U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named 15 promising athletes to the 2020 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships Team to represent the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Narvik, Norway, in six events March 5-14.

The 2020 squad is derived from the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team B, C, D teams, and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard National Development Group, as well as top U.S. Ski & Snowboard club program athletes from across the nation. Headlining this year's team are 2019 Junior Worlds' silver medalists Ben Ritchie, AJ Hurt, and Katie Hensien, and current NorAM overall leaders Keely Cashman and Bridger Gile. 

Last year at Junior Worlds in Val di Fassa, Italy, the American men's junior team put forth a best in the world effort. River Radamus took home gold in super-G and giant slalom, while teammate Ben Ritchie grabbed silver in slalom, and the team of Katie, AJ, River, and Ben was second in the mixed team parallel event. Keely finished just off the podium in the alpine combined, in fourth, and AJ and Katie each had top-10 results. Keely and Bridger are leading in the current overall NorAm standings. Bridger is also leading in giant slalom and alpine combined, while Keely is first in downhill. 

"We are excited to name a team of both experienced and first-time athletes to the 2020 World Junior Ski Championships," said Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Development Director Chip Knight. "Four of the 15 athletes have had top-10 results in past WJSC events, six have won NorAm races this year, and all of them have performed well in NorAm Cup races. We are aiming for strong individual performances and a podium finish in the Marc Hodler overall team standings." 

In 2019, Switzerland won the Marc Hodler Trophy, with 107 points, followed by Norway with 86 points, and the U.S. rounding out the podium with 80 points. The U.S. has been steadily working towards the podium, getting fifth in the standings in Åre, Sweden in 2017, and fourth in Davos, Switzerland in 2018. 

The 2020 Junior Worlds will include men and women’s downhill, super-G, alpine combined, slalom, giant slalom, and a mixed team event. Live timing will be provided by FIS.

2020 FIS ALPINE JUNIOR WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Name, Hometown; Team Affiliation; Club (Birthdate)

Women

• Keely Cashman, Strawberry, Calif; Squaw Valley Ski Team (4/4/1999)
• Katie Hensien, Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy and University of Denver (12/1/1999)
• Olivia Holm, Old Greenwich, Conn.; Burke Mountain Academy (7/12/2001)
• AJ Hurt, Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (12/5/2000)
• Lauren Macuga, Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard Club (7/4/2002)
• Nicola Rountree-Williams, Edwards, Colo.; Independent/Private (7/7/2002) 
• Alix Wilkinson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (8/2/2000)
• Zoe Zimmermann, Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy (5/16/2002)

Men

• Jacob Dilling, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/19/1999)
• Bridger Gile, Aspen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski Club and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/15/1999)
• Matthew Macaluso, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (6/29/1999)
• Isaiah Nelson, Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club (4/3/2001)
• Ben Ritchie, Waitsfield, Vt.; Green Mountain Valley School (9/5/2000)
• Jack Smith, Sun Valley, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (4/24/2001)
• Bradshaw Underhill, Newbury, N.H.; Killington Mountain School (3/10/2000)

NARVIK 2020 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 5 – Women's and men's downhill training
March 6  – Women's and men's downhill training
March 7  – Women's and men's downhill 
March 8  – Women's and men's super-G
March 9  – Women’s alpine combined
March 10  – Men’s alpine combined
March 11  – Women’s giant slalom
March 12  – Men’s giant slalom 
March 13  – Women's and men's slalom 
March 14  – Mixed Parallel Team Event

MORE INFORMATION
Narvik 2020 Official Website
Narvik 2020 Promotional Video

VAL DI FASSA 2019 MEDAL TALLY
Gold, Super-G, River Radamus
Silver, Team Event, Katie Hensien, AJ Hurt, River Radamus and Ben Ritchie 
Gold, Giant Slalom, River Radamus
Silver, Slalom, Ben Ritchie
Bronze, Marc Hodler Trophy, Team

OTHER TOP TEN 2019 RESULTS
4th, Alpine Combined, Keely Cashman
4th, Alpine Combined, River Radamus
5th, Super-G, Keely Cashman
6th, Slalom, Jimmy Krupka
6th, Downhill, Kyle Negomir
7th, Giant Slalom, AJ Hurt
8th, Downhill, River Radamus
8th, Alpine Combined, Kyle Negomir
10th, Slalom, Jett Seymour
10th, Slalom, Katie Hensien
10th, Downhill, AJ Hurt

In a wet and wild Stage 2 of Ski Tour 2020, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins led four Davis U.S. Ski Team athletes into the top 25 in Sunday’s 10k classic pursuit. But at the end of the day, the real winners were the U.S. Ski & Snowboard wax technicians.

