CU ski team rock the slopes freestyle
Every weekend the mogul division of the CU freestyle ski team heads up to Winter Park and Mary Jane to perfect the art of mogul skiing.
These 10 students, coached by Kristin Brown-Martin and Chuck Martin, left traditional skiing behind for the exciting sport of mogul competition.
Between November and March the team competes in seven open competitions in Colorado. These competitions include members from Team Summit, made up of skiers from around Summit County, Team USA, college teams and kids looking to get some extra experience.
Overall, there is an extremely broad range in expertise, said Greg de Rozario, a freshman open-option major.
“Olympic hopefuls to 15-year-olds,” de Rozario said.
The team name is misleading, however, because the competition is more than just moguls. The event starts out with a top set of moguls, followed by a jump, another set of moguls, one more jump and a final mogul set. The judges then base their score on the athlete’s overall time, form in the moguls, tricks and jump landings.
In the Rocky Mountain Freestyle Competition the weekend of Feb. 2 in Winter Park, Paige Eggebrecht, a freshman English major, placed eighth. Eggebrecht began skiing before she was 2 and started competing in moguls at age 12. She was a member of Team Summit and still keeps in touch with the group. Along with her plan to keep competing as part of the mogul team at CU, she hopes to one day take her skiing to the next level.
Many on the team, however, do not have as much experience competing. Although Kevin Kluck picked up mogul skiing at age 8, he did not begin competing until this year. Kluck, a freshman marketing major, ranked 30th in the competition Feb. 4 at Winter Park.
Whether they have years of competition experience or only a few months, there is an overall feeling that moguls are better than any other type of skiing. It is the thrill, more than anything else, which seems to attract these students.
“Mogul competition is harder than almost every other form,” de Rozario said. “You also have to be able to work in the air.”
Many members of the team will travel to Vail for the Rocky Mountain Division Open Moguls Competition on Friday, hoping to add qualifying points toward the United States Ski Association nationals competition at the end of the season.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Margot Schneider at margot.schneider@thecampuspress.com.
