News Round Up! Archive

Senior Feature - Gracie B.

Timberline High School 
Class of 2022
Good luck trying to keep up with Gracie! A lifetime skier, she will walk away from Timberline High School this year with a diploma and a full slate of Alpine races to her name.
 
It all started when she was about two and a half years old. Her parents put her on skis and taught her to let them run. With two older brothers in the BBSEF race program, she had plenty of incentive to go fast.
 
By the time she entered Mitey Mites, Gracie was more than ready to turn it loose on the racecourse. She worked her way through North Series and the Intermountain Alpine Competitive Teams and stepped into her first FIS start gate as a junior in high school.
 
“My favorite memories were at Sun Valley Camp at the beginning of the season,” said Gracie. The Sun Valley Alpine Training Camp is an annual tradition during which racers from a variety of clubs get several days of training on snow before Baldy opens to the public on Thanksgiving Day. It is also the time of year when Gracie shifts from her other favorite activities back into ski race mode. “I love to go running, play beach volleyball, or do anything that involves the outdoors.”
 
Gracie plans on attending Idaho State or Colorado Mountain College in the fall. Wherever she goes, her race gear will go to. 
 
Reflecting on her time with BBSEF, Gracie says she would tell her younger self that “As you get older, you will notice the lifelong friends that you have made from doing this sport, and many memories that you have created and will cherish forever.”
 
Congratulations Gracie! Your future classmates and teammates have a great skier and friend heading their way.
 
     

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Shout Out to Camden M., BBSEF Alum! Camden is the winner of the Big Mountain IFSA 2* Collegiate Championships!

A sophomore at Western Colorado University, Camden was overheard saying “I am so glad I raced through high school. I mean, I almost quit between junior and senior high, but I stuck with it because of Pam Tucker-Kopp. She never gave up on me and made me want to put in the work. All that race training made this possible. Plus It helped me find my people! It’s just been so great hanging with the Western Big Mountain crew."

Congratulations Camden! We at BBSEF are proud of your accomplishments on and off the snow!

Coach Shawn Smith’s Path to BBSEF

Imagine discovering a lifelong passion and knowing you are going to make a career of it before you even reach the age of six. That is exactly what new BBSEF Athletic Director Shawn Smith experienced on only his second day of skiing. He stands by that conviction today.

Coach Shawn got his start skijoring behind his father’s jeep on the dirt roads in East Corinth, Vermont. They had so much fun ripping around the backroads, that when he was old enough to reach the gas pedal, his dad encouraged young Shawn to take the wheel. His first attempt at driving did not go well. Shawn lost sight of his dad in the rearview mirror. Thinking he lost him, Shawn slammed on the brakes and sent his father sliding under the truck where he became stuck. What does a 9-year-old do in that situation? “I jumped out of the truck and ran away,” said Shawn. “My dad was not happy. I learned a lot of colorful language that day.”

Eventually, Shawn got back behind the wheel with much better results. Then he and his dad turned their attention to the local ski hill – a small but steep operation with two rope tows. It was run by locals and only open on weekends. They took full advantage of the rope tow that got them to some very good intermediate terrain. 

The family moved to Upstate New York where Shawn’s father took over food and beverage for Scotch Valley/Deer Run Ski Area and Shawn entered the race program. He raced to age 13, then shifted to coaching. “I started coaching, and didn’t know what I was doing,” said Shawn. “So, my father suggested that I learn how to teach people to ski in order to be a better coach.” And just like that, his childhood dreams began to take shape. 

By age 18, Shawn was immersed in full-time instructing and coaching at Mt. Snow in Vermont. By age 19, he achieved a Level 4 Coaching Certification in Canada. Level 4 is the highest certification one can achieve and allows coaches to teach every level of skier, train future instructors and work almost anywhere in the world. This certification combined with the connections he made along the way led to five straight years of coaching racers through New Zealand winters. “If you are serious about coaching, the best route to improvement is year-round coaching. Not only does it strengthen you in all areas of technical development, you also get to enjoy glorious experiences,” said Shawn. “The occasional stops in Tahiti or Hawaii never hurt either.”

