The 2024 ESPY nominations are in and Brenna Huckaby of the U.S. Para Snowboard Team is headed to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to celebrate her successes among some of the world's best athletes after her nomination in the ‘Best Athlete with a Disability’ category. The ESPY Awards, known as the "Oscars of Sports," celebrate the best of the best in athletics and will be hosted in downtown LA on July 11, 2024. 

Among the nominees are some of the most celebrated athletes in their respective sports, including Olympic champion Simone Biles, WNBA star Caitlin Clark, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and more. Last year, we saw Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin claim the title of “Best Athlete in Women’s Sports,” becoming only the second skier to win an ESPY. Zach Miller of the U.S. Para Snowboard Team also made his mark, walking away with his first ESPY for 'Best Athlete with a Disability.' 

Huckaby is a standout nominee, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist and a five-time World Champion. Introduced to the sport of para snowboarding after losing her right leg to cancer at age 14, Huckaby has reached the top of the sport and has become a leading voice in disability advocacy. 

Looking back at the start of her career, Huckaby became competitive quickly, landing her first World title only two years later. In her Paralympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, she came home with the hardware, winning two gold medals, including the first-ever gold in the banked slalom discipline. 

Outside of sport, Huckaby orchestrated a multi-faceted inclusivity campaign in the leadup to the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which resulted in her earning the right to compete in medal events initially limited to less impaired athletes—she ended up winning a gold and bronze medal. She is a mother of two young daughters and is outspoken about overcoming cancer, her mental health journey, and body positivity. 

Your vote is crucial in determining the winners! Remember to mark your calendars for the live event featured on ABC on July 11, 2024, at  8 p.m. ET/PT. 

VOTE FOR BRENNA HERE.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced their full support for Dexter Paine in his candidacy for the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) Council. 

As a visionary leader with a deep commitment to skiing and snowboarding and its athletes, Paine has been involved in governance at both the national and international levels for decades. He served as a member of the FIS Council Executive Committee from 2014-22 and has acted as an ex-officio honorary member from 2022 to the present. Throughout his time with FIS, Paine focused on transparency, communication and inclusivity, including championing for female representation on the Council, longer terms for athlete representatives and the inclusivity of Paralympic sports. 

Paine currently serves as a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Board of Directors (2021-present), is on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation Board (2002-24) and is actively involved in the Salt Lake City 2034 Olympic Winter Games bid. Previously, Paine was Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors (2006-19) and was on U.S. Biathlon’s Board of Directors (2020-24). He has extensive experience in event delivery as an Executive Committee member of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colorado and the 2019 Freestyle, Freeski & Snowboard World Championships in Park City, Utah. 

Paine is the chairman at Paine Schwartz Partners and has more than 25 years of investment experience and 35 years in the private equity industry. In addition to his professional achievements, Paine is widely respected for his integrity, vision and dedication to the sport. His collaborative approach and strategic mindset have positioned him as a trusted leader within the skiing and snowboarding community.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors firmly believes that Paine’s extensive experience and unwavering passion make him the ideal person to represent the interests of athletes and federations worldwide, unanimously putting forward his candidacy. 

"Dexter Paine's dedication to the advancement of skiing and snowboarding is unparalleled,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President & CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “His leadership has consistently propelled our sports forward, and we know he will bring that same level of commitment and expertise to the FIS Council. We are proud to endorse Dexter and are confident in his ability to advocate effectively for the interests of athletes and federations around the world."

Gene Sykes, Chairman of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, also voiced his support. "As an organization committed to supporting American athletes on the global stage, we recognize the importance of strong leadership within international federations,” said Sykes.
“Dexter’s proven track record of leadership and advocacy aligns perfectly with the values of the Olympic movement. We fully endorse Dexter's candidacy for the FIS Council and believe he will be an outstanding representative for skiing and snowboarding on the international level."

Olympic champion Kikkan Randall, who has served on the IOC Board, USOPC Board and FIS Council, echoed the sentiments: “Dexter has been an incredible leader and advocate for skiing and snowboarding across all levels. He understands the complex needs of all stakeholders and has always championed the athletes' voices in the process. He brings a wealth of experience, tremendous passion and dedication to making sport fair, safe and positioned for growth. Dexter is well respected across the sports universe and has been an excellent collaborator between organizations. I am proud to endorse Dexter’s candidacy.”

