The Valley Sun

Local snowboarder and Boardercross competitor, Graham Wantanabe, has officially nabbed a spot in the Vancouver Games! Wantanabe, another SVSEF Olympic Development athlete, Wood River High School graduate, and lifelong Sun Valley resident, will compete in his second Olympic Games in February.

After he did not qualify for the 2006 Winter Games, Graham attended as a Wax Tech for the US Snowboard Team. But when a teammate was unfortunately injured during training, Graham was in the right place at the right time and filled the vacancy on the Olympic squad. But this year, Graham has taken a more traditional route and qualified at last week’s snowboardcross World Cup in Stoneham. Graham’s second place finish concretes his spot on the Olympic Team. Read the entire story: click here.

Don’t miss Graham next month and send him tons of Sun Valley love!

SVSEF ‘OUR GANG’ from INLAND SURFER on Vimeo.

Morgan Arritola can now add Olympian to her long list of accomplishments. Arritola, an SVSEF athlete and US Ski Team member, was named to the Olympic Cross Country team today. The announcement came after good early season results for Morgan who is still riding high following an extremely successful 2008/2009 season, finishing 5th at the U23 World Championships and a solid 22nd at the FIS World Championships in the Czech Republic. As one of four American women to compete in the Olympics, keep an eye out for this speed demon in Vancouver.

This local speed demon, who graduated from the Community School in Sun Valley and is currently a member of the SVSEF’s Olympic Development Team, only skied for the first time when she was 16. Introduced to the sport by SVSEF Cross Country Coach/Program Director, Rick Kapala, she certainly has something special. Kapala said, "Obviously this is really exciting for Morgan, as well as for the team and the community. She’s sort of ‘our gal’." He continues to point out the spectacular nature of her rise as a Nordic skier. "For her to have started where she did, which was basically picking up the sport at the age of 16, and now, only seven years later, she’s on the Olympic team. It’s really awesome."

We can’t wait to see her compete next month and are proud of all she has accomplished. Keep it up, Morgan!

Kaitlyn Farrington, SVSEF athlete and Sun Valley local, competed over the weekend at the Wendy’s Invitational Superpipe Final in front of over 14,000 people. Farrington finished second overall in Snowbasin, though she seemed to be the crowd’s favorite as boos were heard when were lower-than-expected scores were announced. Although, Farrington was stoked on her second place finish and continues to have a killer season. Read the entire article here: http://www.allisports.com/news/elena-hight-takes-snowbasin-superpipe.

In disciplines that range from moguls to Cross Country skiing to Halfpipe to SkiCross, Sun Valley natives and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) athletes are busy this winter. With the Olympics less that a month away, several local skiers and snowboarders are currently competing around the world on the World Cup circuit and anticipating the announcement of the Olympic rosters.

Graham Wantanabe, already an Olympic athlete, stands a chance of again competing in BoarderCross. Langely McNeal and Biche Rudigoz are currently vying for spots on the newest Olympic sport’s team, SkiCross. Also competing around the world, Bellevue native, SVSEF athlete, and US Snowboard team member, Kaitlyn Farrington.

The Olympic fate of Cross Country powerhouse, US Ski Team Member (A Team), and longtime SVSEF athlete Morgan Arritola will be announced on Tuesday, January 19th. Also on the Cross Country front, two other SVSEF athletes, Simi Hamilton and Adele Espy were recently named to the World Junior Cross Country team.

And as we speak, mogul-virtuoso and son of storied mogul-expert Joey Cordeau, Shane Cordeau is competing in one of his first World Cups in Deer Valley, with qualifications runs set to take place Saturday night at 5:30. Shane has had an incredibly successful 2009/2010 season thus far, after winning two Nor-Am Mogul Championships in the 2008/2009 season, as a new member to the SVSEF’s Olympic Development Team (ODT), and as a recent addition to the US Freestyle Team, this season Shane is competing in his first World Cup events and has a shot at one of three remaining spots for the Olympics.

Watch out for these skiers and boarders who ski, train, and live on Sun Valley snow as the Olympics draw nearer and check back here for results and announcements. Also look at www.svsef.org, www.ussnowboarding.com, and www.usskiteam.com for more information. Good luck to all of them!

Locals Tai Barrymore, Colter Brehmer and Hannah Haupt, along with 25 others skiers from throughout North America, threw down big tricks and wowed the crowd this weekend at the URTUR FIS NorAm in the SuperPipe on Lower Warm Springs. Barrymore had one of the biggest runs on Friday, finishing a close second behind Evan Schwartz. Brehmer finished ninth over all and Haupt ended up second for the ladies behind 2010 X-Game skier Megan Gunning.

Saturday’s runs were stunners as well with Barrymore hitting some of the biggest tricks of the day and skiers and boarders crowding Lower Warm Springs to watch the action. Go to www.URTUR.com for results or check back later for Saturday’s results and photos of the comp.

Thanks to the athletes, the SVSEF, URTUR and Sun Valley Company for putting on the event!

NorAm Halfpipe Competition taking place at Baldy’s Halfpipe tomorrow, January 8 and Saturday, January 9.

Starting tomorrow some of the nation’s best freestyle skiers will be competing in a FIS Freestyle Ski Halfpipe NorAm Event on Baldy. Twenty-eight skiers from the US and Canada will showcase their biggest and best tricks, flying, hucking, twisting, flipping off the SuperPipe on Lower Warm Springs. This definitely isn’t a juniors’ comp. These kids are competing for spots on the World Cup and ultimately the US Ski Team. They are the nation’s up-and-comers, so expect some huge air and some even bigger tricks. Then watch out for them in places like the Olympics and the X-Games in the next few years.

Come by and support local freestyle phenoms like Tai Barrymore, Colter Brehmer, and Ben Parker starting at 10:15 Friday morning and continuing throughout the day into Saturday. The event is hosted by Sun Valley Company and the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) and is sure to be quite a show.

The event, put on by promoting and event company, URTUR, will be broadcast live on URTUR’s website, www.urtur.com. Up to the minute results will be available on the URTUR website as well. Also check back here for results, photos, and updates throughout the weekend.

Part of a generation of kids born and raised in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area, Langely McNeal, has had skis on her feet since she could walk. For her, Sun Valley is home and Baldy holds a special place in her heart. And now, for the past few years she has been training to get closer and closer to every skier’s dream, the Olympics.

Langely is one of two American women in the hunt for the Vancouver Games in the new event, SkiCross. Much like a motocross race on skis, with all the bumping, pushing and crashing, SkiCross is fast, furious, and terrifying. But anyone who has seen Langely on the hill knows this ball of fire can definitely hang. Langely, who still calls Sun Valley home and trains on Baldy, is a member of the US Ski Team’s SkiCross team (part of the US Freestyle team) and a member of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Olympic Development Team. As the top ranked US woman in SkiCross and with support from the SVSEF and the US Ski Team, Langely will be traveling to Europe to compete in several qualifying races in hopes of earning herself a spot in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Keep an eye out for our local girl and check out the five things she loves about Sun Valley below.

5 Things I Love about Sun Valley

1. The steep terrain on Baldy that feeds right into the non-existent lift lines.

2. The feel of carving a ski on the perfectly groomed runs, then having hot chocolate and whip cream at Warm Springs Lodge.

3. Being able to walk out my front door with a mountain bike, road bike, running shoes, whatever, and knowing I’ll be able to find some sweet trail in any direction.

4. The people, hands down. So many great personalities in our valley and amazing friends that you can’t find anywhere else.

5. The ridiculous amount of sunshine we see all year round… so spoiled!