Over the years American Downhillers have created history and built a reputation as fearsome competitors. It’s a captivating story that is brought together for the very first time in the full-length movie – ‘The American Downhiller’, which will premier online on October 2 at 12pm EDT.
 
The ‘American Downhiller’ mission is to empower young ski racers and create a speed-skiing platform for future generations. Supported by the best current and former downhill ski racers and coaches, the objective is to support the careers of young ski racers through curiosity, passion, and tenacity. 
 
“As a kid being a downhiller was always a dream of mine. From being inspired by American Downhillers ahead of me, like AJ Kitt, Tommy Moe, Daron Rahlves, and Bode Miller, and then being one of those leaders myself, is a dream come true. Starting this movement with Marco Sullivan to pay homage to the American Downhillers of the past is very meaningful to me, and has helped me become who I am in my life, and which can hopefully inspire others.” Steven Nyman, US downhill skier/American Downhiller

 

The American Downhiller story is one steeped in history, and with some of the all-time greats of US downhill skiing cast as the main characters, the full-length movie provides an insight into the world of speed, emotion, inspiration, and, above all, the respect that bonds the athletes and the community that supports them.
 
Elizabeth Reeder, Global Sports Marketing manager, POC, added – “We are delighted to support and present the American Downhiller film in its full, feature-length form. American Downhillers, from years gone by to the current generation, are incredible characters and athletes and their story is an inspiration which we hope it will impact many generations to come.”
 
The ‘American Downhiller’ film takes us through the history, back to before the advent of the World Cup and how the tradition of American men competing on European soil has formed a camaraderie that spans the test of time.
 
“Being an American Downhiller is joining a life-long brotherhood. If you have raced World Cup Downhill tracks you understand what it takes and it gives everyone a level of respect for each other no matter what generation you came from.” added Jared Goldberg, American Downhiller.
 
‘American Downhiller - only conviction can make gravity faster’

The American Downhiller – Film Premiere: How to Watch 
The film premiered today, nationwide, on U.S. Ski & Snowboard's YouTube channel. 

American Women's Legacy in Speed 
Of course, no story about the legacy of American Downhillers can be told without sharing the stories of the women's team and the legacy they've created, which includes the likes of Penelope Theresa "Penny" Pitou, Cindy Nelson, Picabo Street, Julia Mancuso, and of course—the G.O.A.T. of downhill—Lindsey Vonn. 

Penelope Theresa "Penny" Pitou, who in 1960 became the first American skier to win a medal in the Olympic downhill event. We'd be remiss not to mention Cindy Nelson, who became the first U.S. downhiller—man or woman—to win a World Cup in downhill in 1974, and paved the way for others, like Olympic Champion Picabo Street, to carry the torch. Picabo was not only an Olympic gold medalist in downhill, but also a World Champion downhiller, and a two-time FIS Ski World Cup downhill titleholder. To date, the incredible Julia Mancuso is the most decorated big event skier in American history. In all, she has four Olympic gold medals (one downhill silver medal), five world championship medals and 36 World Cup medals in a 19-year career. 

And finally, Lindsey, a downhill icon. Lindsey is one of only six women to have won World Cup races in five disciplines of alpine skiing—downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined. During her career, she won 82 World Cup races, just behind the Swedish great Ingemer Stenmark (86 victories). With 43 downhill victories, she has the most downhill wins—man or woman—of all time. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2001), and four overall World Cup titles, Lindsey is the most successful American ski racer and considered one of the greatest skiers of all time.

This rich history in women's speed success has also created a solid foundation and for two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who currently sits in fourth on the all-time win list with 66 victories (including two downhill victories). Mikaela is the only skier—man or woman—to win across all disciplines, including slalom, parallel, giant slalom, alpine combined, downhill and super-G. 

Olympic (1984, Sarajevo) giant slalom gold medalist Deb Armstrong shared her thoughts on many of the female achievements we can expect to see in future storytelling about American Downhillers. 

Standing in the start gate of the PyeongChang Olympic downhill for the final training run prior to his first Olympic bid, Thomas “BZ” Biesemeyer was hopeful. That start gate moment, in and of itself, was an accomplishment...the culmination of countless hours of hard work, or the “grind” as BZ refers to it. It was cold that day in PyeongChang, South Korea. He took a deep breath and pushed out of the start gate. 

And then, it happened. 

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, though, with a sport full of variables like alpine ski racing, it usually isn’t. The downhill was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, but with wind gusts reaching nearly 50 mph, it was postponed to the following Thursday. And so, in the final “optional” training run on Wednesday, just one day before BZ would get the chance to show the entire world what he was made of, he crashed, hit his head, and was knocked out. Soon after, he got up, trying to piece it back together, and he couldn’t feel his foot. It was his Achilles. It was that moment that kind of marked the beginning of the end of BZ’s career, if “end” is even the right word for it. 

As of Thursday, BZ has announced that he will be stepping away from the sport of ski racing. For now. 

BZ got the look for the Development Team unexpectedly as an invitee when he was 18-years-old, and skyrocketed straight from invitee status to the B Team the following year. That’s a trajectory most athletes don’t experience, and BZ himself forgot about until he reflected on his career this spring. Many athletes hang at the NorAm level and then dip their toes in the Europa Cup water before diving into World Cup-land. BZ was different. 

He was ranked top-30 when he was 22-years-old in super-G and snagged a 13th-place finish in super-G at World Championships in Schladming, Austria in 2013, but later was plagued with injury. During his 12-year career, BZ was a consistent FIS Ski World Cup point-scorer in both downhill and super-G, which was highlighted by a career-best top-10 (eighth) result in Santa Caterina, Italy in 2016, as well as an 11th-place in the Xfinity Birds of Prey super-G at Beaver Creek, Colo. in 2015 on that historical day where teammates Ted Ligety and Andrew Weibrecht went two and three, and Travis Ganong was sixth, as the Americans stacked four into the top-11. 

