12.4 - [RELEASE] USCSA Announces 2020 Award Recipients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alec Tandara-Kuhns

atandkuhns@uscsa.org 

BOSTON, Massachusetts. – December 4th, 2020. The United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) is excited to announce the winners of several 2019-2020 annual awards, including Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, and the Keystone Award.

Coach of the Year:

The USCSA Coach of the Year is presented to the coach who, during the past season, has exemplified the qualities of a great coach in every sense of the position. For 2020, the USCSA Coach of the Year was awarded to Chris Eder, Head Alpine Coach for Castleton University.

Coaching the Castleton Spartans since 2003, year after year Coach Eder consistently fields one of the most successful USCSA teams in the country. The 2020 season was no exception, with the Spartan’s Alpine women’s team taking home the second place team combined award at the USCSA Collegiate National Championships and the men’s team taking home third. Along with his coaching duties, Coach Eder also serves as Conference Coordinator for the USCSA Eastern Conference, one of the largest and most competitive collegiate ski conferences in the country.

“I was shocked to learn that I was named USCSA Coach of the Year,” said Coach Eder. “It is an honor to be mentioned alongside past recipients from the alpine world like Ron Bonneau from the College of Idaho and Jerry Wolf from Rocky Mountain College; both of whom have developed dynamite programs and contributed so much to collegiate alpine ski racing and USCSA. This is a team award. I do not do this on my own, as Dale Solotruck has been by my side coaching the team with me since day one and deserves this just as much. In addition, our student-athletes have posted some very impressive results at USCSA Nationals over the years and have worked so hard on and off the slopes and in and out of the classroom. I have always been surrounded by great coaches and student-athletes who do an amazing job making me look very good! I would like to thank Deanna Tyson, Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation at Castleton, for all of her support of the alpine ski team. Thank you to the USCSA Nominations and Awards Committee and anyone who thought of me as a recipient for this award. I am truly honored and am looking forward to many more years of USCSA racing!”

Volunteer of the Year

Every year, the USCSA relies on hundreds of volunteers to make its regular season and National Championship competitions successful. Although every one of these individuals are critical to the organization, occasionally one volunteer will go above and beyond others to enhance the USCSA experience for athletes and fans. This year, the 2020 Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Cheyenne Crigger. 

Cheyenne has been a core member of the USCSA Southeast Conference for the past three years, helping in many roles both on and off the hill. In addition to these conference responsibilities, Cheyenne has also volunteered at the national level, and has played a key role during Snowboard and Freeski events during the last two USCSA Collegiate National Championships. Even when a midweek injury 

temporarily kept her off the competition venue at the 2020 Championships, Cheyenne graciously jumped into an administrative position and continued to contribute in invaluable ways.

"It's an honor to be named volunteer of the year by this amazing organization,” said Cheyenne. “I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with a community of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about making USCSA the best it possibly can be. I've learned so much during my time as a volunteer and I look forward to continuing to grow with the organization." 

Keystone Award

The USCSA Keystone Award is given by the USCSA President to honor an individual who has assisted the President in the operations of the organization. Going beyond the role of a volunteer, this person helps to ensure the delivery of the best service possible to the organization and its membership. For the 2020 season, President Adam Stark awarded the Keystone Award to Bo Bigelow.

“Bo was the Vice President of Conference Coordinators and the chair of the Strategic Planning Committee,” said President Stark when presenting the award to Bo. “As the USCSA went through the transformation to a committee model Bo was always willing to talk through ideas and concerns that the conference coordinators had. He was able to represent this key group at a board level and be an advocate for them. He helped the board understand the challenges or worries that the group was facing.  He also showed his true leadership when he needed to communicate tough messages and hold people accountable. As the chair of the Strategic Planning Committee he was also instrumental in the development of the short and long term goals of the USCSA. Bo is a true leader in the organization and someone that I can’t thank enough for his continued involvement.”

Upon winning the award, Bo said, “I am humbled and honored to have been selected for this award, USCSA is such an amazing organization and I am so grateful to be a part of it.”

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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact atandkuhns@uscsa.org