In the final World Cup giant slalom of the season in Saalbach, Austria, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus skied to 17th place and the World Juniors giant slalom champion Ryder Sarchett made his World Cup debut. 

The Austrian crowds were in full force to watch the best of the best put it to the test in Saalbach. The conditions felt like spring with warm temperatures and light rain on a heavily salted course. 

The course deteriorated in the first run, as the skiers raced for the final time in the giant slalom season. Radamus had trouble finding his rhythm and finished the first run in 15th place. Sarchett, a bit nervous, made it down with a sizable mistake, ready to make up time on the second run. 

Sarchett, the World Juniors giant slalom champion, showed off his talent running first on the second run. He skied smooth and fast to land in the leaderboard for two racers. Sarchett ended up having the third-fastest second run, a remarkable feat for the up-and-coming racer. Sarchett was sure to soak in the experience. 

“I am a little disappointed with the first run,” said Sarchett. “I didn't ski my best and I felt like I left a lot on the table. But my second run was really fun. It felt like my normal skiing and was fast and that feels good.” 

“It’s definitely the next level to be here and there is a reason why it's the World Cup," he added. "You have to be on your game and I think that’s really cool and will hopefully motivate me."

Radamus finished his day in 17th place, not his best finish, but leaves him ready to come back stronger for the next season. Radamus will finish the giant slalom rankings in 11th, his best ranking to date. 

“It’s been a great season. I feel like I’ve made some strides to where I want to be with my giant slalom skiing,” said Radamus. “Two bad runs here - I wish I could have finished it on a stronger note but I will take the motivation and frustration I have into the off-season to get better for next year.”

It was a dramatic end to the giant slalom season for Swiss star Marco Odermatt. Odermatt was chasing his 13th giant slalom victory in a row but on the second run he caught an edge and could not complete the run. Teammate Loic Meillard took the win to cap off what has been a streak of podiums in the recent races. Second place went to Andorra racer Joan Verdu, his second podium of the season. Swiss skier Thomas Tumler was third. 

World Cup Finals will continue with a men’s slalom race on Sunday and the following weekend will feature men’s downhill and super-G. 

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH 

March 17
3:00 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run 1 - Peacock
4:30 a.m. - men’s slalom, run 1 - Peacock
6:00 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run 2 - Peacock
7:30 a.m. - women’s slalom, run 2 - Peacock 

March 22
5:00 a.m. - women’s super-G - Peacock
6:30 a.m. - men’s super-G - Peacock 

March 23
5:15 a.m. - women’s downhill - Peacock

March 24
5:15 a.m. - men’s downhill - Peacock 

Thank you to Carol Tomassetti for this writeup!

Leading into the weekend for the Dunkin' Eastern Regional Championships, Mother Nature was up to her 2024 tricks and game plan, dumping pouring rain all day Wednesday and into the wee hours on Thursday.  The Gore team leveraged lots of salt and many years of experience to pull off the races despite all the precipitation Wednesday and Thursday which foiled the plans to move snow or groom.  Thursday John Pierce shared some super helpful SG tactics and the folks that were there early, helped carry salt and slip the course before the salt solidified.  The hard work paid off, allowing us to still have two SG's on Friday.  The SG's counted towards the National Speed Series, so it's great that the East managed to get those races in.  Saturday's GS was a bit of a rough ride but we still managed to get the race off.  Saturday night while we were at our party, the precipitation started as rain and turned to around 8 inches of wet gloppy snow for Sunday's SL.  Gore groomed at midnight and a 6 am which allowed the show to go on.  It still required the team to fix lots of b-net that had fallen over, not to mention some pretty rigorous course maintenance.   All in all everyone had a great time and we are most grateful to Rich Burnley and his team at Gore for working so hard to make the races happen despite the weather.  In addition to Mid-Atlantic racers, we had Jay Knox from Canada join us as well as racers from Intermountain, Southern Masters, NY Masters and New England Masters.  

We wish both JP Madarasz and Patti Lane a speedy recovery from their injury.  You guys are warriors and we look forward to seeing you back on the hill soon.   