Like most hard-charging speed skiers, BZ has dealt with—and overcome—his fair share of injuries. He was injured prior to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, and then again prior to the 2014 Sochi Games when he tore his ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, and medial meniscus. This injury required two years of recovery and was still painful. His career includes back surgery, shoulder surgery, and a broken jaw, plus more. 

Heading into the super-G of the World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, BZ felt good. He was having his best season yet. He felt strong. He felt confident. He felt like he could do something special. When he stepped into the start gate, he believed in himself. As he neared the finish line, he planted a pole and his shoulder gave out. It was just 20 seconds from the finish line, and he was in podium contention. The pain was excruciating. The first thing he asked when he arrived at the finish tent and actually registered what had happened was, “How was my time, though? Was my time at least good?!” I was in the tent with him. What do you say to that? Do you lie? Nope. “Yes,” I said, “BZ, it was very good. Like, really fast.” 

BZ felt like if he had done well at World Championships in St. Moritz, it would have been validation that his road, which wasn’t an easy one and was riddled with heartbreak, was worth the pain and that he would have the confidence to move into the next phase of his career, with more consistency. After multiple knee injuries, back surgeries, he was in a position to win a medal at World Champs, and then to get hurt again, made him feel like any belief he could have gained was lost. 

Anyone who knows BZ knows he’s intense. He says he’s often criticized for being “intense and competitive,” but that’s the reason he loved training with the Norwegian team. He praised coaches like Forest Carey and Ian Garner (of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team tech team) for doing an incredible job at ensuring their athletes get the best possible training conditions and pivoting if that’s what they needed. BZ is indeed intense, and fiercely competitive, making it fun to watch him compete. Often the fastest on any training day, he demands excellence, trains hard, and finds joy in the work. 

But after his Achilles injury, it was challenging. A nagging staph infection leading to multiple surgeries delaying his preparation, and his return to the mountain was anything but easy. He scored a couple of times in his comeback season and lost his funding with the U.S. Ski Team. With multiple finishes just outside of the points (the top-30), his frustration grew. 

“When you do it on your own, it’s a struggle. It’s really hard,” he admitted. “There’s a lot of energy, and money—it’s more the money that’s spent and required to do a good job, that makes it really difficult. And what it really comes down to, I mean, when I was standing in the start gate, a lot of times, I just didn't feel prepared. And I was like, ‘F*ck, why am I feeling like this?’ It was more frustration with the lack of preparation and confidence than it was him not wanting to be a World Cup ski racer anymore. 

The lack of performance was grinding BZ down to a point where he would get in the start gate of a race he was about to reach speeds of 100mph in, and have little confidence. And then, he crashed in Wengen in January 2020 and tweaked his knee. His first thought?! “Sh*t.” He knew that with repetition, he would eventually put in some results and that he could build off and regain the momentum that he lost from the Olympics when he tore his Achilles.

He went back home to Keene, N.Y, to rehab his tweaked knee in hopes he could give it one more shot at the end of the season. He traveled to Kvitfjell, Norway in early March for the final speed series of the FIS Ski World Cup season, but he did not feel ready to step into the start gate of a World Cup downhill. When COVID struck, and most were devastated with the abrupt end of the season, BZ said he felt relief. 

“I was SO tired mentally from the sport, and what I put into it, especially this spring,” BZ said. “When COVID hit, it was a relief for me. I was not ready to race at that time." After that, he went home and hunkered down. He started to do other things. He reflected. A lot. He thought, “Oh wow, I probably should have treated that person better, or handled that situation differently, or worked harder there, or I worked as hard as I could have there…”—it was some much-needed self-reflection, and it was a positive experience. 

And then he tried to get back into it. He tried to work out this summer, but he didn’t feel like his heart was there. As his former teammates went to Zermatt, Switzerland for a camp and he watched their Instagram stories, he wondered how he’d respond. He might have surprised himself a little bit when he wasn’t losing sleep over the fact that he wasn’t there. He says he doesn’t know what it will be like to watch the races unfold, and that he’s curious to know how it will feel to “...just be on the sidelines, not from injury, but by my own choice. I’m not sure...maybe it will create a fire in me and I’ll think, ‘Wow, I made a horrible mistake—I have to get back there,’ he said. “That may sound ridiculous, but if that is the case, I’m prepared to be like, ‘alright, I’m going to get my sh*t together and do what it takes to make a run at this.’” 

So, is this retirement for Thomas Biesemeyer?! “I’m not entirely shutting the door, but I’m taking a break right now...and most likely retiring,” he said. And it hasn’t all been tough...there’s been a lot of positives along the way, too. 

Like most athletes, he will miss the team the most. “I’ll miss the guys...I think what is so cool about being on the Team is that you share your dream with teammates who have the same dream. And that’s what makes it tough, but that’s what makes it cool. You understand each other without having to ask questions. We each have the same issues—insecurities, sacrifices, relationship issues—so that connection, without having to get to know someone you know who they are...because it’s you, just in a different body.”

BZ remembered his first-ever ski camp with the U.S. Ski Team as a fond memory. It was at Official Training Site Mammoth Mountain, Calif., with the World Cup crew. He recalls teammate and friend/Olympic Champion Ted Ligety, as well as Steven Nyman and Marco Sullivan being there, “...guys in the peaks of their career—they were roommates...I was 20 years old or whatever, and I felt like I was a part of that group...I came back from that camp to my room, and it was very surreal,” he said. “And I was like, ‘I should probably take their posters off my wall, or should keep them on?’ I was sort of conflicted..like where am I on this spectrum?! I was in a position where I was trying to learn from them but also trying to be competitive with them, and beat them...and here I have their posters on my wall.”

