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The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Teams Want You...
 
…To get fit, get active, and get outdoors this winter! It’s easy to get started and we’re going to tell you how.
First, why not set some goals? Take part in the President’s Challenge on Physical Fitness and you can earn an award by participating in winter activities. The President’s Challenge (www.presidentschallenge.org) is a program for both children and adults that encourages you to make exercise a part of your life. "It only takes a small change. Instead of telling yourself you can’t, tell yourself you can,” says the organization.
 So just because winter is on its way, it doesn’t mean you have to retire indoors for the season. There are so many great ways to stay fit and healthy outdoors in the cold and on the snow!
This season, ski resorts have some great incentives to try skiing or snowboarding for a nominal fee. If you’re a kid, a teen or a college student, you might even get to do it for free or receive huge discounts. Check out Winter Feels Good “Passport” programs for details on these programs. The programs feature free lift tickets, lessons and other services for kids in specific grades.
To earn an award, you can combine any snowshoeing, snowboarding, alpine skiing and/or cross-country skiing with any other physical activity. Then follow these four easy steps to earn awards:
- Choose an activity.
Any snow sport – snowshoeing, snowboarding, alpine skiing or cross country skiing – can be combined with other activities such as running, walking or even an exercise class.
- Get Active
If you're younger than 18, your daily activity goal is 60 minutes a day, five days a week for six weeks. The goal for adults (18 and older) is 30 minutes a day, five days a week for six weeks. You can spread activity out over an 8-week period.
- Track Activity
An on-line activity log makes it easy to track time.
- Earn an Award
The Active Lifestyle and Presidential Champions programs recognize accomplishments with special awards.Log onto www.presidentschallenge.org for complete details.
Good luck and have fun this winter with your new winter activity! But before you go, read the inspiring stories below about how these U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team members got started in winter sports. It might just give you that little extra incentive you’ve been waiting for.
Athlete Bios:
For more information about the U.S. Ski & Snowboard teams, check out the official team Web site at http://www.ussa.org/. |
David Babic
(Photo Credit:
United States Ski and Snowboard
Association)
“I love getting outdoors, riding that first chair in the morning, and experiencing that feeling of soft snow blowing through my legs.”
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- Sport: A Team / Freestyle Skiing
- Years on Team: 4
- Age: 26 years old
- Claim to Fame: Performed first Off-Axis 1080 jump in World Cup competition. Qualified inverted Aerialist. Three qualified double back-flip maneuvers on snow.
Halfway through high school, Vermonter David Babic traded baskets for moguls and he hasn’t looked back since. “Skiing was so free for me—that’s what I love about it,” he says. Unlike other competitors, Babic didn’t actually start competing until he was a junior in high school. And, now he’s headed to the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, as one of the world’s top mogul skiers. “Skiing has been a part of my life—I always associated it with having fun. For me, it was all about being in the outdoors,” he says. He first started at age 8 tagging along with his older brothers. “I love getting outdoors, riding that first chair in the morning, and experiencing that feeling of soft snow blowing through my legs.”
Following his brothers through the trees and through mogul fields helped develop his competitive spirit. He got hooked after watching the 1994 Olympics thinking he was good enough to be there himself. Shortly after, he camped out near Oregon’s Mount Hood to spend the summer on snow. He worked hard to find a ski academy to take him in, even though he didn’t have any formal training or competitive wins to his name. He ended up at Waterville Valley where he began formal training. Although he excelled at many other sports—football, basketball, even bow hunting—it didn’t have the same allure that skiing did, which was a sport he considered a hobby. “Skiing was the one thing I could do where I could express myself.”
When he’s not competing, he coaches kids to help them improve their skills. He also is pursuing a graduate degree in business. So keep an eye out for him this winter — he’ll be the one doing a Spin 720 or an Off-Axis 1080 Spin (aka The Tuna Can) off the moguls.
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Keir Dillon
(Photo Credit: Dean Blotto)
“Snowboarding has brought so many amazing things into my life. From the pure exhilaration of being on the mountain to the friends I have made from around the world through my travels and competitions. I feel lucky to be a part of the snowboarding world where there is camaraderie, community and fun.”
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- Years on Team: 2
- Age: 27
- Claim to Fame: 1st at ’05, ’04 World Superpipe Championships; 2nd at ’05 Burton European Open; 3rd at ’05 Mountain Creek Grand prix.
Although Keir Dillon is a major snowboard champion today, he started out at a smaller resort—Camelback Mountain in Pennsylvania—skiing around with his siblings until he was 11. “I first pursued snowboarding as a way to challenge myself,” says Keir.
For the last five years, he has been competing at halfpipes and quarterpipe events around the world. His attitude is all about charging the biggest airs and he is known to put on quite a show. His blisteringly huge McTwists have defined the standard for the trick as well as style in the sport of snowboarding. He’s won several firsts—at the ’05 and ‘04 World Superpipe Championships and at the ’02 Park City Grand Prix. He also was second at the ’05 Burton European Open, third at the ’05 Mountain Creek Grand Prix and third at the ’04 XGames and ’04 U. S. Open. His style is a combination of pure fluidity and technical finesse and he has a reputation for just plain going big.