Eastern Regional Championship Results: usalpinemasters.org/2024/er

A big thank you to our sponsor Dunkin' and Alex Smigelski who made the sponsorship happen.  The medals and tops the Eastern Team winners receive were sponsored by Dunkin' as was the Dunkin' swag and gift certificates.  A big thank you to Lauren Beckos our US Ski & Snowboard lead for making the trip and for all her help, getting medals, the banner and the Hydroflask racer gift.   John Pierce was with us all weekend, providing hints and tips during inspection, he officiated and was there to help the crew from Gore across the whole weekend.  A big thank you to all the racers that help slip, take down b-net, carry salt, you name it.  Being helpful like this is so important for us being welcomed back to a mountain in the future.   Thanks also to everyone that helped across the weekend, we are most appreciative for your help and support:
Banners: Paul Fowser
Referees: John Pierce, Dan Scuderi and Alex Smigelski
TD: Bill Bolte
Registration: Gail Bolte, Greg Gallup, Maureen Viglielmo, Joel Evans (boyfriend of Hannah otherwise known as The First Man)
On hill help: Gail Bolte, John Pierce
Friday Night Party & Scoring: Ryan Whitson
Welcome bags: Sandra Schwinzer, Karen Sanderson
Photos: Mark Phillips, Liam Moya, Lars Knudsen, Kathy Hart
Event Planning, Banquet, Announcing, Custom Brushes and lots of other stuff: Hannah Knudsen
Scoring & Results: Deb Lewis, Lauren Beckos, Ryan Whitson
Event Planning, Flier, Ability class vetting and lots of other stuff: Connor Carreras


You can find pictures from the weekend at the following locations:
Misc Photos across the weekend: Google Drive  
Mark Phillips race photos from SG
Mark Phillips race photos from GS
Mark Phillips photos from SL

Every year at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Congress awards ceremony in May, U.S. Ski & Snowboard recognizes the work of those behind the scenes and the people and organizations that provide athletes of all ages with opportunities to participate in ski and snowboard competitions.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard members can nominate in many of the award categories, including The Paul Bacon Award for excellent event organization, the John J. Clair Award for outstanding service to national teams and more.

How the process works

• Nominations for these awards are accepted from members who have a valid and current membership for the 2023-24 Season. 
• Each sport committee also submits its own nomination.
• Selection of awards winners is determined by a vote of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Awards Working Group in early April.
• Winners are announced in May.

How to nominate

• Read through the categories open to public nomination.
• Click on the nomination link for each individual award for which you wish to nominate.
• Complete the nomination paying special attention to highlighting accomplishments required for each award.
• Nominees must also be current members of U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
• Click to submit.
• Remember, you need to submit nominations for each award separately.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS: Friday, March 29, 2024

PUBLIC NOMINATION CATEGORIES

Paul Bacon Award (event organization)

The Paul Bacon Award is given to an individual or group for the greatest contribution to U. S. Ski & Snowboard in the field of race organization during the 2023-24 season. Traditional nominees include local clubs or individuals whose work has made a difference in providing good events for athletes.

PAUL BACON AWARD Nomination Form

John J. Clair Award (service to national teams)

The John J. Clair Jr. Award is given for outstanding service that benefited the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team in 2023-24. Past recipients have included outside team support personnel, donors, journalists, movers and shakers. Most recipients have been individuals, though some organizations have been recognized. The recipient’s service should be to the national teams.

JOHN J. CLAIR JR. AWARD Nomination Form

Bud & Mary Little Award (service to FIS or USOPC)

The Bud & Mary Little Award is a lifetime achievement award presented to an individual who has contributed significantly through a long-term involvement with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation or U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Recipients are eligible to receive the award only once. Achievement should be lifetime; it is not specific to this past year.

BUD & MARY LITTLE AWARD Nomination Form

Buddy Werner Award (sportsmanship)

Have you seen any great acts of sportsmanship this past year? Nominations should be based on actions from the 2023-24 season. It is only open to individuals.

BUDDY WERNER AWARD Nomination Form

Russell Wilder Award (service to youth)

The Russell Wilder Award recognizes the most outstanding effort during 2023-24 in focusing the interests of American youth on the sports of skiing or snowboarding. It can be awarded to an individual or an organization.

RUSSELL WILDER AWARD Nomination Form

OFFICIALS NOMINATION AWARD CATEGORY*

West Family Award (outstanding official)

The West Family Award is a lifetime achievement honor, recognizing an outstanding certified official at any level.  Nominations come from the pool of current U.S. Ski & Snowboard Officials membership.

WEST FAMILY AWARD Nomination Form

*Nominations only open to those who hold a current U.S. Ski & Snowboard Officials membership. 

FIS TECHNICAL DELEGATE NOMINATION AWARD CATEGORY^

Westhaven Award (outstanding FIS technical delegate)

The Westhaven Award is a lifetime achievement award, recognizing an outstanding FIS technical delegate for his or her service over time. Nominations come from the pool of current FIS TDs.

WESTHAVEN AWARD Nomination Form

^Nominations only open to those who hold a current U.S. Ski & Snowboard Technical Delegate membership. 

