PARK CITY, UT (May 11, 2017) – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association will recognize over 50 athletes, coaches, clubs and leaders who’ve supported skiing and snowboarding at this week’s annual USSA Congress. The awards include USSA gold awards, silver awards, athlete, coach and club of the year awards in each sport, and sport-specific awards.
Previously announced awards include ski racing official Ted Sutton (Lincoln, NH) as the recipient of the Julius Blegen Award recognizing lifetime service to ski and snowboard competition. Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle/Vail, CO) received the Beck International Award, USSA’s highest athletic honor. Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club has been named Club of the Year. U.S. Cross Country Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb and Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club’s Nichole Mason have been named international and domestic Coach of the Year.
Snowboarding technical delegate William Van Gilder (Pocono Pines, PA) will receive the Westhaven Award, recognizing his service to both the USSA and the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association. Van Gilder serves as a technical advisor for the Toyota U.S. Revolution Tour and Hole Shot Tour. He’s served four years as president on the executive board for USASA and coordinates USASA Nationals, one of the most important events of the season for aspiring and established snowboarders of all disciplines.
Sugarloaf Mountain Resort, Killington Mountain Resort, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and Aspen Snowmass will receive silver awards for their service to sport. Sugarloaf, winner of the Paul Bacon Award recognizing race organization, hosted four major alpine events, including the 2017 U.S. Alpine Championships. Killington, Squaw Valley and Aspen will receive the John J. Clair Jr. award for their support of the U.S. Ski Team through FIS Alpine World Cup events.
Other silver award recipients include Horst Weber (Lake Placid, NY) for his service to the USSA through International Ski Federation events, Ted Martin (Edwards, CO) for his service as a USSA official, U.S. Snowboarding athlete Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) for her demonstration of sportsmanship and leadership, USA Nordic for its support of youth in nordic sports, Elisha “Eli” Powell, MD for his service as a team physician, and U.S. Ski Team athlete Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) for his work upstate New York’s chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation.
All of this year’s awards will be presented at the Chairman’s Awards Dinner on May 11 in Park City, UT.
USSA GOLD AWARD RECIPIENTS
Westhaven Award (top USSA technical delegate) – William Van Gilder (Pocono Pines, PA)
USSA SILVER AWARD RECIPIENTS
Paul Bacon Award (event organization) – Sugarloaf Mountain Resort
John J. Clair Jr. Award (service to the U.S. Ski Team) – Killington Mountain Resort, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Aspen Snowmass
Bud and Mary Little Award (service to FIS/USOC) – Horst Weber (Lake Placid, NY)
Buddy Werner Award (athlete sportsmanship, leadership) – Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT)
Russell Wilder Award (service to youth) – USA Nordic Sport
J. Leland Sosman Award (service as team physician) – Elisha “Eli” Powell, MD (Anchorage, AK)
West Family Award (USSA official) – Ted Martin (Edwards, CO)
Team Athlete Giving Back Award – Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY)
William Van Gilder - Westhaven Award
William Van Gilder is an integral part of competitive snowboarding at all levels of the sport, supporting both regional and national events. He is an important component of both the USSA’s and USASA’s event teams and has helped grow USASA to one of the largest snowboarding organizations.
Sugarloaf Mountain Resort - Paul Bacon Award
Sugarloaf hosted four major ski racing events this spring: NorAm finals, U.S. Alpine Championships, U.S. Junior National Championships and U16 National Championships. It was a non-stop, three-week effort to produce the highest quality domestic races below the World Cup.
Killington Mountain Resort, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Aspen Snowmass - John J. Clair Jr. Award
Three of the country’s most iconic ski resorts – Killington, Squaw Valley and Aspen – stepped up on behalf of the U.S. Ski Team to play host to some of the most exciting World Cup races ever in America. Across the three events, over five million Americans tuned in to NBC or NBC Sports Network broadcasts and nearly 80,000 fans packed stadiums and lined the race courses from coast to coast.
Horst Weber - Bud and Mary Little Award
During his career, Horst Weber served as technical delegate for the FIS at countless domestic and international events. He occasionally coached with the U.S. Ski Team, directing race camps in Europe, South America and across the United States. He also served as a USSA board member for four years.
Kelly Clark - Buddy Werner Award
Kelly Clark showed true sportsmanship this season. While overcoming an injury, she focused on helping the younger athletes to learn new tricks and progress their riding. Clark established the Kelly Clark Foundation in 2010 to help provide access to the sport for underprivileged snowboarders. Her Foundation now helps hundreds of up-and-coming athletes reach their potential.
USA Nordic Sport - Russell Wilder Award
USA Nordic Sport has supported the rise of the U.S. men’s ski jumpers at the international level. They have also encouraged and supported the up-and-coming athletes and clubs around the country.
Elisha “Eli” Powell, MD - J. Leland Sosman Award
Eli Powell displayed USSA’s values of excellence and integrity this past season. His travel to Slovenia to cover the men's alpine team was diverted to Austria to manage the care of a development alpine athlete that sustained a traumatic injury. He provided expertise on the ground and provided expert opinion and timely feedback.
Ted Martin - West Family Award
Ted Martin had dedicated more than 20 years to the progression and development of snowboarding officials. He started as an event organizer and was the first FIS Snowboard race director. Martin gives countless hours to coordinating the FIS technical delegate schedule in North America.
Andrew Weibrecht - Team Athletes Give Back Award
Andrew Weibrecht became a board member of the upstate New York chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation in the spring of 2016 and has worked on raising funds for current programming. This past year, the chapter had a record number of wishes granted and is continuing to expand its fundraising horizons.
