2013 in Review: Part 4

Missed the other posts? Check out Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

October

After the excitement of September, October was a little less exciting. I attempted to keep up with running despite the weather getting colder.

But, alas, that was sidelined by a stress fracture in my foot. I ended up spending two months in a boot.

There was a lovely rainbow outside my apartment.

And Julia, Katie and I carved some pumpkins for Halloween!

November

Korey and Ashley moved to the Avenues in Salt Lake City. Their new apartment has some killer views!

The Colts and Texans played, so Julia and I went to Billy Blanco's to cheer for our respective teams. Naturally, the Colts won in a crazy fourth quarter comeback.

Starbucks red cups were released, which always makes me happy.

Another happy seasonal item...Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Stars! I may or may not have stockpiled these.

11:11 11/11. Made a wish!

A long track speedskating World Cup was held in Salt Lake City at Utah Olympic Oval, so I went down to watch for a day. The USA went 1-2 on this particular event.

Opening day! Park City Mountain Resort opened at the end of November and Katie, Julia and I went out for a few runs to celebrate. 

I went home for Thanksgiving, which means lots of puggle time. 

Home also means lots of games! We played Cranium and Hillary and I had matching answers in Mind Meld. It was kind of wonderful! 

December

I kicked off the month with my first-ever NFL games! Despite being under the weather, I joined my dad and brother for tailgating.

Lucas Oil Stadium!

I worked with the Today Show on a shoot at aerials practice.

A bobsled World Cup came to Park City and I went out to take a few photos.

I continued skiing regularly. We had tons of sun dogs in December for some reason, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of them!

The FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup came out to Soldier Hollow, which was a great chance to watch some of our B-Team athletes (as well as Olympic Champion Billy Demong) and take some photos!

I had to climb some snowbanks for optimal picture taking position.

I went home for Christmas.

Merry Christmas! We added a few people (and dogs) to our annual Christmas cookie photo. 

Christmas Eve service. 

Olympic Trials came to Park City! Todd Lodwick earned a record-breaking sixth Olympic spot. The weather was amazing all weekend and it was super fun to watch everything! 

Finally, I closed out the year with some New Year's Eve skiing with Julia.

Happy New Year! Can't wait to see what 2014 brings!

Holidays with USSA Athletes

Holidays with USSA Athletes
By Riley Steinmetz

For the athletes of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the holidays are often a busy time of year. It’s the middle of competition season and, especially during an Olympic year, there is a lot to prepare for. Whether overseas or at home, though, they find a way to celebrate with their loved ones and teammates during the holiday season.

“As a team that spends so much time together, we're practically like a family,” cross country skier Kikkan Randall said, “We get together and do a little gift giving, maybe some baking if we can find a kitchen and share the time together.”

Because the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has races in Europe immediately following Christmas, they typically do not have the opportunity to come back to the families in the USA. Still, the team makes sure to celebrate the season as best they can. Randall brought one of her family’s traditions along to inject some humor into the holidays.

“My family has this tradition where we all draw names out of a hat and then write a poem about that person and get them a small gift,” she explained, “Then, the person has to read the poem written about them before they try and guess who wrote it—a kind of secret Santa with a twist! We've brought this tradition to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team for the last few seasons and we usually have the poem night a couple weekends before Christmas. It's quite the riot!”

“It makes for a pretty funny night,” cross country skier Andy Newell said, “Some are short, simple haikus, while others are long songs and always pretty embarrassing.”

For some athletes, despite the busy Olympic year schedules, this season comes with the opportunity to go home for the holidays for the first time in years.

“I'm thankful I have gotten to be with family for Christmas almost every year,” moguls athlete Heather McPhie said, “The previous two Olympic cycles, I was grateful that my family could travel to me as we had Gold Cup right after Christmas, but this year we actually have two weeks off for Christmas.”

While others get to spend the holidays stateside, it does not mean that there is a break from training. For ski jumping and nordic combined athletes, Olympic Trials take place in Park City, UT, only days after Christmas.

“This holiday season, we will be getting ready for the Olympic Trials in Park City on January 28th,” nordic combined athlete Taylor Fletcher said, “I would like to see everyone out there to watch the top athletes in the nation fight for the automatic berth to the Olympics. I hope to be in the fight for that so I can take the pressure off and let myself perform!”

Fletcher’s teammate and Olympic Champion Billy Demong will also be hoping to earn an Olympic berth at Trials, but Demong returned to Park City a week earlier for another competition, the FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup at Soldier Hollow and Utah Olympic Park. Demong won two of days of competition and placed second in another, earning the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team an additional World Cup spot.

