U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced nominations for the U.S. Snowboard Team halfpipe, slopestyle, big air and snowboardcross disciplines for the 2021-2022 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season. 

2021-22 U.S. Snowboard Team nominations include 36 pro-level and 15 rookie and development level riders.

Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, and Jamie Anderson approach the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic season with a stronghold on the women’s contest scene. The depth of the men’s slopestyle team is as deep as ever led by rising star Dusty Henricksen and defending Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard. Shaun White will once again represent the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team in pursuit of his fourth Olympic gold medal. White will be joined by veteran Taylor Gold, who will be looking for redemption from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

New to the U.S. Snowboard Team this season is rookie athlete Bea Kim. Kim is a Mammoth Mountain athlete and has a great model to follow with all six U.S. Snowboard Women’s Halfpipe Team members being direct results of the Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team, illustrating the complementary partnership between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the famed California resort.

The U.S. Snowboardcross Team also has new talent hitting the slopes including Tyler Hamel, Cody Winters and Connor Schlegel. Making the jump to the Pro Team is Meghan Tierney and Stacy Gaskill following massive strides in 2020-21. Veterans Faye Gulini, Lindsey Jacobellis, Hagen Kearney, Mick Dierdorff, and Jake Vedder will look to carry momentum from this past season into the heart of the Olympic qualification process. 

Each athlete accepting their nomination to the U.S. Snowboard Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard USANA Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including expert coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high-performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official U.S. Snowboard Team announcement will be made in the fall.

 

U.S. Snowboard Team
2021-22 Team Nominations
(Hometown; Club; USASA Series; Birthdate)

HALFPIPE
PRO TEAM
Men

• Chase Josey (Hailey, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; Big Mountain West Series; 3/31/95)
• Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 11/17/93)
• Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.; Jim Smith Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 2/27/99)
• Joey Okesson (Southbury, Conn.; Okemo Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 8/23/2002)
• Toby Miller (Truckee, Calif; Tahoe Select Snowboard Team; North Tahoe Series; 2/14/00)
• Lucas Foster (Telluride, Colo.; Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 9/17/99)
• Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.; Southern California Series; 3/9/1986)

Women

• Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 4/23/00)
• Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 2/22/00)
• Sonora Alba (San Pedro, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 7/16/2006)

ROOKIE TEAM
Men

• Jack Coyne (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 1/17/2002)
• Jason Wolle (Winter Park, Colo.; Jim Smith Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 11/30/99)
• Fynn Bullock-Womble (Mebane, N.C.; BK Pro; Rocky Mountain Series; 2/3/05)

Women

• Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 10/10/03)
• Alexandria Simsovits (Calabasas, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 9/30/04)
• Bea Kim (Palos Verdes, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 1/25/2007)

SLOPESTYLE / BIG AIR
PRO TEAM
Men

• Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Series; 6/29/00)
• Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 9/7/99)
• Dusty Henricksen (Mammoth Lakes, Calif; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 2/2/03)
• Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.; Great Lakes Snow Series; 9/6/97)
• Judd Henkes (La Jolla, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 4/3/01)
• Brock Crouch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team; Unbound Series; 8/22/99)
• Luke Winkelmann (Blowing Rock, N.C.; Kirk’s Camp; Rocky Mountain Series: 12/18/00)
• Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii; Rocky Mountain Series; 11/22/98)
• Sean FitzSimons (Hood River, Ore.; Mount Bachelor Sports Education Foundation; Central Oregon Series; 9/22/00)

Women

• Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.; South Tahoe Series; 9/13/90)
• Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.; Southern Vermont Series; 9/11/97)
• Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.; Tahoe Select Snowboard Team; Tahoe Series; 8/2/00)
• Ty Schnorrbusch (Monroe Township, N.J.; Tru Snowboarding, Rocky Mountain Series 5/15/02)

ROOKIE TEAM
Men

• Jake Canter (Evergreen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Aspen Snowmass Series; 7/19/03)
• Fynn Bullock-Womble (Mebane, N.C.; BK Pro; Rocky Mountain Series; 2/3/05)
• Liam Johnson (Savage, Minn.; G Team; Upper Midwest Snow Series; 11/26/2004)

Women

• Courtney Rummel (West Bend, Wisc.; Midwest Best Series; 11/12/03)
• Jade Thurgood (Salt Lake City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 1/27/02)
• Addie Gardner (Riegelsville, Penn.; Auburn Ski Club; Maine Mountain Series; 2/19/2002)
• Isabella Gomez (Issaquah, Wash.; Auburn Ski Club; Inland Northwest Series; 9/11/01)

SNOWBOARDCROSS
Men

• Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/30/91)
• Jake Vedder (Pinckney, Mich.; International Snowboard Training Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/16/98)
• Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.; Superior Series; 12/17/81)
• Alex Deibold (Manchester, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 5/8/86)
• Hagen Kearney (Norwood, Colo.; International Snowboard Training Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 11/6/91)
• Senna Leith (Vail, Colo.; International Snowboard Training Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/8/97)  
• Connor Schlegel (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 3/13/2002)
• Cody Winters (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/20/2000)
• Mikey LaCroix (Shrewsbury, Mass.; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Maine Mountain Series; 7/12/98)

