SVSEF Alpine New Zealand Camp in Photos
SVSEF FIS and USSA alpine athletes made the yearly trek down to New Zealand for an on-snow camp; the USSA group was able to get three days on snow in Cadrona, where they free skied and focused mainly on giant slalom. The last day at Cadrona was extremely valuable, as athletes were able to run a full-length giant slalom on varying terrain, from easy to challenging. Following the Cadrona portion of the camp, the team relocated to the shores of Lake Tekapo, about three hours away. Athletes were able to get eight amazing days of skiing at Round Hill.
According to coach Will Brandenburg, “the training was exactly what we were looking for – flat to moderate terrain off of a T-bar, where the athletes were able to get tons of runs in a short amount of time. We skied five days of slalom and three days of giant slalom in at Round Hill. We had a slalom day where the athletes were able to get 25 runs in on a 40 gate course! The crew got to do what they love in one of the most beautiful places in the world. They all made huge gains in their skiing while also getting to explore an amazing new country.”
(Photos courtesy of Brett Jacobson, Scott McGrew and Will Brandenburg)[osd_social_media_sharing]
New Head Coaches at the Helm of SVSEF Freestyle and Freeskiing Teams
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation is very pleased to announce to the addition of two experienced coaches to our freestyle and freeskiing coaching staff.
John Grigsby has been named the head coach of the SVSEF Freestyle Team and Tyler Conway will be the head coach of the SVSEF Freeskiing Team.
Most recently, the 35-year-old Grigsby served as Director of Freestyle Development at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail for six years where he was in charge of a staff of seven coaches and 57 athletes. Grigsby has guided eight athletes to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team and has nearly 20 years of coaching experience at Carrabassett Valley Academy, S/CVA and Gould Academy, all in Maine. His certifications include USSA Level I Moguls, USSA Level II Inverted Aerials and USSA Level III Coach and Chief of Course.
John Grigsby, originally from Portland, Maine, is an avid fly fisherman and guide.
“I've had a chance to help coach Hunter Bailey (2016 Junior World Champion/U.S. Ski Team), Heidi Kloser (2014 U.S. Olympian, Sochi) Tess Johnson (youngest ever athlete to make the U.S. Ski C Team at age 15) and Matt Leseur (Bermudian National Team at 2016 Junior Worlds at age 14). Also in the past I have coached U.S. Team members Alison DiGravio, Nessa Dziemain and Troy Tully,” Grigsby noted.
“I'm excited to be given the opportunity to work with the athletes and staff at SVSEF and look forward to taking the freestyle program to the next level.”
A 2006 graduate of Maine College of Fine Arts, Grigsby holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design and is a licensed fly fishing guide in the state of Colorado. He also enjoys archery and whitewater kayaking.
Tyler Conway also hails from New England and is looking forward to moving to Sun Valley and his new role at SVSEF.
“I am very excited to get there and start working with the athletes. I really like designing slopestyle and halfpipe runs for individual athletes so they will have successful competition days. I also like to see them progress on different levels, including school. I like having a positive influence on the kids,” Conway said.
The 36-year-old Conway grew up on a dairy farm in western New York, where he participated in many sports and was a standout high-school wrestler. His uncle introduced him to skiing and he started out as a ski instructor in Vermont and “competed in every local event I could get into at the time.”
His passion for the sport led him to freeskiing in part because he “saw where the sport was going” and he progressed from a terrain park attendant to designing and implementing lessons for slopestyle, halfpipe and big mountain skiers to coaching at Tahoe Freeride, Woodward at Copper Mountain, Colorado, and for the last seven years as the assistant program manager and head coach at Team Breck Sports Club in Colorado. His athletes, including current U.S. Team member Emilia Wint, have competed at the X-Games, U.S. Grand Prix, USASA Nationals, Dew Tour and Revolution Tour.
Conway’s certifications include Level 100 and 200 Freestyle licenses, and Level IV Woodward Trampoline Progression.
SVSEF Freestyle/Freeskiing Program Director Andy Ware remarked, “Both John and Tyler have a great history of helping athletes achieve their goals and earning the right to compete at the highest levels. We are excited to have both John and Tyler join our freestyle and freeskiing programs.”
Conway will come on board June 1 and Grigsby on June 20 – when summer training sessions begin at the SVSEF Air Barn at Community School. As well, both will be involved in hiring additional coaches for SVSEF.
