KETCHUM, Idaho — Hosting marquee events like the U.S. Alpine National championship gives local athletes more exposure as 11 skiers from Sun Valley are competing this week.
Monday's story: Sun Valley Welcomes the best skiers for the U.S. Alpine National Championships
Finnigan Donley won the gold in the juniors racing on his home course, he was also awarded Rookie of the Year on the Stifel U.S. Ski and Snowboard team after having a fantastic season.
Racing continues at the U.S. Alpine National Championships with women's giant slalom today and the prestigious event concludes with the men's giant slalom on Wednesday.
This marks the first time Sun Valley has hosted this event since 2018 and they will welcome back the racers for the national championships again next year.
"Sun Valley has a ton of racing history and heritage," said Pete Sonntag the General Manager of Sun Valley Resort. "We have always had our eye on getting back in the game at a national and even international level, this is one of the steps that we are taking and we really want to show the world how we can put on a world-class event."
Sun Valley Resort puts a ton of work into creating the championship venue, especially after all the snow fell in the days before the event kickoff on Sunday with the Super G.
The effort also goes beyond the resort as the towns of Bellevue, Hailey and Ketchum put in work to embrace U.S. Ski and Snowboard participants and spectators.
“On behalf of the City of Ketchum, a warm welcome to everyone here," said Neil Bradshaw, the Mayor of Ketchum at the opening ceremonies. "Have fun, play hard, enjoy the town, and have a great few days."
You could feel that energy at the opening ceremonies, at the local restaurants and shops, and also at the resort where Sun Valley is hosting four days of racing in three different disciplines.
"This event is so big that we can’t do it on our own," said Sonntag. "So we count on our partnership with Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and the local community, we all just kind of combine forces, work together toward one goal and this is the result of it."
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation makes it their mission to get kids involved in snow sports from an early age, and 25 of their athletes have gone on to become winter Olympians.
"This incredible valley is committed to these sports in a way that is hard to articulate to people that don’t live here," said Scott McGrew of the SVSEF. "We live, we breathe and we love these sports."
We can only wonder what will be next for athletes like Finnigan Donley who turned 18 at the end of February.