“Rain turning to snow about five minutes before the start is everyone’s worst nightmare on a classic day,” said Rosie, who finished 10th, with Jessie in 11th, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen 19th and Hailey Swirbul in 24th. 

“Thanks to the tech team for putting wonderful skis together given the absolute craziness coming out of the sky,” noted Sadie, who recovered from a stomach bug that knocked her back quite a bit before the opening stage. “With a snow-rain downpour, I was feeling right at home strapping classic skis on my feet and heading out into the misery. I have spent plenty of days in this exact condition during summer training up on Eagle Glacier, so I was trying to channel every bit of internal strength I could find. The fact that I was able to work my way up to 19th today, and had encouraging feelings in a somewhat depleted version of myself is something I will take and run with.”

With Sunday’s classic pursuit start times based on Saturday’s opening stage 10k results, Jessie and Rosie started eighth and ninth, respectively, and worked with the second group of skiers to maintain their pace.

“I started calm and controlled to see what the tracks were going to be like and what my skis were going to do and upon realizing that my skis were working great and it was hard to break away with fresh snow in the tracks, I bridged you to the next group,” Rosie said. “I remained there throughout the race and tried my best to break away, but with the falling snow it was truly difficult to make any ground.”

Starting before the women’s 10k Sunday, the men raced a 15k classic pursuit without the rain-snow challenges. David Norris was the top American finisher for the second-consecutive stage, moving up two places from Saturday’s result to finish 34th Sunday. Simi Hamilton also improved on his 46th-place result from Saturday, finishing 43rd Sunday.

“I felt great today, but didn’t ski the smartest race,” said David. “I got impatient and pushed hard on the second lap costing me some time in the final couple kilometers. On the other hand, my skis were running great and I felt strong. I’m now looking forward to the next several days.”

The athletes will enjoy a rest day Monday before Tuesday’s Stage 3 sprint at the base of the alpine slopes in Åre, Sweden. 

“I am excited to have a day to recover and fill up my tank,” added Sadie. “An imperfect start will just fuel me with extra fight for the days to come!”

RESULTS
Stage 2 
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

STANDINGS (Through Stage 2)
Women
Men

Ski Tour 202 Schedule:
Monday, Feb. 17
Rest day

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Stage 3 Åre, SWE
Freestyle sprint

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Travel day

Thursday, Feb. 20
Stage 4 Storlien, SWE (start) to Meråker, NOR (finish)
Freestyle 38k both men and women

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Tuesday, Feb. 17
10:15 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s sprint, Åre, SWE - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 19
4:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meråker, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meråker, NOR - 5:00 a.m. - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

It was a tough day for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with no Americans qualifying for the second run in Sunday's slalom. However, despite missing the last five FIS Ski World Cup races, Mikaela Shiffrin maintained her lead in the overall standings. 

Paula Moltzan, who has been skiing fast in training, straddled, while Nina O'Brien was skiing solid on the top of the first run, but "made a mistake and couldn't get her rhythm back," explained coach Magnus Andersson. Nina did not qualify for a second run. 

Swede Anna Swenn Larsson had everyone amped, having had the fastest first run. After the first run, Slovakia's Petra Vlhova was sitting in fourth, .92 seconds back. However, Petra stepped on the gas second run, moving ahead of both Switzerland's Wendy Holdener (who ended up second) and Norway's Nina Haver-Loeseth (who moved back to fourth). All eyes on the Swede, Anna, as she made a valiant effort to win her first World Cup. Gaining time all the way down, Anna had a massive 1.17 second lead on Petra before a heartbreaking fall right before the finish line. 

