Skiing: Princeton alpine racers hit the slopes in regional competition

Competing on the slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Princeton alpine racers represented a club sport that has roughly 50 members and 15 to 20 serious competitors each year. There were several first-timers among the racers, but all have skied recreationally throughout their lives. Some members competed at the high school level and have participated with the United States Ski Association (USSA).

The women’s side of the team qualified for the event because Fairfield University, another team in its conference, dropped out of competition. Senior captain Elizabeth Hollingsworth, who had already qualified as an individual competitor, was joined by her teammates, sophomore Haley Thompson and freshman Catharine Bellinger.

The Princeton women participated in two events at the competition: giant slalom and slalom. In the giant slalom, Hollingsworth placed 13th with a time of one minute, 40.01 seconds. Thompson placed 32nd, clocking in at 1:50.20. Bellinger ranked 47th with a time of 01:58.90. The Tigers placed 10th in the event.

In the slalom event, Princeton placed seventh, with Hollingsworth, Thompson and Bellinger finishing 11th, 24th and 35th, respectively.

Hollingsworth noted that she was content with the way she competed.

“I was very satisfied with my individual performance,” Hollingsworth said. “I am a senior, and this is my first time qualifying for the regional championships. It was an honor to be invited to the race, so my focus was to enjoy the race and ski as best I could.”

Representing the men’s side was junior captain Michael Graves, who, like Hollingsworth, qualified as an individual competitor. Graves placed 17th and 34th in the slalom and giant slalom events with times of 01:17.90 and 01:35.30, respectively, for an overall ranking of 25th.

Graves noted that he had a bad second run in the giant slalom event.

“I was forced to stop in the middle of the course, increasing my time [by about] 10 seconds,” Graves said.

Princeton tuned up before the event by competing against other teams in its league, the New Jersey Conference of the USCSA.

These other teams included familiar opponets from other sports like Columbia and Rutgers, along with other colleges like the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Nyack College.

On Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, the Tigers competed at Hunter Mountain in Hunter, N.Y. In that event, the men finished sixth in both the giant slalom and the slalom, while the women placed ninth overall.

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Another notable competition was held at Mountain Creek in Vernon Valley, N.J., the weekend of Jan. 17. The men finished seventh in the slalom, and the women placed fourth.

A key component to the Tigers’ season is the annual Intersession trip to Tremblant, Canada, during which skiers and snowboarders of all levels can enjoy the slopes and bond with fellow team members. The more advanced skiers have the unique opportunity to train with former Canadian national team racers.

Thompson, who is also the treasurer for the club, handles the funding and expenses. She said that it is not always easy for the University to provide funding for the ski team to compete.

“Skiing is a very expensive sport, and it is hard to cover the costs of transportation to the mountain, lift tickets and equipment,” Thompson said. “We really appreciate the support from the University and the club sports program, and we use our budget to make sure racers can get to the hill and race safely every weekend.”

Though neither team qualified for Nationals in Colorado in March, the Princeton ski and snowboard team’s participation at the Mid-Atlantic Regional for the first time in four years could be evidence that the program is on an upswing.

Hollingsworth believes that the team is constantly improving.

“We never expected to qualify for regionals, so to have four solid finishes from all four racers who competed was phenomenal,” Hollingsworth said.