Women

• Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 8/19/85)
• Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, Utah; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 3/24/92)
• Meghan Tierney (Eagle, Colo.; Board Stars Race Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 1/15/97)
• Stacy Gaskill (Golden, Colo.; International Snowboard Training Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 5/21/00)  

DEVELOPMENT GROUP
Women

• Livia Molodyh (Hubbard, Ore.; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Mt. Hood Series; 6/30/99)
• Anna Miller (Orem, Utah; International Snowboard Training Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/16/1996)

Men

• Tyler Hamel (Bethel, Maine; Gould Academy; Maine Mountain Series; 7/12/2004)

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Nessa Dziemian is hanging up her competitive mogul skis after six years on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by nessa 🍓 (@nessamnn)

Dziemian was born and raised in Hampstead, N.H., and started skiing with the Loon Mountain Freestyle when she was seven where she “spent every weekend” on the slopes.

“I was just following my family friends and my brother and what they did,” she reflected. “And they went over to freestyle after ski school. I tried it out for a day and fell in love with it.”

After a few years Dziemian moved up to Waterville Valley’s Black & Blue Trail Smashers (WVBBTS) to foster her mogul skiing talent. She won her first of three Junior National Championships with WVBBTS. When she was 16 Dziemian enrolled into Carrabassett Valley Academy in order to focus on her goal of making the U.S. Ski Team. She also skied for Park City Freestyle before achieving that goal. 

Dziemian made the U.S. Ski Team for the 2015-16 season after winning the NorAm Tour and Dual Moguls National Championships (and placing second in Moguls National Championships) the season prior. Over the course of her career, Dziemian had 32 World Cup starts, 10 top-10 World Cup finishes, five National Championships podiums and skied on the 2019 World Championships team. 

Looking back on her career, Dziemian is most proud of helping push the sport forward. “Prior to making the U.S. Ski Team, I was really accomplished in jumping. I was the first female mogul skier to throw a cork 1080 on snow. That was a huge accomplishment in my life.” In her last competition at the 2021 U.S. Moguls Freestyle National Championships, Dziemian won the singles title by throwing a cork mute. She was the first female mogul skier to do so in a run that counted (Kai Owens threw the same trick a few weeks prior at World Championships after DNFing in the beginning of her run). 

“Throughout my career I just tried to push women’s sport and bring (the) joy of the sport to others. I felt like I was able to do that.”

One of Dziemian’s favorite memories speaks to her spirit. “Morgan Schild and I dueled in Apex (this was a NorAm way back when). Morgan is such a good skier. We both skied over the finish line at the same time, and both threw the same tricks: back X to cork 7. We were some of the first girls to throw these tricks, and this was even cooler because in a dual. Being that close, neck in neck, the whole time was pretty sweet. I’ll never forget that.”

Dziemian is grateful for the opportunity to have skied for her country, to be part of the best women’s mogul ski team in the world, and the many lasting friendships forged on snow in the bump lane. She thanks her family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff and fans for their support.

Dziemian is excited for the next chapter, which will take place in Canada, at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, in Vancouver, B.C. Dziemian plans to study illustration and looks forward to bringing people joy through design. 

Follow Dziemian’s personal Instagram account @nessamnn as she creates her planned freelance business and new website. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Freestyle Ski Team nominations for the 2021-20 Olympic season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season. Twenty-seven aerials and moguls athletes have been nominated to the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. 

The 2021-22 team is highlighted by an experienced group of World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic athletes, including three-time Olympian and three-time World Championships medalist Ashley Caldwell; World Cup winner Winter Vinecki; and the women’s mogul #powHERhouse, who finished 2020-21 with four ranked in the top six overall: Hannah Soar (3), Kai Owens (4), Jaelin Kauf (5) and Tess Johnson (6). 

There is no such thing as an off season in the lead-up to the world’s premier winter sporting event, and athletes are already hard at work preparing for their chance to represent the red, white and blue at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Moguls is skiing the #LongestSeasonInUtah at Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, for their first on-snow prep camp. Aerials is back to lifting and trampoline training at the USANA Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. Both teams will be in residence throughout the summer at Official Training Site Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. 

The 2021-22 FIS Freestyle World Cup calendar is expected to be confirmed by the International Ski Federation (FIS) later this month. The 2022 Olympic Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 4-20 in Beijing, featuring Team Aerials, a new Olympic medal opportunity for those athletes.

