The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“That was the goal for this season”
Going into the 2008-2009 alpine ski-racing season, Crested Butte resident David Chodounsky had one goal in mind, make the U.S. Ski Team. In fact, it was a goal Chodounsky had since he started racing almost 17 years ago, but this past season it was go time.
There was one problem: Chodounsky refused to follow the typical protocol for making the U.S. Ski Team. That is, rather than work his way up through the team ranks, ostensibly forgoing a college education, Chodounsky opted to get his degree and then try to make the team.
Chodounsky had a prolific junior racing career competing for the Crested Butte Academy. His accomplishments on the slopes and in the classroom offered him the opportunity to attend and ski race at Dartmouth College.
Typically, this is a crux decision for several aspiring racers. Either take time off to compete and work on lowering your overall ranking to try and make the team, or go to college.
Chodounsky chose college, a route that often means the end of one’s chances to make the U.S. Ski Team.
“It’s not really the path,” says Chodounsky. “It’s not likely that people can do that. I just kept skiing and got better while racing at Dartmouth. I kept my head together in college and was skiing strong.”
Eventually, Chodounsky won the NCAA title in slalom while racing for Dartmouth and was captain of the ski racing team.
With his college racing accomplishments and degree in hand, Chodounsky then returned to his goal, making the U.S. Ski Team.
It would be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor as Chodounsky had no team support. Therefore he was responsible for raising the money to cover travel expenses and race fees, as well as putting together his race schedule. The schedule took Chodounsky from New Zealand to Europe and throughout the United States, all in an effort to score enough points to lower his FIS (Federacion Internationale de Ski) worldwide ranking in slalom to 60 or below, a pre-requisite for making the U.S. team in slalom.
Chodounsky closed out his frantic 2008-2009 season on top, winning the slalom title at the U.S. Nationals in Alyeska, Alaska on Sunday, March 29 defeating U.S. Ski Team member Jimmy Cochran.
But the question remained—was it enough to get him in the top 60 in the FIS rankings worldwide? Chodounsky waited patiently to see and ultimately, he made the cut.
“I needed to be top 60 on the list and I was 60 on the dot,” says Chodounsky.
Still, nothing is guaranteed until you get the call from the U.S. Ski Team and on Friday, May 1 Chodounsky got the call and he is now a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s B team.
“It feels great—that was the goal for this season,” says Chodounsky.
Now that he is on the B team, he has a shot at making the next step to the A team, which would require getting his worldwide ranking down to 30.
The bad news is, due to current fiscal restraints on the U.S. team, Chodounsky still has to pay his own way.
“They don’t have a lot of money and I’m still going to have to pay my own way which is kind of a bummer,” says Chodounsky. “I’m hoping to set up a fundraiser this summer.”
The good news is, as a member of the team, Chodounsky gets an opportunity to compete at the next level, which is the best opportunity for him to lower his world FIS ranking.
“I should be able to start skiing some World Cup races,” says Chodounsky. “That’s my next goal for this summer.”
To help out financially or keep track of his racing career, go to davidchodounsky.com.