BZ wants to thank sponsors Atomic and Rossignol (he started on Rossi and skied on them for 22 years), Windham, Aztech, and his parents—his biggest sponsors. He gives major props to numerous coaches along the way, including his childhood coaches, Jimbo Johnston and David Smith, Tommy Eckfeldt—Bernd Brunner, Josh Applegate, Forest Carey, Sasha Rearick, John “Johno” McBride, Chris “Becko” Beckmann, Scotty Veenis, and Randy Pelkey—who gave him an opportunity on the Development Team when he was young, which set up up for the next 12 years, and many more along the way. 

What’s next? Finishing school.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Sports Education Department has partnered with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to create a Club Excellence Fall Summit Webinar Series, which will take place every Wednesday evening in October beginning on October 7. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard's development programs support the vision and mission to make the United States the "Best in the World" in Olympic skiing and snowboarding. But that wouldn't be possible without engaging and dedicated coaches at all levels who are out there working to support athletes striving to reach their full potential.

The Club Excellence 2020 Fall Summit will aim to spark insights into each topic's foundational principles by increasing awareness, providing practical examples from the ski and snowboard community, and engaging in reflective exercises. These sessions are designed to build upon one another, keeping participants focused on what is most important: coaching. This Fall Summit includes five sections of participant engagement for each webinar: Pre-Work, 60 Minute Presentation, Panel Discussion, Post-Work, and Survey.

 Register for all four Sessions: HERE

*Please note all four sessions will be recorded and available for viewing following the conclusion of each session. 

 Session Details: 

• Session 1 - Coaching Philosophy: Your Why, Values, & Mission - October 7
  In order for you to have an influence on others, you need to know yourself. Your philosophy is an intentional guide to align your thinking, your values and your behaviors as a coach...
• Session 2 - Planning: Intentions, Standards, Communication - October 14
  Success for our athletes tomorrow depends on how we prepare for it today. In these incredibly complex and uncertain times, identifying target themes, establishing standards of performance, and clearly communicating to staff and athletes is indispensable...
• Session 3 - Coaching: Attention, Cueing, & Questioning - October 21
  Have you ever considered how YOUR performance in training influences your athlete’s learning? Enhancing how you start training, using intentional language to coach during training, and capturing the learning at the end of training will ignite your athlete’s skill development...
• Session 4 - Review: Debrief, Feedback, & Next Steps - October 28
  One of the greatest losses in potential doesn’t happen before or during training, but at the very end.  Deliberately debriefing captures new information and insights to close the learning loop for the day, and carry progress into tomorrow...

Two-time Olympian, X Games gold medalist, and now film producer Maggie Voisin has premiered her first-ever ski film Swiftcurrent. Maggie teamed up with Good Company’s Kyle Decker to piece together competition, backcountry, and lifestyle content making for one of the most well-rounded ski segments to hit the internet.

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Maggie started filming in February of 2019 with a sled trip to Cooke City, Montana. Later that winter, Maggie confronted the harsh reality of sustaining a torn ACL and was forced to shut down production due to surgery. In classic Maggie fashion, she decided to mount her comeback at the biggest event of the year, taking home the bronze at X Games Aspen. Following a strong debut in Aspen, Maggie immediately collected podiums at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Dew Tour as well as an X Games Norway big air silver and slopestyle gold. 

It is no surprise that Maggie set her sights on pushing women’s freeski progression in the world of film, as she has been pushing the boundaries of competitive skiing since she joined the U.S. Freeski Team at the age of 15. 

Learn more about Swiftcurrent through an exclusive interview with Maggie below: 

Q: How long have you envisioned this project in your mind?

A: When I was a young girl, I was always searching the internet on my parent’s computer looking for all kinds of ski edits. Especially films and short clips that focused on female skiers. For me, it didn’t matter the type of mountain features or the style of skiing, I would watch everything from terrain park to backcountry. The dedication and passion that ski edits instilled in me were a major inspiration to pursue a career as a professional skier.

My career as a professional skier began when I was fifteen years old and the dream of having my own video project and ski edit goes back even further. Fast-forward to the last two years, my schedule and opportunities from my sponsors all came together to finally bring that dream to life.

From a visual and storytelling aspect, I never really knew what a ski edit would look like for me. With the majority of my time spent as a female contest skier, the idea of combining my park skiing with backcountry skiing seemed like a really unique concept. I’m not claiming to be the first to incorporate the two different worlds of skiing, but it is rare nowadays to see female competition skiers break from their incredibly busy contest schedules to make a film. Especially a film that incorporates backcountry skiing.

Q: What were your goals for the film?

A: My one main goal was to make an edit that I could be truly proud of. It was never about creating the most insane female ski edit, doing the craziest trick, or skiing the gnarliest line. I wanted this film to be about pushing myself out of my usual comfort zone [park skiing] in a whole different way than I am used to. I feel that is exactly what I achieved. 

I think people will be surprised to see that most of the skiing is not done sliding rails and hitting massive jumps. That aspect of my skiing is only one piece of what I want to do in my career. I grew up skiing in the mountains of Montana with my father, Truby Voisin. The mountains and backcountry are elements of my skiing that I am truly passionate about and I want to share with other people. 

Also, a progression of my park tricks in the backcountry brings another female competitive skier into a male-dominated field of ski film making. Overall, this film project has sincerely opened my eyes to the world of backcountry skiing. I have so much more to learn in the backcountry and I’m excited to keep challenging myself in new ways and finding out what the future has in store for me.

Q: Is this just the beginning of your film career? What’s next?

