The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
U14 racing action this weekend
by Than Acuff
The orange safety netting is up, the blue dye is down and the gates are in as Crested Butte Mountain Resort will host the 39th annual Prater Cup Wednesday through Sunday, February 20-24.
It’s a time-honored tradition in Crested Butte. Since 1980, the Prater Cup, named in memory of Dan Prater, has brought in alpine ski racers ages 12 and 13 from Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico for four days of racing and on the snow and off-the-snow camaraderie at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
Over the course of the Prater Cup’s 39-year history, the event developed into a championship qualifier race with athletes looking to make the cut for the Rocky/Central U14 Championships in Steamboat, March 13-17.
While qualifying for the championships is on the minds of many of the racers, the event is more than just about going fast. It also has a component to it that is unique among the usual alpine race weekend.
At the start of the weekend, racers are divided into Nation’s teams and those teams will be expected to showcase not only superior racing scores, but also good sportsmanship and team spirit by participating in a variety of team-building exercises, such as scavenger hunts. The teams that collect the most “Prater Points” will receive prizes at the Nation Team Awards.
“Good sportsmanship and team spirit are key aspects of this race,” Dan’s daughter, Stephanie Prater, explains. “You’ll see all kinds of country spirit throughout the entire mountain over the weekend—it’s very colorful.”
Last year the local Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team (CBMST) alpine race program had its largest contingent of competitors sliding into the start gate.
This year, CBMST head alpine race coach Conor Lynch has another strong contingent, with seven competing in the Prater Cup.
“Last year was our biggest number and this year we’re about on par for that,” says Lynch. “Still not the biggest team there, but for us it’s huge.”
Alex Weinberg and Grace Birnie will be battling it out in the girls division all weekend and boys Aksel Lindenmeyr, Gavin Jobson, Avi Narayana, Julian Arthur and Connor Brown will be looking to defend their home hill.
“The girls have come a long way this winter and I’m excited for them,” says Lynch. “Four of the five boys we have racing should qualify for the championships, without a doubt. Our quality of racing is really high.”
And that’s not all the CBMST alpine racing team has been up to, as three out of four u16 racers qualified for the u16 championships in Winter Park, March 4-10. Asher Weinberg has been charging all season and punched his ticket along with Max Shull. Meanwhile, Connor Crossen, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, clicked into his skis for his first race at the qualifier races and made the most of it, earning a spot at the championships as well.
“The u16s and u14s have been working really hard all season and I’m really excited with the direction they’re going,” says Lynch.
The racing starts with the Super G on Friday, continues with the Giant Slalom on Saturday and closes on Sunday with the Slalom, with the courses set on a portion of International, Championship and Buckley under the West Wall lift.