“Now that John and Tyler are in place we will be able to collaborate and build the rest of the coaching staff based on their input and knowledge. We will keep everyone abreast of any developments,” Ware added.
Improvements at the Air Barn include a new air bag bringing the total to two air bags and working on a padded floor system surrounding the trampolines. Eliminating the foam pit and used mattresses will aid in creating a safer and cleaner training environment, according to Ware.
Rendering of the new air bag to be installed at the SVSEF Air Barn at Community School.
2016 Golf for Gold Recap
Although golf is fundamentally a competitive sport, it was a leisurely and genial Tuesday for SVSEF Golf for Gold participants at the Bigwood Golf Course in Ketchum – the focus of the day was on having a good time and raising funds for the SVSEF Gold Team. The event drew 19 teams of four, who competed in a nine-hole scramble. In a scramble, all players tee off, choose the best shot and continue to play in that manner. The score consists of the lowest number of strokes on each hole.
The winning team this year with a score of 27 was comprised of Marc Reinemann, Keith Reidy, Tom Van Hamerlyck and John Iosonides. The competition was tight, as the team consisting of Jack Dies, Mike Connelly, Jamie Hjort and Hanley Dawson came in second place in a card-off. In third was the team made up of Jamie Everett, Mark Eshman, Scott Lucas and Scott Harris. Hanley Dawson and Suzanne Walsh harnessed power and strength to earn the Longest Drive Award, while Chris Edwards and SJ McNichol won Closest to the Pin.
The Golf for Gold tournament, which just saw its third go-around, is a recent reinstatement of one of SVSEF’s original fundraisers, the John Harker Memorial Golf Tournament (1981-1991). Proceeds benefit the SVSEF Gold Team, which was formed in 2005 to financially support our elite athletes who compete on an international level. Present at the tournament this year were Gold Team athletes Jacob Beebe, Wing Tai Barrymore, Chase Josey, Cole Morgan, Jack Hegman and Rogan Brown. The evening ended with a buffet dinner with fresh Alaskan salmon thanks to Pride of Bristol Bay and steak prepared by Bigwood Grill. Thank you to Edwards Builders and Washington Federal for sponsoring the event, to Bigwood Golf Course for hosting, to Silver Creek Ford and Goode Motor for the potential hole-in-one prizes of trucks, and to Kelleher Family Vineyard, Pioneer Saloon, Pride of Bristol Bay, Sun Valley Company, The Valley Club, The Cellar, Sushi on Second, Kirk Anderson, Bigwood Bar & Grill and Bigwood Golf Course for their sponsorship and support. A big thanks as well to all of our volunteers and participants; the day was a huge success and we look forward to teeing off with you again next year!
For KMVT's story on the event, click here.
FIS Skiers Bring the Heat Down Under
As a part of their New Zealand training trip, the FIS crew raced in the Cardrona FIS series August 1 and 2. The athletes competed in giant slalom and slalom, and competed against skiers from around the world; Germany, Canada, South Korea, Great Britain and Italy were some of the countries represented at the races. A total of 14 SVSEF FIS skiers and two alumni competed; John Blackburn, Duncan Fuller, Yuri McClure, Noah Leininger, Ian Hanna, Carter Jendrezak, Jake Blackburn, Matt O’Connor, Max Noddings, Filippo Collini, Stockton Troyer (SVSEF Alum), Will Snyder (SVSEF Alum), Ruby Marden, Ella Pepin, Skylar Cooley and Grace Pepin represented the organization.
In the ladies’ giant slalom, Skylar Cooley and Ella Pepin had strong results in a field of 45 skiers, finishing 12th and 19th, respectively. Standout performances in the men’s race came from Yuri McClure, who posted his second best point result ever and placed sixth out of 91 racers. Filippo Collini made huge strides, rising to 20th place from start number 83. Will Snyder, a SVSEF alum, finished 16th.
In the slalom races the next day, Ella Pepin broke the top 10 with a ninth place finish in a field of 40 racers. Skylar Cooley was right behind her in 10th, and Grace Pepin had a strong race, landing in 12th. A number of SVSEF men had notable results in the slalom. John Blackburn finished 17th out of 84 competitors, which was his career best FIS point result in slalom. Filippo Collini was 21st, again moving up significantly in the start list, this time from 70th. Matt O’Connor finished 24th, also making big gains from his start number of 79. Yuri McClure was 26th, Carter Jendrezak was 30th, Max Noddings was 35th and Jake Blackburn was 37th.