Ten Stifel U.S. Ski Team alpine athletes are slated to race at the World Cup finals in Saalbach, Austria March 16-24. Racers who finish the regular World Cup season within the top 25 rank of any discipline are eligible to race. Competitors who have achieved at least 500 World Cup points during the current season are also eligible to race. For the first time, the races will fall over two weekends with one tech and one speed weekend. This is also when the FIS Crystal Globes are awarded to the winners of the overall, slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill disciplines.

“We are so proud of what the alpine team has accomplished this year,” said Anouk Patty, Chief of Sport with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Mikaela’s astonishing strength, ability and comeback coupled with the career best seasons for River Radamus, AJ Hurt, Bryce Bennett, Lauren Macuga and more is a huge testament to the work our athletes and staff have put in. We know they will end the season with a bang in Saalbach.” 

Mikaela Shiffrin is set to officially receive the slalom Crystal Globe this season—her 16th career globe and record-equalling eighth slalom globe. Shiffrin won six World Cup slalom races this season and has 96 World Cup victories heading into finals. Before an injury sustained in a downhill crash at Cortina d'Ampezzo sidelined Shiffrin for six weeks, she also won a downhill race and a giant slalom race. Shiffrin qualified to compete in the giant slalom and downhill at finals as well. 

Paula Moltzan and AJ Hurt have had exceptional seasons, with Moltzan landing her third career podium and second podium in slalom. Hurt had a breakout season with podiums in both giant slalom and slalom. Both skiers have been a solid force on the women’s tour in the technical disciplines. Moltzan will compete in both the giant slalom and slalom, and Hurt will compete in the giant slalom.

In women’s speed, Jacqueline Wiles will compete in the downhill after securing a career-best second-place finish in Cortina d'Ampezzo—her first podium in six years following a string of injuries. Lauren Macuga has also had a breakout World Cup season with several career best finishes, including her most recent fifth place in the Kvitfjell, Norway super-G. She will start in the super-G at finals. 

The men’s team has had a very successful speed season with two men going into the finals downhill event. Bryce Bennett has had a career best season, poised to finish the downhill rankings in fifth, his best ranking to date. Olympic medalist Cochran-Siegle has also shown impeccable consistency in the top 10 numerous times in both super-G and downhill. Jared Goldberg showed strong results in the super-G discipline. Bennett will compete in the downhill, Cochran-Siegle in the downhill and super-G and Goldberg in the super-G. 

In the men’s tech field, River Radamus will compete in the giant slalom. Radamus has had his best season ever, highlighted by his first podium at the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup. Plus, Ryder Sarchett will compete in the giant slalom race after winning gold at Junior Worlds this season. International Ski Federation (FIS) rules allow athletes who win a discipline at Junior Worlds to be eligible to race finals in that event. This will be his inaugural World Cup start.

All of the races will be streamed live and available on demand on Peacock. 

WOMEN
AJ Hurt (giant slalom)
Lauren Macuga (super-G)
Paula Moltzan (slalom, giant slalom)
Mikaela Shiffrin (slalom, TBD) 
Jacqueline Wiles (downhill) 

MEN
Bryce Bennett (downhill)
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (super-G, downhill) 
Jared Goldberg (super-G) 
River Radamus (giant slalom) 
Ryder Sarchett* (giant slalom) 

 *qualified through a World Juniors victory

 HOW TO WATCH

March 16
3:00 a.m. - men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Peacock 
4:30 a.m. - women’s slalom, run 1 - Peacock
6:00 a.m. - men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Peacock
7:30 a.m. - women’s slalom, run 2 - Peacock 

March 17
3:00 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run 1 - Peacock
4:30 a.m. - men’s slalom, run 1 - Peacock
6:00 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run 2 - Peacock
7:30 a.m. - women’s slalom, run 2 - Peacock 

March 22
5:00 a.m. - women’s super-G - Peacock 
6:30 a.m. - men’s super-G - Peacock 

March 23
5:15 a.m. - women’s downhill - Peacock

March 24
5:15 a.m. - men’s downhill - Peacock  

Mikaela Shiffrin of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team made a dramatic return to the World Cup after weeks away on injury, winning the slalom in Åre, Sweden, by 1.24 seconds and clinching a record-tying eighth career slalom Crystal Globe.

Shiffrin had not competed since the end of January when she crashed in the downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, straining her meniscus. Since then, she has worked relentlessly over the last six weeks to get her knee ready to race again. She announced just prior to Åre that she would just be skiing the slalom and skipping the giant slalom.

“Everything was so day by day and step by step,” said Shiffrin after the race. “If I thought about the future, even if it was a week from that point, I would just start panicking. Even last week, we weren’t sure if I could ski either of these races, even just the slalom. It was important to stay in the right mind at the moment.”

