Winter has arrived in Europe...which is great because it's a snowy, winter wonderland—but also presents a challenge to FIS Ski World Cup organizers attempting to get safe and fair races off. 

After about 50 cm (19.6 inches) of snow fell on Friday into Saturday, Saturday's first of two super-G races were cancelled at St. Moritz, Switzerland. As the snow continued to fall Saturday in St. Moritz, the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF of Davos elevated the Engadine region of Switzerland to the high danger of avalanches. Due to the high level of danger, St. Moritz ski area decided to close the access and therefore cancel Sunday's super-G as well. 

Over in Santa Caterina, Italy, the men were able to hold a successful giant slalom race on Saturday despite nearly 40 cm (15.7 inches) of fresh snow that fell at the venue, though as snow continued to fall on Saturday into Sunday, it was decided by all stakeholders that the second of two giant slalom races scheduled for Sunday would be postponed until Monday, Dec. 7. 

The International Ski Federation (FIS) will announce any replacement competitions and venues as they are confirmed.

HOW TO WATCH 
*All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 6
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Re-Air Nov. 21, Levi, FIN, Broadcast NBC

Monday, Dec. 7
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's giant slalom - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Streaming Peacock

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

For the 11th year running, the FIS Moguls World Cup tour kicked off in Ruka, Finland, Saturday. Jaelin Kauf led the U.S. Ski Team with a second-place podium finish, her best Opener result yet. She shared the podium with France’s Perrine Laffont, who earned the win, and Russia’s Anastasiia Smironva, who came in third. 

“I’m really stoked, I’m really happy,” she said in the finish area. “I accomplished exactly what I set out to today. I’m looking forward to competing more, building on that run, hopefully bringing in another new trick to the season as well.” Jaelin competed her new back mute grab on the top air and as the season gets underway, will look to bring in a new bottom air as well. 

The PowHERHouse turned it on and four American women qualified for finals: Kai Owens, Jaelin, Hannah Soar, and Tess Johnson. Sixteen-year-old Kai had a stand-out night with a career-best sixth place finish and her first World Cup super finals appearance. This was Kai’s first time on the Ruka course and she went up against a stacked female super finals field. 

“I’m feeling really good, I’m really excited to be out here competing,” said Kai of her night. “This is an awesome event and a great course. It’s an honor to compete with everyone, they’re all my idols still. It makes me super proud of myself and how far I’ve come so I’m excited to keep skiing this season.”

“[She] had one of the biggest bottom airs, men or women, today, especially in that qualifying round,” said Head Coach Matt Gnoza. “That really helped her set the tone throughout the day with that high qualifying position. Kai’s a hard worker and I think what something like this [result] does is make hard workers work harder. She’ll dig in even more to find out what it’s going to take to go from that fifth or sixth to that podium position.”

Hannah Soar ended the night in fifth and Tess Johnson in tenth. In her first World Cup start ever, Sabrina Cass finished in 23rd, and Madison Hogg, in her first World Cup start as a U.S. Ski Team member, came in 25th. 

On the men’s side, it was anyone’s game as reigning Moguls World Cup Champion Mikael Kingsbury did not compete due to injury. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima took first place, Switzerland’s Marco Tade came in second and Sweden’s Ludvig Fjallstrom rounded out the podium in third. 

Dylan Walczyk posted the best result for the Americans with a fourth place finish. “Dylan had good precision on the runs, making the tricks count and maximizing his turns,” said Matt. 

Brad Wilson and Nick Page both skied in finals, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively. This was Nick’s second career finals appearance and the 10th place matched his career-best from Deer Valley in 2020. He wowed the venue with a surprise cork 14 on his bottom air, making him the first American to throw the trick in international competition, and the third person overall to do so. 

“It was fun to be the third overall and the first American to [throw a cork 14],” Nick said. “I didn’t [think I was going to throw it tonight], I was coming into the year knowing it was an option. But coming into the day I wasn’t really planning on it. I hadn’t done any on the course. I wasn't thinking about it really today. I went into the finals and had nothing to lose.” Keep an eye on Nick as he continues to cut his teeth on the World Cup circuit. “He works very hard at his jumping and that carried him,” Matt said. “He had some of the higher jump scores all day, definitely the highest DD all day. He’s proving he’s going to be a force to reckon with.”

