Flanagan wins 2021 Berlack-Astle Award
BRADFORD, Vt. – March 4, 2021 – World Cup Supply, Inc. (WCS) is pleased to announce the first recipient of a Berlack/Astle Award for 2021 is Gray Flanagan of West Burke, Vt. Gray is currently a post-grad student at Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) and graduated from Burke Mountain Academy (BMA) in 2020. Gray joins the previous award winners who all possess the skiing talent and positive personal attributes that both Ronnie and Bryce embodied.
Prior to this year, the Berlack/Astle Award was given to one male and one female U16 athlete based on completed applications and recommendations. For 2021, the structure of the Award and the selection process has been changed in a way we that believe will have a more significant impact for the recipients both now and in the future.
WCS will set aside $5,000 annually for the Berlack/Astle Award Fund. The Fund awards grants as needed and available to athletes from either the Eastern or Western/Inter-Mountain Regions who are recommended by U.S. Ski and Snowboard staff from those two regions. The athletes recommended for the grants will have been invited to a U.S. Ski and Snowboard camp or National Development Group (NDG) project and need financial assistance to attend the camp or project. We are confident this approach will have the direct impact we are looking for by helping talented athletes participate in growth opportunities they otherwise would not be able to attend.
Flanagan was recommended to us by Eastern Region staff as a promising alpine athlete who had an opportunity to travel to Europe this spring for a U.S. Ski and Snowboard NDG competition project lasting several weeks. The $2,000 award will allow Flanagan to attend the project by directly funding expenses related to the trip. During the project, Gray will be racing against European talent in 4 different countries with a small group of Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes and three coaches. Among the group of coaches is Rich Smith, Eastern Region Coach, who commented: “It’s always exciting to watch Gray race. He is a fearless competitor in search of speed and charges the fall line. Hard work, grit, and integrity are just a few of the many positive traits Gray possesses. He will be an outstanding role model for future recipients of this prestigious award.”
WCS reached out to Flanagan to inform him of the news just a few days prior to leaving for the project: “I am honored to be receiving the Ronnie Berlack/Bryce Astle Award for 2021 and look forward to representing them in my upcoming races”.
Brad Williams of WCS added “we are thrilled to be able to help talented athletes like Gray who are deep into the U.S. Ski Team program, to have access to the types of travel, training, and racing they need as they work so hard to get to the next level. Like our previous award recipients, we’ll be watching Gray closely and wishing nothing but the best for him both on and off the hill.”
Learn more at www.berlackastleaward.com.
World Cup Supply, Inc has been a partner of ski racing for 30 years and the sport of skiing for 30 years. For more info please contact: bwilliams@worldcupsupply.com
Release courtesy of World Cup Supply, Inc.