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the USANA Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official U.S. Freestyle Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2021-22 Freestyle Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

U.S. Mogul Ski Team
Men

• Casey Andringa (Boulder, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/6/95)
• Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 12/15/97)
• Joel Hedrick (Fort Collins, Colo.; Winter Park Competition Center; 5/30/97)
• Alex Lewis (Carlisle, Mass.; Killington Mountain School; 11/16/99)
• Nick Page (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 8/1/02)
• Landon Wendler (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Winter Sports Club; 10/12/2000)
• Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.; Wasatch Freestyle; 6/5/92)

Women

• Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/15/00)
• Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 6/19/00)
• Kasey Hogg (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 1/8/2003)
• Madison Hogg (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 2/15/2001)
• Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 9/26/96)
• Kai Owens (Vail, Colo.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 8/16/04)
• Morgan Schild (Pittsford, N.Y.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 8/25/97)
• Hannah Soar (Somers, Conn.; Killington Mountain School; 6/4/99)

U.S. Aerial Ski Team
Men

• Quinn Dehlinger (Cincinnati, Ohio; Elite Aerial Development Program; 6/8/02)
• Chris Lillis (Pittsford, N.Y.; Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team; 10/4/98)
• Eric Loughran (Pelham, N.H.; Loon Mountain Freestyle; 12/4/95)
• Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 8/13/98)

Women

• Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 9/14/93)
• Karenna Elliott (Cincinnati, Ohio; Park City Ski and Snowboard, 5/24/00)
• Kaila Kuhn (Boyne City, Mich.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 4/8/03)
• Dani Loeb (Pintlala, Ala.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 8/10/01)
• Megan Nick (Shelburne, Vt,; Elite Aerial Development Program; 7/9/96)
• Megan Smallhouse (Reno, Nev.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 1/16/01)
• Tasia Tanner (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 7/26/02)
• Winter Vinecki (Gaylord, Mich.; Park City Ski and Snowboard; 12/18/98)

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Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athlete Rosie Brennan sat down with the FIS to reflect on the past season.

#fiscrosscountry​ athletes can be so proud of what they achieve over and over again, taking one step at a time. It's been a long way and the FIS takes a look back with Brennan and what she would tell her younger self.

We are excited to announce that registration is now OPEN for the 2021 Club Excellence Conference!

We invite all club leaders, coaches, board members, volunteers, officials and others to join us in a collaborative day of learning. Presentations will include strategically curated content based on the three pillars of Athletics, Business/Operations, and Community/Culture. Coaches who attend will receive 8 continuing education credits to keep certifications current.

Monday, May 17th, 2021 

10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

Schedule – *Subject to change - check back as we will be posting more detail in the near future. 


Registration Options:

• Individual registration: $40.00: REGISTER HERE
• Group of 5-9 attendees 5% discount
• Group of 10+ attendees 10% discount 
• If you are interested in the conference, but cannot join the live date – you can still register and will receive all communication, recordings and resources from the conference and you will still qualify for continuing education credit.

For group rates please contact anna.hosmer@usskiandsnowboard.org with a list of attendees and emails then call 435.647.2050 to register. Participants on your list will still need to register individually to gain access to the webinar join link but will be provided a coupon code for pre-paid registration. 

Thank you to our Title Sponsor World Cup Supply

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team nominations for the 2021-22 Olympic season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

The 2021-22 team is highlighted by an experienced group of World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic athletes, including Olympic gold medalist and 2021 FIS Overall Champion Jessie Diggins; two-time World Cup winner Rosie Brennan; and 2020 FIS Junior World Championship double-gold medalist Gus Schumacher.

Schumacher, who just two years ago was a member of the Development Team, moved from the B Team up to the A Team following a break-out season that included more than a dozen top-30 World Cup results. JC Schoonmaker, who was on the Development Team last season, also joins Schumacher on the A Team this season after posting numerous top 30 World Cup results. Diggins, Brennan, and Hailey Swirbul, who picked up her first career World Cup podium last season, were also nominated to the A Team.

B Team nominations include Julia Kern, Katharine Ogden, Kevin Bolger, Scott Patterson, Logan Hanneman, and Sydney Palmer-Leger, who moves up from the Development Team.

The 2021-22 team features 10 Development Team athletes, including numerous members with junior and U23 World Championships medals to their credit. Zanden McMullen joins the Development Team this season following his results at the 2021 Junior World Championships, including a fifth-place result in the 10 km skate. Also returning to the Development Team are Sophia Laukli, who competed in her first World Cup races, and the 2021 World Championships this past season; and Hannan Halvorsen, who also competed in her first World Cup races - scoring World Cup points in the freestyle sprint events.

Athletes nominated to the team will all be invited to the first training camp of the season May 15-28 at Mt. Bachelor / Bend, Oregon. Team training camps will follow July 25 through Aug. 7 on Eagle Glacier in Alaska; and October 4-18 in Park City, Utah. The 2021-22 FIS Cross Country World Cup season kicks off Nov. 26-29 in Ruka, Finland. The 2022 Olympic Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 4-20 in Beijing.

