INNSBRUCK, Austria (Jan. 15) - Alex Leever (Vail, CO) of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail was 10th and Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club's Julia Mueller-Ristine (Aspen, CO) was 17th in super combined to close the second day of alpine competition from the inagural Winter Youth Olympics in Austria. Sweden's Magdelena Fjaellstroem and Marco Schwarz of Austria claimed victory. Both Leever and Mueller-Ristine moved up in the slalom portion of the race following their runs in super G.

VAIL, CO (Aug. 28) - Olympic gold medalist and four-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) will join the Best in the World women's speed team for their annual on-snow camp in Portillo, Chile next month. Vonn, who demonstrated the strength of her surgically repaired right knee for journalists Wednesday at Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, said she feels her right knee is almost as healthy as the left. She hasn't skied since a Feb. 5 season ending crash at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria.

Inspired by the official U.S. Ski Team mascot Champ, the Team kicked off a content series asking athletes and fans about the moment they truly felt like a champion. Hundreds responded using the hashtag #WhatMakesAChamp to try and win a trip to the NASTAR Pacesetting Trials at Copper Mountain to race Olympic champion Ted Ligety.

PARK CITY, UT (May 17) – Audi FIS World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) was honored by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association with the Beck International Award, the organization’s highest athlete honor. The USSA also recognized longtime race official John Garnsey of Vail/Beaver Creek with its Julius Blegen Award for three decades of service to the sport. The awards were presented May 11 in Park City at the annual USSA Congress at the Park City Marriott.

2012 U.S. SKI AND SNOWBOARD ASSOCIATION AWARDS

PARK CITY, UT (May 17) – Four-time World Champion and giant slalom title winner Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was honored by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association with the Beck International Award, the organization’s highest athlete honor. The USSA also recognized Barry "Bear" Bryant of the Sunday River Ski and Snowboard Club with its Julius Blegen Award, the highest volunteer service honor, for years of service to the sport. The awards were presented May 17 in Park City at the annual USSA Congress at the Park City Marriott.

SCHLADMING, Austria (Mar. 14) – In tight competition, Klaus Kroell of Austria won the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill title in front of his hometown with a seventh-place finish Wednesday as Norweagian Aksel Lund Svindal won the race. Kroell took the season-long title by just seven points over Switzerland’s Beat Feuz, who was second on the day. With the finish in sunny Schladming, Fuez added to his World Cup overall lead and will carry a 135 point lead over Austria's Marcel Hirscher into the final three races.

HIGHLIGHTS