Petra won by .24, with Wendy Holdener in second, .24 seconds back, and Austria's Katharina Truppe in third, .89 seconds off Petra's pace. This is Petra's third-straight slalom victory—a victory that extended the three-year winning streak of Mikaela and Petra in the discipline. Mikaela and her rival Petra have won the last 26 slaloms, with Mikaela winning 19 to Petra's seven. 

Mikaela's absence was not only felt by fellow competitors and the media but also fans. Slovakian fans paid a classy tribute to Mikaela, holding up a big sign with a Slovakian and American flag that read, "We miss you, Mikaela!" Though the rivalry on the hill is strong, Mikaela and Petra have displayed incredible sportsmanship both on and off the mountain, and Mikaela is adored by Slovakian fans. 

Despite sitting the last five races out (one downhill, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was in 25th after the first run, but DNFed second run of Sunday's slalom) and 154 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the slalom standings, Petra has now surpassed Mikaela by 20 points, with 460 points, followed by Mikaela with 440.  

The races in Kranjska Gora were a replacement for the previously scheduled "Golden Fox Trophy" races in Maribor, Slovenia, but warm temperatures forced the change in venues. 

Up next for the women is a speed series in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, with two downhills—including a make-up downhill from Rosa Khutor, Russia—and an alpine combined (featuring one run of super-G and one run of slalom). The next tech series in Ofterschwang, Germany March 7-8. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

RESULTS
Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Feb. 16
7:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

It was no-holds-barred for athletes dropping into the slopestyle course under mostly cloudy skies at the Calgary Snow Rodeo on Saturday, Feb. 15. U.S. Freeski team member Colby Stevenson continues to bring the heat to slopestyle finishing second.

“I came out today and landed the run I had planned,” said Colby who took an early lead in the first run with a nose butter 4 on, switch 4 backslide and a dub 16 stale. “I’m very stoked on my skiing and I’m having more fun in competitions than ever. I can’t wait for two weeks at home in Park City before heading to Norway for X Games.” 

Carrying the momentum from two wins in two weeks at X Games Aspen and Mammoth Grand Prix and earning himself Best Trick at Dew Tour Street Style, Colby started things off strong in Calgary. However, Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli squeezed out a narrow lead with a solid second run. 

Third place went to Colby’s teammate Nick Goepper with a technical run that included a two on rodeo out of the cannon. 

“This one feels good,” said Nick. “It’s been a little while since I was on the box. I had to fight for this one and if feels good to land in the top three.” 

Meanwhile, teammate Willie Borm landed a solid run earning him sixth place with Alex Hall rounding out tenth for the U.S. Freeski men. On the women’s side, U.S. Freeski team member Marin Hammil took sixth place.

Results
Men’s Freeski slopestyle
Women’s Freeski slopestyle

Cup Standings
Men’s Freeski slopestyle
Women’s Freeski slopestyle

Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, finishing eighth and ninth respectively, in the opening stage of Ski Tour 2020 in Östersund, Sweden, Saturday.

“It was a good opening day of the Ski Tour 2020 for me,” said Rosie, who posted a couple of top-five early split times. “I didn’t perfectly pace it and lost a little in the closing kilometers, but I had much-improved race feelings so I am very satisfied and hope I can continue this way throughout the tour.” 

Racing under partly cloudy skies and on a firm track, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 22nd in the 10k individual start freestyle, Hailey Swirbul finished 36th, Caitlin Patterson was 40th, Alayna Sonnesyn was 43rd, Julia Kern 50th, Sophie Caldwell 51st, Katharine Ogden 53rd, and Rosie Frankowski 56th.

Norway’s Therese Johaug opened the nine-day, six-stage event with a 45-second victory over teammates Heidi Weng in second, and 47 seconds ahead of Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in third for the Norweigan podium sweep. 

In the men’s 15k individual start freestyle, David Norris was the top American in 36th. Simi Hamilton was 46th, Kevin Bolger was 71st, Ben Lustgarten finished 73rd, and Logan Hanneman was 86th. Norway also swept the podium in the men’s race with Sjur Roethe, Simen Hegstad Krüger and Finn Hagen Krogh going 1-2-3.

Stage two remains in Östersund with a classic pursuit Sunday. Stage three moves to Åre, Sweden, with a freestyle sprint Tuesday.

