NBC Sports' The Podium podcast recently spent time talking with U.S. Ski Team alumnus Andre Horton, a pioneer among black skiers who, during the early 2000s became the first able-bodied Black American to join the U.S. Ski Team.

As the article says, 

Winter sports are popular activities for many Americans, but access to ski resorts isn't equal for everyone. According to data from the National Ski Areas Association, about 88% of visitors to ski areas in the U.S. during the 2019-20 season were white, while less than 2% were Black.

There are many factors leading to this disparity — the high cost of participation, geographic and logistical restrictions, and a lack of marketing toward Black Americans all contribute.

In the latest episode of The Podium podcast from NBC Sports (below), this issue of equal access to the slopes was explored in further detail.

Andre Horton, a pioneer among Black skiers, is one of the athletes featured on the podcast. During the early 2000s, he became the first able-bodied Black American to join the U.S. Ski Team, and as he traveled around the country to compete, it was rare for him to see other skiers who looked like him.

Some organizations, such as the National Brotherhood of Skiers, are working to change this by finding promising Black athletes and supporting them in their development. One such athlete is Brian Rice, an up-and-coming 17-year-old snowboarder from Michigan who is targeting the 2026 Winter Olympics.

On the podcast, Horton and Rice discussed their personal experiences, the tight-knit friendships they've formed within the Black ski and snowboard community, and what steps can be taken to get more young kids of color into the pipeline for winter sports and eventually onto the podium. Listen to the full episode below.

Listen to The Podium podcast episode featuring Andre Horton.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — HomeLight, the real estate technology platform transforming the home buying and selling process for the top real estate agents and their clients, today announced the launch of #PoweredByHomeLight, a first-of-its-kind sponsorship series to support today's up-and-coming and established athletes and sports teams. The first athlete to be announced as #PoweredByHomeLight is Paula Moltzan, an American World Cup alpine ski racer on the U.S. Ski Team, with other athletes to be officially announced in the coming weeks.

As a part of this invite-only spotlight series, HomeLight's sponsorship empowers athletes to attend and participate in major competitions and events around the world and do what they do best: pursuing their goals of winning. Athletes in this series will have the opportunity to be featured in their own HomeLight commercials and will don HomeLight-branded uniforms while competing.

Paula Moltzan, the first athlete to be announced in the #PoweredByHomeLight athlete spotlight series, is known as a rising star on the U.S. Ski Team making a name for herself on the World Cup circuit. Moltzan scored her first World Cup points in 2015, won gold in the slalom at the Junior World Championships the same year, raced collegiately for the University of Vermont in Burlington, and won the NCAA title in slalom in 2017. She rejoined the World Cup circuit for the 2018-19 season and finished 18th in slalom at the World Championships in 2019. Moltzan finished the 2021 season ranked 11th in slalom and with a podium finish in Lech, Austria. Moltzan is currently racing on the World Cup circuit and preparing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

For Moltzan, partnering with HomeLight goes beyond skiing. "HomeLight is more than just the company sponsoring and supporting my athletic journey this season," says Paula Moltzan, U.S. Ski Team slalom and giant slalom skier. "I'm proud to share that I'm trusting HomeLight to help me during one of my life's most important moments: buying my first home. It's an honor to be #PoweredByHomeLight and team up with a company that supports me for monumental moments, whether that's competing on the slopes or competing for a home."

While this is the first time HomeLight has sponsored individual athletes, the organization has supported the building of world-class teams for years. Since 2019, HomeLight has been the title sponsor of the HomeLight Killington Cup, the widely-anticipated women's World Cup event on Thanksgiving weekend. For the 2021-2022 season in addition to sponsoring individual athletes, HomeLight is furthering its investment in U.S. Ski and Snowboard by sponsoring the HomeLight Foundation Series aimed at creating opportunities for emerging athletes. The HomeLight Foundation Series events include the U.S. leg of the FIS NorAm for both alpine and freestyle skiing and the HomeLight U.S. Revolution Tour for freeski and snowboard halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air.