“[Today] was good, it was an event where the veterans were able to take advantage of their knowledge and experience and get the job done, such as with Jaelin’s second place, Dylan’s fourth, Hannah’s fifth and Brad’s ninth,” said Matt. “On the other hand, we saw the blossoming of a couple of new faces with Kai and Nick’s performances.”

With the season officially underway, one of the most unusual prep periods for the U.S. Moguls Team comes to a close. And although athletes were unable to get on snow for the majority of the last eight months, they are making up for it in taking advantage of every opportunity so far. “With more time on snow as we move through this crazy season we’ll see even more,” said Matt. “The team is moving in a good direction considering the prep that we’ve had.”

Moguls heads next to IdreFjäll, Sweden for two events, Moguls and Dual Moguls, Dec. 12 & 13. 

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls

To support the U.S. Moguls Ski Team, please click here for more information. 

Update - Jan. 18

Fast & Loose with The Snow Report: In this new Instagram Live series, we are literally ‘catching up’ with some of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s most prolific athletes, keeping it fast and loose, getting to know who they are on and off the slopes. 

In a digital world, it’s almost an effortless task to find competition results and performance-based recaps. However, statistics, podiums, and results do not accurately depict the stars we see on TV and read about in the news. U.S. Ski & Snowboard and The Snow Report have combined forces to create Fast & Loose hosted by Out of Bounds Podcast founder Adam Jaber on Instagram Live. This interview series will help you get to know your favorite U.S. Ski & Snowboard characters beyond the bib.

First up: Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team’s Paula Moltzan.

Paula has experienced one career-best after another this season, including recently snagging her first World Cup podium—a second-place finish behind Slovakian powerhouse in the first and only parallel event of the year, at Lech Zuers, Austria. 

You could say Paula's path to the World Cup podium was unconventional. She grew up skiing at Buck Hill, Minnesota under the legendary Erich Sailer. She spoke about her humble beginnings after the race, "I started skiing because my parents were ski instructors at this tiny little hill in Minnesota [Buck Hill]," she continued, "and in the winter instead of going to daycare while they taught skiing, I'd just go join the lessons with them. I was the youngest of three, so I was just trying to keep up with my two siblings."

She was on the U.S. Ski Team, and in fact, was the first U.S. woman to win the junior slalom world champion title back in 2015...but when she didn't make criteria a year later, she opted to go to University of Vermont to ski for the Cats and continue her career. There, she not only was crowned NCAA Slalom Champion in 2017 but also found the joy of skiing again. Straddling both NCAA and the World Cup during the 2018-19 season, Paula found success once again at the World Cup level and achieved criteria for the U.S. Ski Team again in 2019-20. After a tough 2019-20 season, she worked tirelessly in the offseason, often doing two-a-day workouts...and all of that hard work has more than paid off. 

Tune in on Monday, Dec. 7 at 9:45 am MDT at @TheSnowReport on Instagram for the first of many interviews to come. 

Episode 1: Paula Moltzan

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by The Snow Report Show (@thesnowreport)

Episode 2 - Aaron Blunck

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by The Snow Report Show (@thesnowreport)

Episode 3 - Gus Schumacher

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by The Snow Report Show (@thesnowreport)

As heavy snowfall blanketed both FIS Ski World Cup venues on Saturday, forcing a cancellation for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team women’s speed team at St. Moritz, Switzerland, the men’s tech crew was able to successfully get the first of two giant slalom races off in Santa Caterina, Italy. Two-time Olympian Tommy Ford led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, in sixth place. 

After the first run, Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec comfortably led the way with a sizable (nearly five-tenths) lead, while Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt was sitting in second, followed by France’s Alexis Pinturault, 0.48 seconds out, Switzerland’s Loic Meillard 0.49 back, and Tommy in fifth, 0.60 seconds off the leading pace. With four athletes separated by a mere 0.14 seconds, Tommy was well within striking distance of a podium. 

