Short Display Name
Nordic Combined
Malacinski’s long-term goals are to not only be an Olympic and World Champion but to also claim the Men’s Nordic Combined crystal globe. His personal sports philosophy is “it’s all mental”, and at just 18, he’s well on his way to making his dreams a reality. He loves to cross-train and will incorporate running, swimming, and biking into his program.
A dual citizen in Finland and the United States, Malacinski is fluent in Finnish, English, and German. His sister, Annika, is a member of the Women’s Nordic Combined National Team. Outside of training, Malacinski enjoys fishing and skateboarding.
Team Info
- Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
- Years on Team: 1
Results
Carter Brubaker, affectionately known as Cardi B, started his ski career as an alpine skier, before dabbling in nordic skiing. His older brother Ryan began in Nordic Combined, and Brubaker decided to follow in his footsteps. Surrounded by a family of athletes and passionate skiers in Anchorage, Alaska, it wasn’t hard for Brubaker to stay motivated.
Growing up, Brubaker idolized Alaska Winter Stars alumni Gus Schumacher and his father, Michael. He now splits his time between Anchorage and Lillehammer, Norway, where he attends the Norwegian College of Elite Sport (NTG).
Thus far in his career, Brubaker has sustained no major injuries, other than a burst appendix at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was subsequently hospitalized for eight days.
Team Info
- Team AK Ski Jumping
- Years on Team: 1
Results
A knack for Nordic Combined runs in Annika Malacinski’s blood. Her father Stephen was a ski instructor, and her mother, Essi hailed from a small town in the arctic circle of Finland. Both Annika and her brother, Nordic Combined National Team member, Niklas Malacinski, were on skis since the time they could walk, both downhill, and cross country. Annika’s career as an athlete began as a gymnast, but when she tried ski jumping for the first time at 16, she fell in love with the feeling of flying. Before every jump, she repeats her mantra, “I am strong. I can do this.” Then, she flys.
Annika qualified for the national team in 2018, overcame a couple of shoulder injuries, and made history competing in the first-ever Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup and World Championships in the 2020/21 season. She hopes to one day qualify for the Olympics.
Team Info
- Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
- Years on Team: 1
Results
Alexa Brabec was a member of the first team of women to represent the United States in Nordic Combined at a World Championship event. She also competed in the 2020 Youth Olympics. One day, she hopes to compete at the Olympics on the world stage.
Brabec is a huge soccer fan, and growing up, she idolized U.S. Women’s National Team Member, Tobin Heath. Brabec still plays in the spring and the fall as cross-training for skiing. Her sister, Haley, is also a Nordic Combined athlete.
For every competition, Brabec must be wearing mismatched socks. She’s never suffered any major injuries, only faceplanted a couple of times.
Team Info
- Years on Team: 1
Results
Athlete Age Classifications by Sport
All U.S. Ski & Snowboard members turning 17 years of age during the season, or older, are required to complete one or more of the following online requirements.
- SafeSport Training
- Background screening
Please note, Background Screening is required every two seasons and SafeSport training, is required every season.
Short-term members and those alpine masters who are not in regular contact with or in a position of authority over athletes are excluded from these requirements.
FIS Registrations
This section provides FIS applications for competitors participating at the FIS level who DID NOT purchase a FIS license through online registration. STOP! Please DO NOT complete the following FIS application if you have not renewed for the 2024-25 season! Please DO NOT complete the following FIS application if you already purchased/renewed your FIS license during U.S.
2023-24 U.S. Nordic Combined Team & U.S. Ski Jumping Team Nominations Announced
By Courtney Harkins
May, 22 2023
Ski jumper Annika Belshaw competes at the 2023 World Championships in Planica, Slovenia. (Getty Images - Maja Hitij)
Park City, Utah (May 22, 2023) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Ski Jumping Team and U.S. Nordic Combined Team for the 2023-24 competition season, as well as the hiring of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director Anders Johnson. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s selection criteria.
“We are delighted to be reintegrating the nordic combined and jumping national teams within U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Both these teams have a storied history and we’re excited about what the future holds under the leadership of newly announced Sport Director Anders Johnson. We also look forward to continuing to work closely with USA Nordic Sport throughout the coming seasons to see these athletes achieve top results.”
“I am excited for the upcoming year, and we are looking forward to building off of the success from last season,” said USA Nordic Sport CEO Adam Provost. “We have a great group of athletes on both nordic combined and ski jumping and believe that this team will be very competitive this season.”
