This weekend, Clear Fork Resort will be hosting their first annual United States Ski Association (USSA) ski race for young athletes from ages 7 to 20. An estimated 40 to 70 racers from all over the United States are expected to compete in Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Kombi races. The races will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The athletes participating in the event are all members of the USSA, and are aspiring to become Olympians. “Local Ohio racing has produced many Junior Olympians who have represented the state and their local ski hills in Junior Championships in the Rockies,” said chair of Region 4 USSA Racing Lisa Prankh.
Reilly Harris, of Ashland, has been the fastest athlete overall against racers from the Midwest region for the past three years. Harris is an example of an athlete who “reached the pinnacle of USSA racing in the Midwest.”
The Winter Olympics start on Feb. 6 of this year in Sochi, Russia. Much attention will be directed to athletes who are interested in winter sports and often those Olympic stars can have beginnings on hills very comparable to local resorts. According to Prankh, “It is not impossible for Ohio to be grooming the next Lindsay Vonn or Ted Ligety.”
For more information on the USSA Ski Race at Clear Fork Resort, visit their website, Facebook page, or call 419-883-2000. Also, for more information regarding the USSA, visit their website. Registration for racers will be open starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.
