U.S. Ski Association youth races coming to Whitefish

by Whitefish Pilot
| February 22, 2023 1:00 AM

The Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation recently announced that it will be hosting two days of junior ski racing at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 25-26.

The event will be for male and female U16-U21 (age 14 -20) competitors. These races are part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s nationwide competition calendar. The competitors will be vying to qualify for Western Region championship events to be held at Sun Valley, Idaho, and Alyeska Resort, Alaska in March.

The events are sanctioned within the Northern Division of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association. The Northern Division includes all of Montana and parts of Wyoming and South Dakota. Competitors for these events will be coming from ski clubs throughout Montana including Anaconda, Big Sky, Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula as well as the Flathead Valley.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is the governing body for all amateur ski racing in the United States, as well as the U.S. Ski Team that competes throughout the world every winter.

Both races will be Giant Slaloms held on Ed’s Run starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26. The racecourses are accessed by Chair Two and can be easily viewed from the Upper Base Area near Ed & Mully’s Restaurant.

The weekend events will be preceded by slalom races for the same field of competitors at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area on Feb. 23-24. Eight junior skiers representing the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation will be competing in these events. FVSEF is a nonprofit community-based organization that has been supporting student-athletes in the region since 1973.

Volunteers are needed for a number of on-hill duties for both events. All volunteers will receive a lift ticket if needed for racecourse access on race days, as well as a complementary lift voucher that can be used anytime in the following 12 months.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact hlindh@fvsef.org or tim.hinderman@fvsef.org.