RESULTS
Stage 1 
Women’s individual start freestyle
Men’s individual start freestyle

Ski Tour 202 Schedule:
Sunday, Feb. 16
Stage 2 Östersund, SWE
Classic pursuit - 10k women; 15k men

Monday, Feb. 17
Rest day

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Stage 3 Åre, SWE
Freestyle sprint

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Travel day

Thursday, Feb. 20
Stage 4 Storlien, SWE (start) to Meråker, NOR (finish)
Freestyle 38k both men and women

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Feb. 16
7:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 15k pursuit, Östersund, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k pursuit, Östersund, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 15k pursuit, Östersund, SWE - Olympic Channel*
1:30 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 10k pursuit, Östersund, SWE - Olympic Channel*

Tuesday, Feb. 17
10:15 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s sprint, Are, SWE - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 19
4:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meraker, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meraker, NOR - 5:00 a.m. - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Under a clear and chilly windless sky in Moscow, Russia, Chris Lillis led the U.S. Aerial Ski Team with a sixth-place finish. Four Americans qualified for finals, two women and two men: Megan Nick, Megan Smallhouse, Chris and Alex Bowen. 

Megan Smallhouse led the American women with a career-best ninth-place finish in her first World Cup finals appearance, her first overseas World Cup start, and only her third-career World Cup start.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity!” Megan said. “I feel like my jumping is continuing to get better week to week, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the tour brings. Adapting to new jumping sites in new countries is a challenge, but I’m learning more and more every day!”

"I'm super pumped for Smalls!" said Aerials World Cup Coach Eric Bergoust. "She jumped great all day. She struggled a little yesterday so I asked her to keep jumping. She took ten training jumps yesterday, which is a lot normally and especially difficult here. The lift doesn't go to the top so [the athletes] had to hike for every jump. Today I told her she could cut training short, but she kept jumping until the last minute of training. All of her hard work in the gym paid off. Thanks, Houston Deck [aerials athletic development coach]!"

Megan Nick successfully completed her new double full full and ended the night in tenth. "Another solid performance by Megan, landing a Miller again in the final - Triple Twisting Double Backie!" said Eric. The women's field was jumping well, lots of high DD triple flips, so earning on Saturday podium required precision.

Winter Vinecki finished just outside of the finals in 13th, "She’s jumping great, really consistent," commented Eric."[But she] went all out on her last jump and it was a little too much." Madison Varmette finished 16th and Kaila Kuhn in 17th. 

On the women’s side, Belarus’ Hanna Huskova landed in the top spot, Australia Laura Peel came in second and Russia’s own Sofia Alekseeva rounded out the podium in third.

Chris was the top American finisher with a sixth place. Chris qualified in fifth out of six for the super final, landing a double full full full for a score of 110.86 out of a maximum of 137.75. In his super final round Chris completed a full double full full, and although he landed the trick, it did not score high enough to land on the podium. An excellent jumper, Chris always has high expectations of himself, "It was awesome to see him get a shot in the super final but it didn’t go our way tonight," reflected Eric. 

This marked Alex’s first finals appearance since the 2019 FIS World Championships. Alex threw a full double full full and earned a 103.98 out of a possible 132.75, and just missed super finals with a seventh-place finish. "I’m definitely excited to be back on the World Cup tour with old friends and new ones, especially after I was thinking about hanging it up after last year," said Alex. "And, I’m proud I improved my result from last week in Deer Valley."

"[He was] so close to advancing to the super final, and he was jumping awesome!" said Eric. "He's consistent and getting better every week. I’m especially excited about Bowen‘s prospects next week in Minsk. He did a lot of great jumps in training and competition [this week]!"

Jon Lillis narrowly missed finals with a 13th place finish. Justin Schoenefeld finished 18th, Quinn Dehlinger in 19th and Eric Loughran in 21st.

On the men’s side, Russia’s Pavel Krotov delighted his Russian countrymen and women with a quintuple twist: a double full full double full, earning a 137.50 out of a possible 150, to win the event. Switzerland’s Noe Roth threw another quint: a double full double full full, which he first competed at Deer Valley on Feb. 7, to claim second and Belarus’ Pavel Dik rounded out the podium in third. 