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the USANA Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2021-22 Cross Country Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM
Women

• Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Ski Nordic Center; 12/21/88)
• Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 8/26/91)
• Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 7/10/98)

Men

• Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00)
• JC Schoonmaker (Tahoe City, Calif; University of Alaska Anchorage/Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy; 8/12/00)

B TEAM
Women

• Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 9/12/97)
• Katharine Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 11/17/97)
• Sydney Palmer-Leger (Park City, Utah; Sun Valley Gold Team/University of Utah; 2/4/2002)

Men

• Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Gold Team; 4/11/93)
• Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 1/28/92)
• Logan Hanneman (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 6/2/93)

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Women

• Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 2/19/98)
• Novie McCabe (Winthrop, Wash.; Methow Valley Nordic Team/University of Utah; 12/15/01)
• Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars/University of Alaska Fairbanks; 6/25/02)
• Sophia Laukli (Yarmouth, Maine; Middlebury College; 6/8/00)

Men

• Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho; Sun Valley Gold Team; 10/1/2001)
• Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center/University of Utah; 1/17/00)
• Noel Keeffe (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/University of Utah; 8/24/99)
• Zanden McMullin (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center/Montana State University; 5/31/2001)
• Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team/University of Vermont; 2/13/00)
• Hunter Wonders (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 8/7/98)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the U.S. Alpine Ski Team nominations for the 2021-22 competition season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin and Bormio, Italy super-G victor Ryan Cochran-Siegle are among 44 athletes nominated to represent the U.S. Ski Team for the 2021-22 season. The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team had more depth during the 2020-21 season than they’ve experienced in years, grabbing 18 podiums and four victories across five athletes—led by Shiffrin, with three victories, and Cochran-Siegle with two podiums and his career-first World Cup victory. 

Add to that four World Championship medals for Shiffrin, two World Junior Championship medals, including Ben Ritchie’s gold in slalom and AJ Hurt’s bronze in slalom, and career-first podiums by Paula Moltzan in the parallel and Breezy Johnson with four-straight third-place finishes in downhill, and it’s clear the team was absolutely firing from all cylinders and feeding off of each other’s success. Let’s not forget continued success by 2019 Xfinity Birds of Prey victor Tommy Ford, who snagged second place in an early-season Santa Caterina, Italy’s giant slalom. 

During the 2020-21 season at the World Cup level, the North American events—including the much-anticipated Homelight Killington Cup in Killington, Vt., Xfinity Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek, Colo., and Lake Louise speed series—were sadly canceled, in an effort to minimize travel and find efficiencies in an already complicated nearly 80-race schedule. The NorAm calendar was impossible as well, due to travel restrictions between the United States and Canada. The crew looks forward to 2021-22, hoping for more normalcy and a return to the North American races.  

The 2021-22 season will kick off with the FIS Ski World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria October 23-24, and will feature the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, from February 4-20, 2022. Due to COVID-19, the Olympic test events in 2020 and 2021 were canceled, so both the men and the women will head into the Olympics without having skied the tracks.  

The 44 athletes nominated will be supported by a strong coaching staff, committed to “winning at every level,” which is Alpine Director Jesse Hunt’s mantra. “We are inspired by this group of nominated athletes that not only endured but excelled in one of the most difficult seasons in memory. They persevered through a pandemic and remained determined to achieve greatness in spite of the daily challenges. It is a truly extraordinary group and we are proud to announce their nomination to the team in an Olympic year.”

Alpine athletes at all levels and across disciplines have already begun training for the 2021-22 season, kicking off pre-season camps at Official Training Sites Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley in California. 

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high-performance staff, and education opportunities.

A 2021-22 staff announcement will be forthcoming, while an official U.S. Alpine Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2021-22 U.S. Alpine Ski Team Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM
Women

• Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho; Rowmark Ski Academy; 1/19/1996)
• Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, Minn.; Buck Hill Ski Team/Ski and Snowboard Club Vail and University of Vermont; 4/7/1994)
• Nina O’Brien (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Squaw Valley Ski Team; 11/29/1997)
• Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 3/13/1995)

Men

• Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 7/14/1992)
• Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club; 3/27/1992)
• Tommy Ford (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation; 3/20/1989)
• Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 7/14/1988)
• Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard/Sundance Ski Team; 2/12/1982)                     

B TEAM
Women

• Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 4/4/1999)
• AJ Hurt (Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 12/5/2000)
• Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.; Attitash Race Team/Stratton Mountain School; 10/5/1996)
• Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, Ore.; White Pass Ski Club; 7/13/1992)
• Isabella Wright (Salt Lake City, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 2/10/1997)

