Buck Hill Ski Racing Club

The Club is a fundraising and support entity formed to advance and maintain the Buck Hill Ski Racing Team as the premier junior alpine racing team in the country. The organizational effort and funds generated by the Club are directed to support the Team Objectives set by Head Coach Erich Sailer.

Because the expenses associated with running a premier ski program exceed the fees paid by team members, the Club was formed to raise money to bring the Buck Hill ski program to its highest level. Funds raised by the Club are directed to:

1.     Support our club members, at all levels, as they set and strive to achieve their individual goals. This includes:

a.     Recruiting, developing and retaining world-class coaches;

b.     Providing access to alternative training not available at Buck Hill (e.g. G.S., Mountain/Camps and physical training);

c.     Equipment, training tools and facility improvements that advance all racers with the best on hill experience possible.

2.     Support the development of nationally and internationally competitive skiers who support the club values, coaching staff and benefit the entire club by providing competition, demonstration and lower points. This includes:

a.     Travel expenses for coaches who support Club athletes as they advance to FIS competitions and prestigious races that include Junior Olympics, National Championships and International Championships;

b.     Support for select racers who travel out of division to National and International Championship Events as ambassadors of the Buck Hill Ski Team.

3.     Advancing the sport of alpine racing regionally, divisionally and nationally which will directly benefit the advancement of our athletes and our program.  This includes:

a.     Representation of the club on appropriate Region, Division and National boards and or committees;

b.     Promotion and/or recruitment of new athletes to the sport of ski racing;

c.      Education and training for parents of our athletes, on and off-hill.  

Lindsey Vonn was a Buck Hill Team member for a number of years until she moved to Colorado as a J3. She has been on the National Team for 11 years and a two time Olympian. Lindsey won 2 silver medals at the 2007 World Championships, two gold medals in the 2009 World Championship nnd a silver medal in the 2011 World Championships.   She won the overall World Cup title in 2009 & 2010, and she was 2nd in 2011.  Lindsey has won more World Cup races than any other American woman!

Tasha McCrank, a former 8- year member of the Buck Hill Team, was a regular member of the US World Cup team for five years. She was on the US Ski Team for 7 years. Tasha represented the United States in Nagano, Japan in 1998, as well as Salt Lake City, USA in 2002, and was a member of the 1999 US World Championship Team. Tasha retired from ski racing following the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Sterling Grant is currently a sophomore member of the Denver University Ski Team and the reigning NCAA Slalom Champion.  She was a member of the U.S. Ski Team from 2006-2011.  Sterling won the 2006 and 2011 Nor-AM slalom titles and raced in many World Cup races!   Sterling was a member of the 2007 U.S. World Junior team.

Michael Ankeny was named to the U.S. Development Team in 2008.  He is a U.S. Junior National Slalom Champion and a member of the 2011 U.S. World Junior Team.  Michael continues to strive toward his ski racing goals as a member of the U.S. Ski Team while attending Dartmouth College.

Ryan Wilson was named to the U.S. Development Team in 2011. Ryan elected to accept a scholarship from the University of Utah where he skis as a key member of Utah's Ski Team.

Kristina Koznick regularly placed in the top ten overall World Cup Slalom standings and has five World Cup wins to her credit! She had her best year in 2001-2002, finishing 2nd overall in the World Cup Slalom rankings. She's also a four-time US National Championship Slalom champion! Kristina skied in the Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, and was a member of the World Championship Team in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Kristina retired from ski racing following the 2006 Olympics as one of our country's most successful ski racers.

Matthew Strand is the latest Buck Hill Ski Team member to be named to the U.S. Development Team.  Matthew will remain a Buck Hill Ski Team member during the 2011/2012 season as he pursues his dream to be World Champion.

In the 2010/11 season, over twenty Buck Hill racers qualified for various Junior Olympics!  This was a dominant force in championship races at all levels.

Over the years, dozens of college scholarships have been awarded to Buck Hill Ski racers to major colleges and universities in the United States. Hundreds of local and national races have been won by Buck Hill racers. At the Junior Olympics and previous Junior Nationals, a total of 68 gold medals, 47 silver medals, and 32 bronze medals have been won by our racers. Cory Carlson, Lori Greeley, Susan Holes, Mike Meleski, Biere Marceau, Joe Levins, Tim Hanson, Kristina Koznick, Martina Sailer, Tasha Nelson, Lindsey Vonn, Sterling Grant, and Michael Ankeny were or currently are on the US Ski Team. Over 100 FIS races were won by Buck Hill team members over the last 30 years.

The success of the team over the years is due in large part to the efforts of the Program Director, Erich Sailer. There is no one better in the country at developing junior ski racers. Buck Hill was recognized as the Ski Team of the Year by USSA in 2008. The system that Erich has installed over the years is also very important. Each coach with the team has participated and benefited from this system as a junior racer. The coaches know the system well, believe in the system and are dedicated to giving something back to the sport of ski racing. In recognition of Erich's dedication, he was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 2006. Congratulations, Erich!

Buck Hill, Inc. and the Buck Hill Ski Racing Club are two different entities. Buck Hill, Inc. owns the ski area, pays the coaching staff payroll and handles the bookkeeping for the Racing Team. The Buck Hill Ski Racing Club is a 501 (c) non-profit organization that consists of all parents and other people interested in helping our young athletes. The Club raises money to bring the program to its very best level. This is only possible if we have coaches at the FIS races with our top racers, who will then return to Buck Hill with lower points and a higher level of performance. This benefits every young member of our team. The Club also provides money to support out-of-division expenses such as car rental, airline tickets, hotels and special equipment needs. These expenses far exceed the fees paid by team members. All of this, along with hill improvements, gates, radios and equipment upkeep requires between $50,000 and $60,000 per year. In the past few years, fundraising also enabled us to build a new starting ramp at the top of the training hill.