Snow continued to fall heading into the second run, though the course crew did an excellent job clearing it so the men could ski a fair race. Croatia’s Filip Zubcic, who was sitting in sixth just behind Tommy following the first run, .69 seconds off the lead, had a blazing-fast second run, coming down into first with a demanding lead. Despite a couple of bobbles, Tommy hung in there and ended up in sixth. No one else could catch Filip, who grabbed his second career World Cup victory by just 0.12 ahead of Zan, followed by Marco in third, 0.30 seconds out. 

"The conditions today were pretty dang good," reflected Tommy. "They had volunteers slipping most of the evening last night, and it looked a little bally and I was a little skeptical during inspection, but they scraped it nicely and it really turned into a pretty dang-good surface...just some bumps here and there...the hill, in general, was fun and rolly, and an arcfest. You really had to go clean and smooth...and that's what I did well first run. Second run was a little more spastic, I thought, but still steady and snapped off a couple of good turns. Leaned in a little bit at the bottom, but all in all, I kept it rolling clean and smooth."

Saturday's result was a solid finish for Tommy, who finished 22nd in Soelden, Austria, at the World Cup opener. Tommy, who finished the 2019-20 World Cup season ranked fifth in the giant slalom in the world, had been battling both a shoulder and back injury during the offseason. After a solid training block at Official Training Site Copper Mountain, Colo. Tommy looked and felt confident as he traveled over to Europe to tackle this unprecedented 2020-21 season. 

"I am psyched for today, for sure," Tommy continued. "It's nice to be skiing in general, so I'm psyched on that and psyched we can compete. It's been a challenging fall for me, getting my body in shape, and getting this feeling back in skiing. There's still some more work to do...got another day tomorrow. Psyched to see some of my teammates make some good turns today, all in all, a good day. It's been snowing hard all afternoon, and we'll see how it goes this evening," he said with a smile. 

Ted Ligety also qualified for a second run and ended up in 19th for the day. Ryan Cochran-Siegle and River Radamus started but did not qualify for the second run. Bridger Gile also started, but DNFed the first run (he is OK). 

With a double-header giant slalom that was originally scheduled for Val d'Isere, France, but moved to Santa Caterina due to a lack of snow, the men will tackle yet another giant slalom race on Sunday. Due to continued heavy snowfall throughout the Engadine and associated avalanche danger, St. Moritz has been closed and therefore Sunday's women's super-G has also been cancelled. 

RESULTS
Men’s Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH 
*All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 5
12:30 p.m. Xfinity Birds of Prey Men's DH 2019 replay, Beaver Creek, Colo., Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Dec. 6
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Santa Caterina, ITA, Streaming Peacock
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Re-Air Nov. 21, Levi, FIN, Broadcast NBC

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Kaila Kuhn led the U.S. Ski Team with a career-best fourth place at the Aerials FIS World Cup Opener in Ruka, Finland, Friday. Missing the podium by just 0.03 points, Kaila was knocked off when the night’s final female jumper, Australia’s Laura Peel, earned the top spot. Germany’s Emma Weiss came in second and Russia’s Anastasiia Prytkova was third. 

“I had a little bit of a struggle at this training camp,” said Kaila of the team’s almost-month long sojourn in Ruka. “I’m really excited to have gotten out here and landed the jumps that I needed to land, so I feel really good about today. I think it was really beneficial for our team to come out and get this extra month on snow because we don't often get to do that.”

Winter Vinecki had a stand-out first night of competition, laying down a beautiful full full in the final round to qualify second for the super finals. She sent a brand-new trick to super finals, a double full full, which she had just brought to snow the same day. Head Coach Vladimir (Vlad) Lebedev reported Winter landed the trick twice in training but unfortunately did not quite stick the landing in competition, and ended the night in sixth.

“I’m excited to have started out the season with making it to super finals!” Winter reflected. “Obviously I would have loved to land that last jump and get on the podium. I had never done a double full full on snow before today, though, and decided to send it in finals. With my super finals comp jump being one of my first couple double full fulls ever, I am happy to have at least performed this high DD trick safely today for the first time. I had a ton of fun doing it and can’t wait to get some more training in with this trick to gain more confidence for the rest of the season!”

On the men’s side, Justin Schoenefeld was the only American to qualify for finals and finished fifth. The competition was swept by Russia with Maxim Burov earning first, Pavel Krotov in second and Ilia Burov in third. 

