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Show Walter Prager (left) and Alf Engen both of Sun_ Valley, recently selected to serve as joint coaches of the U. S . Olymp1c Sk1 Team. Twenty- One Skiers Chosen To Represent U. S. In Downhill And Slalom BY DICK MOVITZ Eight women and thirteen men had a few pleasant dream'~ answered last week when the U. S. 0 1 y m pic committee announced t h e choices f o r t h e ciownhill a n d slalom team to compete at the winter games at St. Moritz, Switzerland next v; inter. Coaches Alf Engen anJ. Walter Prager now have the crew which they h ope will suc·· cessfully represent this country a!!a.inst the world's best skiers at the first post-war Olympic competitions. For the women's team, Gret-· · chen Fraser, Dodie Post, Rebecca. Frase;:, Andrea Mead, Ruth · Marie Stewart, Brynhild Crasmoen and Paula Kann will be r egulars with Anne Winn as a~t ernate. Making up the mens team are: Barney McLean, Gor · don Wren, Jack Reddish, Steve Knowlton, Colin Stewart, Bob Blatt, George Macomber and Dick Movitz, r e g ular s ; and Gene Gillis, B o o t s Blatt, Mo Dis tin, Dev Jennings and Dave Faires, alternates. These team members are be·· in g: trained in Sun Vall~y f~r two weeks before returnmg cO heir homes until the re-group-in c; next December. Engen and P1':'ager h a v e been en:phasizing technique in these fl_n~l pra_ctices, but the real trammg w1ll begin early n e x t season and before the Olympics at various Swis ~ : resorts. Places on the t e am s have been hotly contested all season, and the Olympic Ski Team Committee considered past and present records, sportsmanship, aHd team spirit in choosing the racers. The East and West shared almost equally in contributing to t h e t e am . For the women, Gretchen Dodie and Anne are Western~~-s while Rebecca , Paula, Andrea and Ruth-Marie hail from the East. The western men are: Barney, Gordy, Jack, S t e v e , Bob, Dick, Boots, Dev and Dave. From the East come Colfn, George and Mo. The ages of the team members are lower than in past yean: with the racers ranging from 14 to 29 years old. Andrea Brynhild, Ruth-Marie and Ge~rge are still in their "teens". In addition to other necessary (Continue .. on Last Page) -2- Born in Kitzbuehel, A Sigi Engl started skiing before he can r emember r ecalls that he was six won his first race, a event for juniors. Those the days w h e n skiers one pole, an instrument served both as a brake turning aid. At 15 h e w as teaching in Ski School Kitbuehel, then largest in the world with fifty instructors. Sigi's European racing is nothing short of brilliant includes wins in of the big Continental However, the achievemen which he is the proudest 5th place in the F IS W Championship Downhill at tina d'Ampezzo which he ed when he was only In 1931 he captured the I national. Italian Downhill Slalom and the following t h e German Slalom Garmisch - Partenkirchen. was two times winner of Austrian Downhill and S Championships and t w i c member of the Austrian World's Championship hill. and Slalom Team. Coming to America in Sigi was invited to teach at semite by Dr. Don president of the Yosemite & Curry Co. and presently ident of Stanford U At Yosemite where he ed for three winters, Sigi (Cont inued on Page Four) Adolph Roubicek, Sun Valley ski instructor, swings by through pe rSpring snow at the head of Wa1·m Springs Run on Ba ld y Mountain. Annual Snow And Spring Sports Meet Scheduled For April 12th And I 3th Fourth Annual. Snow and Sports Meet, comprising ay all around. competition , be held on April 12th and previous y e a r s , it is t o conduct competit-· in skiing, archery, skeet ting, bowling a nd tennis. to both men and women, tournament has become inpopular e CJ. c h year . last meet, held in 1942 won by Sebby Arriagc>. and ita Heath Riter, roughly 3.0 and 15 women competed or more of the events. many former contestants in the Valley this Spring with everyone remember the fun, a much larger turn is anticipated this year. no means restricted to 5- competitors, the -meet ofan opportunity to engage in favorite sport or sports to pit your skill against that r friends. For the skiing t, c>. Slalom or Giant Slawill probably be held. The ling will comprise a three set and. the Skeet two o:t' 25 shells each. The archery contest will be based on standa1:d point score and the tennis on matches won and lost. If you don't feel qualified fo1·, s a y , archery and skiing, you may still enter the other events and get in on much of the fun. Whatever y o u. r Spring sports interests may be, this is your chance to give them CJ. com .. petitive whirL SPECTACULAR RACING SEASON CLOSES (Continued From P rec-eding Page) watch this, the v e r y best in American speed s k i i. n g . The fans were eagerly awaiting to determine if D i c k Durrance's Warm Springs record of 2:56.1 would survive t h e tremendous power of this brilliant field . Far more exciting than anyone had dared to anticipate were the final results, for no less than 17 racers eclipsed the old mark, established in 1940. Top honors went to Jack Reddish d Alta who blazed down the course in 2:35.2 to leave the finish line spectators gasping for -4- breath. Bob Blatt coupled h is 4th in the Downhill with a 2nd in the Slalom to pace the Com .. bined in the men's division while Gretchen Fraser of Sun Valley beat o u t a formidable field to top the women. Swiss Team Competes The following Wednesday , at c;p informa1 Jnv itationa1 Team S1alom, Sun Valleyites saw the crack Swiss team in competit-· ion for the fi rst time. Training here for the Harriman Cup, the Swiss were , in v iew of their victories in the Nat ionals on March 2nd, the focus of all ~ttEntion. In the men 's division, th e Swiss won a hard fought tussle with the American Olympic- racers while the American girls turned the tables and beat . out the European representatives, also by c>. narrow ;nargin. Run · ning a typical Pfeifer slalom, Karl Molitor of the Swiss tear:l electrified the crowd with the fastest run o:t' the day to gain him c>. be with Toni Matt ancl. Bob Blatt for top individual laurels. Antoinette Meyer, an - KARL. MOLITOR other Swiss team member reg-istered the best combined time for the women. Rominger Cracks Course Record Climaxing t h e greatest nine days in the history of American skiing, the Harriman Races held the spotlight on the 15th and 16th. The entry list which in- ( Continued on N e x ~ P age) |