The FIS athletes will continue training at Roundhill Ski Area until they travel to Coronet Peak for two giant slalom and two slalom events, August 8 through 11.
For full results:
Ladies’ Giant Slalom
Men’s Giant Slalom
Ladies’ Slalom
Men’s Slalom
2016-2017 Gold Team Preview
A bizarrely sizeable portion of my tenth year around the sun was spent practicing my autograph on soccer balls, so I would have it down pat when the U.S. National Team decided they wanted me to join the lineup. Despite the absurdity of this rehearsal of sorts, I do not think my dreams of glory and prestige in athletics were an anomaly to those of the general public. But despite the draw of making a living competing in a sport you love, hardly any of us end up taking the chance and making the sacrifices to try to turn those ambitions into reality. To do so takes immense self-discipline, a good amount of natural, raw talent and unsurpassed levels of dedication to the sport. It is a steep and unpredictable mountain to conquer, if you consider the odds, but one that the SVSEF Gold Team athletes here in Sun Valley are tackling in full force.
At SVSEF, there are thirteen athletes who have taken the leap and are pursuing their dreams of competing at a high level in their respective sports. This foray into competitive, professional athletics is far from easy; each athlete is training constantly but often holds down another job, and there are numerous side projects that have become required in order to make it in the industry – one must have a prominent social media presence, secure sponsors and write blog posts or make appearances at events that engage their specific sport, to name a few of the additional demands.
The Gold Team, originally called the Olympic Development Team, was incorporated into SVSEF in 2005. The program was founded with the intention of assisting athletes who have risen to compete at national and international levels; athletes receive financial assistance and access to top-tier training environments. Their involvement in the local community encourages healthy active lifestyles for the younger SVSEF athletes and greater knowledge and support of snow sports.
Some of the SVSEF Gold Team athletes were born and raised in the Wood River Valley. Others spent a brief period of time here to train or race, and still others are completely new to the program. Regardless, a few constants remain true across the board; these skiers and snowboarders are full-time athletes who are dedicated to sharing their enthusiasm and appreciation for the sport both here in our community and to a broader audience across the U.S. and the world.
Eight athletes form the Cross Country Gold Team – of these, four are new to the team this year. It’s a strong group of skiers who have seen success at the collegiate level and beyond – with the caliber of these athletes, the team is looking cohesive and competitive this season. Head Coach Colin Rodgers laid out the principal team goals for this season:
Cole, Jack and Kelsey will be gunning for the U-23 World Championships which will be hosted by Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT. Qualification will be dependent upon results at the U.S. Championships in January. It will be exciting to have these athletes have the opportunity to pursue a World Championship birth on American soil!
Older athletes will be targeting U.S. Nationals, also to be held at Soldier Hollow in January 2017 – and then if those races go well they may be named to the U.S. World Championship Team. Lahti, Finland will be hosting the championships this year in February.
Returning from previous seasons with the Gold Team are Matt Gelso, Rogan Brown, Mary Rose and Deedra Irwin. The new athletes you will see out on the trails, cruising along on a distance ski or pounding out a set of intervals, are Jack Hegman, Cole Morgan, Kelsey Phinney and Annie Pokorny.
Veteran Matt Gelso has been skiing with the SVSEF Gold Team for six years, since graduating from the University of Colorado. He has raced throughout Europe and the U.S. and has competed at FIS World Cups and the FIS World Ski Championships. Gelso has garnered top three results at U.S. National Championships, and won an NCAA individual championship. Gelso hopes to make it to the World Ski Championships again this February.
Rogan Brown, originally from Durango, Colorado, is 24 years old and received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Vermont, where he was a member of the ski team. His main goals this season are to improve his sprint racing and land on the podium at U.S. Nationals this January, which will take place in Utah. Having lived in the Wood River Valley for two years, Brown is “continually impressed by its unity and ski culture.”
Mary Rose also grew up skiing in Colorado, in Steamboat Springs and then for the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since graduating, Rose has posted competitive results, setting her up for elite racing opportunities. In 2014, she competed at the Under-23 World Championships, multiple Scandinavian Cup races, Europa Cup races and Europa (OPA) Cup Finals. The following season, she had two top 10 finishes at the U.S. National Championships, qualifying her for the U.S. Ski Team’s OPA Cup trip in Central Europe. Domestically, Rose has been successful on the SuperTour circuit, with a win, a second place and a fifth place finish. This season, Rose is focusing on the SuperTour circuit, where she will look to qualify for the FIS World Cup and World Championships.