Having hurt his back in training a few days before the event, Justin was struggling through some pain the whole night. “He had a hard time with his back,” Vlad said. “He wasn’t able to train a lot and jumped minimally this week. His back is still sore. For him to come in fifth despite his struggles was a real accomplishment.”

“Regardless of how I’m feeling I’m happy with the way I jumped,” Justin said. “I went up against the best in the world and I put my jumps down that I needed to.” When asked if he was looking forward to having some R&R at home, he smiled and said, “Yes, going to start in an hour, or actually now,” as he headed up the tow rope to debrief with Vlad before packing it in for the night.

The Aerials Team breaks until Dec. 15, when domestic training is set to begin at Official Training Site Utah Olympic Park.

RESULTS
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

For American Tara Geraghty-Moats, the long-awaiting debut of the women’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup will finally come to fruition on Dec. 18th in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria, albeit just a bit sooner than expected.

The FIS Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup was scheduled to debut in Estonia next month. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases in the area, both the men and women’s events were cancelled. Now, the first-ever women’s World Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 18th in conjunction with the men’s World Cup nordic combined events, and also one additional event in women’s World Cup ski jumping.

“I am beyond excited for the first-ever women's World Cup,” Tara said from Norway where she is currently training for the season before heading to Ramsau am Dachstein. “Finally having a women's premiere in nordic combined is the culmination of so many people and organizations coming together to make this happen. I want to send a huge shout-out to everyone who has supported me and the other women on this journey. It has been a long time coming, but I'm excited to make history together in Ramsau.”

The timing for the event could not have been better as this provides the athletes with an opportunity to compete in a World Cup event prior to the holidays, and before the next round of Continental Cup events in January. Women’s nordic combined will also have its World Championship debut Feb. 22 - March 7 in Oberstdorf, Germany.

“We would like to express a huge thanks to the Austrian Ski Federation and the organizers in Ramsau for their fantastic support in picking up this event, especially in the trying times we are currently in,” said FIS Nordic Combined Race Director Lasse Ottesen. “For our women, this is a world premiere and will therefore be an event to enter the history books. We can’t wait for this to finally happen and already look forward to the event immensely,”

Tara has been leading the women’s movement toward including nordic combined in the World Cup, World Championship, and hopefully someday, the Olympic Winter Games. Her athletic resume speaks volumes about the amount of hard work she has put into the sport, including finishing second in the first-ever women’s international nordic combined event and winning the overall title in the inaugural women’s Summer Grand Prix in 2018. Despite being one of the top competitors, she heads to Austria next week with one goal in mind - just enjoy the experience!

“I have no expectations for my first Nordic Combined World Cup,” she said. “It will be 10 months since I put on a bib, and I had only one month of jumping during that time. My plan is to do the best I can and enjoy the historical experience.”

The first-ever women’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup will begin with a preliminary round on Thursday, Dec. 17 HS98/5k, followed with the official World Cup debut on Friday, Dec. 18 with an HS98/5k event.

Davis U.S. Cross Country Development Team athlete Hannah Halvorsen just received another boost toward returning to competition for the 2020-21 season when she was recently awarded a Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) 2020 Travel & Training Fund grant.

“I was surprised to receive this grant because I wasn’t sure what would be possible for foundations to be able to provide during COVID,” said Hannah, who continues to train in Alaska and recover from injuries after being hit by a car in downtown Anchorage last year. “This grant means a lot to me. I have applied for it in the past as well because their message speaks to me in powerful ways and receiving support from the Women’s Sports Foundation not only helps me financially but allows me to promote a message encouraging girls and women to find their strengths through sport.”

The Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) has awarded a total of $75,000 to 15 individual athletes and two women’s teams, across eight states and 13 sports. Fueled by WSF National Partner Gatorade, the Fund is designed to support female athletes with elite potential who have financial need and would otherwise be unable to afford basic necessities such as coaching, travel, and equipment – vital to achieving even higher performance levels and rankings. This year’s class of grant recipients is largely represented by athletes training and competing to make the USA teams for the upcoming 2021 and 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo (summer) and Beijing (winter), respectively. 

The cost to train and compete can be a challenge for every athlete and, given a historic bias toward men’s sports, that is often amplified for women. This year has been especially challenging as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a significant impact. In applying for the grant, many of this year’s recipients reported difficulties in gaining access to training facilities, a loss of sponsorships and lack of competitions. 