She had a strong run out of the start on the first run to finish first and didn’t take anything off in the second run, skiing aggressively in a fast-tempo course to win by more than a second.

“There has been so much uncertainty coming into this race,” said Shiffrin. “The biggest goal I had was good skiing in the final races of the season. Having the chance to do that again before the season was over felt so important so I could prove that I have the right pace and mentality to close out the season, so next year, I will start in a better place. That was really important to me.”

Shiffrin beat out Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia, who finished second. Michelle Gisin of Switzerland was third.

The win clinched Shiffrin’s eighth Crystal Globe in slalom, tying her with Lindsey Vonn and Ingemar Stenmark, who also hold eight discipline Globes. Stenmark’s are in giant slalom and slalom, while Vonn’s are in downhill. Marcel Hirscher also has eight overall crystal Globes.

Despite being out for six weeks with an injury, Shiffrin only missed one slalom World Cup. Out of the 10 possible slalom races, she won six, had one second place, and had one-fourth to capture her 16th total Globe.

Åre is a treasured place for Shiffrin, hosting many of her best moments in her career. It was the site of her first World Cup win when she was 17. She won the gold medal in slalom there at the 2019 World Championships. She became the winningest alpine skier of all time last season when she won her 87th career World Cup at the same venue.

Paula Moltzan also had a great day, finishing 10th and standing 10th overall in the slalom standings. Moltzan was third place in the last slalom World Cup and has five top-10 results in slalom this season. AJ Hurt and Lila Lapanja did not qualify for a second run.

The women have one final slalom at World Cup Finals in Saalbach, Austria, on March 16.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

The 2024 FIS World Criterium Masters event was held at Kimberely Alpine Resort in BC March 1-7.  The event featured 148 racers from 15 countries - CAN, USA, AUS, AUT, CHI, CZE, EST, FRA, GBR, GER, HUN, ITA, JPN, SUI, SWE. The USA Masters delegation included 41 racers between 38-88 years old. The week started with significant snow and event delays but with a little luck and a lot of effort and hard work from the organizers, all planned races were able to be held over the 5 days of competition!

The USA Racers won big bringing home 60 medals from the event!

Full event results on the FIS website 

Video Recap

Facebook Photo Albums from the Canadian Alpine Masters (look for the ones that say WCM)

The final tech series of the regular World Cup season for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women kicked off on Saturday, March 9. Paula Moltzan and AJ Hurt finished back-to-back in the giant slalom in 10th and 11th, respectively. 

For Moltzan, finishing in the top 10 was a feat within itself, given a mistake in her first run that sent her hip dragging heading into the final gates of the race. 

"I think we're pretty darn close as a team to where we want to be, but I feel a couple of steps behind in GS right now," said Moltzan. "I think I need to find another second or so to contend with the top five, but I've had a pretty consistent GS season. It hasn't been perfect, but it's been good, so I'm happy with it."

For Hurt, this is her fifth finish in the top 15 this season. After kicking off the year in Soelden, unable to qualify for a second run, ending her giant slalom year less than half a second out of the top 10 feels good. 

"It's been a long road, but I feel like we're finally getting there," Hurt said in response to a comment about the development of the U.S. women's tech team. "Our coach, Magnus Andersson is from Sweden and he just wants us to do well and I think we want to prove him right."

On Sunday, both Moltzan and Hurt will compete in the final slalom of the regular season. Mikaela Shiffrin will also return to racing after her injury in Cortina. 

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

SLALOM STARTERS
Mikaela Shiffrin (5)
Paula Moltzan (13)
AJ Hurt (32)
Lila Lapanja (48)

HOW TO WATCH
4:30 a.m. - run 1, women's slalom - LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live
7:30 a.m. - run 2, women's slalom -  LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live
Watch on-demand on Outside Watch

On the final day of the Stifel Aspen Winternational presented by United, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Jett Seymour and Ben Ritchie skied to 25th and 27th place, respectively. 

“It was a challenging course and I had a pretty big mistake, but I am proud of my skiing today,” said Seymour. 

It snowed 18 inches overnight and the course workers were up before dawn to help get the race off. They were able to push all the snow off to get back the ice from the day before for the world’s best slalom skiers. The Stifel U.S. Ski Team squad had three skiers - Seymour, Ritchie and Luke Winters - punch it into the top 30 after the first run, a positive step for the team. 

On the second run, the slalom course was anyone’s for the taking. Seymour was knifing his second run until he had a huge bobble at the bottom. With an incredibly athletic recovery, he still made it to the finish to earn World Cup points. Ritchie also skied solidly with a few bobbles to land another top 30 finish. Winters skied out and did not finish.