Coach Shawn credits his selection to the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) National Demonstration Team with having some of the greatest impacts on his career. “The PSIA Demo Team creates methodologies and teaching and skiing programs for U.S. Skiing. It shares information with instructors and coaches across the country and holds Interski Symposiums with member countries.” In 28 years of membership and coaching with the PSIA Demo Team, Shawn has instructed national team coaches as well as their athletes and skied in almost every skiing country around the world. He lived in Austria for a year and often spent 6-10 weeks instructing and/or coaching in other countries.

Here at home Shawn has worn several hats while serving on the PSIA Demo Team including: 

Director of Ski & Snowboard School, Racing and Events

US Ski Team Associate Coach working on coach education and athlete development 

Working one-on-one with US Ski Team athletes during spring and summer camps

Senior leadership team member at Stevens Pass Ski Area

Shawn retired from ski area management and returned to full-time coaching in New Hampshire, Vermont, Vail then Telluride

An avid fly fisherman, Shawn said, “I always enjoyed Idaho and was looking for any excuse to get here.”  Last fall BBSEF provided a perfect one - welcoming him to Boise as the Head Coach of the U16/19/FIS Alpine Competitive Team. 

As Athletic Director for BBSEF, Shawn will dive headfirst into his two greatest passions: The education and development of coaches and teaching kids how to race and compete. “I have benefited from fabulous resources - some of the very best people who have helped me along the way. The payback never ends, and I look forward to passing it along to the coaches and athletes here at BBSEF.”

Join us in welcoming Shawn to his new role with BBSEF!

BBSEF News Round-Up!

Two weeks’ worth of news, including lots of gems you will want to know. So, please keep reading!

Mountain Bike Team Registration Now Open

Middle school and high school riders can launch their summer mountain bike season with BBSEF! Competitive mountain biker and coach Lance Carroll will lead mountain bikers through sessions to improve skills and kick-start fitness for summer riding. 

Two programs to choose from. Details and requirements for each are available under the Teams tab at BBSEF. Org.  First practice April 11. 

To register, visit BBSEF.org, click on the "Account/Registration" tab, and create your new account.  You will then enter your household information, add members, choose your registration, and follow the instructions for checkout.  

Get Ready for Spring Registration

It's coming! Spring Registration for the 2022/23 winter season opens at the end of April. Get a jump on things by creating your household account in the new BBSEF registration system today. The Account/Registration tab at BBSEF.org is your friend for team registration and payments. Plus, any updates from your child’s coach throughout next season will be posted to your household account. That’s right folks, we have been working hard to create a centralized location for each family’s need-to-knows. So, log on today, create your account and bookmark the Account/Registration tab. You will be among the first to know when Spring Registration opens!

Year End Banquet and Awards

We are working out the details for a fun evening and casual dinner for the last hurrahs of 21/22 winter season. Tentatively scheduled for April 29, we plan to recognize the Coaches Cup Overall winners and bestow a variety of fun and hard-won awards on skiers and snowboarders who showed up with tenacity, grit and camaraderie throughout the season. Individual Coaches Cup event ribbons and medals will be available for pick up as well. Pencil it in, and we will fill in the details as they become available! 

Coaches Cup Overalls Correction!

During the last News Round Up! I mentioned that Coaches Cup Overall awards are based on the combined scores of the Coaches Cup Finale weekends. Well, that is only half the story. Just as the World Cup Overalls are based on points earned throughout the entire season, so too are the Coaches Cup Overalls. This means that the Coaches Cup Overall winners are determined by their combined scores in the January, February AND March Coaches Cup events. Mikaela Shiffrin had a season of ups and downs. Yet, she managed to take home the Women’s Overall World Cup Globe this season. Join us at the Year End Banquet to learn which Home Team athletes in each age group will take home the BBSEF Coaches Cup Overall Awards this year.

