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!
Showing posts with label Taylor Fletcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taylor Fletcher. Show all posts
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Behind the Scenes at Media Summit
Behind the Scenes at Media Summit
By Riley Steinmetz
PARK CITY, Utah (Oct. 3) - Ever wonder where those heartfelt Olympic athlete interviews that flood the television during every Games come from? Every Olympic year, the U.S. Olympic Committee schedules a Media Summit, an event where media from around the world can hear from all of the top American athletes in one place. This year, the event was held in Park City.
“I think it’s very fitting having a Media Summit in Park City—it’s such a winter wonderland,” freestyle moguls athlete Pat Deneen said, “It’s a really great opportunity for us to share our stories. That’s been really fun.”
In addition to interviews, media also had the opportunity to attend demonstration events for several different sports. Nordic combined athletes Taylor and Bryan Fletcher were on hand at the USSA Center of Excellence in Park City to demonstrate cross country skiing to dozens of media outlets.
“I haven’t experienced anything like this before,” Taylor Fletcher said, “It’s fun to get your image and name out there to everyone who’s going to cover the Olympics. Every chance I have to get out there and share my story and our team’s goals is a good opportunity.”
For the athletes, it was about more that talking to reporters and camera crews. It was also an opportunity to come together as Team USA. Figure skaters, bobsledders, skiers, snowboarders and more were able to meet and make friends in different sports.
“We get to see a lot of our friends from different sports here,” cross country skier Andy Newell said, “It’s fun because we don’t see each other that much. It’s fun to bring the team together.”
Despite the busy schedule, though, the athletes still had time for a little fun.
“My favorite part was the comedian Pete Holmes,” ski jumper Lindsey Van said, “We got to just joke around and laugh.”
And while some of the athletes may have lacked certain skills for portions of the event, they still had a good time.
“I thought that the singing part was going to be really, really painful,” snowboarder Justin Reiter said, “And I’m sure for the people that actually have to end up hearing my voice, it will be painful, but shooting it was awesome. It was super fun.”
The Media Summit was an opportunity to showcase some of the athletes’ talents off of the slopes, as well. During a session with NBC, the teams got a chance to show off their singing voices.
“Andy Newell is the best singer on the cross country team,” cross country skier Liz Stephen said, “He actually just recorded his first CD. He’s amazing at guitar and singing and sings us all to sleep sometimes if we’re lucky.”
“[Singing] was a pretty interesting way to start off the morning!” alpine skier Alice McKennis said, “I’d say Laurenne [Ross] has the best voice on our team.”
Ultimately, though, the Media Summit was an excellent way for athletes to balance the demands of the media in an Olympic year with their intense training schedules.
“In a small period of time, I can meet with so many media and get a lot of things done,” snowboarder Chas Guldemond said, “That’s really important for me so that, moving forward, I can focus on my training.”
For more information and behind-the-scenes photos from Media Summit, follow the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PARK CITY, Utah (Oct. 3) - Ever wonder where those heartfelt Olympic athlete interviews that flood the television during every Games come from? Every Olympic year, the U.S. Olympic Committee schedules a Media Summit, an event where media from around the world can hear from all of the top American athletes in one place. This year, the event was held in Park City.
“I think it’s very fitting having a Media Summit in Park City—it’s such a winter wonderland,” freestyle moguls athlete Pat Deneen said, “It’s a really great opportunity for us to share our stories. That’s been really fun.”
In addition to interviews, media also had the opportunity to attend demonstration events for several different sports. Nordic combined athletes Taylor and Bryan Fletcher were on hand at the USSA Center of Excellence in Park City to demonstrate cross country skiing to dozens of media outlets.
“I haven’t experienced anything like this before,” Taylor Fletcher said, “It’s fun to get your image and name out there to everyone who’s going to cover the Olympics. Every chance I have to get out there and share my story and our team’s goals is a good opportunity.”
For the athletes, it was about more that talking to reporters and camera crews. It was also an opportunity to come together as Team USA. Figure skaters, bobsledders, skiers, snowboarders and more were able to meet and make friends in different sports.
“We get to see a lot of our friends from different sports here,” cross country skier Andy Newell said, “It’s fun because we don’t see each other that much. It’s fun to bring the team together.”
Despite the busy schedule, though, the athletes still had time for a little fun.
“My favorite part was the comedian Pete Holmes,” ski jumper Lindsey Van said, “We got to just joke around and laugh.”
And while some of the athletes may have lacked certain skills for portions of the event, they still had a good time.
“I thought that the singing part was going to be really, really painful,” snowboarder Justin Reiter said, “And I’m sure for the people that actually have to end up hearing my voice, it will be painful, but shooting it was awesome. It was super fun.”
The Media Summit was an opportunity to showcase some of the athletes’ talents off of the slopes, as well. During a session with NBC, the teams got a chance to show off their singing voices.
“Andy Newell is the best singer on the cross country team,” cross country skier Liz Stephen said, “He actually just recorded his first CD. He’s amazing at guitar and singing and sings us all to sleep sometimes if we’re lucky.”
“[Singing] was a pretty interesting way to start off the morning!” alpine skier Alice McKennis said, “I’d say Laurenne [Ross] has the best voice on our team.”
Ultimately, though, the Media Summit was an excellent way for athletes to balance the demands of the media in an Olympic year with their intense training schedules.
“In a small period of time, I can meet with so many media and get a lot of things done,” snowboarder Chas Guldemond said, “That’s really important for me so that, moving forward, I can focus on my training.”
For more information and behind-the-scenes photos from Media Summit, follow the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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