“Anyone close to me knows that I am a fierce advocator of gender equality in every walk of life,” Hannah added. “It is an issue close to my heart and something I look forward to having more ability to speak out on with the partnership, while simultaneously using the funding to pursue my athletic goals on the World Cup.”

The 2020 class of grant recipients are a diverse representation of women athletes across sports. Of the 52 athletes who will benefit from WSF and Gatorade’s support - 15 individual athletes, the remainder via teams - six compete in adaptive sports. Further, the 13 sports represented are comprised of eight summer and five winter sports. Hannah is the only skier among the 15 individual athletes selected.

The grants, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000, help keep elite women athletes on track to compete at the highest levels in their sport. Which in turn, also helps prepare them for leadership roles now and in the future, beyond the competition. 

2020 Travel & Training Grant Recipients

Training for 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games

• Gwendolyn Berry, The Woodlands, TX - Track & Field
• Amy Dixon, Encinitas, CA - Paratriathlon
• Alanna Flax-Clark, Granada Hills, CA – Para-Equestrian
• Josephine Fouts, San Diego, CA – Para-Cycling
• Sophia Herzog, Poncha Springs, CO – Para Swimming
• Maggie Malone, Birmingham, AL - Track & Field
• Nia Toliver, Los Angeles, CA - Rugby
• Mallory Velte, Sacramento, CA - Wrestling
• Roble Shea Sailing (team), Marco Island, FL – Sailing

Training for 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

• Danielle Aravich, Eagle, ID - Parabiathlon
• Hailey Choi, Clifton, VA - Speed Skating
• Kelly Curtis, Miami, FL - Skeleton
• Hannah Halvorsen, Anchorage, AK - Cross Country Skiing
• Alysa Liu, Oakland, CA - Figure Skating
• Audrey Lu, Frisco, TX - Figure Skating
• Joy Rondeau, Granby, CO – Parabiathlon
• Training for 2021 Rugby World Cup
• USA Rugby Women's National Team XVs, Lafayette, CO - Rugby

On Monday, Nov. 23, U.S. Ski & Snowboard hosted its second panel on diversity, equity, and inclusion: “Diversity in Ski Racing: The Athlete Perspective.” Henri Rivers, CEO, President and Founder of Drumriver Consultants, President of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, moderated a discussion among a talented group of African American ski racers to dive deeper into the topic of diversity in snowsports from the athlete perspective. Panelists included three-time Paralympian and 11-year member of the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team Ralph Green, U.S. Ski Team alumni Andre Horton, Suki Miller, and Lauren Samuels, as well as Dartmouth College Ski Team alumnus and former U.S. Ski & Snowboard employee Justin Samuels.

Watch the full broadcast:

Chapter Markers: 

0:55 - Tiger Shaw Address 
3:20 - Henri Rivers Address
6:30 - Justin Samuels Background
11:10 - Andre Horton & Suki Miller Background
20:40 - Ralph Green Background
28:20 - Lauren Samuels Background
33:10 - How can we make snowsports more inclusive? (Best in the World)
47:40 - What are the benefits of increased diversity in snowsports?
51:55 - How do we change the culture to become more welcoming?
58:45 - Where do U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes come into play in creating more diversity?
1:08:10 - How has racism presented itself in your (panelists) careers?
1:17:00 - How can those in positions of leadership play a role and set the example?
1:22:10 - Justin Samuels calls for action from U.S. Ski & Snowboard
1:25:00 - Audience Question - What advice do you have for a young African American ski racer coming up in today's landscape?
 

About the Panelists
 

Henri Rivers (moderator):
Henri Rivers is a native New Yorker and an avid skier and outdoor enthusiast for over 45 years. He is a professional ski instructor, certified master teacher and children’s specialist as well as a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine coach, jury advisor, referee and official. He coaches in the Alpine race program at Windham Mountain in the Catskill region of New York.

Henri attended Marist College and received a B.S. in Biology in 1982. He worked for several companies as a construction engineer and project manager before founding and managing the Drumriver Companies.