“Part of my reasoning for coming home was not only to help earn a spot for the next period of World Cup, but also to be with my family,” Demong explained, “I’m based here in Park City, so now I’m looking forward to being able to be home and take a few days to go skiing with my family and just enjoy the holidays stateside. I’m looking forward to kicking back a little bit and then ramping up again for Olympic Trials and the next period of World Cup.”

Whether in Europe or at home, the athletes of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing have found a way to celebrate their favorite parts of the holiday season.

“My main tradition around the holiday is to be with people I love and take a break from the often crazy travel schedule that is our December through March,” McPhie said.

“I love to make cookies for Santa,” halfpipe snowboarder Arielle Gold said, “You can never be too old for that!”

“The only tradition I try to bring with me is my Denver Broncos jersey, a good attitude and hard work for the competition season,” Fletcher said, “With all these combined, a good time will be had!”

Ultimately, despite their busy schedules, the holidays are a time to relax and spend time with loved ones—even for Olympic Champions.

“I’ve spent one Thanksgiving in the United States since 1998 and I’ve spent one Christmas in Europe,” Demong said, “Christmas has always been a priority to be home whether it was years ago with my parents in Lake Placid or now home with my family in Park City. It’s a good time to take a break.”

Happy holidays from everyone at the USSA!

Celebrating 100 Days to Sochi

Celebrating 100 Days to Sochi
By Riley Steinmetz

NEW YORK, NY (Oct. 31) – On Tuesday, the U.S. Olympic Committee threw a party to celebrate the 100 day countdown to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The venue? Times Square. U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing athletes were out in full force, showing their Olympic spirit both at the Times Square event and at the New York Gold Medal Gala, the USSA's largest fundraising event.

The day began bright and early with several athletes appearing on the Today Show and continued into the evening, when musician Gavin DeGraw put on a free show.  In between, athletes signed autographed and demonstrated their sports to fans on jumps and rails brought to Times Square for the event.

“It’s awesome to see all the support for the athletes,” snowboarder Chas Guldemond said, “The excitement is building! It’s awesome to be able to be snowboarding here in New York City.”

The demonstrations, set up by Park City Mountain Resort and Powder Corp., brought tricks from the mountain into the urban core of the city.

“It’s just like a melting pot of every different culture and language in New York City,” freeskier Gus Kenworthy said, “It’s cool to be able to showcase what we do to all these people and hopefully garner a bunch of attention and awareness of our sports and ourselves as athletes before the Games.”

With only 100 days until the Games begin, many of the athletes participating were also preparing for the beginning of competition season.

“It's so great to be here in New York City to celebrate with all the other athletes as we hit an important milestone,” nordic combined Olympic Champion Billy Demong, who roller skied with Matt Lauer to kick off the day, said, “Right now, we’ve started transitioning and are at this turning point between a successful training season and competition season. It's a good breaking point as we all prepare to hit the road.”

The day presented athletes with a variety of opportunities. The newly-minted U.S. Olympic SportsMan of the Year, Ted Ligety, received his award from the USOC. Lindsey Vonn, fresh off of a Monday Today Show appearance, was featured as a guest on Late Night with David Letterman. The following day, athletes celebrated 100 days to the Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony at the New York Gold Medal Gala.

One of the highlights for many athletes, though, was the chance to meet and share their excitement with athletes from other sports.

“I look up to all of these Olympians a lot,” ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson said, “So, it's really cool to be involved in these activities with them and meet a bunch of athletes that we don't get to see that much.”

For others, the enthusiasm surrounding the day’s festivities was a preview of things to come.

“There’s a lot of positive energy,” freestyle aerialist Dylan Ferguson said, “That’s what the Olympics are all about—bringing athletes together to represent their country. It’s amazing to bring everyone together and feel that energy that we’re going to feel when we walk into the Opening Ceremony.”

For freeskiing athletes, the excitement began a day early. The night before the USOC’s celebration, The North Face hosted an event to unveil the Olympic freeskiing uniforms. The uniforms, produced in the United States, are meant to be a celebration of the rebellious American spirit.

“I’m really impressed with The North Face uniforms,” slopestyle skier Nick Goepper said, “They’re super stylish and you can definitely tell that they really took in the athlete input. I’m pretty stoked to wear them at the Olympics.”

For more news and information on the latest events in your favorite sports, visit usskiteam.com,ussnowboarding.com and usfreeskiing.com.