Keir also hosts snowboarding segments on Fox Sports Net action sports shows. Keir is charismatic, well-spoken and an explosive rider—don’t be surprised if you see him on TV, in videos or magazines. He’s been a great ambassador for the sport. He also likes to build furniture in his workshop, spin records, play basketball and hang out with his wife, family and friends. |
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Kris Freeman
(Photo Credit: United
States Ski and Snowboard Association)
“I love the freedom
I feel while gliding
over the snow.
I love the speed, the cold air, the burning lungs, the throbbing muscles, and the satisfaction of
becoming the ultimate burning engine. An engine that only
has to stop when it’s ready.”
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- Sport: Cross-Country Skiing A Team
- Years on Team: 4
- Age: 25
- Claim to Fame: Best U.S. finishes for cross-country racing in over 20 years. Two-time U.S. Champion.
Despite being a diabetic, New Hampshire's Kris Freeman has established himself as one of his sport's rising stars. He won the opening Under-23 championships race in Italy in 2003 and then went to the World Championships and was a stunning fourth in the 15K classic race. He's posted the best U.S. cross-country results since the Bill Koch era more than two decades ago.
“I can’t imagine my life without the sport of cross-country skiing,” says Freeman, who started skiing around age 2. Even before that, his dad pulled young Freeman around in a sled. Training and competing are Freeman's main missions in life. "Anything I do away from skiing takes away from my skiing."
In 2000, Freeman was diagnosed with diabetes during a routine checkup. "I was told my elite athletic career was not going to be able to continue... I wasn't going to go out that easily" He injects insulin up to six times a day using a Lilly Humalog pen. "It's what I have to do, so I don't think about in any other terms than that. You get used to it. I spend about five minutes a day dealing with the disease." Freeman was named winner of the 2004 LifeScan Prize for Athletic Achievement. This season, he’s focused on reaching a World Cup podium and earning an Olympic medal. |
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Caroline Lalive
(Photo Credit: United
States Ski and Snowboard Association)
"I love skiing because it's the most exhilarating feeling to fly down the mountain with the wind in my face! It's a perfect way to enjoy the beauty of the mountains while pushing to be best."
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- Years on Team: 10
- Age: 26
- Claim to Fame: Between 2003-2005, Lalive earned 15 World Cup top-10s. In 2002, she was 2nd in the Zuchensee Downhill competition.
Two-time Olympian Caroline Lalive first made the U.S. Ski Team when she was only 17 years old. In 1999, she earned the gold medal in the World Juniors CO competition. Before she got into ski racing, she was an outstanding soccer player. She has rebounded from a host of injuries and 13 surgeries to collect four World Cup podiums so far.
Last winter, Lalive produced a top-5 World Cup finish for the sixth consecutive season, despite a traumatic crashed at the end of 2003 and adjusting to new equipment a year ago. She also raced in her fourth World Championships and looks forward to competing in the upcoming Olympics in Torino, Italy
Lalive enjoys traveling and has written a column for The Denver Post. |
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Picabo Street
"Get out in the snow and play this winter. You don't have to be an Olympic star like me to enjoy sliding on snow. It's fun no matter how good you are and it's easier than ever to get started."
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- Claim to Fame:
- 1998 Olympic Champion, Super G, Nagano, Japan.
- 2005 Ski Hall of Fame inductee.
- Olympic Team member in 1994, 1998, 2002.
- Downhill Gold Medalist and Super G Bronze Medalist at the World Championships, Sierra Nevada.
- World Cup Overall title for Downhill in 1995-96 and 1996-7.
- U.S. Olympic Committee Sportswoman of the Year in 1995 and 1998
Picabo began skiing at age five and quickly began to outperform many of her male counterparts. She made her way to the top ranks of the Junior Nationals and joined the U.S. Ski Team in 1988. In 1993, she seized her first major victories with a gold in the combined downhill and a silver in the combined competition at the World Championships in Morioka, Japan. At the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, she won a silver medal in the downhill. One of her greatest accomplishments was becoming the first American ever (male of female) to win a World Cup downhill season title, which happened during the 1993-94 winter season.
During the 1996-97 season, Picabo tore her ACL and missed an entire season. But she rebounded and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Super G at the Games in Nagano. Soon after, Picabo had another crash, going faster than 60 mph. She broke her left femur in four places and tore her ACL. She was off the circuit for two years, but came back to make the U.S. Ski Team again in 2001 and during her comeback season she had four NorAm victories and a second place finish at the U.S. Nationals. She competed in the 2002 Winter Games and then retired.
Since her retirement she has had several TV gigs, including assignments with CBS Sports, OLN, and FineLIving network. In 2003, she hosted Picabo Street’s Snow Zone, a 12-series winter sports show. In 2002, McGraw Hill published Nothing to Hide, her autobiography, written with writer Dana White. For the upcoming 2006 Games, Picabo will act as a special correspondent to NBC’S Today Show throughout the Olympics in Turin, Italy. Last fall, Picabo and her fiancé welcomed a baby boy into the world, which keeps her busy when she’s not out promoting winter sports.