Henri became involved with the National Brotherhood of Skiers in 1996 and has held many positions within the organization. He started as a club president and moved on to become the mid-west regional competition director. In 2003 he became a coach for the national team of NBS and in 2008 was appointed the Olympic Scholarship Fund Administrator. During his tenure as OSF administrator, he grew the national team to 15 athletes. In 2016 he was appointed the National Competition Director and in 2018 was voted in as the Executive Vice President of the National Brotherhood of Skiers. He served for two years and was elected National President of the NBS in March of 2020.

Ralph Green:
Ralph Green is an 11-year member of the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team and a three-time U.S. Paralympian (2006, 2010, 2014). While active as a ski racer he partnered with Cox, United Airlines, The Home Depot and Rocket Fuel as a sponsored athlete and brand ambassador. A former board member of Disabled Sports USA, Ralph is a motivational speaker with a strong emphasis on youth violence. He has an MBA with a marketing concentration from Keller Graduate School of Management. Currently, Ralph is a market sales manager at Frito Lay. His clients include King Soopers, Walmart, Safeway, Sam's Club, Target and the Air Force Academy. Ralph also serves on the Adaptive Spirit Board of Directors.

Suki Miller:
Suki Miller was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage with degrees in journalism and mathematics. She started skiing at a young age at a very small ski area, Hilltop. Suki and her brother Andre qualified for the U.S. Ski Team with support from the National Brotherhood of Skiers. 

After ski racing, Suki worked in the private, government and non-profit sectors creating and communicating policies that promote healthy, culturally empowered communities. She is a passionate advocate for victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her time working on statewide initiatives cultivated an authentic appreciation for the vastness of Alaska, geographically, culturally and ideologically.

When not at work, Suki enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family, especially watching her toddler and the cousins “send it” down driveways and sledding hills. 

Andre Horton:
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, a quarter-mile from a nordic ski track, and a mile from a nordic ski jump and ski area, Andre Horton learned it all at a young age. He eventually focused on alpine racing and in his first out-of-state competition, finished on the podium. After graduating from high school Andre left for Wyoming to ski for the Jackson Hole Ski Club with his sister, Suki. Andre was named to the U.S. Ski Team and competed on the Nor-Am and Europa Cup circuits. He retired from the U.S. Ski Team in 2004 and joined the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors as an athlete representative through 2008. 

Andre has an MBA in entrepreneurialism from the University of Alaska College of Business & Public Policy - Anchorage. He launched his own software development company with a close friend, focused on Alaska’s prolific oil and gas industry. He launched various other companies before taking a mid-career detour from entrepreneurialism and executive consulting to become Firefighter/EMT in early 2019. Andre sits on the Board of Directors for Credit Union 1 still consults for various Alaska-based firms and ANC’s (Alaska Native Corporations). He is a talented photographer (www.andrehorton.net) and enjoys spending time with his family. 

Justin Samuels:
Justin Samuels was born and raised in Minneapolis and learned to ski at a very young age growing up in a ski family. Justin earned his BA in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and his BE in Mechanical Design from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. He skied for Rowmark Ski Academy and competed in J2 Nationals (what is now similar to U16 Nationals). Justin also competed in NCAA Division 1 ski racing as part of the Dartmouth Ski Team. 

After earning his BE, Justin developed PointsStalker, an iOS app that makes it easy to access any athlete’s FIS data. His professional history includes working for U.S. Ski & Snowboard as mobile systems manager, Brydge Keyboards as product manager, and BodyGuardz as director of product development. Justin recently took a new position with Fictiv as senior product manager. 

Lauren Samuels:
Lauren Samuels was born and raised in Minneapolis and learned to ski at age two. She started racing with Team Gilboa out of Hyland Hills, MN, and developed as a ski racer until she was named to the U.S. Ski Team’s development team in 2009 after winning J2 Nationals Overall and Super-G titles. During the 2010 season Lauren was cut from the U.S. Ski Team but dropped everything and moved to Utah to ski and attend school with Rowmark Ski Academy and competed on the World Junior Championship Team. For the next two seasons Lauren competed as an invitee to the U.S. Ski Team’s C Team racing on the NorAm and Europa Cup circuits. From 2013-2017 Lauren skied for the University of Utah’s NCAA Division 1 Ski Team and became a National Champion her senior year, during which she was Team Captain. 