"At HomeLight, we are all about supporting the individuals and teams inspiring their communities. With the launch of this series, being #PoweredByHomeLight doesn't only apply to the best real estate agents in the United States – it's bigger than that," said John Van Slyke III, Senior Vice President of Growth at HomeLight. "We recognize the skill, dedication, preparation, and commitment it takes to be the best, and we're excited to sponsor athletes like Paula as they continue to make a name for themselves, their teams, and our country."

For more information about Moltzan's upcoming competitions, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/athletes/paula-moltzan.

For more information about HomeLight, visit homelight.com.

###

About HomeLight
HomeLight is building the future of real estate — today. Our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying for all.

The best real estate agents rely on HomeLight's platform to deliver better outcomes to homebuyers and sellers during every step of the real estate journey, whether that's enabling an all-cash offer, unlocking liquidity of their existing home to buy a new one, or creating certainty through a modern closing process. Each year, HomeLight facilitates billions of dollars of residential real estate business on its platform for thousands of agents.

Founded in 2012, HomeLight is a privately held company with offices in Scottsdale, San Francisco, New York, and Seattle, with backing from prominent investors including Zeev Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Group 11, Crosslink Capital, Bullpen Capital, Montage Ventures, Citi Ventures, Google Ventures, and others.

For additional information and images: homelight.com/press

Media Contact
Lizzie Ryan, HomeLight, (415) 508-4198, lizzie.ryan@homelight.com

Release Courtesy of HomeLight

Coming in hot on the heels of one of the best starts to the season in recent memory, 14 members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team will kick off Period 2 of the FIS World Cup season with the annual FIS Tour de Ski Tuesday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. With the Olympics less than five weeks away, this year’s Tour de Ski will feature six stages over eight days instead of the usual eight stages over 10 days.

Defending Tour de Ski champion Jessie Diggins is among the scheduled starters. She looks to not only protect her TdS title but pick up valuable World Cup points toward defending the overall World Cup title and the World Cup distance title. Diggins is currently fifth in the overall World Cup standings with 319 points. Rosie Brennan is fourth overall (328), but like overall leader Maja Dahlqvist (464) of Sweden, and Therese Johaug (375) of Norway, who is currently third overall, has opted to skip the event. Sweden’s Frida Karlsson (400), now second overall, and will start the Tour alongside Diggins.

Diggins plans to use the Tour de Ski as an opportunity not only to increase her on-snow racing time but prep for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. This season, she has already surprised herself with two podiums and a win during the opening spring qualification round. The Tour de Ski provides yet another opportunity to prove her form.

“All of this racing is how I get in shape,” Diggins said following the Davos races. “Because racing that hard gets you in shape pretty fast. So for me, it’s using the Tour de Ski as part of my preparation for the Olympics, but also – whether or not I’m working into the season, whether or not it’s part of the intentional prep phase – for me, every single race I hit it as hard as I can. And as you probably saw in Davos, I crossed the finish line, and there was nothing left.”

The U.S. women currently sit third overall in the Nations Cup behind Sweden and Norway, thanks to podium results from Diggins and Brennan and top 30 results from Hailey Swirbul, Julia Kern, Hannah Halvorsen, Novie McCabe, and Sophia Laukli. Meanwhile, the men’s team is seventh in the Nations Cup, following top results from JC Schoonmaker, Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, Kevin Bolger, and Luke Jager. 

“Period 1 was very successful for us,” noted Davis U.S. Cross Country Team Director Chris Grover. “I’m a little surprised due to our lack of on-snow training…but I think we’ll start to click a little more at the Tour de Ski. And I expect some standout results.”