The fourth returning cross country Gold Team skier is Deedra Irwin, who hails from Wisconsin. This will be Irwin’s second season with the Gold Team; last year, she led the charge for the female athletes, with multiple top 15 results, a few top 10 results, and a win in both the Elite Birkebeiner Sprints and the American Classic Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin. In 2015, Irwin qualified to compete in Almaty, Kazakhstan as part of the U23 World Junior Team. The athlete went to school at Michigan Technological University, where she majored in exercise science, minored in international Spanish and coaching, and competed on the cross country running, track and cross country ski teams. Going into this season, Irwin will be concentrating on classic sprinting.
New to the team this year are former University of Vermont skiers, Jack Hegman and Cole Morgan. Hegman is originally from Huntington, Vermont, and studied Computer Science at UVM. He is a three-time NCAA All-American and has represented the U.S. at the World Junior Championships. Hegman’s current and former teammate Cole Morgan is from Bozeman, Montana, and skied for UVM after a post-graduate year skiing for SVSEF back in 2012. Morgan was the third American in the 2015 U.S. National Championships classic sprint, and has been named to two World Junior Championships teams. This season he is focusing on the U23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah.
The other two new recruits to the Cross Country Gold Team also attended school in Vermont; both skied for Middlebury College. Kelsey Phinney grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and attended Middlebury, where she studied neuroscience. Phinney skied for the U.S. at the U23 World Championships this past winter in Romania, and has her sights set on U23 Worlds in Utah this season. Her teammate Annie Pokorny skied for Middlebury but is originally from the West, where she grew up racing between Park City, Utah, and Spokane, Washington. She joined SVSEF as a junior in high school in 2009 and attended the Community School. At Middlebury, Pokorny majored in philosophy, was an NCAA All-American, a three-time member of the U.S. U23 World Championship team, and raced on Europe’s Scandinavian and Europa Cup circuits.
Returning to the Gold Team alpine lineup are Tanner Farrow and Kipling Weisel. Both athletes grew up skiing with SVSEF. Farrow has been involved with SVSEF since he was eight years old; he recently turned 23. The athlete attended Wood River High School and was named to the U.S. Ski Team on his 18th birthday – he has spent the past four seasons competing at the Nor Am and Europa Cup level. Although he was not renamed to the U.S. Ski Team at the completion of the 2015-2016 season, he will continue to pursue skiing at the World Cup and Olympic levels. Farrow recently accepted an offer to compete for the University of Denver, whose ski team is the reigning NCAA national champion. Kipling Weisel, also a SVSEF alum, now skis for Dartmouth College and is a member of the U.S. Alpine C Team. Last season he posted strong results, finishing 16th overall on the NorAm circuit and earning six top 10 results. At the U.S. Alpine Championships here in Sun Valley this past March, Weisel finished ninth in alpine combined and was the third junior racer overall in the event. He will graduate from Dartmouth in 2018.
In the snowboarding world, SVSEF Gold Team member Chase Josey continues to impress. Josey grew up snowboarding for SVSEF here in Sun Valley. The athlete had standout results throughout last season, with a second place finish at the Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix and a bronze medal in halfpipe at X Games Oslo. In 2015 he won the renowned Red Bull Double Pipe.
Gold Team freeskier Jacob Beebe has proven to be a promising competitor, and he has many years ahead of him as a seventeen-year old. Beebe is on the U.S. Rookie Halfpipe Team and resides in Bend, Oregon, where he attends Summit High School. In 2016, Beebe was 12th in the halfpipe at X Games Oslo and fifth at the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open Halfpipe. His goals for this coming season are to qualify for X Games Aspen and to make finals at Dew Tour and Grand Prix events.
Rounding out the Gold Team is freeskier Tai Barrymore. Barrymore grew up in Sun Valley and graduated from Wood River High School in 2010; he was a skier for SVSEF beginning his junior year of high school. The 24-year old took first place at the Copper Mountain Grand Prix World Cup in 2012, second place at the Killington Dew Tour in 2013, is a four-time X Games athlete and seven-time Dew Tour athlete. Barrymore participated in every Olympic qualifier in 2014 for Sochi. The athlete suffered a torn ACL last year and is eager to get back into competition this season.
