Get ready for a bump party in the valley; Waterville set to host World Cup moguls

Jaelin Kauf and the best of the U.S. Ski Team will try to score a World Cup podium at Waterville. (Getty Images)

New England freestyle skier Hannah Soar called her first podium finish of the 2023-24 FIS World Cup moguls season a “Christmas miracle.” The Dec. 22 event at Bakuriani, Georgia, was the culmination of Team USA’s seven-week road trip to begin the season and sends it into the North American swing of its schedule with a lot of momentum.

Soar, a Connecticut native and 2022 Olympian, will be among the fan favorites when the World Cup tour resumes this month, including its highly anticipated moguls and dual moguls events for men and women at Waterville Valley Resort on Jan. 26-27. The competition marks the first time Waterville Valley — known as the “birthplace of freestyle skiing” — will be hosting a World Cup freestyle event, and the resort already is slated to host again in 2025.

“I grew up skiing in the Eastern circuit before I made the U.S. Ski Team and began to compete internationally, so it will be nostalgic to come back to Waterville for the World Cup,” Soar said after returning to the U.S. for the holiday break. “I’m looking forward to performing in front of the hometown crowd.”

Soar grew up in Somers, Conn., and qualified for the U.S. Freestyle Team while a student at Killington Mountain School. She started skiing when she was 18 months old and first competed when she was only 8. Soar made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022 and has been on the national team for nine years.

“As an East Coast skier who grew up competing at Waterville Valley at 12 years old, I’m incredibly excited,” Soar said. “I believe that this (event) will promote mogul skiing on the East Coast and bring regional mogul skiers from the area to Waterville and enable them to see a World Cup competition in person. I think this will go a long way in promoting freestyle in the area and continue Waterville’s legacy of being the birthplace of freestyle skiing.”

Soar brings an impressive résumé into the event. She is currently in the world top 10 for moguls skiing. Her first career World Cup podium came in 2019, when she finished third in dual moguls in China. In 2021, she finished third in the overall FIS World Cup standings and later qualified for the Olympic roster. She has six World Cup podiums, four World Championship top-10s and six national championship top-10 finishes.

“I’m feeling great after the first few World Cups in December,” she said. “My podium in Georgia was a great confidence boost, and I look forward to carrying momentum into the rest of the season. I love competing when friends and family are in the crowd, so having a World Cup close to home will be super motivating.”

Moguls and dual moguls skiers will compete at four North American locations this season. Waterville Valley is one of two U.S. stops. Deer Valley, Utah, will host both moguls and aerials skiers Feb. 1-2.

The talented U.S. women’s team has tremendous depth this season, with six athletes currently positioned in the top eight of the World Cup overall moguls standings. Australia’s Jakara Anthony and Japan’s Rino Yanagimoto hold the top two spots, with American athletes Jaelin Kauf (2022 Olympic silver medalist), Olivia Giaccio, Soar, Elizabeth Lemley, Tess Johnson and Alli Macuga giving chase. All six U.S. women made it to the finals of the dual moguls event in Georgia, with Kauf edging Macuga for third place.

The men’s team, which also performed well in Bakuriani, is led by 2022 Olympian Nick Page, who had a third-place finish in Georgia. Outside the quarterfinals was Cole McDonald, finishing 15th, along with Dylan Walczyk in 18th, Landon Wendler in 20th and Dylan Marcellini in 21st.

Competition at Waterville Valley will include moguls on Friday and dual moguls on Saturday, both held on Lower Bobby’s Run. At 246 meters long with a pitch of 28 degrees, the eastern-facing course features an expansive viewing area toward the bottom of the run for fans and spectators.

“We are thrilled to host this world-class freestyle competition alongside Deer Valley, and we’ve (been) preparing to deliver an unforgettable experience for everyone involved,” Waterville Valley president and general manager Tim Smith said. “The Waterville team looks forward to welcoming the world’s top freestyle athletes as we bring together passionate fans and a community of people who share a love for the sport.”

Resort preparations have spanned several aspects of event logistics, including lodging for athletes, volunteer recruitment and expanding snowmaking efforts on Lower Bobby’s.

It might be the first time Waterville has hosted an FIS World Cup Freestyle event, but the resort’s roots in freestyle skiing are unparalleled.

Waterville Valley opened the first freestyle instruction program in the United States in 1969 and organized the first National Open Championships of Freestyle Skiing on the Sunnyside trails just one year later. The resort has gone on to host 11 FIS Alpine World Cup races, four U.S. Freestyle National Championships, a U.S. Alpine Championship, and several freeski and snowboard U.S. Revolution tours.

“Waterville Valley is home to a thriving community of young athletes, from the BBTS — Black and Blue Trail Smashers — Snowsports Club (one of the oldest ski clubs in the United States) to the Waterville Valley Academy,” said Sarah Van Kralingen, the resort’s marketing and communications manager. “We hope events like this will inspire and influence aspiring young athletes, demonstrating the phenomenal skill, athleticism and sportsmanship involved in freestyle skiing.”

Two-time Olympic medalist Hannah Kearney is a New England native who remembers competing in her first sanctioned mogul event at Waterville Valley when she was only 8 years old.

“Instantly, I was hooked on the sport,” Kearney said. “I spent every weekend over the next eight years training with the exceptional WVBBTS Freestyle Team until I made the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team in 2002. When young athletes watch the best in the world compete in their backyard, it provides a source of tangible inspiration to achieve their potential. I hope to return to my roots to cheer them on.”

Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO, said staging World Cup events at Waterville Valley will help grow the visibility of the sport and inspire the next generation of freestyle athletes by promoting new domestic competition opportunities.

“Waterville’s incredible freestyle history and community was a natural choice for another domestic World Cup stop,” Goldschmidt said. “We can’t wait to celebrate the sport with fans, friends and family at Waterville.”