Men

• Erik Arvidsson (Woodside, CA; Squaw Valley Ski Team and Middlebury College; 9/3/1996)
• Sam DuPratt (Park City, UT; Park City Ski Education Foundation; 11/28/1993)  
• Bridger Gile (Aspen, Colo., Aspen Valley Ski Club/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/15/1999)
• Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 6/15/1991)
• Jimmy Krupka (Waitsfield, Vt.; Green Mountain Valley School and Dartmouth College (7/15/1998)
• Sam Morse (Carrabassett Valley, Maine; Carrabassett Valley Academy; 5/27/1996)
• Kyle Negomir (Littleton, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/3/1998)
• River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 2/12/1998)
• Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, VT; Green Mountain Valley School; 9/5/2000)
• Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and University of Denver Ski Team; 11/5/1998)
• Luke Winters (Gresham, Ore.; Sugar Bowl Academy; 4/2/1997)

C TEAM
Women

• Katie Hensien (Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy; 12/1/1999)
• Nicola Rountree-Williams (Edwards, Colo.; Loveland Ski Area; 7/7/2002)
• Zoe Zimmermann (Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy; 5/16/2002)

Men

• Isaiah Nelson (Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club; 4/3/2001)

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Women

• Mary Bocock (Salt Lake City, UT; Rowmark Ski Academy; 10/3/2003)*
• Ava Sunshine Jemison (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy; 6/20/2002)*
• Storm Klomhaus (Boulder, Colo.; Team X Alpine and University of Denver Ski Team; 7/17/1998)
• Lauren Macuga (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 7/4/2002)
• Allie Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 9/1/2001)
• Emma Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 7/23/2003)
• Dasha Romanov (Thornton, Colo.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 5/3/2003)*
• Alix Wilkinson (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team; 8/2/2000)

Men

• Justin Bigatel (Park City, UT; Burke Mountain Academy; 4/29/2003)*
• Camden Palmquist (Eagan, Minn.; Team Summit Colorado; 4/15/2003)*
• Trent Pennington (Shalimar, Fla.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 5/8/2002)
• Jay Poulter (Bondville, Vt.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/Stratton Mountain School; 7/1/2003)*
• Cooper Puckett (Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 3/31/2003)*
• Ryder Sarchett (Ketchum, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 7/28/2003)*
• Jack Smith (Sun Valley, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/24/2001)

*Newly named to the U.S. Ski Team

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To say that the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team experienced a historical season, would be an understatement! This past season, the team racked up two World Cup overall titles; the first American FIS Tour de Ski overall victory, five World Cup victories, and 14 World Cup podiums.

Most importantly, many of the younger athletes took advantage of numerous World Cup and World Championship starts to score numerous top 30 results, and gain a significant amount of experience competing against the best athletes in the world.

With the COVID pandemic eliminating all pre-season team camps, shuffling the World Cup schedule, and severely restricting the amount of pre-season on-snow training, the team went into the 2020-21 season with cautious optimism. Some normalcy was found as the traditional season-opening event took place in Ruka, Finland, however, it pretty much ended there as the second World Cup of the season in the Nordic hotbed of Lillehammer, Norway, was canceled due to the pandemic.

Not all was lost early-season though. A number of U.S. athletes live and train in Anchorage, and thanks to early-season snow, they came into Ruka with a number of on-snow days, ready to fight for results. Rosie Brennan and Hailey Swirbul opened the season with top-20 classic sprint results in Ruka, then Brennan backed that up with an eighth-place finish in the 10k classic, followed by a fifth-place finish in the 10k freestyle pursuit to finish fifth overall in the Ruka Mini Tour. On the men’s side, Gus Schumacher flashed a glimpse of what was to come for the remainder of the season, picking up his first career World Cup points with a 24-place “Time of Day” result in the 15k pursuit.

Following a rare week off, Brennan came into the second World Cup event of the season in Davos, Switzerland, on fire - taking not only her first World Cup victory in the freestyle sprint, but her second career World Cup win the following day in the 10k freestyle. As a bonus, she also shared the podium with her teammate as Swirbul picked up her first career podium result, finishing third. Brennan also took the overall World Cup leader’s bib and both the sprint and distance leader’s bibs. 

Davos provided a huge turning point for the Americans as 10 U.S. athletes scored World Cup points in the sprint, including Logan Hanneman, who posted a career-best World Cup result in ninth; Kevin Bolger in 13th; Simi Hamilton in 14th; JC Schoonmaker a career-best 18th; and Schumacher with a career-best sprint result in 25th. Sophie Caldwell Hamilton also finished fifth; Julia Kern was 11th; Jessie Diggins 13th; and Swirbul was 19th. Hannah Halvorsen finished 38th in her return to World Cup racing.

Caldwell Hamilton racked up the team’s fourth podium of the season, taking second in the freestyle sprint in Dresden, Germany. Meanwhile, Halvorsen picked up her first career World Cup points, advancing to the heats and finishing a career-best 23rd.

