross
 

Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led the way for the U.S. Ski Team, finishing eighth in the final giant slalom of the season at the FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Soldeu, Andorra. Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) was 17th.

“Tied for my season’s best, so that’s good,” Ligety said of is eighth-place finish. “It’s not where I want to be having my best result being eighth place, but it’s a good step in the right direction. There were spots I was happy about, I just need to tighten it up.”

Alexis Pinturault of France took the victory. Marco Odermatt of Switzerland was second, and Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec was third. World Cup giant slalom champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria was fifth. Ford finished the season 10th in the World Cup GS standings.

Up next, the U.S. Ski Team heads to Sugarloaf Maine for the Toyota U.S. Alpine Speed Championship March 16-21,, then Waterville Valley, N.H. for the Toyota U.S. Alpine Tech Championship March 23-16.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

STANDINGS
Men’s World Cup giant slalom
Men’s World Cup overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Sunday, March 17
4:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom - Soldeu, AND - NBCSN

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska) outdid themselves with dramatic comeback anchor legs, giving their respective teams victories in Saturday’s 3X3K freestyle relays on the final day of the 2019 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Junior National Championships at Kincaid Park. The wins gave Kramer, a U18 skier from Fairbanks, and Schumacher, a U20 skier from Anchorage, rare four-race U.S. Junior Nationals sweep.

“No win is a given and every race is different – some are close, some are decided by a jury,” said Schumacher, referring to Wednesday’s U20 classic sprint, in which he was beaten to the finish line by Far West’s J.C. Schoonmaker’s (toe but later awarded the win after officials ruled that Schoonmaker violated classic technique rules. “But to produce in every race, and to do it here, is so cool.”

Schumacher’s week of wins started with a victory in the U18/U20 10K individual freestyle Monday, the controversial classic sprint Wednesday, and a big blowout win in the 15K classic mass start Friday.

Kramer left no doubt in any of her races, winning by big margins in the U18/U20 5K individual freestyle Monday, the classic sprint Wednesday, and the 10K classic mass start Friday.

Both skiers ended their Junior Nationals on Saturday in the same position – skiing amazing come-from-behind anchor legs for thrilling team wins.

RESULTS
Men’s U20/18 10k individual freestyle
Women’s U20/18 5k individual freestyle
Men and women’s sprint
Men and women’s mass start classic
Men and women’s freestyle relay
 

With a miraculous second run, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) won her 16th World Cup victory of the season in Saturday’s slalom at the FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Soldeu, Andorra.

Racing under brilliant sunshine on a hard, fast track, Shiffrin finished second in the first run to Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener by .28-seconds, but ahead of Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova by .94-seconds. In the second run, Vlhova laid down a near-perfect run, forcing both Shiffrin and Holdener to fight for the victory. And fight they did. 

“The second run was a really big fight,” Shiffrin said. “I already had the (slalom Crystal Globe) where I came here today, so I was just skiing to try to be aggressive. I had some mistakes in both my first and second run, but it was aggressive skiing. The second run, it was just a battle to try and stay in the course, try to be athletic, and keep moving.”

Despite a couple of mistakes on the second run, Shiffrin moved past Vlhova and into the lead by 1.20 seconds, pressuring Holdener to ski aggressive for the victory. But a couple of mistakes, especially on the bottom of the course relegated the Swiss to second. Vlhova settled for third.

“Wendy...had a little mistake on the bottom, sort of the same that I did, but maybe a little bit more, and so I was just seven-hundredths ahead...but it’s just a really amazing day to be racing,” Shiffrin said.

With the victory, Shiffrin equaled Ingemar Stenmark on an all-time record list with 40 World Cup slalom race victories. She also joined Stenmark (8), Vreni Schneider (6) and Marcel Hirscher (6, incl. 2019) on at least six overall World Cup slalom Crystal Globes. With Saturday’s victory, Shiffrin wrapped up an incredible season in slalom, winning eight of the nine World Cup slaloms this season, in addition to her third-straight World Championships slalom title.

Saturday’s race was also the final World Cup slalom race for the legendary Frida Hansdotter of Sweden, who finished fifth and ends her career with six career World Cup victories, including four slalom wins. Hansdotter was also the last women to win the overall World Cup slalom Crystal Globe, besides Shiffrin, in 2016 when Shiffrin was sidelined for a portion of the season with an injury.

“Frida has been at the top for my entire career,” Shiffrin said. “Last time we raced (in Andorra) I think she was on the podium with Marlies (Schild), and Kathrin Zettel. And I remember thinking, someday if I could be on the podium with those girls, it would be a dream. I’m wishing her the best for the future, and I'm so thankful she was there to push me to be better.”

Shiffrin wraps up her World Cup season Sunday with the final giant slalom race of the season where she is in the running for the overall giant slalom Crystal Globe - a career first. She currently leads the World Cup giant slalom standings by 97 points over Vlhova. Shiffrin will secure the ladies' giant slalom crystal globe if she finishes in the top-15 or if Petra Vlhova fails to win the race.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

STANDINGS
World Cup slalom
World Cup overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Sunday, March 17
4:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom - Soldeu, AND - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led the way for the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 13th, in Thursday FIS Ski World Cup Finals super-G in sunny Soldeu, Andorra. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT.) was 16th, and super-G Junior World Champion River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) was 19th.