While the women’s team continues to make headlines, the men’s team has started to write an excellent sprint story, with Schoonmaker, Ogden, and Jager all posting career-best results in Period 1. “For JC to be ranked 10th (in the overall World Cup sprint standings) is really quite awesome,” Grover said. “He is getting it figured out and gaining some confidence.” 

Schoonmaker has opted to skip the TdS and, like Brennan, will race at the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow January 2-6. However, Ogden, Jager, Bolger, Logan Hanneman, and Zak Ketterson will bring plenty of sprint power to the Tour, while Schumacher will be gunning for top results in the distance events. And speaking of distance, both Laukli and McCabe will be bringing some serious climbing power to the stage 6 final climb up the lower slopes of Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Jan. 4.

“Both of them are excellent climbers, and I expect we’ll see a top performance from each of them,” Grover said. 

The Tour de Ski kicks off Tuesday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, with stage 1 freestyle sprint, followed by stage 2 classic individual starts Wednesday. The Tour rolls into Oberstdorf, Germany for stage 3, a freestyle mass start on Friday, Dec. 31, and a stage 4 classic sprint on Saturday, Jan. 1. The tour moves to Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Monday, Jan. 3, with a stage 5 classic mass start, and concludes on Tuesday, Jan. 4 with a mass start freestyle hill climb. NBC's Peacock will stream all events.

Tour de Ski Schedule

Tuesday, Dec. 28
Men and Women’s Freestyle Sprint, Lenzerheide, Switzerland

Wednesday, Dec 29
Women’s 10k Classic Individual Start, Lenzerheide, Switzerland
Men’s 15k Classic Individual Start, Lenzerheide, Switzerland

Friday, Dec. 31
Women’s 10k Freestyle Mass Start, Oberstdorf, Germany
Men’s 10k Freestyle Mass Start, Oberstdorf, Germany

Saturday, Jan. 1
Men and Women’s Classic Sprint, Oberstdorf, Germany

Monday, Jan. 3
Women’s 10k Classic Mass Start, Val di Fiemme, Italy
Men’s 15k Classic Mass Start, Val di Fiemme, Italy

Tuesday, Jan. 4
Women’s 10k Freestyle Mass Start, Val di Fiemme, Italy
Men’s 10k Freestyle Mass Start, Val di Fiemme, Italy

 The complete Broadcast and Streaming schedule is available here!

Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes scheduled to start the Tour de Ski:

MEN

• Zak Ketterson
• Ben Ogden
• Kevin Bolger
• Gus Schumacher
• Luke Jager
• Logan Hanneman

WOMEN

• Alayna Sonnesyn
• Jessie Diggins
• Hailey Swirbul
• Julia Kern
• Hannah Halvorsen
• Sophia Laukli 
• Novie McCabe
• Katharine Ogden

Outside’s Mikaela Shiffrin: Passion & Purpose premiered December 21 on Outside+ and follows World Cup and Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin throughout the winter. The series is available exclusively for Outside+ members, so join today and download the app to start streaming.

The hero’s journey is a familiar arc in literature, film, and television: A protagonist faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge and, against all odds and with the help of others, overcomes it. Many people travel a similar arc in real life, but those stories don’t always tie up nicely with a bow like in the movies. Such is the case with American ski racing phenom Mikaela Shiffrin, whose journey is detailed in the new Outside series Mikaela Shiffrin: Passion & Purpose. (Watch the trailer, below.)

Shiffrin—one of the most accomplished ski racers of all time—was at a competitive peak in 2020 when her father died suddenly. Jeff Shiffrin was a pillar in Mikaela’s life, and her devastation was total. It took nearly a year for her to return to the World Cup stage, and the 2020/21 campaign was inconsistent by her own lofty standards. But there’s no time to dwell on that as Mikaela Shiffrin: Passion & Purpose begins—not with the 2022 Winter Olympic Games right around the corner.