Heading into the 15th Annual FIS Tour de Ski, Diggins was just finding her form for the season’s first big goal - “My goal is to give it a really good, honest shot at an overall podium,” she said prior to the first event. After finishing third in the opening sprint, Diggins grabbed her second-straight podium, finishing third in the 10k classic mass start, with Brennan in sixth. The next day proved historic, with Diggins and Brennan going 1-2 in the freestyle pursuit and the overall standings. Diggins and Brennan went 1-2 again as the Tour moved to Italy in the 10k individual freestyle. Meanwhile, Schumacher skied an impressive race, leading the U.S. men in the 15k freestyle and finishing a World Cup career-best 14th. 

Halfway into the eight-stage event, Diggins and Brennan were sitting 1-2 in the overall standings, with Schumacher poised to post the best U.S. men’s finish in the history of the TdS. In the final three events, Diggins held her lead, Schumacher posted a career-best 8th-place in the 15k classic mass start, and Brennan got bit by the bad luck bug but rallied to finish sixth overall. Schumacher finished 19th in the final stage to post the best Tour de Ski finish ever for an American man; Swirbul finished 18th overall; and Katharine Ogden finished a career-best 23rd overall. But of course, the big story was Diggins’ overall victory - the first for an American!

“Wow!” Diggins said after completing her eighth Tour de Ski and taking a huge lead in the overall World Cup standings. “This is a lifelong goal...it really means a lot.”

Just a couple of weeks after her historic TdS win, Diggins achieved the season’s most impressive victory in Falun, Sweden, winning the 10k freestyle individual start against a staked World Cup field that included Norway’s Therese Johaug, who finished second, by just 2.1 seconds. Schumacher also posted another top-10 World Cup result, finishing ninth in the men’s 15k. Diggins added another World Cup podium the following weekend in Sweden, further extending her World Cup lead.

With the remaining World Cup schedule in flux, all eyes turned to the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. And while the Americans did not win a medal at the World Champs, there were numerous incredible performances, from Diggins fourth-place finish in the 10k freestyle; to Sadie Maubet Bjornsen and Rosie Brennan teaming up to finish fifth in the team sprint, and Diggins, Brennan, Maubet Bjornsen and Swirbul finishing fourth in the team relay. 

Not to be overshadowed by the women, the U.S. men put up some impressive results at the World Champs. In the men’s team relay, Simi Hamilton, David Norris, Scott Patterson, and Schumacher teamed up to post the best 4x10k relay finish in decades for the Americans, finishing eighth. Add in Patterson’s 10th-place finish, and Norris’s 16th place result in the 50k classic, and the U.S. men had a lot to cheer about.

Other notable World Championship results included Sophia Laukli posting three top-30 results in her first World Championships; Ben Ogden finishing 17th in the classic sprint; and Hunter Wonders 31st in the skiathlon and 37th in the 50k classic.

But the icing on the season’s cake was Jessie Diggins becoming only the second American to win the FIS Cross Country overall World Cup Crystal Globe, and the first American woman to win the title. 

 

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin recently caught up with USA Today's Nancy Armour to reflect on the unprecedented 2020-21 season for an article entitled, "Mikaela Shiffrin finds a way through grief after father's sudden death." 

In the article, Shiffrin shared just how emotional her first FIS Ski World Cup victory (in Courchevel, France) since her father's passing was, 

The tears came even before Mikaela Shiffrin won her first race this past season.

She always takes a nap or meditates between runs and, when she awoke that December day in Courchevel, France, she found herself crying because she could feel what was coming and she knew the flood of emotions it would bring.

It wasn’t that it would be her first win in almost a year. Or that it would come after a back injury she feared would threaten her career. Or that it would be in the midst of a pandemic that had upended her and everyone else’s worlds.

The win, in giant slalom, would be her first victory since the unexpected February 2020 death of her father, Jeff, whose low-key presence loomed large throughout every aspect of the two-time Olympic champion’s life.

They also discussed Shiffrin's involvement with the inception and success of the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund, which raised $3,075,000 for all U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes across all sports. 

Shiffrin has always been introspective – and refreshingly open with her thoughts – and plans to spend part of this summer examining what she can do to restore that emotional energy she lost. But she also knows there’s no shortcutting the grieving process, that it’s simply going to take time.

One thing that did help was the response to the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund, which raised more than $3 million. As a result, each named U.S. Ski & Snowboard athlete received a one-time payment of $1,300 to help get them through COVID-19.

What began as a way for Shiffrin, her mother and brother to honor Jeff Shiffrin and channel their sorrow soon became a kind of communal therapy. Teammates chimed in with their own experiences and inspirations. People outside the sport reached out to Shiffrin to share their stories and what had helped them.

“I didn’t expect the response to be quite so strong,” Shiffrin said. “Hearing what other people have been through, it helps you gain perspective. It helped me gain perspective.

“It was pretty incredible just to be a part of it,” she added. “It just felt really connected at time we felt so isolated. That was something that brought connection, so that was pretty incredible.”

And it reminded Shiffrin that the human spirit is strong enough to withstand just about anything, even if it seems impossible in the moment.