A: I have had the opportunity to be a part of a couple of other ski edits over the years, but this is my first solo film project and it is definitely just the beginning. The majority of my time and focus is on being a contest skier. That being said, I believe that it is possible to be just as successful at competitive skiing while working on other film projects. With me having an already solid and successful career in the contest scene, I want to start diversifying my skiing in fun and new challenging ways. Now that I have opened my eyes to the film world, ideas are already coming to mind on what the next edit will look like. 

At the top of the list is skiing bigger and more technical lines in the Alaskan mountains and taking more of my park tricks to the backcountry. As I have said before, I am humbled by the dynamic and ever-changing challenges of backcountry skiing. With so much to learn, I feel like my younger self again learning and evolving in a whole new way. I have a full heart for what’s next. 

However, in the next couple of years, I will be putting a significant amount of time and focus into the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Making the United States Olympic Team is an important goal of mine and I will do everything possible to be at the top of my game when that time rolls around.

Q: When you saw the final version of Swiftcurrent for the first time, what was the first thought that came to mind?

A: That moment is hard to put into words. Being a part of the whole film process was super exciting and showed me how much work it takes to make all of the little things come together. Unfortunately, while we were dialing in on some of the finishing touches, I found out that my left knee required surgery again after a training accident. So, when the finished product was finally ready to watch from start to finish, it was a bit of an emotional time.

For those who don’t know, I received my second ACL surgery on my left knee in April of 2019 and worked extremely hard to get back in time for the 2020 contest season. The contest season was above and beyond what I imagined for myself. With such a quick turn around from the ACL surgery, I had the most successful contest season of my entire career and finished filming for Swiftcurrent. 

As it goes and due to the ski season being cut short by the pandemic, I was initially worried that the edit wouldn’t be finished at all. We originally still had a couple of park shoots planned and another backcountry trip that we were working on for the end of the season. The film would probably have been a bit different if I was able to finish those filming trips. With that all being said, I'm so grateful for what we were able to get done and so proud of how the final product turned out.

Q: What do you want people to take out of this film?

A: What an amazing question and I honestly haven’t really thought about it up until now. I say this because it is something that I really wanted to do for myself. Thinking on it, I more than anything just hope that the film is fun and inspirational for everyone who gets to watch. Similar to the days when I was a young girl watching ski edits and dreaming of being a professional skier. 

In the end, it's a great privilege that as skiers and athletes we get to create content that we are passionate about. It’s gratifying to think that something I’ve created will hopefully spark positive emotions and inspiration into whoever stumbles upon my project.

Q: What was your favorite moment when filming this project?

A: It’s so difficult to pick one specific moment, but my favorite memories were made in the backcountry. One moment that sticks out was the day I did the double backflip. We left Park City, Utah, that same day and drove straight to the backcountry. Due to snowy weather, we had originally planned on building a jump and then hitting it the next day once the weather cleared. As we finished building the jump, the snow slowed down and we just decided to give it a go.

Before that day, I had never done a straight-up double backflip, even on a trampoline, but the idea of doing the trick was in the back of my head leading up to the trip. I didn’t even know if I was going to try it, but after I did one single backflip off the jump, I knew I could do it. It was a bit of a battle and it took me six tries to land the double backflip. I was determined to stick it to my feet and the reward of landing it was so thrilling. We had a solid crew at the bottom of the jump who kept the stoke going and that session really set the tone for the rest of the trip.

Q: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

A: First and foremost, I want to thank my agent Tom Yaps. He is the reason that this whole project came together. Not only would I have been unable to do this without him logistically, but he’s been one of my biggest supporters throughout my entire career. 

Next, I want to thank Kyle Decker, the man behind the lens! I can’t say enough great things about Kyle. It was incredible having a filmer who was equally as excited as I was about the entire project. Kyle was so patient with me every day, even when I would constantly get my snowmobile stuck! Most importantly, he was my hype man through it all and he made me feel so confident, even when I was so out of my element. 

I couldn’t think of a better team to make this happen and I can’t wait for us to work together again. I was also lucky enough to join Tom Wallisch on a backcountry ski trip to Utah. He has always been a role model and I would not have been able to get done what I did without him on that trip. I just want to keep personally thanking everyone, but you all know who you are and I am so grateful.

Last but not least I want to thank my sponsors because without them I wouldn’t be living the life I get to live. Spyder, Monster Energy, and K2 Skis thank you so much for supporting this project specifically and making my dream a reality. I would also like to thank Land Rover for their ongoing support.
 

When Katharine Ogden wasn’t racing on two skis, recovering or studying last winter, she was planning out her summer on two wheels as a Ride Program Lead for Little Bellas. 

Little Bellas is a 13-year-old nonprofit that creates opportunities for girls to experience success using mountain biking as the platform and pathway to personal growth, building community, and competency.

Indeed, this past season was a busy one for Katharine, who has re-joined the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team for the 2020-21 season after skiing collegiately for the past couple of seasons. In addition to planning for the summer Ride Program, she was also studying toward a degree in psychology and a minor in education at Dartmouth College, with plans on graduating next spring. Plus, she was posting top-30 results at the FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski in Europe.

“It’s amazing how much energy she has,” said Sabra Davison, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Little Bellas with her sister Lea Davison, winner of multiple U.S. National Mountain Bike championship, and a two-time Olympian. “While performing at such a high-level last season at the Tour de Ski, she would call me in the evenings to discuss plans for the summer.

“All of the ambassadors do so much for the girls, but Katherine is our all-star. And that’s an impressive complement considering the many other ambassadors!"
- Sabra Davison, Little Bellas Executive Director

"She started as an ambassador, and she said ‘that’s not enough,’" Sabra said. "She wanted to be a mentor and spend more time with the girls. From there, she wanted to run a program that mitigated the drop out rate of kids participating in sports and mountain biking, which aligned with her current studies.”