At this point, Shiffrin hardly needs an introduction. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time World Champion has won 72 World Cups, which puts her behind only Lindsey Vonn and Ingemar Stenmark on the all-time list. She did it all with a blend of raw talent, fierce determination, and humility that makes her, in the minds of many, the greatest skier currently competing. But, with the loss of her father still with her every day, the first episode of Mikaela Shiffrin: Passion & Purpose introduces a Shiffrin who may be unrecognizable to her fans—a podium favorite who comes off vulnerable and tentative. 

Through interviews with her mother, her trainer, her coach, and her boyfriend, two-time World Cup Champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the first episode focuses on the process of emotional recovery and physical preparation for the World Cup season that’s already underway. It’s the interviews with Shiffrin herself, however, that give the show emotional stakes that will hook fans of ski racing and even those who just love a great hero’s journey, alike.

NOTE: Episode 1 will be available online for international viewers starting February 1, 2022. 
 

Release courtesy SKI Magazine. 

Bristol Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard are excited to announce that the Toyota 2022 U.S. Aerials Freestyle Championships will take place Saturday, March 19, 2022. Originally scheduled for Friday, December 31, the event was moved to later in the season to accommodate more snowmaking opportunities.

“We’re so excited to have the U.S. Aerials Freestyle Championships back at Bristol,” stated Bristol Mountain Vice President Steven Fuller. “We look forward to having spectators cheer on these incredible athletes. What an opportunity to have the best in the world competing right here in Rochester, NY.”

The event will welcome the United States’ top aerial skiers to compete for the National Championship. Over four days, including training, the championships will culminate with finals on Saturday, March 19, 2022, providing spectators ample opportunity to cheer as athletes soar to heights of more than 50 feet above the Bristol Valley. The 2021 U.S. Aerials Freestyle Champions were Bristol Mountain Freestyle Alum Christopher Lillis and three-time Olympian Ashley Caldwell from Ashburn, Virginia.

“Bristol has a spectacular venue to host this national competition,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Director Jeremy Forster. “The whole team is very excited to be back and competing in Canandaigua, New York. The athletes can’t wait to showcase their talent as they end the 2022 season.”

Bristol Mountain was host to the 2020 U.S. Aerial Freestyle Championships on March 14, 2020, where Eric Loughran and Ashley Caldwell were named U.S. National Champions. View the full replay of the 2020 event on Bristol Mountain’s YouTube Channel (youtube.com/BristolMountain).

Information on attending the event will be made available on BristolMountain.com in the coming weeks.

Members of the press interested in covering the event will need credentials to access the site. Please contact Meg Fuller to obtain credentials to the event, mfuller@bristolmt.com, or (585) 455-4186.

The 2022 Toyota Aerials Freestyle National Championships and spectator access protocols are contingent on local and state health department approvals based on existing and future COVID-19 rules and regulations. U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the local organizing committee, and Bristol Mountain Resort are taking a unified approach consistent with guidance from federal, state, and local health authorities.

Mikaela Shiffrin stepped on the giant slalom podium for the second time in two days in Courchevel, France, taking second place and her seventh World Cup top-three of the season. With the second fastest second run, Paula Moltzan was 13th.

It was another gorgeous day in France with the race replacing a canceled GS from November in Killington, Vermont. Finishing ahead of Shiffrin was Sara Hector of Sweden, who was second in Tuesday’s GS and hadn’t won a World Cup in seven years due to injury. It was the first time a Swedish skier had won a World Cup since 2017. Marta Bassino of Italy was third.

“Sharing the podium yesterday with Michelle [Gisin] and Sara yesterday and Marta and Sara winning today—those are two really special podiums,” said Shiffrin. “Amazing athletes and amazing women—they’re some of the most positive and kind people on the World Cup circuit.”

The snow was rough and bumpy on the Emile Allais slope, named after the famous French skier, which caused a few back spasms for Shiffrin on first run. But she gritted it out to third place and did some dry needling and physical therapy for second run to put the pain at bay. And it worked—she came out swinging and put down an aggressive and fast second run to move her up to second place.