Aerials heads next to Belarus for another nighttime city World Cup on Feb. 22.

"This week I gained the confidence to perform my tricks under the pressure of competition," reflected Alex as he looks to the next three weeks of competition. "I did more quad-twisting triples this week than I’d done all year. This will help me to prepare for the next three weeks of competitions. Next week, I’ll continue to focus on my takeoffs as well as focus on improving my landings. Landings are the key to making it through all the rounds. Go U.S. Aerials!"

RESULTS
Women’s aerials
Men’s aerials

Halfpipe athletes let ‘er buck for the final FIS World Cup of the season during the Calgary Snow Rodeo and Birk Irving led the pack for the U.S. Freeski Team taking third. 

“I've been getting fourth all year with a similar run, but I didn't have the double on the left side,” said Birk. “I knew what I had to do to get on the podium. I learned the right dub 12 on my first run. I'm really glad I learned that trick and have it in the bank going into next season. I'm feeling better and stronger than I ever have before.” 

Birk stuck an impressive run landing his first double and a left down the pipe 720, a trick that is unique to him. After qualifying in first, David Wise dropped into finals with a heater of a first run and a final run that was looking to be podium-worthy, but he washed out on his final hit landing him in fourth. 

"I'm so pumped to see Birk lay down a podium run here in Calgary at the last world cup of the season," said U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Mike Riddle. "He's been killing it all year and it's a great way to wrap up an amazing season. It was such a high caliber competition and everyone put on a hell of a show. Birk landed a new trick for him and while it wasn't enough for first here, it's a huge building block for next season."

Gus Kenworthy made a solid come back taking first as a recent addition to the Great Britain Freeski Team and Canada’s Brenden Mackay earned second. The rest of the U.S. Freeski men had a respestable showing with Cassidy Jarrell in sixth, Taylor Seaton in seventh, Hunter Hess in eighth and Lyman Currier rounding out the top ten.

Despite an injury during qualifications, Aaron Blunck held on to the top spot in the overall FIS Cup Standings taking home the crystal globe. It was a tight competition between Aaron and Canada’s Noah Bowman all season with Bowman in second heading into Calgary, but a fifth-place finish during the Snow Rodeo was just enough to keep him out of the lead with Birk taking third.

“I’ve had some goals that I’ve wanted to achieve in my career and winning a crystal globe has always been one of them,” Aaron said after awards. “I set the goal and worked as hard as I could to get this. I’m so stoked. I can’t believe it.”

Aaron also spoke to the season-long battle with Noah Bowman in the FIS Cup Standings. 

Noah’s my favorite guy to watch in the halfpipe,” said Aaron. “The moment he drops in I feel like it’s all eyes on Noah. We have two completely different styles, but the friendship between us keeps growing all the time. The way we got to battle it out all season was incredible. He had a hell of a season.” 

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Abigale Hansen carried the momentum from her best result of the year at  Dew Tour landing in fifth again followed by Devin Logan in sixth and Brita Sigourney in seventh. China’s Eileen Ailing Gu celebrated her first World Cup win followed by Canada’s Rachael Karker in second and Russia’s Valeriya Demidova in third. 

Valeriya’s third place was enough to give her the overall world cup win, followed by Rachael Karker in second and China’s Kenxin Zhang taking third overall.

CUP STANDINGS
Men's freeski halfpipe
Women's freeski halfpipe

RESULTS
Men's freeski halfpipe
Women's freeski halfpipe
 

On Friday, Winter4Kids at the National Winter Activity Center—the nation’s first and only fully dedicated youth winter sports facility—announced the winners of the first-ever NorAm Cup parallel event in the United States hosted in partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the International Federation of Skiing (FIS). Fans from the tristate area attended to watch members of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Alpine Canada (Canadian National Ski Team) and club skiers from Canada, university skiers and beyond, compete in an action-packed, fast-paced race under the lights.

The men's winner was Jett Seymour of the University of Denver (DU), while the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team's Ben Ritchie was second, and Dartmouth's AJ Ginnis was third. On the women's side, Foreste Peterson of Team X Alpine was victorious, while DU's Storm Klomhaus was second, and the U.S. Ski Team's AJ Hurt rounded out the podium in third. 