The ski jumping team is highlighted by Annika Belshaw, who scored individual World Cup points nine times throughout the 2022-23 season and took home two national titles at the USA Nordic National Championships, and her brother Erik Belshaw, who had his best season with three individual World Cup point scores. Belshaw, along with his teammates Decker Dean, Casey Larson and Andrew Urlaub were also part of a historic eighth place finish at the 2023 World Championships—the best World Champs finish for the U.S. since 1985.
On the nordic combined side, Annika Malacinski headlines the women’s squad, scoring nine times on the World Cup tour last season and winning a national title. 2022 Olympian Steven Schumann and two-time Olympian Ben Loomis showed consistency throughout the season with multiple points scores.
With the integration of ski jumping and nordic combined into U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the organization has announced the hiring of new Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping Sport Director Anders Johnson. A three-time Olympic ski jumper, Johnson was the youngest U.S. Olympic ski jumper in history when he qualified for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games at 16 years old. He has been coaching for the USA Nordic Sport women’s ski jumping team and now will head up both sports as they return under U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
"I am very excited and proud to be named the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director,” said Johnson. “Over the past several years, our teams have done some amazing things internationally and I believe that with my skill set, passion and determination, I will be able to bring our athletes to the top of the podium. The ski jumping and nordic combined community has been in my life since I was a child, so to be put in this position is a huge honor."
“These athletes are really progressing and starting to make a move on the World Cup,” said Anouk Patty, Chief of Sport at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “With Anders as Sport Director, I am excited to see the leaps these teams will make.”
After a successful 2022-23 season, athletes are motivated, training hard and looking forward to the upcoming FIS Summer Grand Prix circuit. The official U.S. Ski Jumping Team and U.S. Nordic Combined Team will be announced in the fall.
2023-24 SKI JUMPING NATIONAL TEAM
(Hometown; club; birthdate)
Women
- Annika Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 6/13/2002)
- Anna Hoffmann (Madison, WI; Blackhawk Ski Club; 3/28/2000)
- Josie Johnson (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 10/3/2006)
- Paige Jones (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 8/30/2002)
- Sam Macuga (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 2/17/2001)
Men
- Erik Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/23/2004)
- Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/8/2000)
- Casey Larson (Barrington, IL; Norge Ski Club; 12/16/1998)
- Andrew Urlaub (Eau Claire, WI; Flying Eagles Ski Club; 4/12/2001)
2023-24 NORDIC COMBINED NATIONAL TEAM
(Hometown; club; birthdate)
Women
- Alexa Brabec (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 10/8/2004)
- Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 5/9/2001)
Men
- Grant Andrews (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 12/3/1997)
- Carter Brubaker (Anchorage, AK; Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage; 12/21/2003)
- Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, WI; Flying Eagles Ski Club; 6/9/1998)
- Niklas Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 12/7/2003)
- Stephen Schumann (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 3/14/2000)
- Jared Shumate (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 3/6/1999)
Decker Dean
Born in Leavenworth, WA, to Dan and Tonya, it wasn’t long before Dean and his family picked up and moved to Steamboat Springs, CO, where his love for skiing was initially stoked. By 2018, Dean was named to the U.S. Ski Jumping National Team.
Jared Shumate
Jared “Jerry” Shumate started skiing at the age of 2 at his local mountain, Deer Valley in Park City, Utah. Ever since he can’t remember a time that he hasn’t loved skiing fast and catching air.
Grant Andrews
When Grant Andrews was a kid growing up in Steamboat Springs, CO, his dad threw him into ski jumping because he thought it looked cool. Little did he know Andrews would end up falling in love with the feeling of flying.
Stephen Schumann
Stephen Schumann grew up in Park City, Utah, and was a member of the Park City Ski and Snowboard Club. He first started Ski Jumping at the age of five and was immediately hooked. At the age of seven, he then tried Nordic Skiing, and never turned back.
Ben Loomis
View Ben's full bio on USANordic.org.
Sam Macuga
Born in California, Sam Macuga moved to Park City, Utah with her family when she was 7-years-old. She learned to ski in the winter of 2008 through the Youth Sport’s Alliance after-school program, Get Out and Play, and fell in love.
Annika Belshaw
Annika Belshaw was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and grew up Ski Jumping at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Belshaw first started skiing at three years old, and was immediately hooked because of the adrenalin rush.
Casey Larson
Born in Leavenworth, WA, to Dan and Tonya, it wasn’t long before Dean and his family picked up and moved to Steamboat Springs, CO, where his love for skiing was initially stoked. By 2018, Dean was named to the U.S. Ski Jumping National Team.