For the past two summers, Katharine participated as a Pro Ambassador and mentor with Little Bellas. But for this summer, she was presented with a new opportunity as a Ride Program Lead. The Ride Program offers a unique opportunity for girls ages 12-16 to learn how to ride from Little Bellas’ most experienced mentors. Oriented around having fun, these group mountain bike rides take participants on trails they may (or may not) know to really give the girls a chance to try, learn, and hone their skills. 

“Most of the programs that they are running across the country are for a younger audience,” Katherine said of the Little Bellas weekly and day camp programs. “The Ride Program has an emphasis more toward riding. It’s non-competitive, and super supportive, introducing the girls to a group/shop ride set up. 

“It is amazing to be there to watch these girls,” she added. “Even though we’re not coaching them, we’re not doing skills, to watch their confidence and abilities grow exponentially over the summer.”

The first American woman to ever win a medal at the Junior World Championships (bronze in skiathlon in 2017 at Soldier Hollow), Katharine grew up mountain bike riding with her father and older younger Ben (who is also a member of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team) on the trails surrounding their home in Londonderry, Vermont. 

“My father and his riding buddies built all of those trails,” she said of the network of singletrack around Londonderry and Peru, Vermont, some of which can be found on TrailForks.com. But to experience the good stuff, you’ll need Katharine, Ben, or one of the many members of the Stratton Mountain School Cross Country Team to show you the way. Katherine’s hometown trails are just one of the many dozens of trail networks through Vermont and New Hampshire. With so many riding options, planning out her summer Little Bellas’ Ride Program provided a unique opportunity for her to share her trail knowledge and passion for mountain biking to the 14 participants.

“We rode at eight different trailheads for the eight-week program this summer throughout the Upper Valley (New Hampshire and Vermont),” she said. Originally, the program was slated for 10 weeks, but due to COVID-19 pandemic, it was reduced to eight weeks.

In addition to riding a new area each week, Katherine also recruited former U.S. Cross Country athlete and fellow Little Bellas Ambassador Ida Sargent. “She is one of my mentors,” Katharine said of the two-time Olympian. “The girls were really psyched. She is a great mentor and it was sweet to have her.”

With the summer slowly fading to fall, and the cross country season fast approaching, Katharine is in full-on training mode with her eyes toward the 2021 FIS Cross Country World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, and of course the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. But in the back of her mind, she’s planning once again to share her summer passion for mountain biking and working with kids.

“When I’m retired from competition, I want to work with that age group of kids,” she said. “It’s cool for them to get that opportunity to connect with adults, in that type of setting, so that they also see us as peers.”

“We feel lucky to have her and give her a platform because she is such a great role model and athlete,” Sabra said. “And I’ve seen first hand how the girls have flourished under her leadership.”

On February 2, 2020, two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin’s world stopped turning when her dear father, Jeff Shiffrin, unexpectedly and tragically passed away. Shortly thereafter, the entire world came to a halt as COVID-19 swept the globe. 

With challenges, come opportunities. 

The name Mikaela Shiffrin has become a household name across America and around the world over the last several years. At just 25 years old, the skiing phenomenon is already a two-time Olympic Champion, five-time World Champion, and a 66-time World Cup victor. She was featured on the March 2020 cover of Sports Illustrated, which named her the world’s most dominant athlete. Anyone who has seen Mikaela ski knows they are watching history in the making, and it’s thrilling. The powerhouse that is Mikaela Shiffrin—the speed, the precision, the focus, the resiliency—reflects the values and discipline instilled in her by her parents from a very young age. In 2020, it is the gift of resiliency that has taken center stage.

Following a tragic accident at the family home, Dr. Jeffrey Scott Shiffrin—known to his family and friends as Jeff—passed away with his family by his side. Like so many fathers, Jeff was the foundation of the family and his absence is felt deeply by them every day. As Mikaela said, he was “our mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything. He taught us so many valuable lessons...but above everything else, he taught us the golden rule: be nice, think first.” 

He has also left a strong legacy behind in his two children, Mikaela and Taylor, and in the many lives he touched throughout his journey as a doctor, husband, father, friend, and mentor. Raised in Dover, New Jersey, Jeff often spent weekends with his family at Stratton or Sugarbush in southern Vermont. At age 13, he joined the race team at Great Gorge Ski Resort (now Mountain Creek). He later raced on the Dartmouth Ski Team and remained active in the sport all his life, oftentimes seen with his camera around his neck on the side of the mountain, or in the finish area.

In March, Mikaela returned to Europe with a plan to get back in the start gate. However, COVID-19 caused an abrupt end to the season for Mikaela and her U.S. Ski & Snowboard teammates. In response to the COVID-19 crisis and setbacks it has created for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes across all sports, a group of generous donors (six families) have stepped up and offered to match, dollar for dollar, every single contribution raised up to $1.5 million, creating the “Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund.”

“To me, resiliency is the ability to experience something really difficult—hardship, pain, struggle—to experience that, and to get to the other side of it, holding on to some form of strength or purpose,” said Mikaela. “And it doesn’t mean you were the same person that you were before…but you keep that strength, you keep that toughness or that determination you had before. In a sense, it’s just holding on to the fire that you had, that kept you going…that kept you motivated and moving forward. So, really, resiliency is just not giving up.”
 