“I am really excited,” said Foreste Peterson, Team X Alpine. “This is my first-time skiing in New Jersey. I want to thank Winter4Kids for putting this event on, it was a great experience from the course conditions to the volunteers. I am really happy with how I performed and I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

“I’m happy to be here to be here,” said Jett Seymour, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. “This was an exciting NorAm race in New Jersey, especially for it being my first time in the state. I’m glad to have been able to race at Winter4Kids.”

The NorAm Cup which took place in Vernon, New Jersey at Winter4Kids, offered a new format with head-to-head competition between some of the best alpine athletes in the world for $75,000—the largest prize offering yet.

“Tonight, we hosted the first-ever NorAm Cup parallel ski race in the U.S. right here at Winter4Kids,” said Schone Malliet, CEO of Winter4Kids. “We’re thankful for all of our volunteers who allowed this event to be a success, as well as friends and family who came out to support. It was our pleasure to present competitors that have come from far and wide to showcase their talent, with a significant reward.”

The NorAm Cup strives to prepare athletes for the FIS Ski World Cup, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard is promoting this format at the grassroots level, in an effort to develop future World Cup parallel champions. The event features a head-to-head slalom with a knockout format each round. It is an exciting event for spectators and a unique opportunity from a broadcast standpoint, showcasing multiple world-class athletes from North America. Winter4Kids is the nation’s only nonprofit dedicated winter activity program and facility for youth only, serving school-age children of all economic backgrounds.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has had a long relationship with the National Winter Activity Center and Winter4Kids since its first season in 2015.

Currently, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Keely Cashman and Bridger Gile are leading the NorAm overall standings for women and men, respectively.

RESULTS
Women's Parallel
Men's Parallel 

STANDINGS
Women's Overall
Men's Overall

We Are Winter4Kids!
Winter4Kids is a youth-focused, nonprofit organization that changes lives through winter activities. We provide mentor-based, experiential learning and encourage kids to have FUN while mastering Snowboarding, Nordic and Alpine skiing. Our programs deliver incremental physical activity and have been designed to inspire our participants and build confidence in an educational environment. Winter4Kids is located at the National Winter Activity Center in Vernon, NJ. This facility is totally dedicated to making unimaginable dreams inevitable opportunities for youth.  For more information about Winter4Kids, please visit www.winter4kids.org.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2019, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team.

Release courtesy of Winter4Kids.org. 

Under the sunshine and on hard snow in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Nina O’Brien was the lone starter for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Saturday’s giant slalom, ending up in 26th—her fourth-straight points-scoring result across three disciplines. 

For the first time since Soelden, Austria when she won by a mere six hundredths over reigning giant slalom titleholder, New Zealand’s Alice Robinson won with a stunning second run, by .34 seconds over Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. In fact, struggling to find her form, Alice had not even been on the podium since her win in Soelden. Rounding out the podium in third was a tie between Slovenian Meta Hrovat and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, 1.59 seconds off the pace set by Alice. This was just the second podium for Meta, and Wendy’s second-career giant slalom podium—her first was in Courchevel, France in December. 

Nina had a solid first run despite a few small mistakes on a swingy course set by her coach Magnus Andersson. Nina started the second run strong, gaining time in the first two splits and ahead by .24 seconds at one point, but ran into trouble when she got low and lost nearly seven-tenths of a second on the bottom split. 

Though she is struggling to put two solid and clean runs together, this is the fourth-straight points-scoring result for Nina across three disciplines: giant slalom, slalom, and parallel giant slalom. This is the seventh time Nina has scored points in 12 FIS Ski World Cup starts this season. Last season, Nina scored just twice, so the consistency has been there this season. 

“It feels great to be finding some consistency lately,” noted Nina. “My skiing feels like it’s in a good spot, and the speed is getting there. While I’m always happy to be in the points, I want more. I had some really good sections today but ultimately made a few mistakes over terrain. It’s a process, and I’m trying to learn from each race. Hopefully, I can clean things up in tomorrow’s slalom!” 