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Hannah Teter
(Photo Credit: United
States Ski and Snowboard Association)
“I started when I was younger because I thought being out on the snow with my friends was a blast, and still is to this day. Even though I have a competitive head, it’s still all about the fun and the love.”
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- Sport: Snowboard Halfpipe
- Years on Team: 3
- Age: 18
- Claim to Fame: 2004 XGames champ and silver medalist at ’03 XGames. First at ’05 Breckenridge Grand Prix and 3rd at ’05 World Championships. Two World Cup Wins in ’04 and two Grand Prix wins in ’03. Look for Hannah in "First Descent: The Story of the Snowboarding Revolution” sponsored by Mountain Dew and hitting theatres in December 05.
Although one of the youngest U.S. Snowboard Team members, Hannah has been competing for quite a while and grew up in a family of champions—two of her four older brothers have been on the podium themselves. “I love snowboarding because it gives it all to me. It gives me passion, focus, and concentration, commitment, dedication, and strength. I go out there in the world and I represent all these things because through snowboarding, I’ve developed the love to strive.”
Hannah started snowboarding at age 8 at Okemo Mountain in Vermont. She won the Junior Worlds in 2002 and also was a forerunner in the 2002 Olympic Games 2005 was a big year for this Vermonter: she graduated from high school and scored a win at the Breckenridge Grand Prix as well as a bronze at the World Championships. She was recently named to Burton’s Global Team, too She is known as a driving force behind the progression of the women's halfpipe. She has wooed crowds many a time performing such tricks as double-overhead airs and frontside 900s.
Despite all the publicity, Hannah says she wants people to know she is “just a normal girl who followed something that lead to somewhere.” She loves traveling the globe and meeting people from different cultures.
Off the slopes, she likes skateboarding, jumping on the trampoline, and yoga |
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Kelly Underkofler
“Cross Country skiing is an amazing workout in the winter, and the exhilaration of using only your own power to move as fast as I do—it's a rush that's hard to beat.”
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- Years on Team: 4
- Age: 21
- Claim to Fame: Three top-10s at 2005 World Championships; three top-5s at the ’03 World Championships.
Minnesota collegian Kelly Underkofler was born without the lower part of her left forearm, but that didn’t stop her dad from taking her and her three brothers skiing when she was four. She always loved being athletic and played soccer and ran track in high school. Kelly started to cross-country race in high school and her determination earned her a spot on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. She finished third in a World Cup qualifier for the Paralympics in Germany in 2002—her first racing trip to Europe.
A member of the 2006 Nordic Disabled Ski Team, Kelly is looking forward to her second Paralympics this winter in Torino, Italy. She will compete in six different Nordic events, including biathalon. She does a variety of races, such as 15K classic and 5K freestyle.
Kelly graduated with a degree in history this spring and spent the summer working for the National Park Service at Washington's Mount Rainier. She took the opportunity to hike, ski walk, and simply enjoy living at altitude. |
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Chris Devlin-Young
(Photo Credit: United
States Ski and Snowboard Association)
“In two turns, I was hooked on skiing because it was fun, very fun. Sure, I fell, I got wet, I got snow on me. For people with disabilities, the thrill of acceleration does not come easy. You can’t just take off running. With gravity to bring you down, all you have to do is hang on—what better sport can there be?”
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- Sport: Disabled Alpine Ski A Team
- Years on Team: 14
- Age: 43
- Claim to Fame: 2005 XGames Sit-skier MonoCross champ. 2005 World Cup Super G title. The only athlete in history to qualify for and compete in both the Alpine and Snowboard Extreme Championships in a single season, placing in the top 25 in both.
A 1982 plane crash while serving in Alaska with the Coast Guard left Devlin-Young completely paralyzed from the knees down and partially paralyzed below the waist. He first tried skiing at the first Veterans Administration Winter Sports clinic 19 years ago and he has been hooked ever since. Within four years, he earned a spot on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, skiing upright with braces and outriggers. After a ski injury in the 1994 Lillehammer Paralympics, he was forced to continue his career on a monoski (a bucket-like seat attached through suspension to a single ski). He did manage to win a gold medal (men’s slalom) anyway during those games on a shattered kneecap! In 1996, he regained a spot on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and won a silver at the World Championships. He was also named Skier of the Year in 1994, 2003, and 2004.
In between competing, Devlin-Young took time to start the New England Disabled Ski Team because there was no place for adaptive skiers to go and get better. He teaches a lot of instructors how to better instruct disabled people. “Teaching teachers allows me to touch a lot of people,” he says. As a coach, he has placed an athlete on the U.S. Ski Team every year since 1999. He has also helped manufacturers develop equipment and clothing for disabled skiers.
His goal for 2006 Paralympics is to win four gold medals. Devlin-Young has already set a record as the first disabled skier to win Paralympics titles in two classes. When he’s not competing in World Cup events, he enjoys extreme competitions. He was also the first disabled athlete to participate in the downhill endurance contest, called the 24 Hours of Aspen. |
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