Travel Team Championships Underway

North Series: 18 BBSEF athletes qualified for and competed in the IMD U12/U10 Championships in Sun Valley last weekend. IMD Championships bring together the top finishers from the North Series (Idaho/Wyoming) with the top finishers of the South Series (Utah) for fun and friendly competition. This year’s champs spent two days each competing in Giant Slalom, Kinder Kombie, Slalom, and Single Run Panel Slalom. BBSEF athletes turned up the heat in every event with great finishes throughout the weekend. It is not easy to qualify for Championships, and it is an honor to compete. We are proud of every athlete who represented BBSEF in Sun Valley and their teammates here at home as well. 

U14 Alpine Competitive Team: The Western Regional Championships at Mammoth and the Tri-Divisional Championships in Jackson Hole kicked off yesterday. We’ve got one U14 representing BBSEF at Western Regionals and four shredding the courses in Jackson. Best of luck to all!

U16/U19 IMC & FIS: Linnea N. achieved her personal goal of qualifying for U16 Western Regionals this year. Unfortunately, she sustained an injury while participating in another much-loved sport and is sidelined for the remainder of the season. Here’s hoping her recovery is as speedy as she is on course. Get well soon Linnea and congratulations to you and the entire U16/U19 IMC & FIS crew for working and skiing hard this season. 

Freeride/Snowboard/Park & Pipe:  All eyes are on the 2022 National Championships at Copper Mountain April 1 – 7. USASA issued invitations to qualified athletes last week. Spots not accepted within the first 48 hours are offered to next in line in the rankings. Good luck team!

Rose Sale Recap - BBSEF Core Values in Action

* SPORTSMANSHIP * FUN * INTEGRITY * GRIT*  TEAMWORK *

You rocked the rose sale this year! On the eve of Spring Break, you sold/purchased 400 dozen roses. In addition to raising funds for BBSEF safety equipment and brightening homes throughout the Treasure Valley, your efforts and generosity made it possible for every single resident of the Idaho State Veterans Home to receive roses. Their caregivers received roses too! We also had the honor of laying roses on gravesites at the Idaho State Veterans cemetery.

A small but mighty group of volunteers did the lion’s share of the work. Please join us in thanking Catherine Mackie, The Squyer family, Fiona Thresher, Jill and Nicole P, Kate Eiriksson, Kelli Keefe, Laurie and Nathan W., Susan Cornett and Valerie Chisum for packaging roses and helping us make deliveries to veterans. Heaps of gratitude to Rebecca Robinson for staying until the very last rose was packaged and then transforming Rose Packing Central back into a spotless meeting room. That was a greatly appreciated surprise at the end of a long day. Thank you one, and all!

Rose Sale Invoices are on their way to all who ordered in advance and have not yet paid. A handful of roses were ordered and not picked up. If you were unable to pick up your roses, fear not. They were added to the roses for veterans. Thank you for spreading cheer to America's heroes.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation

Putting smiles on kids’ faces while they build lifelong love of sport.

 

BBSEF News Round-Up! 3/24/22

Two weeks’ worth of news, including lots of gems you will want to know. So, please keep reading!

Mountain Bike Team Registration Now Open

Middle school and high school riders can launch their summer mountain bike season with BBSEF! Competitive mountain biker and coach Lance Carroll will lead mountain bikers through sessions to improve skills and kick-start fitness for summer riding. 

Two programs to choose from. Details and requirements for each are available under the Teams tab at BBSEF. Org.  First practice April 11. 

To register, visit BBSEF.org, click on the "Account/Registration" tab, and create your new account.  You will then enter your household information, add members, choose your registration, and follow the instructions for checkout.  

Get Ready for Spring Registration

It's coming! Spring Registration for the 2022/23 winter season opens at the end of April. Get a jump on things by creating your household account in the new BBSEF registration system today. The Account/Registration tab at BBSEF.org is your friend for team registration and payments. Plus, any updates from your child’s coach throughout next season will be posted to your household account. That’s right folks, we have been working hard to create a centralized location for each family’s need-to-knows. So, log on today, create your account and bookmark the Account/Registration tab. You will be among the first to know when Spring Registration opens!