 

 

 

 

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There is something about trying to explain something that’s unexplainable. From the moment my brother called, to the 10 hr plane ride, to the following 9 hrs that I laid in that hospital bed with my dad waiting for them to say it was time to go and simultaneously hoping they never would, to the moments this summer with my mom and brother where we could actually smile or laugh together, to the overwhelming amount of *everything* that has cascaded down on us for the last 7 months, to now. This moment, where I’m trying to explain something that’s unexplainable. Why? Because hidden somewhere deep down within every single one of us is this incredible thing that I want to share with you in hopes that you may find it within yourself. A thing that exudes Hope. Bravery. Sadness. Anger. Joy. Pain. A thing that reveals our scars as if they branded us only yesterday, yet also finds a way to envelope them in a thin layer of the softest fabric. Something that can slightly dull the ache, the screaming coming from every fiber of our being. Resiliency. That thing is resiliency. And it has become more essential to my life over the last 7 months than I ever thought it would be. I’m sure a LOT of people have felt and currently feel that way. So maybe if I give you some hope, you can give me some too. Maybe if I share some strength, you might kindly return the favor. After all, we are in this together. The stories we are sharing through the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency fund will send shivers down your spine, make you want to get up and dance, make you want to cry, and make you laugh, all at the same time. They are stories of heart and soul, and they are being told hand in hand with a massive effort to help the athletes of @usskiteam continue training and competing in their sports during one of the most challenging, frustrating and confusing times any of us have faced and may ever face. I am so incredibly proud to share this with you now. And I am so incredibly thankful to everyone who has helped bring this to life for our athletes. Throughout it all, together we can keep the flame alive. Learn more at keeptheflamealive.org. #keeptheflamealive

A post shared by Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Sep 21, 2020 at 6:52am PDT

In creating the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund, the Shiffrin family, coupled with these generous donors, wanted to honor both Jeff’s legacy, as well as contribute to the ongoing pursuit of excellence for all athletes across all sports. Better days are still ahead, and the thrill and challenge of athletes’ Olympic dreams are worth fighting for. 

In honor of Jeff’s life and legacy, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is proud to announce the launch of the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund campaign. The Shiffrin family believes that great goals can be achieved through hard work, discipline, and resiliency. 

The goal of the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund is to keep athletes’ skis and boards on the snow, despite potential storms ahead. Funds raised will assist in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s ability to support all athletes and teams during these uncertain times. The Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund will sustain coaching, training camps, and competition expenses now, and hopefully, help bridge the gap through the end of the 2022 fiscal year.

“We thank Mikaela, her mother Eileen, and brother Taylor, for their generous and incredible time and energy in working with our Foundation in honoring Jeff’s legacy,” stressed Tiger Shaw, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “We are deeply grateful to the six families that have committed more than $1.5 million to launch the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund: Phill & Liz Gross, Paul & Wendy Raether, Eric & Sara Resnick, Andy & Linda McLane, Steven & Mary Ann Read, and Steve & Diana Strandberg.”

“Donor contributions will support athletes across the U.S. alpine, freestyle, freeski, snowboard, and cross country teams as we continue our journey to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games and address ongoing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund will allow us to be nimble in being prepared for unexpected expenses in the run up to and during the Olympic Games. ”

Mikaela rallied a crew of alumni athletes and current athletes who embody the definition of “resiliency,” including Olympic champions Jonny Mosely, Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins as well as three-time World Champion Jeremy Bloom and three-time World Cup winner and Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team downhiller Steven Nyman, to share their unique stories of resilience. The 185 alpine, cross country, freestyle, freeski and snowboard athletes will be encouraged to share their stories of resilience, and those who have inspired them, in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s social media challenge to #KeepTheFlameAlive. 

Prior to this public launch, U.S. Ski & Snowboard raised more than $800,000 in contributions towards the $1.5 million match goal. For more information about the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund and to donate, visit keeptheflamealive.org.

 
DONATE NOW

The United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) is hosting a golf fundraiser with two different ways to participate and support the grassroots development of U.S. snowboard and freeski athletes.

USASA is a 501(c)3 non-profit that acts as the first step in the Olympic pipeline, supporting the development of U.S. snowboard and freeski athletes through 500 regional events held annually. By supporting USASA you're fostering the development of the next generation of U.S. Ski & Snowboard icons and Olympians.

SUPPORT USASA VIRTUALLY:

From Sept. 1-25, USASA, along with 18Birdies App, will be hosting a virtual golf fundraising event. Golfers participate in individual stroke play at the golf club of their choice and compete against other virtual USASA tournament players. 18Birdies will weigh each courses’ difficulty using their customized algorithm creating a virtual leaderboard that lets you know where you stand throughout the event period (Sept. 2-25). Prizes will be awarded to the top golfers.

HOW TO JOIN AND PLAY!

Play your round of golf at over 35,000 courses listed in 18Birdies App anytime between Sept. 1 and Sept. 25

• Click here to buy tickets to attend the event virtually
• Once you purchase your ticket, you will get an event code in your email
• Download 18Birdies App on googleplay or the appstore to your smartphone
• Enter your event code
• Choose any course and play your round of Individual Stroke Play
• Check 18Birdies virtual leaderboard to see where you rank with your friends and other USASA virtual players

SUPPORT USASA IN PERSON: First Annual USASA Golf Classic: 

On Sept. 25, USASA will also be hosting the First Annual USASA Golf Classic fundraiser presented by Alpine Valley and Devil’s Head Resort with guest Olympians Justin Reiter and U.S. Snowboard Team Alumnus Jonathan Cheever at the McHenry Country Club in McHenry, Ill. The tournament will be Best Ball format with loads of fun prizes including a $20,000 hole-in-one and a four day golf package at French Lick Resort.

Click here to learn more about USASA and to enter the USASA Golf Classic. 
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes perform quite literally on the edge—on their skis and their boards—gaining an edge over the competition is the difference between earning a podium or not, and in one medal versus another. As skiing and snowboarding has evolved over time, so too has U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s understanding of what makes an athlete successful. When the difference between success and failure is on the edge, finding a competitive advantage becomes paramount. 