“It can be tough to fight through the pressure of home races, but when you ski through it can be really rewarding,” said Seymour. 

It was quite a day for Great Britain’s Laurie Taylor who won the Stifel Bibbo Award, going from bib 49 to eighth place, a career-best finish for the Brit. However it was ultimately the best weekend for Loic Meillard of Switzerland who followed up his two second place finishes in giant slalom with a slalom win. Germany’s Linus Strasser took second place and Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen claimed third place. 

The final men’s technical World Cup season will end in Slovenia next weekend. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom

For the fifth time in the 2023-24 season, Lauren Macuga earned a personal best finish, this time, breaking into the top five on an impossibly foggy day in Kvitfjell, Norway. 

After multiple course holds, and debate whether or not the race would be officially contested, Macuga held onto a fifth place finish, 0.11 seconds off her first podium. With her finish, she solidified her spot in the super-G at World Cup Finals, and unlocked a new a goal, earning her first podium. 

“When I started this season, my goals were to earn a top 20 in downhill, and a top 30 in super-G,” explained Macuga. “Never did I imagine that I would sitting in the hot seat for as long as I did, let alone in the top five.”

In Saturday’s super-G, Macuga finished seventh after starting in the top 20 girls for the first time in her young career. Despite worsening conditions, the 21-year-old was able to best herself on Sunday, March 3, with her fifth place finish. 

"It was win or lose today with how much fog we got during our run," said Macuga. "I definitely had a little bit, and it was hard to see. I hit a few gates with my head on the way down. But either way I was charging, and I carried speed through the bottom, and that kept me in the game until the end."

Her teammate, Tricia Mangan, was sent down the course during the lowest visibility of the day in bib 40, and miracously managed to break into the top 30, finishing 24th by jumping 16 places, and earning her first Stifel Bibbo Award. 

"In the course, I was just yelling at myself to stay focused, and stay in it," said Mangan. "I couldn't see a thing but I didn't want to finish my last World Cup of the season without giving it everything I had, no matter what."

Looking ahead, the Stifel U.S. Alpine women will either head home for U.S. Nationals, or stick around Europe to compete in World Cup Finals if they qualified in the top 25 of their respective disciplines. Finals can be streamed live on skiandsnowboard.live, beginning March 16, in Saalbach, Austria. 

On the second day of the Stifel Aspen Winternational presented by United, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Tommy Ford led the way for the U.S. squad, finishing 16th place and taking the third fastest time on second run. 

“I knew it was fast and it felt fast in the bottom section especially,” said Ford. 

The conditions Saturday resembled more of an ice rink as the watering and injection from the week prior set extra well the night before. The world’s best were not phased by the icy conditions, putting on a show for the Aspen crowd. River Radamus kicked things off first for the team running third, but got inside at the third gate, leaning in and barely making the next few gates. He squeaked it into the top 30 for a second run. Ford skied solidly with some mistakes to finish 26th first run. Lastly, Isaiah Nelson skied speedily to tie Radamus in 30th, his first time making a second run on the World Cup tour. 

While it was not the first run the team was hoping for, they prepared mentally to attack the second run. Radamus ran first and immediately went into the lead and ended up 22nd. Nelson was on fire, knifing every turn and posting fast split. But he unfortunately bobbled right before the finish and did not finish. 

Ford saw his opportunity and seized it, skiing the best run of his season going into the lead. He ended up moving up 10 spots to 16th place and notched the third fastest second run. 

“Consistency was key today and not doing too much between runs,” said Ford. “It’s hard to be patient up there but I was able to do it and it felt good. I am going to focus on what I’m doing.”

The winner of the race was none other than Marco Odermatt of Switzerland. Despite a major mistake on his second run, no one can seemingly unseat the giant slalom king, who is now 9-0 in the last nine giant slaloms. Second place went to teammate Loic Meillard and third place was Norway’s Timon Haugan. Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Brian McLaughlin, George Steffey and independent athlete Patrick Kenney also raced but did not qualify for second run. 

There is one more giant slalom in the regular World Cup season next week in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The final day of racing in Aspen will be a slalom on Sunday. 

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH (all times in ET)
March 3
11:00 a.m. - run 1, men's giant slalom - LIVE: CNBC, Peacock, Outside
2:00 p.m. - (delayed coverage) men’s slalom, Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup - NBC
1:30 p.m. - run 2, men’s slalom - NBC coverage begins
2:00 p.m. - run 2, men's giant slalom - LIVE: NBC, Peacock, Outside