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Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame News
Six Inducted in Ceremonies at Vail, Colorado
photo credit: Richard Allen
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inducted six outstanding athletes and builders from skiing and snowboarding at ceremonies held in Vail, Colorado on April 13. The event concluded Vail’s own celebrations of its 50th anniversary.
Included in this year’s class of honorees were: Horst Abraham, the developer of the American Teaching Method which put the United States at the forefront of skiing instruction; Jeremy Bloom World Champion (2003) and World Cup champion in moguls skiing (2002, 2005) and World Cup Overall champion in freestyle (2005); Kirsten Clark, winner of a World Championship silver medal in the Super G in 2003 and holder of four consecutive national championship downhill titles; Hans Geier, ski area manager for several resorts across the country during his career including nine years as the president of Steamboat Springs leading it to become one of the top resorts in the nation; Craig Kelly, the first truly professional snowboarder whose career stimulated the growth of the sport in the 1980’s and 90’s; and Wayne Wong, one of freestyle skiing’s early pioneers whose colorful style and personality had a tremendous impact on skiing that continues to this day.
The induction ceremonies took place before a crowd of 300 at Vail’s Marriott Resort with Tom Kelly, vice president of communications for the U.S.S.A. and Frida Waara, former broadcaster and one of the first women to ski to the north pole serving as MC’s. All of the inductees were present for the event with the exception of Craig Kelly who was killed in an avalanche ten years ago. He was represented by his brother, Brian who provided a fascinating account of his career including the inspiration he received from skiing’s Mahre brothers.
The evening included the presentation of the Hall of Fame Pioneer Awards to several former pro ski racers as well as to Bert Fischer from Ohio for his work in promoting adaptive skiing.
The induction of this latest class of honorees will conclude with special enshrinement ceremonies to be held at the Hall of Fame in Ishpeming the weekend of September 13-15, 2013.
