Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athlete accepts U.S. Para Alpine team nomination

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Audrey Crowley was one of 12 athletes who accepted their nomination to the U.S. Para Alpine team, per a U.S. Ski and Snowboard press release on Monday.

“I was super excited,” said Crowley, the youngest skier on the A and B team roster this year. “I got to kind of get on all of the emails about all the camps that are happening over the summer and all the races that will be coming up in the fall.”

Crowley, who was a development team athlete last season, is a first-year FIS Alpine athlete who trains with able-bodied athletes at SSCV. She’s constructed her race calendar with a mix of able-bodied and para Alpine events and goals in mind. Her primary objectives for the 2023-24 campaign are to compete at the Cortina World Cup para Alpine event Jan. 30-Feb. 2 and the able-bodied U18 U.S. nationals in March.

First, she’s gearing up for a para Alpine team camp in Park City at the end of November. Crowley said she’s developed a relationship with many of the women on the U.S. team from para competitions, which she started racing as a 12-year-old, and her involvement in Sisters in Sports Foundation, a nonprofit focused on creating a community for women and girls with a disability.

“They’re all super nice,” she said of her teammates.

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Crowley said her fall has been “super busy.” The junior has balanced ski training with school and starring on the Eagle Valley softball team, which made its first state tournament appearance since 2005 last weekend. She’d lift weights at the Minturn Fitness Center each morning, walk over to Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy for class after, and drive down to Gypsum for softball practice every afternoon.

“I’m always thanking my parents and my sister who support me through this crazy schedule because it’s a lot,” Crowley said. “There are some days where I’m going straight from one place and flying or driving to the next place and it really wouldn’t be possible without them.”

With the softball season wrapped up, she’s antsy to get on-snow.

“Hopefully late this week or early next week we’ll be at Copper,” she said.

The 2023-24 FIS Para Alpine Ski World Cup season begins in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in December with a set of downhill races. Monday’s press release indicated the team will spend the majority of their season in Europe.

“I am confident that the team will be bringing home some great results this season,” said Erik Leirfallom, U.S. Ski & Snowboard para sport director. “This team had a productive off-season with a month-long camp in Chile and two strength testing sessions in Colorado Springs, so I’m excited to see their hard work pay off.” 

Outside of the World Cup, athletes will be stateside for the Winter Park Open in January, the Huntsman Cup in February and National Championships in early April. Crowley said she’s hoping to qualify for the Cortina World Cup at the para NorAm event in Winter Park, which is on Jan. 3-5. Her first event of the year, however, is an able-bodied junior race at Copper in November.

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“Then, hopefully I’ll do a super-G NorAm at Copper at the beginning of December, which would be my first able-bodied FIS NorAm, which is super exciting,” she said, adding that she’s eager to travel to new places and learn from the national team coaches and athletes this season.

“Just working with other para athletes I think will help me since I have always grown up working with able-bodied athletes,” she said.

“There’s a ton of new experiences that lie ahead.”