The election for the FIS Council takes place at FIS Congress on June 5, 2024. 

The U.S. Para Snowboard Team ended the season on top in Mt. Sima, where Brenna Huckaby, Noah Elliott and Darian Haynes won, and three more finished on the podium. 

The athletes took on the same dynamic course set from yesterday, where the difficulty was accentuated by the cold weather overnight. The course featured unforgiving, tight turns that could easily take even the best horizontal. 

After the first run, Huckaby, Elliott, and Haynes had the fastest times in their categories, while Mike Minor was second and Zach Miller was third. 

Despite winning their classification in the first run, Huckaby and Elliott both put down electric victory laps to improve on their already winning runs earlier in the day. Elliott put on a banked slalom clinic all day, taking a risky high line that paid off in the end. This is Elliott’s sixth win of the season.

Huckaby won for the seventh time this season in the women’s LL-1/LL-2 event. Dennae Russell ended the season with a fifth place finish, followed by Courtney Godfrey in sixth. Darian Haynes improved upon her results from yesterday in the women’s UL event to finish on top, alongside teammate Peggy Martin in second. 

In the men’s UL event, Mike Minor continued his successful weekend to finish on the podium again in second place. 

Zach Miller earned his fourth podium finish of the season, finishing third in the men’s LL-2 classification. Keith Gabel was right behind, finishing fourth, alongside Evan Strong in fifth and Joe Pleban in seventh. 

The U.S. Para Snowboard Team is up north in Mt. Sima, Yukon, Canada for the final banked slalom World Cup of the season, and it seems the athletes plan to go out with a bang. Brenna Huckaby, Noah Elliott, Mike Minor and Peggy Martin all finished on top. 

Due to weather cancelations, this is only the second banked slalom World Cup, and third banked slalom event this season, the first back in late November in Landgraaf, Netherlands. 

Following a successful run one, the athletes head into run two, running in reverse order of their results from the first run. Brenna Huckaby, Mike Minor and Noah Elliott all had the fastest times in their classes, allowing them to run last, learning from the runs of their competitors

The course was highly technical, with a set created specifically to allow athletes to gain a lot of speed right out of the gate; if the athletes weren’t ready for the speed, they would quickly lose control. 

The course took a beating throughout the day, getting tracked out and developing large ruts and other terrain that the athletes had to navigate. 

Darian Haynes took a fall in run two, allowing Peggy Martin to move ahead and take the win in the women’s UL category. 

In the women’s LL-1/LL-2 event, Brenna Huckaby showed why she is one of the best to ever do it, setting the fastest women’s time of the day. After taking home the snowboard cross Crystal Globe last week, Huckaby is poised to earn the banked slalom and overall globes following tomorrow’s race. Dennae Russell finished fifth, followed by Courtney Godfrey in sixth. Rebecca Johnston did not start. 

Mike Minor led in the first run. With just one rider to go in run two, Minor’s time was overtaken by Maxime Montaggioni of France. With everything on the line, Minor put down one of the fastest and riskiest runs of the day to retake first; his first win and fourth podium of the season. 

Noah Elliott continued his dominant season today, holding on to the lead the entire way to finish on top of the podium in the men’s LL-1 category. Elliott finished third in the overall snowboard cross season standings last week, and currently leads the banked slalom and overall standings. He has the potential to earn both with a clean run tomorrow. 

In the men’s LL-2 class, Zach Miller led the way for the U.S. finishing third, his third podium of the season. Keith Gabel was close behind, finishing fifth, followed by Evan Strong in sixth and Joe Pleban in seventh. 

Tomorrow, the athletes will race the final FIS Para Snowboard World Cup event of the season, banked slalom finals in Mt. Sima. The banked slalom and overall season Crystal Globes will be awarded following the race. Run one is set to begin at 2:15 pm ET followed by run two at 3:15 pm ET. Watch live on Facebook.