We are excited to see what the 2016-2017 season has in store for our Gold Team athletes; we know they will do big things, and we are glad to be along for the ride.
If you are interested in supporting SVSEF Gold Team athletes, there is a fundraiser on August 16th whose proceeds benefit the Gold Team. For more information about the Golf for Gold Tournament, please visit the website at svsef.org or contact Jody Zarkos with questions (jody@svsef.org, 208-726-4129 ext. 102).
Chasing Winter
With summer in Sun Valley, dreams of fresh snowfall, smooth turns and uniform corduroy are undoubtedly replaced by those of brown powder, refreshing alpine lakes and late nights on the patio. But for the SVSEF Alpine USSA Team, snow is never far from the mind. To tide them over until our own mountains are again blanketed in powder, a group of 30 athletes headed to Mammoth Mountain in California to take advantage of the snow that still graces the slopes. The athletes were treated to great hill space and amazing weather for the majority of the trip. The focus of the eight-day camp was slowing things down and getting back to building a fundamental skiing base, an important component to revisit. Coach Will Brandenburg concluded, “it was a super fun and productive camp and I’m stoked about the skiing I was seeing at the end of it!”
To take a break from training, the athletes managed to stay active by biking, hiking, playing field games, playing mini golf and adding in some dry land sessions. They wrapped it all up with a movie and some hot springs soaks.
Nordic skiers spend hundreds of days training, and comparatively only a handful of days actually racing – so what is it all about? This is a question that surely crosses the mind of each athlete at least once in awhile, when they’re struggling to feel good during a workout or when there seems to be no end in sight to the intervals and lifting sessions and long training blocks.
The Bend Camp, which the SVSEF Nordic program has worked into their summer program for around 30 years, is a time to reset and to remember the benefits and joys inherent in training. It’s an exciting jump start to the summer; a chance for the younger, newer skiers to integrate into the life and times of Comp Team, for Prep Pro skiers to get in some workouts together and for the athletes to remember that it’s possible for the process to be simultaneously fun and memorable and challenging. It’s an opportunity to recalibrate and reinvigorate training goals, and move forward into the rest of the dry land season with new energy and awareness.
“The door you’re trying to unlock with training is to get fit enough that you can move through the landscape and be strong enough to do it; not necessarily because you’re trying to compete in every workout, but this level of fitness provides access to all these other experiences.” Nordic Program Director Rick Kapala, who says this with such facility and conviction, worked with coaches Ashley Knox, Kristen Monahan and Kelley Sinnott to orchestrate a memorable summer camp.
The group spent the first six days in Bend, getting some on-snow time at Mount Bachelor. SVSEF was joined by athletes from West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. Despite less than ideal snow conditions on the nordic trails, the team was able to take the chairlift to ski mid-mountain, where the groomers provided decent terrain. Afternoons were spent dry land training in the Bend area. This stint was followed by a trek to the Oregon coast, specifically Pacific City, for surf sessions in the morning and dry land sessions in the afternoon for an additional three days. The surfing ultimately amounted to tumbling around in the waves; both this and running in the forest with gigantic moss-covered trees were a welcome change to the geography and climate of the Intermountain West, and were a fitting end to kick off summer training.
The Alpine Team sets off for a two-week training camp in New Zealand this Thursday, July 21. A group of Nordic Comp Team athletes is currently training on the Haig glacier in Canada, which just received a whopping foot of snow. The team will stay for a week before returning to Sun Valley.
SVSEF Athletes Get in the Spirit at Olympic Day
At six feet, four inches, Dick Fosbury towers above the group of SVSEF athletes as they prepare for Olympic Day festivities. In contrast to his stature as an Olympic gold medalist, the words he shares are relatable and down to earth. Fosbury recounts the history of the Olympics, and explains that the spirit of the Games – which have persisted despite various forms of unease and tension afflicting the people and countries of this world – is what underlies the celebration of Olympic Day. The event has taken place each year since 1948, with the intention of promoting fitness, well-being and culture for youth across the United States and the world. Friendship, excellence and respect are championed in the kids’ activities and games, just as they are in the competitions that take place on the world stage.