She earned a BS in Athletic Training and completed her medical school prerequisites. After finishing undergrad, Lauren coached for two years at Team Gilboa, then Rowmark. Currently Lauren is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Oregon - Lundquist College of Business, studying sports product management with the intentions of pursuing a career in the sports and outdoor industry. She is also a member of both the University of Oregon - Portland and U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees.
 

Three days into the World Cup season and the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team is beginning to hit its stride after placing six athletes into the top 30 in the final event of the Ruka Triple, led by Rosie Brennan finishing fifth in the overall classification.

“I am beyond excited to close out this weekend on such a high note, not just for me, but for the whole team,” Rosie said. 

Sunday’s 10k freestyle pursuit for the women and 15k freestyle pursuit for the men featured a number of career-best results, including Rosie finishing with the third-fastest time of day and a World Cup best fifth-place overall finish; and Gus Schumacher picking up his first top-30 result, finishing with the 24th fastest time of day, and the top time among U23 athletes. Gus finished 32nd in the overall classification in his first European World Cup race weekend.

“It felt really good to ski around with those guys,” Gus said of dicing it up with some of the best skiers in the world. “It’s also just fun to ski in a pack again.”

Scott Patterson rocked the 23rd fastest time of day Sunday. Jessie Diggins posted the fifth-fastest time of day, followed by Caitlin Patterson in 27th, Hailey Swirbul in 28th.

For Scott Patterson, he returned to the World Cup circuit for the first time in almost a year and used the Ruka Triple to build upon a solid summer of training. “I think there were good signs throughout the weekend,” he said. “I’m psyched to put out a good time of day and look forward to more opportunities. I need a few more classic races to build for, and my sprinting always needs work, but I felt there were good parts and good signs every day.”

Finding the race legs was also Jessie’s goal this weekend. “Today was a great step in the right direction as I find my race form and get more time on snow again,” she said. “I’m so SO stoked for Rosie and very proud of our service team and staff for the awesome skis they made us all weekend.”

Rosie started 11th in the 10k pursuit and fought hard to close in on the leading group. “I knew it was going to be tight and a big battle out there so I chose to start hard and see what kind of a pack I could get myself into,” she recalled. “I ended up skiing alone for most of the race, slowly crawling my way up to the front pack.”

At the halfway point, Rosie was able to join the lead group. Meanwhile, Jessie, who started 21st, continued to pick her way through the field, moving up to 15th. Coming into the final kilometer, a couple of the skiers in Rosie’s group got tangled up.

“There were quite a few sprinters in that pack so things quickly got tactical,” Rosie said. “I tried to remain composed and make a plan but found myself in the back of the pack heading down the last big downhill. Then something happened on that downhill and someone fell which caused others to pile into them...being in the back, I had to quickly adapt and slalom through them. Luckily, I made it through unscathed, but now had a gap to the leaders. I did all I could but unfortunately, couldn't quite catch up before the finish. However, that is my best World Cup finish to date and I am very excited about that.”

Norway’s Therese Johaug won the 10k pursuit and the overall classification. Russia’s Tatiana Sorina was second, followed by Sweden’s Ebba Andersson. For the men, Norway’s Johannes Klaebo took the pursuit win and the overall classification. Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov was second, and Emil Iversen of Norway in third. 

With next weekend’s World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, cancelled, the Davis U.S. Cross Country team travels to Switzerland to prepare for the next World Cup in Davos the weekend of Dec. 11-12. 

RESULTS
Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit
Women’s Winner of the Day 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit
Men’s Winner of the Day 15k freestyle

Ruka Triple Overall Standings
Women
Men

The rescheduled 2020 U.S. Alpine Championships successfully wrapped on Sunday, Nov. 22 at Official Training Site Copper Mountain, Colo. This event replaced the 2020 U.S. Alpine Championships, which were scheduled for last March in Panorama, CAN, and Aspen, Colo.

Big thanks goes to Copper Mountain, who worked closely—and tirelessly—with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard High-Performance Director Troy Taylor, Lead Physical Therapist Gillian Bower, Alpine Development Director Chip Knight, and the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team staff to create a safe competition environment for athletes and staff. While the U.S. Alpine Championships took place, Copper Mountain was closed to the public, planning to open on Monday, Nov. 30 for the 2020-21 ski season. Due to COVID-19, U.S. Ski & Snowboard together with Copper Mountain created protocols to ensure consistency with local and state regulation, including no spectators or media on site.