Noticeably missing from Saturday’s race was current overall leader and reigning giant slalom titleholder Mikaela Shiffrin. During the team captain’s meeting on Friday evening, U.S. Ski Team coach Magnus Andersson delivered a statement on behalf of Mikaela’s management team that read, 

"As you can see, U.S. Ski Team athlete and current World Cup overall and slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin’s name is not on the board for tomorrow. Our continued thoughts go out to Mikaela, Eileen, and Taylor as they deal with the incredible loss of their father and husband Jeff Shiffrin. At this point, we have no information to share about a return to Europe or a return to competition. We ask that you continue to respect the family’s privacy."

Despite sitting the last three race weekends out, Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who finished a disappointing eighth in Saturday’s giant slalom) and 254 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the giant slalom standings, Federica is currently leading with 407 points, while Petra has moved to second with 333 points, followed by Mikaela with 314.  

The races in Kranjska Gora were a replacement for the previously scheduled "Golden Fox Trophy" races in Maribor, Slovenia, but warm temperatures forced the change in venues. 

Up next for the women is a slalom on Sunday, where Nina and Paula Moltzan are expected to start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. Mikaela currently has an 80-point lead in the slalom standings over Petra, with the next tech series in Ofterschwang, Germany March 7-8. 

RESULTS
Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 15
7:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - NBCSN*

Sunday, Feb. 16
4:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Kranjska Gora, SLO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Kranjska Gora, SLO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

Aerials continues World Cup competition this week with a city event in Moscow, Russia on Saturday, Feb. 15. Despite postponing the event for two weeks due to warm weather, building the site was still challenging. Aerials World Cup Coach Eric Bergoust relayed that coaches and athletes from all participating nations worked together to shape the jumps and install tubes of dry ice to keep them from melting. This is the U.S. Aerials Team’s first international World Cup competition after they kicked off their tour on home snow in front of 7,500 fans at Deer Valley Resort during the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International on Feb. 7. 

The U.S. arrived a few days ahead of training to acclimate and enjoy touring Moscow. Besides hitting the usual spots like the Red Square, Olympic Gold Medal Aerialist Anton Kushner from Belarus used his connections to take athletes to the Moscow circus. “We always enjoy seeing other acrobats do cool stuff,” said Eric.

Twelve aerial skiers will represent the United States on Saturday. Megan Nick, fresh off of her first career podium at Deer Valley Resort, is stoked for the city event. “The site is pretty sweet,” she said. “It’s always fun to jump in the middle of the city.” She is joined on the women’s side by Winter Vinecki, Ashley Caldwell, Madison Varmette, Kaila Kuhn and Megan Smallhouse. 

Leading U.S. man Eric Loughran noted that training was going better than expected, given the course build challenges. “The site shaped up a bit better than I thought it would be compared to the first day,” he said. “I feel good going into the competition after training [on Friday]. My favorite part about being in Moscow is jumping in front of the university with a cool city view. It feels a bit different than the usual ‘ski resort’ [vibe]. It’ll be a fun one! Moscow always brings a big crowd and a cool showing.” He is joined on the men’s side by Jon Lillis, Chris Lillis, Justin Schoenefeld, Alex Bowen and Quinn Dehlinger. 

Moscow is Megan Smallhouse and Quinn’s first World Cup overseas and was the stop Quinn was most excited to compete in. “It’s been great here so far,” he said. “The best way to describe it is that it is just different here. [From how] people get around to what they eat. People here are crazy on the road and take a lot more public transportation. One of my favorite parts is all of the crazy architecture. The buildings are all different, and there are just random places where there are just stand-alone high-rises. Everything is way more compact in Moscow, which is way different from the compact cities and then [the suburbs] in the U.S.”

With a jump site sheltered from the wind, Eric expects good jumping from all competitors so athletes will need relatively high scores to land on the podium this week. Tune in Saturday morning to watch the aerial skiers of the U.S. Ski Team launch themselves into the rest of their World Cup season.

U.S. Starters

Women
Ashley Caldwell
Megan Nick
Winter Vinecki
Madison Varmette
Megan Smallhouse
Kaila Kuhn 

Men
Eric Loughran
Chris Lillis
Jon Lillis
Justin Schoenefeld
Quinn Dehlinger
Alex Bowen

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 15
10:50 a.m. - Men and women’s aerials, Moscow, RUS - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials, Moscow, RUS - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.