Enter Lily Koffman. In 2019 during her senior year of undergrad, Lily read an article in Faster Skier describing U.S. Ski & Snowboard Performance Data Manager Gus Kaeding’s work using data to better inform Team criteria, specifically for the cross country team. As an undergraduate at Harvard University studying statistics on the hunt for a thesis project, and a member of the Harvard Cross Country Ski Team, Lily thought to herself: “That’s cool. I wonder if he needs any help.” Her outreach to Gus led to a summer fellowship, funded by the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation and Women in Sports Tech, which just wrapped its second year. Although Lily didn’t find her senior thesis, she is playing an instrumental role in helping U.S. Ski & Snowboard mold better athletes through science. 

Athletes and coaches are no strangers to collecting and analyzing data, including: daily nutrition, sleep habits, levels of fatigue and stress, repetitions and loads in the gym, number of jumps, number of training runs, snow conditions, etc. But how do you turn those numbers and logs into useful information and calls to action? Think of Lily and Gus as the codebreakers; these two analyze and interpret data across all sport disciplines for meaningful insights. 

“A lot of the information we have previously relied on [for developing athletes] is anecdotal,” explained Gus. “I think especially in skiing and snowboarding we have lots of opportunities to make decisions going forward based on fact, not just something your coach told you that his or her coach told them before that.”

Gus started with U.S. Ski & Snowboard three years ago and since then has streamlined how athlete data is collected, managed and analyzed. “Now we have enough data that we can have these dedicated projects and attract talented people like Lily to help us. We have the problem, here’s the data, now solve this.”

Lily focused on three major projects for U.S. Ski & Snowboard including analyzing Mikaela Shiffrin’s data, the entire Alpine development system, and ACL injuries across sport. And because she’s partially funded by the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (Birkie), she investigated female participation in the Birkie event. 

The American Birkebeiner is the largest, and one of the longest, cross country ski races in North America. It sees about 20% female participation annually and the organization employed Lily to make recommendations, based on the data, of what they could do to attract and retain more women. Through her research, Lily found that this problem isn't unique to the Birkie. Lily was surprised to learn that the Norwegian Birkebeiner also has about 20% female participation as well. 

“Skiing is super popular in Norway. [So these findings were] somewhat reassuring. It’s not specific to the American Birkie, but a worldwide problem in skiing. Conversely, world marathon running participation is about 40% female. So there’s lessons to be learned, what did running to do increase participation and how can we apply this information to skiing?” 

Lily made several recommendations based on running’s successes. “A lot of growth in women’s distance running is attributed to social and charity running groups. Skiing can benefit from a similar focus on community and charity. It’s also important to make marathon skiing more accessible. On snow training every day isn’t essential to being able to ski the Birkie. There’s this perception of this really competitive culture. If you’ve never done a ski marathon it’s hard to show up and have confidence that you can do it too, especially if you don't have a skiing background.” 

Lily recommended training plans and equipment guides, similar to what’s prevalent in the marathon world, as well as identifying community ambassadors who can encourage women to try skiing the Birkie, and to come back year after year. 

As a woman in a largely male-dominated field, Lily’s perspective as a woman can help bring women-specific issues to the forefront of sport science. A review of 1,382 exercise medicine studies published between 2011 and 2013 found that females made up 39 percent of total study participants. Among 188 studies published in two academic journals in early 2015, females made up 42 percent of study subjects. Among studies in sport science, females accounted for only three percent of participants.   

“I think it's one of the things that I am personally interested in,” Lily said. “It’s important to grow the presence of women in data roles so [more people start] paying attention to the gender angle. I’m trying to do my part to make [those stats mentioned] more 50% [across the board].”

Lily’s first project with U.S. Ski & Snowboard was to overlay two-time Olympic champion, five-time World Champion and winningest slalom skier of all-time, Mikaela Shiffrin’s training and wellness data with her race data to discover what the most important variables were in the week before a race. It was an exciting endeavor, but not as straightforward due to Mikaela’s overall success, “It’s a hard thing to look at, to measure performance, especially with someone like Mikaela,” Lily explained. “The problem is, what is success? [Mikaela] might win, and she wins often, but it might not be a ‘great’ race.” 

“Because Mikaela wins so often, having a win doesn’t really tell you how good of a race it was itself,” added Gus. Lily had to come up with a new metric that showed which races were actually Mikaela’s best performances. Lily presented this information to Mikaela’s team earlier this summer, with the intention of repeating the process this season, to determine successes and new learnings.

From there, Lily took on the daunting task of analyzing the entire alpine development system from youth to National Team athletes, as well as NCAA skiers. “This was the first comprehensive analysis that lays out the entire alpine environment from youth to elite skier,” said Gus. “It was a pretty hard analysis. We’re fortunate to have Lily for this because I’m pretty confident that she is one of few in the entire ski world who has the skill to do such a task; it’s very complex. [We now have a] historical analysis from everything that’s happened (how skiers move through the system compared to other nations), which can help shape the direction going forward.”

“Going into a project I have no goal of what I want to see,” Lily explained. “[For the alpine project] the question was ‘What does the career path of different skiers in the U.S. look like?’ The first step is to make a lot of visualizations. Then something might grab my attention, so I focus on that aspect.” 

Although her fellowship is wrapped for the summer, Lily will continue to work on the ACL project as she pursues her master’s degree in biostatistics at Harvard this year. This is of particular interest to U.S. Ski & Snowboard, as being able to actively prevent season and career-ending injuries could be a serious game changer. 

“Our ACL data is among the biggest data sets of ACL injury that I have ever seen,” explained Gus. “One thing that we have that no other ACL data sets have is that we know a lot of what athletes are doing before they were injured.” Other ACL data sets mostly come from a medical perspective, the starting point for this data is once the person is injured, not what happened beforehand. “For [our athletes] we know their strength numbers in the gym, what kind of snow they were skiing on, how many snow days in a row they had… we know if they had traveled the week prior, if there was another existing injury beforehand. There’s lots of things to look at.”