Italy’s Dominik Paris continued his super-G dominance with his fourth super-G victory of the season. Paris also wrapped up the overall World Cup super-G title. Swiss Mauro Caviezel was second, followed by Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr in third.

With the World Cup speed season wrapped up, the U.S. Ski Team heads to Sugarloaf, Maine, for the speed events of the 2019 National Alpine Championships.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

STANDINGS
Men’s World Cup super-G
Men’s World Cup overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Friday, March 15
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals team event - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, March 16
4:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s giant slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, March 17
4:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom - Soldeu, AND - NBCSN*

On a sun-drenched day racing on perfect snow, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) won her third FIS Ski World Cup Crystal Globe of the 2019 season after finishing fourth in the super-G at the World Cup Finals in Soldeu, Andorra.

“It was super, super fun to ski,” a smiling Shiffrin said. “There were a  lot of blind rolls and spots where you wanted to be tactical, but still like always in super-G, you have to go crazy. So I had some moments where I was thinking ‘whoa, maybe I lost it there!’ I was trying to go full-gas, but it was super fun and the conditions were perfect.”

Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg won, as Austria’s Tamara Tippler was second at .15 back, and Italy’s Federica Brignone was third at .34. Shiffrin was .44 off Rebensburg’s winning time.

Shiffrin was the World Cup super-G leader heading into the Finals, having won all three super-G events this season. However, both Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein and Nicole Schmidhofer of Austria were well within striking distance of the taking the overall super-G title. But Weirather - a seven-time overall World Cup super-G champion - did not finish Thursday's race, and Schmidhofer tied with Shiffrin for fourth, handing the three-time overall World Cup Champion and six-time World Cup slalom champion her first career super-G title.

“When I saw I was tied...with Schmiddy and ahead of Tina, that’s crazy. What a season!” Shiffrin said.

Additionally, with Shiffrin's fourth place today, she now has 2,004 points with two races to go – surpassing Austrian Hermann Maier, who scored 2,000 points (and holds the men’s record) in the 1999-2000 season. From 2000-2013, Maier also held the title of most points in one season, until Slovenia's Tina Maze scored 2,414 points in the 2013 season.

Up next, Shiffrin will compete in slalom Saturday at the World Cup Finals, and giant slalom Sunday. She has already wrapped up the slalom title and the overall World Cup title and leads the giant slalom standings by 97 points over Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova.

“I’m going to take a bit of a recovery day (Friday), then go for slalom and go for GS and see what’s possible,” Shiffrin said.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup super-G
Women’s World Cup overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Thursday, March 14
11:00 a.m.  - Men and women’s World Cup Finals super-G - Soldeu, AND - NBCSN*

Friday, March 15
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals team event - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, March 16
4:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s giant slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, March 17
4:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 1 - Soldeu, AND - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - World Cup Finals men’s slalom run 2 - Soldeu, AND - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - World Cup Finals women’s giant slalom - Soldeu, AND - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard member club Sugar Bowl Academy (SBA) in California is celebrating a significant milestone this winter, its 20th anniversary. SBA is an 8th through 12th-grade independent college preparatory boarding and day school designed for competitive skiers whose founder, Tricia Hellman Gibbs, was inspired to create a ski academy where student-athletes can pursue their passion for high-level skiing while receiving an excellent education.

SBA has grown significantly in its 20-year history. With an initial graduating class of three students, SBA now has more than 140 graduates and 75 full-year student-athletes. As the only ski academy in the country with ski-in and ski-out facilities, its location in the village of Sugar Bowl is truly unique.

After a successful capital campaign in 2014, SBA built a new residence hall for 31 boarding students and a state-of-the-art academic building. In addition, students have access to Sporthaus, a 10,000 square-foot gym, for strength, conditioning, and recovery work.

Sugar Bowl Academy’s graduates have gone on to race in the Olympics Winter Games for the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, and competed on the World Junior Freeride Tour. SBA’s graduates frequently ski for NCAA Division I college and university programs as well as club teams.

Equally weighted with their athletic success, SBA’s graduates are well prepared for college. The Academy offers a comprehensive college preparatory program and is the only ski academy to offer AP classes. Ryan Aldrich, Head of School, commented, “One of the special qualities and a core part of the mission of this Academy is that student-athletes can pursue both their athletic and academic dreams without having to sacrifice one for the other. We take pride in the individualized support our staff provides our student-athletes during the winter when travel is at its peak. Our student-athletes learn how to manage their time well, advocate for themselves, and develop a stronger sense of agency in owning their learning by the time they graduate.”

SBA alumni Riley Plant, a 2018 Middlebury College graduate and former captain of Middlebury’s alpine ski team, reflected on his SBA experience, “By intertwining academics, athletics, and the outdoors, students naturally become well-rounded, wholesome people. I am now six years post-grad and thank SBA for a large part of my life fulfillment – the program taught me to see challenges as opportunities arise and conquer, rather than turn and run.”

Recently, the Board of Trustees and senior leadership completed a 10-month strategic planning process, which revitalized the organization’s mission statement, developed core values, and created the vision statement “To be recognized as the gold standard for ski teams and ski academies.”

“It’s an exciting time to be a part of SBA,” commented Ryan Aldrich, “this is an incredible place to work and we are excited about the vision for the next 20 years.”