Joining Olympian Dick Fosbury last Friday, who won gold in the 1968 Summer Olympics in the high jump with his famed “Fosbury Flop,” was fellow local Olympian Reggie Crist. Crist raced in the men’s downhill in the 1992 Winter Olympics and was critical in the development of the sport of ski cross.
Sixty SVSEF athletes converged on the Community School’s Sagewillow Farm premises for games and competitions. Divided into nine teams named after local Olympians and Paralympians, including Kaitlyn Farrington, Picabo Street, Christin Cooper, Graham Watanabe, Gretchen Fraser, Susie and Pete Patterson, Muffy Davis, Crist and Fosbury, athletes tackled a total of 13 relay challenges with fervor and enthusiasm. Across the field and back, athletes balanced eggs on spoons, jump roped, ran in alpine boots and skillfully coordinated human conveyor belts and leap frog. Much liberty was taken as far as rules and regulations were concerned, but it was all in good fun. As is tradition, the relays ended with a full-fledged pie fight; not an athlete emerged from the battle unscathed.
The John R. Kalik True North awards were presented to three SVSEF student-athletes in accordance with Olympic Day. The award is given in honor of John R. Kalik, who was passionate about the area, the outdoors and living life fully. John passed away in a 1980 plane crash at the age of 24.
Alpine Program Director Scott McGrew beautifully articulated the meaning and significance of this award. “Tenacity, grit, and perseverance are core values that come from this journey and the True North is a way for us to acknowledge, celebrate and inspire those values throughout our community. At times the seas are rough and we lose our way through life’s storms. The True North serves as a metaphor to help us navigate the challenges that life presents; core values don’t change with circumstances…that is the spirit of the award and a representation of our heart as an organization.”
Athletes must be a rising junior or senior to have been considered for the award, and recipients were chosen based on an essay they wrote addressing the topic, “What have you learned about yourself as a member of SVSEF and how is this important in your day-to-day life?”
Recipients will receive half off tuition for the upcoming season, along with an engraved True North compass, courtesy of Anne Kalik, John’s sister. This year’s recipients were Hanna Blackwell (freestyle/freeskiing/snowboarding), Kirsys Campbell (nordic) and Noah Leininger (alpine). Hanna is a member of the Freeskiing A Team and will be a junior at Wood River High School this coming fall. Kirsys will also be a junior and skis on the Nordic Comp Team. Noah skis on the Alpine FIS Team and will be a senior this year.
SVSEF athletes Noah Leininger and Hanna Blackwell receive the John R. Kalik True North Award from Interim Executive Director Sam Adicoff. Missing from the photo is the third recipient, Kirsys Campbell, who was unable to attend.
Anne Kalik left the award recipients with a few words to remember. “To the three athletes who received the True North awards today, it seems if you have found some inner compass deep inside: a light to guide you to become your best, true self. Congratulations and may it always be so!”
We’d like to thank all of our athletes who participated and their parents, as well as Anne Kalik, photographer Glen Allison, Lutz Rental, Color Haus, Albertson’s, Olympians Dick Fosbury and Reggie Crist, SVSEF Gold Team athletes and coaches and staff for their help in putting on a successful day of games and good fun.
Congratulations, SVSEF Grads! A Cap, Gown and a Vast Horizon
Spring in Sun Valley is a time of transition; hillsides erupt in saturated purples and yellows, rain showers blanket the valley in the stead of snow, and cleats and running shoes replace the ski boots that for the previous six months held significant real estate in the mudroom. For a small group of SVSEF athletes, spring is the signifier of a rather momentous transition, as it marks graduation from high school and the SVSEF program. Some are headed off to college while others are opting to take a post grad year. Regardless of the route each has chosen, we are eager to see where the road takes them, and would like to express our sincere congratulations to the graduating class of 2016.
Sixteen SVSEF athletes are headed to top schools this fall – from Middlebury College to Rocky Mountain College to UC Berkeley, their new homes span the far reaches of the United States. Taking on the East Coast and all its humid glory are Luke Brecheen (University of Vermont), Hunter Kern (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) Max Polito (Middlebury College), Annika Landis (Middlebury College), Max Tanous (Bowdoin College), Griffin Curtis (Clarkson University), Leo Lukens (Bates College) and Emily Siegel (St. Lawrence University). Athletes attending college out west include Jay Fitzgerald (Gonzaga University), Sarah Kope (University of Utah), Jacob Truxal (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology), Loni Unser (University of Colorado at Boulder), Ransom Bleyer (University of Colorado at Boulder – Business/Engineering), Ben Brunelle (UC Berkeley), Kristian DeWolfe (Rocky Mountain College) and Trey Potter (Sierra Nevada College). Of these athletes, a number will continue to compete at the collegiate level. Griffin Curtis will ski on the alpine team at Clarkson, Annika Landis and Max Polito will race on the Middlebury Nordic Team, Emily Siegel will race Nordic at St. Lawrence, and Kristian DeWolfe will be a member of the RMC Alpine Team.