Based on Shiffrin's recent training at Official Training Sites Squaw Valley and Mammoth Mountain, Calif., the 2021-22 season is going to be very, very exciting. As she says in voiceover on a recent post, "See that doesn't look like a girl who's given up...that looks like a girl who's just getting started."

 

 

 

 

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Read the full article on USA Today. 

Despite the fact that the 2020-21 season was full of new and uncharted territories, from thousands of nose swabs, stacks of paperwork to get from point A to point B, to mask-wearing on the podium and social distancing, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team also experienced new and uncharted territory on the mountain—depth like we haven't experienced in a long time. 

As the domestic schedule was affected by the global pandemic and NorAms were nonexistent, younger athletes hopped the pond and spent a majority of their season in Europe, getting invaluable experience on the road and a glimpse into what their future will look like on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit. They drove from International Ski Federation (FIS) races to Europa Cups, in search of points-scoring opportunities, and enjoyed that amazing Italian pizza and coffee along the way. 

At the World Cup level, the North American events—including the much-anticipated Homelight Killington Cup in Killington, Vt., Xfinity Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek, Colo., and Lake Louise speed series—were sadly canceled, in an effort to minimize travel and find efficiencies in an already complicated nearly 80-race schedule. The events were relocated to Europe, and though the North American World Cups signal the kickoff to the bulk of the World Cup season, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team didn’t seem to skip a beat. In fact, the team kicked off the season with a bang. 

With an already challenging European-centric schedule, American alpine athletes found themselves living out of duffel bags for up to six months at a time. In a normal season, most athletes are able to at least go home once during the season, but this season was far from normal. Since travel back and forth between Europe and the United States was limited, so too was the ability for athletes to sneak in a break at home. And so, it was months on end of schnitzel, semmel rolls, salami, and Servus greetings in the morning. Nevertheless, the alpine crew showed their resilience. 

At the highest level, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team grabbed 18 podiums and four victories across five athletes—led by two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin, with three victories, and Olympian Ryan Cochran-Siegle with two podiums and his career-first World Cup victory. Add to that four World Championship medals for Shiffrin, two World Junior Championship medals, including Ben Ritchie’s gold in slalom and AJ Hurt’s bronze in slalom, and career-first podiums by Paula Moltzan in the parallel and Breezy Johnson with four-straight third-place finishes in downhill, and it’s clear the team was absolutely firing from all cylinders and feeding off of each other’s success. Let’s not forget continued success by 2019 Xfinity Birds of Prey victor Tommy Ford, who snagged second place in an early-season Santa Caterina, Italy’s giant slalom.  

Digging a bit deeper, and perhaps most impressively, there were firsts of all kinds—from returns to the mountain after injury or heartache and loss, to career-first points, top-10s, podiums, victories...and there were also devastating season-ending injuries. Every single day of the season seemed like an amalgamation of skyscraper-high highs and crushing heartbreaking lows. It was a rollercoaster we collectively wanted to ride forever while simultaneously wanting to exit stage left at any and all of its emotion-inducing twists and turns. Perhaps there are two words that can sum it all up: wild and unprecedented. 

From veterans like Laurenne Ross, Alice McKennis Duran, and Jackie Wiles, to young athletes hungry to make their mark like Keely Cashman and Kyle Negomir...the early season injuries were brutal. Then there was Sam Dupratt’s violent crash in the second of two downhill training runs at Val Gardena, Italy, where he sustained bilateral lower extremity injuries, Ford’s horrific crash at in the giant slalom at Adelboden, Switzerland, and Cochran-Siegle’s fall through the nets in the fastest section of the course in the downhill at Kitzbuehel, Austria, after leading in the top splits and winning the first of two downhill training runs. 

It was just...a lot. Of everything. A lot of nose swabs. A lot of paperwork. A lot of success. A lot of heartbreak. A lot. 

So let’s talk about the good stuff, shall we?! Moltzan and teammate Nina O’Brien started the season off on fire, grabbing a 10th and 15th, respectively, in giant slalom at Solden, Austria. Keely Cashman scored her first World Cup points and first top-20 and top-10 all in one weekend at Val d’Isere, France in December: 17th in downhill, 16th in downhill, and then 10th in super-G. It just kept getting better. Best bud and teammate AJ Hurt scored her first World Cup points in the parallel at Lech Zeurs, Austria, finishing 25th...but then grabbed a top-20 (18th) in Courchevel, France in giant slalom. The 20-year-old Hurt would go on to score points six times across four disciplines: slalom, parallel slalom, giant slalom, and super-G this winter. She also snagged herself a bronze at World Junior Championships...in slalom. 

Moltzan and O’Brien kept the momentum going all season long, with personal best after personal best. Moltzan’s season was highlighted by a top-five in the slalom at Are, Sweden, and she ended up ranked a career-best 11th in the world in slalom. O’Brien had a career-best ninth in Flachau, Austria, and 12th in giant slalom in Lenzerheide, Switzerland...but it was her World Championships performance that blew everyone away. Behind teammate Shiffrin, she had the second-fastest first run. She ended up 10th after a sizable mistake at the finish, but she’s got her sights set on the podium. 