Alpine Director Jesse Hunt credited Copper Mountain for their support and hard work to not only get the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain up and running - coordinating efforts that enabled athletes to ski both speed and tech at the speed venue - but also to successfully hold eight races for both men and women, including the 2020 U.S. Alpine Championships. Copper Mountain Resort Manager Frank Kelble and his staff were tremendous throughout the month, delivering an impeccable training venue that featured World Cup-level training and 16 race starts despite challenges presented by COVID-19. 

“My hat goes off to Copper Mountain for the tremendous support we received in this incredibly challenging preparation period,” commented Jesse. “Uncertainty is the new norm and Copper Mountain embraced the challenge by hosting our elite level training and events under extreme protocols and safety standards. We all adapted, and in the end, we got some of the best training we have had all summer and fall. A huge thanks to Copper for their commitment to our athletes, our organization and the sport.” 

Numerous up-and-comers were able to race alongside World Cup athletes—including members of the men’s German National Team—and Rocky/Central walked away with the Regions Cup. The opportunity for young athletes to ski with seasoned veterans was huge, according to Chip. “I’d like to add that there was tremendous athletic and community value in having our World Cup athletes racing alongside developing athletes from around the country,” he said. “A couple of upper-end highlights include River Radamus dueling with Ryan Cochran-Siegle for the National GS title, Breezy Johnson and Alice McKennis winning the downhill and super-G titles, and Luke Winters winning the slalom title.” 

Younger/developing athletes also had breakthrough results to kick off their season, including Katie Hensien (National giant slalom Champion), Allie Resnick (third, Nationals giant slalom), current collegiate (University of New Hampshire) former U.S. Ski Team athlete Patrick Kenney (third, Nationals giant slalom), Isaiah Nelson (first, FIS giant slalom), current collegiate (Middlebury College) former U.S. Ski Team athlete Erik Arvidsson (fourth, Nationals super-G), AJ Hurt (National Slalom Champion and first in FIS slalomL), and former collegiate and U.S. Ski Team athlete Alex Leever (third, Nationals slalom and first, FIS slalom). “There was a tremendous amount of momentum for the whole country coming out of the series,” Chip added. 

Holding an event like U.S. Alpine Championships during a global pandemic is no easy feat, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High-Performance Director Troy Taylor said his staff, along with Copper Mountain’s staff worked together to create an exceptional event with great COVID-19 mitigation compliance by all involved. Chip worked as the event’s COVID Coordinator, ensuring everyone had COVID tests and were compliant with daily health checks. More than 200 COVID tests were completed, and the entire staff garnered learnings that can be shared and applied to future events during COVID. Next steps are for the U.S. Ski & Snowboard medical team to host a webinar for event organizers to share these learnings. 

“It was amazing to get the first event in the USA of the winter under our belts,” reflected Troy. “Copper Mountain, as always, was an incredible host and went above and beyond to help us work closely with Summit County health authorities to navigate all the COVID-related rules and create a safe environment for everyone.”

2020 U.S. Alpine Championships Results
November 16
Giant Slalom – Women

First - Katie Hensien (DU)
Second - Keely Cashman (UofU)
Third - Allie Resnick

November 17
Giant Slalom – Men

First - River Radamus
Second - Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Third - Patrick Kenney (UNH)

November 19
Downhill – Men

First - Romed Baumann (GER)
Second - Josef Ferstl (GER)
Third - Jared Goldberg

Downhill – Women

First - Breezy Johnson
Second - AJ Hurt
Third - Alice McKennis Duran

November 20
Super-G – Men

First - Simon Jocher (GER)
Second - Romed Baumann (GER)
Third - Ryan Cochran-Siegle

Super-G – Women

First - Alice McKennis Duran
Second - Keely Cashman
Third - Breezy Johnson

November 21
Slalom – Women

First - AJ Hurt
Second - Keely Cashman (UofU)
Third - Katie Hensien (DU)

November 22
Slalom – Men

First - Luke Winters
Second - Jett Seymour (DU)
Third - Alex Leever