Year End Banquet and Awards

We are working out the details for a fun evening and casual dinner for the last hurrahs of 21/22 winter season. Tentatively scheduled for April 29, we plan to recognize the Coaches Cup Overall winners and bestow a variety of fun and hard-won awards on skiers and snowboarders who showed up with tenacity, grit and camaraderie throughout the season. Individual Coaches Cup event ribbons and medals will be available for pick up as well. Pencil it in, and we will fill in the details as they become available! 

Coaches Cup Overalls Correction!

During the last News Round Up! I mentioned that Coaches Cup Overall awards are based on the combined scores of the Coaches Cup Finale weekends. Well, that is only half the story. Just as the World Cup Overalls are based on points earned throughout the entire season, so too are the Coaches Cup Overalls. This means that the Coaches Cup Overall winners are determined by their combined scores in the January, February AND March Coaches Cup events. Mikaela Shiffrin had a season of ups and downs. Yet, she managed to take home the Women’s Overall World Cup Globe this season. Join us at the Year End Banquet to learn which Home Team athletes in each age group will take home the BBSEF Coaches Cup Overall Awards this year.

Travel Team Championships Underway

North Series: 18 BBSEF athletes qualified for and competed in the IMD U12/U10 Championships in Sun Valley last weekend. IMD Championships bring together the top finishers from the North Series (Idaho/Wyoming) with the top finishers of the South Series (Utah) for fun and friendly competition. This year’s champs spent two days each competing in Giant Slalom, Kinder Kombie, Slalom, and Single Run Panel Slalom. BBSEF athletes turned up the heat in every event with great finishes throughout the weekend. It is not easy to qualify for Championships, and it is an honor to compete. We are proud of every athlete who represented BBSEF in Sun Valley and their teammates here at home as well. 

U14 Alpine Competitive Team: The Western Regional Championships at Mammoth and the Tri-Divisional Championships in Jackson Hole kicked off yesterday. We’ve got one U14 representing BBSEF at Western Regionals and four shredding the courses in Jackson. Best of luck to all!

U16/U19 IMC & FIS: Linnea N. achieved her personal goal of qualifying for U16 Western Regionals this year. Unfortunately, she sustained an injury while participating in another much-loved sport and is sidelined for the remainder of the season. Here’s hoping her recovery is as speedy as she is on course. Get well soon Linnea and congratulations to you and the entire U16/U19 IMC & FIS crew for working and skiing hard this season. 

Freeride/Snowboard/Park & Pipe:  All eyes are on the 2022 National Championships at Copper Mountain April 1 – 7. USASA issued invitations to qualified athletes last week. Spots not accepted within the first 48 hours are offered to next in line in the rankings. Good luck team!

Rose Sale Recap - BBSEF Core Values in Action

* SPORTSMANSHIP * FUN * INTEGRITY * GRIT*  TEAMWORK *

You rocked the rose sale this year! On the eve of Spring Break, you sold/purchased 400 dozen roses. In addition to raising funds for BBSEF safety equipment and brightening homes throughout the Treasure Valley, your efforts and generosity made it possible for every single resident of the Idaho State Veterans Home to receive roses. Their caregivers received roses too! We also had the honor of laying roses on gravesites at the Idaho State Veterans cemetery.

A small but mighty group of volunteers did the lion’s share of the work. Please join us in thanking Catherine Mackie, The Squyer family, Fiona Thresher, Jill and Nicole P, Kate Eiriksson, Kelli Keefe, Laurie and Nathan W., Susan Cornett and Valerie Chisum for packaging roses and helping us make deliveries to veterans. Heaps of gratitude to Rebecca Robinson for staying until the very last rose was packaged and then transforming Rose Packing Central back into a spotless meeting room. That was a greatly appreciated surprise at the end of a long day. Thank you one, and all!

Rose Sale Invoices are on their way to all who ordered in advance and have not yet paid. A handful of roses were ordered and not picked up. If you were unable to pick up your roses, fear not. They were added to the roses for veterans. Thank you for spreading cheer to America's heroes.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation

Putting smiles on kids’ faces while they build lifelong love of sport.