Shiffrin was open about battling fatigue throughout the race series. The beginning of her season has been packed with events—Courchevel was her 13th World Cup start this season and her third race in four days. “No more energy!” she laughed. “Even yesterday after the first run, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I have to do this three more times?’ Today was a big physical challenge and it’s also mentally tough too…I knew it was going to be like that after the last weeks, but it’s always a little bit surprising when you get to this point and you feel just totally gassed.”

But Shiffrin knew that she is stronger this season than she’s been before and that she’s skiing close to her potential. She’s had eight podiums over those 13 starts and to pull off another while being this exhausted was remarkable. “To have four runs the last two days that were a lot of really good skiing—today there was some scrappy skiing as well—but even coming close of what I’m able to do was really special,” she added.

After finishing 28th first run and only just qualifying for a second run, Moltzan threw down an unbelievable second run to move up to 13th place. Her second run was the second fastest, beating even Hector and Shiffrin by a few tenths. It was her best giant slalom finish since she first scored points in the 2020-21 season in Soelden, Austria.

AJ Hurt qualified for a second run—finishing an impressive 19th first run—but got late and crashed out of the course. Nina O’Brien did not finish first run. Both are OK. Katie Hensien did not qualify for second run.

The U.S. Alpine Ski Team leads the giant slalom and slalom FIS Nations Cups for the first time since 1983—an unbelievable feat showing a new depth on this tech team.

Shiffrin also maintains the lead of the overall World Cup of 115 points over Italian Sofia Goggia, who did not finish first run.

The women get a holiday break before returning to Lienz, Austria for a slalom and a giant slalom after Christmas.

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

The Winter Park Competition Center in Winter Park Resort, Colo., played a perfect host to the 2021 U.S. Moguls Selections Presented by HomeLight. Selections provides American mogul skiers the opportunity to prove themselves on course and qualify for domestic World Cup starts. 

Eight U.S. Ski Team athletes competed: Kasey Hogg, Elizabeth Lemley, Alli Macuga, Joel Hedrick, Jesse Andringa, Alex Lewis, Landon Wendler and Dylan Marcellini. 

This year’s selections featured three events over a week of training and competition Dec. 15-21. Saturday kicked things off with the first of two moguls competitions. Avital Carroll won for the women, and was joined on the podium by Elizabeth Lemley in second and Kylie Kariotis in third. George McQuinn won for the men, Jackson Crockett came in second and Jackson Harvey came in third. 

Carroll topped the podium again on Monday, Lemley took her second second place and Hogg rounded out the women’s podium in third. McQuinn also repeated a winning performance and won Monday’s men’s event, Andringa came in second and Lewis came in third. 

Tuesday closed out competition with dual moguls. Lemley battled her way to first, Macuga earned second and Zoe Dwinelle came in third. Hedrick won the men’s event, Andringa placed second and Lewis rounded out the podium in third. 

RESULTS
Sat., Dec 18, Women’s Moguls Results
Sat., Dec 18, Men’s Mogul Results
Mon., Dec 20, Women’s Mogul Results
Mon., Dec 20, Men’s Mogul Results
Tues., Dec 21, Women’s Dual Mogul Results
Tues., Dec 21, Men’s Dual Mogul Results

Good Morning America's Amy Robach talked to U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member Kai Owens about her adoption story and hopes of representing the U.S. as part of Team USA in China in February on Tuesday's broadcast.
 

The U.S. Alpine Ski Team packed four into the points in Courchevel, France, led by Mikaela Shiffrin, who threw down two stellar giant slalom runs to take her 72nd FIS World Cup win. Nina O’Brien and Paula Moltzan were 15th and 16th, respectively, and AJ Hurt was 28th.