Other SVSEF athletes have accepted spots at top colleges, but are deferring for a year to continue ski racing. These athletes include alpine racers Yuri McClure (PG at SVSEF; Plymouth State University), Ella Pepin (PG at SVSEF; St. Lawrence), Ruby Marden (St. Lawrence) and Will Snyder (Williams College). Also opting to take a PG year are cross-country skiers Danny Graves (Bend Endurance Academy), River Vorse (Boulder Nordic), Eli Jensen (SVSEF) and Carter Ros (SVSEF). Alpine skiers Duncan Fuller and Wyatt Smith will be skiing this coming season with SVSEF as PGs, as well.
There is no manual for navigating college or a PG year. Juggling classes, new friendships and extra-curricular activities, or figuring out a whole new pace and schedule without the tangible support of loved ones or a familiar structure and routine can be daunting. A common theme we have seen in our athletes’ reflections on their time in the program, however, is the notion that SVSEF has helped set a solid foundation for them to be able to overcome obstacles and challenges in the future.
Annika Landis, who will be attending Middlebury College and skiing on the Nordic Team, eloquently summed up these sentiments. “I honestly believe that the experiences I've had through SVSEF, the ones that shaped my character just as much as they improved my ski racing, have profoundly influenced how I will move forward in my life. The joys of ski racing were almost simply an aside to the grit, pranks, jokes, and self-discovery.”
Jay Fitzgerald, an alpine racer who starts at Gonzaga University in the fall remarked, “SVSEF has given me the skill set to confidently go out and explore new areas of interest. I think that SVSEF has made it possible for me to be willing to try something new and go to school and live in a place that I had not previously considered.”
The program has required its athletes to take responsibility from a young age, has demanded conscious planning and time-management skills, and has taught the importance of working hard and of creating meaningful and impactful relationships with both peers and mentors. All of these qualities are applicable to life beyond SVSEF, whether or not an athlete continues to ski or snowboard competitively – we can’t wait to see the success that this group of graduating seniors achieves in their future endeavors.
Regardless of whether SVSEF graduates plan on skiing competitively past high school, many have garnered financial support and awards both locally and from their schools as a result of their hard work and success in academia.
Awards and scholarships:
Luke Brecheen - Trustee’s Scholarship (merit-based)
Jay Fitzgerald - Merit Scholarship Award
Hunter Kern - Merit Scholarship Award
Sarah Kope - Freshman Academic Achievement Award, Non-resident Business Scholar Scholarship
Jacob Truxal - Freshman Scholarship, Sun Valley/Ketchum Rotary Scholarship, St. Charles Memorial Scholarship
Ransom Bleyer - Dean’s Scholarship to Colorado State (not attending)
Kristian DeWolfe - Dean’s Academic Scholarship and Athletic Scholarship
Annika Landis - National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist
Ruby Marden - Sesquicentennial Scholarship Award
Trey Potter - Merit Scholarship Award
Emily Siegel - Merit Scholarship Award, Presidential Achievement Award, Wells Fargo Scholarship
Ben Brunelle - Sun Valley/Ketchum Rotary Scholarship, Power Engineers Dependent STEM, Freidman Foundation
Photos from top: Ruby Marden, Carter Ros, Yuri McClure, Danny Graves, Sarah Kope.
SVSEF Program Director Andy Ware Charts Change of Course
After 17 years as a coach and program director with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, Andy Ware is stepping down to pursue new opportunities. Ware said he would begin work as a sales representative at Rocky Mountain Hardware in July. Ware, 42, began working for SVSEF in 1999 as a coach on the freestyle team. He became head coach of the freestyle team in 2005 and program director of the freestyle and freeskiing programs in 2008, adding the title of snowboard program director in 2013. In 2008 the freestyle program was comprised of 46 athletes. During the 2015-16 season the three teams featured 130 skiers and 25 snowboarders.