“[I want to see] if I can identify any trends in who is getting injured, what they were doing when they got injured and return to snow timeline protocols,” said Lily. 

“No data set is perfect,” said Gus. “But we have the whole lifecycle and as much data as you could hope for given the lack of frequency we have for this injury. Our goal is to continue [that trend] of lack of frequency [in ACL injuries].”

Data analysis is increasingly a critical element in high performance innovation. Using data to first identify problems and then make decisions based on proven trends means working smarter. Having talented, passionate individuals working behind the scenes making sense of what’s actually happening in the field is crucial in empowering athletes to reach their full potential. 

“We’re fortunate because we have cool things to work on,” said Gus. “That’s attractive for a young person in the field of data. We should be taking advantage of these young people who think differently [than how I or someone else was taught].”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is taking applications for its female data fellowship program for 2021. If you’re a female in sports tech interested in opportunities with U.S. Ski & Snowboard, please contact Gus Kaeding at gus.kaeding@usskiandsnowboard.org.

About the American Birkebeiner® Ski Foundation
Located in Hayward, Wisconsin, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF), a 501(c)(3) organization, is known for its signature American Birkebeiner “Birkie” Ski Marathon held each February.  The ABSF creates inspiring events to assist all ages and abilities in living a healthy, active lifestyle.  Learn more at www.birkie.com.

About Women in Sports Tech, Inc. 
WiST is a non-profit organization driving growth opportunities for women in sports tech and innovation, from interns to executive leadership roles, while providing a pathway for highly motivated college students to discover and explore opportunities within the field. Corporate support includes Nike, IBM Sports, the NBA, Spartan Race, and Catapult Sports. To learn more about how WiST is working to #ChangeTheRatio for women, go to womeninsportstech.org.

The title of the story provides a hint of Hannah Halvorsen's struggle with body satisfaction her entire life: I Don’t Have a Six Pack, but a Car Hit Me and I Survived.

Hannah is returning to cross country racing after being hit by a car last November in Anchorage, and in the story she goes into great detail the struggles she has faced with the images of having an "athletic body."

Read the full story at FasterSkier.com

The nature of a competitive athlete is to be on the road, traveling the globe to chase podiums, climb rankings, and secure a position at the top of one’s sport. For snowboarders, the “top of one’s sport” takes on a few different meanings. Does it mean landing a closing segment in a Teton Gravity Research annual film? Is it going viral with a street edit? Or is it earning a spot at the top of an Olympic podium?

There are many elements of snowboarding that riders would like to pursue but can’t find the time, energy, or funding to commit to a project outside of their particular specialization. Last season, seven-time FIS Crystal Globe winner Chris Corning and U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Chase Blackwell made it a point to film alongside a grueling event schedule with the goal of producing their first-ever film, Teal. 

“I wanted to showcase our riding in a different light than what people are used to,” said Chris. “I wanted to bring the street riders into the eyes of competition fans and get the competition riders in front of the powder and street followers.“

Riders on the project included Windham Miller, Brett Moody, Sam Klein, Colton Carroll, Conor Carroll, TJ Holman, and Sam Anderson. Alex Harvey took on the responsibility of filming and editing with filming support from Calen Albert. It was all hands on deck with athletes also assisting in capturing secondary footage from different angles. 

Although the project isn’t complete, Chris and Chase both agree that like competition, producing a snowboard film is not easy with many unique challenges.

“I’d say competition and filming are both pretty difficult, but we are out of our element when producing a snowboard film,” said Chase. “In a contest, it’s very routined and we have a set schedule. That’s often not the case when filming. Plus, we don’t have to build the jumps or the pipe we’re competing on.”

Chris also noted a major difference related to the timeline in both worlds. 

“Doing well at a contest has such instant gratification compared to producing a movie,” he said. “I think it’ll take longer for the emotions around successfully completing the movie to set in.”

Whether filming or competing, it helps to enjoy spending time with your fellow athletes. While Chase and Chris are both friends and U.S. Snowboard Teammates, their schedules are very different as riders who compete in halfpipe and slopestyle. The two riders may not share an event schedule, but they do share the motivation and interest to get out and create. 

“Working on the Teal project with Chase was rewarding in the sense that it allowed us to become closer friends,” said Chris. “We compete in different disciplines, so we don’t always get to travel together, so this was a great opportunity for us to ride and have some fun.”

For Chase, riding with Chris offered up more than just comradery, it was a chance to feed off Chris’s experience and his eye for the backcountry. 

“I had so much fun working with Chris,” Chase reflected. “He’s done more backcountry filming and filming in general than I ever have. Chris was really helpful and knowledgeable about what we were hitting and what tricks/angles for shots were going to look the best. All in all, we’re just really good friends, so getting to shred backcountry with him was all time.”

The movie title Teal speaks to the riders in the film. Like the color, each rider is unique and has yet to truly find their place in the mainstream. Teal sets out to give these riders a home. They may not all belong to one crew, but they came together to embrace each other’s out of the box styles with out of the box features. 

In a world where content rules, filming has become a critical element in building any snowboarder’s personal brand. Last season, Chase and Chris managed to find the best of both worlds, successfully competing at an elite level while working on a collaborative film project. With riders usually having to be laser-focused and dedicated to one element of the sport to find any level of success, it’s a beautiful thing when athletes like Chris and Chase make time to pursue a passion project. 

As Chase and Chris pack their bags for U.S. Ski & Snowboard training camp at the Stomping Grounds Park in Saas Fee, Switzerland, they have more than just on-snow pursuits to look forward to this Fall. Stay tuned for the release of Teal coming soon!

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