It was a bright and sunny December day in Courchevel, the home of the upcoming 2023 FIS World Championships, with the World Cup women attacking the long and demanding giant slalom. Sara Hector of Sweden—who Shiffrin has long lauded her skiing—had the fastest second run to land her in second place, .86 seconds behind Shiffrin. Michelle Gisin of Switzerland was third.

Shiffrin was the leader after the first run with a commanding .74 second advantage over the field and she continued to build on it throughout second run. She crushed the top of the exhausting course, and took a little off on the bottom to ski to her 14th giant slalom victory and sixth career win in Courchevel on the Emile Allais Slope—making her tally at Courchevel the highest at any resort. 

“It’s incredible,” said Shiffrin. “It was really quite difficult, to be honest—tiring today! Even after the first run, I wasn’t sure I could do the second run. It’s a big push and for every athlete racing, we had to dig very deep and just fight and be aggressive. I think I did that quite well. I’m certainly happy with the day.”

The win came directly after taking fifth in Val d’Isere super-G—a new stop on the World Cup tour for Shiffrin. “I feel some motivation now and feel a lot more fire after these last weeks,” said Shiffrin. “That was the first time I ever raced in Val d’Isere—years and years of wanting to go there and try it and we finally did it this year. To come here today was a big question in my mind if it was a right decision and if it was going to be too much, so to be able to ski this way today even with fatigue and less energy is very spectacular.”

The race was also one year after Shiffrin’s return to the World Cup podium after her father’s death. When asked about what Courchevel means to her, given the emotional weight of the venue on her mind, she said this year’s race was different than last year’s race. “There was just so much leading up to the victory last year,” she recalled. “It was so different from anything I knew or had experienced before. I feel like I’ve settled into my new self a little bit more at this point.”

Shiffrin’s win bumped her 35 points ahead of Sofia Goggia in the overall standings, who had overtaken Shiffrin after winning twice in Val d’Isere but did not finish second run in Courchevel.  

O’Brien and Moltzan also had excellent days, both putting down blazing second runs to take 15th and 16th place. “I’m just happy to finally put some good turns and link them top to bottom and come down in the green,” said Moltzan, who had the sixth-fastest second run. “I was really happy. As ski racers, you’re always looking for the green light and when you finally get it after not seeing it so much, it’s a good feeling. It’s definitely a really challenging GS course.”

AJ Hurt was 28th at the venue where she scored her first GS points and had her career-best finish in 2020. This was her fourth time scoring points in GS.

Keely Cashman did not qualify for a second run and Katie Hensien did not finish the first run but is OK.

Following Tuesday's giant slalom, the American women continue to lead in the nations standings. The Americans also currently lead the nations standings in slalom. The depth of this women's tech team is something this generation of women has never before experienced. 

Notably missing from the race were Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, Austrian Katharina Liensberger and New Zealand’s Alice Robinson who had all tested positive for COVID-19.

The women gear up for a second giant slalom on Wednesday before the holiday break, which was added to make up for the canceled GS at Killington Resort, Vt. in November.

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Courchevel, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Courchevel, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
9:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
12:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Chloe Kim was tossed into the throes of fame at 17 years old when she won her first Olympic Gold medal in Pyeongchang. Her coming of age as an adult came simultaneously with a peak achievement of her career. Not unlike any other child star, Kim became acutely aware of her environment, questioning who she was as an athlete, and who she was as a person. Feeling stifled by speculation, Kim took a step back from snowboarding to explore her identity. She even thought about retiring.

Yet amid her freshman year of college, COVID-19's isolating effects, a rise of Asian hate, and weeding out trolls on social media, Kim learned more about her capacity to adapt and overcome. Her return to competition in January of 2020 came with a fresh perspective, one that will propel her into the chaos of yet another Olympic season.

“I started to get numb to it, and that’s a problem, right?” Kim told NY Times reporter, John Branch, of her negative experiences. “I’ve recently started to realize that it’s not something that I should have ever had to get used to. It shouldn’t happen.”

Read the full story on NYTimes.com.