Newly named to the team for 2020-21, Bella Wright scored her first World Cup points at St. Anton, Austria in the downhill, in her teammate McKennis Duran’s honor. She went on to score eight times across downhill and super-G, finishing with a career-best 14th place at Val di Fassa, Italy in the downhill. 

And let’s talk about Breezy Johnson...dang. She started by grabbing her career-first FIS Ski World Cup podium in Val d'Isere, France in December, and scored four consecutive podiums from there. In six downhill starts, she was top five in five starts and only DNFed once. Despite a big mistake at FIS Ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where she was the favorite, she ended up in ninth...but was gunning for the win. She finished the season with a career-best super-G result in 10th at Val di Fassa, Italy, and ended up ranked fourth in the world in downhill—her best-ever ranking. Aside from teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, and former teammate and downhill legend Lindsey Vonn, Johnson is the first American to crack the top five in the women’s World Cup downhill standings in the last five years.

On the men’s side, Travis Ganong kicked the season off with a bang, matching a career-best fourth in super-G at Val d’Isere, France. Bryce Bennett matched his career-best with a fourth-place in the downhill at Val Gardena. That same day, Cochran-Siegle stood on the podium in second for the first time in what will undoubtedly be a promising career. Jared Goldberg was a career-best sixth, while Sam Morse grabbed his career-first World Cup points in 29th. Up next? Bormio. Cochran-Siegle carried that momentum and his career-best eighth place in super-G at Val Gardena led to a first-ever super-G victory at Bormio, Italy—ending a 14-year drought to become the first American male to win a World Cup super-G since Bode Miller in Dec. 2006. 

Morse also grabbed a third-place—sharing the podium with teammate Erik Arvidsson, who won—and a fourth place in Europa Cup downhills. 2016 World Juniors downhill champion Arvidsson joined the men’s speed team as an invitee for the season, and made quite the mark, finishing in the top six in all four Europa Cup downhills he started, including two victories. As the only male athlete to have skied NCAA and successfully transitioned to the World Cup circuit, he proved he belongs there, grabbing his first World Cup points, top-20, top-15, and top-10 in one fell swoop ending up eighth in the downhill at Saalbach, Austria. 

River Radamus came to play this season, stepping up as veteran teammates fell injured, scoring consistently in giant slalom, highlighted by an 11th place at his first World Championships bid, and a career-best 14th to finish off the season in Bansko, Bulgaria. Luke Winters matched a career-best 19th in slalom at Chamonix, France, while the young slalom team continued to show their progression, as teammate Ben Ritchie won World Juniors and snagged a top-15 at World Championships. 

Last but certainly not least...Shiffrin. It was a season of unknowns and a lack of a prep period, but Shiffrin still walked away with numerous records and—perhaps more importantly—a joy for the sport of ski racing and the fire to win, once again. Shiffrin’s season was highlighted by the four World Championships medals she won at Cortina 2021 (a career-best World Champs), as she became the first skier—male or female—to win four medals at the World Championships in 14 years, the most decorated American alpine skier in World Championships history (11 medals), with the most World Championship gold medals for American alpine skier (six gold). 

However, it was the giant slalom victory in Courchevel, France, that was the most emotional for Shiffrin. One year prior she finished a disappointing 17th in giant slalom on the track. This season she would be competing without her father Jeff, and void of the opportunity to text him after she won...her first win since before her father passed away in February of 2020. Collapsing to the ground as she won by .85 seconds, Shiffrin felt a mix of emotions. She recently told Nancy Armour with USA Today, that she thought between runs, “This is going to be the first race I win without him saying anything. Without being able to call him,” Shiffrin said, recalling her thinking that day. “This is the start of the rest of my ski career without one of the biggest pieces of my ski career." Despite limiting her schedule to tech this season, Shiffrin was still fourth in the overall, second in the slalom standings, and surprised even herself when she finished second in the giant slalom standings. With an early start to the 2021-22 season, Shiffrin is feeling good and next season should be very exciting to watch. 

We'd be remiss not to mention the four veterans and legends who retired this season, including two-time Olympic champion Ted Ligety, St. Anton World Cup victor Mckennis Duran, two-time podium finisher Ross, and three-time Olympian Resi Stiegler. McKennis Duran and Ross went out in style at U.S. Alpine Championships in Aspen, Colo, as did Stiegler, with her first national slalom title since 2017.

It was a season full of ups and downs, but the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team’s depth was stronger than ever and the athletes are feeding off of each other’s success and positive vibes. Fans have a lot to be stoked about, as the 2021-22 season is already underway, with training camps at Official Training Sites in Mammoth and Squaw, Calif. Buckle up! 

Until then, relive all the top moments of the year below.

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