Hs US skiing announced a streaming plan? Do we actually get to watch all the races this year?

Superstar got its first layer of snow today, so good to have it back.

https://reddit.com/link/1x9ehaz/video/th6y4dk0iawh1/player

TL:DR Yes, participation is declining, and the leak is happening both at the front door (U10) and at a massive structural cliff between U14 and U16.

That is what stands out most in the data.

Here are the main findings from the eight-season cohort tracking:

• Shrinking overall headcount by 22.81% since 2017: Total RMD alpine membership dropped from 1,736 athletes in 2017 (849 women, 887 men) to 1,340 athletes in 2024 (689 women, 651 men) a net loss of 396 active racers (-18.85% for women and -26.61% for men).
• Losing the grassroots feeder base at U10 (-30.77%): The decline isn't just older kids quitting; fewer families are entering at the bottom of the pyramid. U10 registration fell from 520 racers in 2017 to 360 racers in 2024, and peak birth-year cohort sizes (which max out around ages 10–11 in U12) shrank 10% to 27%, dropping from 204-219 kids per birth year (2005–2008 cohorts) to 156–190 kids (2010–2013 cohorts).
• Separating the 2021 COVID shock from the long-term slide: The 2020–2021 pandemic season knocked RMD membership down 20.66% in a single winter (1,554 to 1,233), and established cohort retention dropped from an 85.62% baseline to 71.24%. Roughly two-thirds of those kids paused for one year and came back in 2021–2022 (102.07% net cohort retention, rebounding to 1,444 athletes). But membership was already sliding before COVID (-8.21% from 2019 to 2020), and it dropped another -8.34% in 2023 to 2024 (1,462 to 1,340) as the smaller pandemic-era U10 classes aged up into U14.
• Hitting the primary youth cliff at U14 to U16 (34.31% single-year churn): While the U16-to-FIS transition gets most of the attention, the steepest youth drop-off actually hits two years earlier when 13-year-olds move from Age Class (U14) into National-Point Ability Class (U16). In a single offseason between U14 Year 2 and U16 Year 1, 34.31% of the cohort disappears (1,122 to 737, losing 385 athletes). Across the full two-year bracket jump from U14 to U16 (s to s+2), 46.22% of the division is gone (2,049 to 1,102).
• Compounding the "All-In or Out" squeeze from U16 into FIS: Once athletes enter U16 and FIS where 4–6 day training weeks, missed high school days, and multi-discipline ski quivers become the norm without a clear regional high school bridge track another 24.77% drop out between U16 Year 1 and Year 2, and 22.91% drop out entering 1st-Year FIS (U18). Out of every 100 racers in U10 Year 2, only 50.88% reach U16 Year 1, 29.51% reach 1st-Year FIS, 14.94% reach U21 (3rd-Year FIS), and 6.06% make it to 5th-Year FIS.
• Flipping the gender retention curve at age 14: Through age 13, girls retain and recruit significantly better than boys maintaining 88.94% cumulative cohort survival at U14 Year 2 compared to 67.15% for boys, who get squeezed out early during their later adolescent growth spurt (peak height velocity around age 13.7 vs. 12.0 for girls). At age 14, the trend reverses completely: men retain at higher rates across every single step from U16 through U21, leaving female U18 membership down -33.73% and female U21 membership down -38.78% since 2017.

Bummed for him after having to have such a long recovery road to begin with. Hope the best for the guy.

Petra Vlhová’s New Beginning: Sölden Return, Hometown Statue Unveiled

...
After almost three years away from World Cup racing, Vlhová says she is healthy and happy with her progress. However, she acknowledges that returning to her previous competitive level will take time.

“I still have it in me to give my maximum, perform as well as possible, and win. But I will definitely need time because, over those nearly three years, I’ve missed the kilometers on snow, the gates, and the racing experience. I’m healthy, and that’s the most important thing. If I didn’t believe it was possible, I wouldn’t be here,” she said.

As she prepares for the World Cup opening weekend in Sölden, she feels more confident in giant slalom than in slalom, although her knee can still occasionally cause discomfort.

“This is our plan. We’ll see how it goes, with full respect for my body,” she explained.
...

I was never a fan of how Mikaela Shiffrin's race career was executed. I always felt that she should have done more training with the rest of the tech team. I was never a fan of how Eileen ran the show. I thought Eileen yelling at people for videoing Mikaela's training runs, was out of line.

Granted her results spoke for themselves, but I felt she was being handled like a machine.

Now I find myself excited for the "season of exploration". I commend her for embarking on this journey. I am also excited for her podcasts. As Redditors we know how harsh the internet can be. She seems to be opening up herself, for the world to see.

Mikaela is taking a lot of risks here. I can't wait to see how it unfolds. I will be watching & cheering her on every step of the way.

Fantasy football is huge in the US, but fantasy never really took off in ski racing. So I thought I’d give it a shot myself.
I built a fantasy draft game for the Alpine World Cup (link in the first comment). It runs in your browser and you can install it as an app on your phone. The whole project is completely free and I don’t earn a single cent with it. I just want people to have fun watching ski races and to have racers to root for. :)
If there’s interest, I’d set up a league for everyone interested. Let me know in the comments and I’ll post the link there. Otherwise you can join one of the open leagues in the app or start your own with friends.
I hope you guys enjoy it! :) If you have questions or feedback or find a bug, just comment here or use “Report a bug” in the profile menu. I’ll fix what I can.

How it works:

• Start a league (up to 14 teams) and draft athletes live, snake draft style. Every athlete belongs to only one team.
• Women and men in one squad (8 + 8 by default)
• Each week your best women and men score, automatically or with your own lineup
• Points per race: placing (60 for a win), time gap to the winner, a bonus for the winning margin and +5 for the fastest run
• Transfers for free agents (Wed to Fri) and trades between teams

Do the Swiss have better team culture then the Austrians?

I feel like the Swiss is more relaxed, calmer, nice to be around because there bench is so deep. Any person on the bench can win not just all the pressure on one person to win all the time.

Austrians are not as relaxed, intense, harsher, exact, precise, almost military like.

This old stuff never fails to amaze me. No markings, super bumpy course, hardly any safety measures and 80s equipment. The racing looks out of control for the most part, simply wild and raw ski racing from one of the best ever in DH.

The teams have been announced or in other words: may the speculation on a Vonn comeback without ACL commence. 😂

• Federica Brignone will miss the race in Sölden on October 24. After undergoing another surgery on her severely injured left leg, she will focus on her recovery for the time being.
• Brignone plans to get back on her skis in November to test her condition. The two-time Olympic champion will also sit out the North American tour in late November and early December.
• Sofia Goggia will also miss the race in Sölden after suffering from two viral illnesses. Although the acute phase is over, she is not yet ready to compete due to persistent fatigue and exhaustion.

Top Italian duo Brignone and Goggia to miss the season opener in Sölden

I'm sure that we will see Goggia at some point, but hopefully Fede will be pain-free, otherwise she probably won't race anymore.

Luckily, they are saving snow over the summer, otherwise things could get complicated even on a glacier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3N0EFlHziQ

Mikaela is going into an “exploration season” and plans to race less slalom.

She’s not quitting slalom or taking it less seriously. She simply wants to put more focus into GS and Super-G, follow her curiosity, and give herself more room for recovery and focused training.

She’ll also skip the early-season European races and is currently planning to make her first race of the season at Killington.

I mean like Atomic Media Day at the factory.

Head has the Solden Press Conference and end of season World Cup Finals Party.