Blizzard/Tecnica signed Robby Kelley to its Race team, and to its Freeride team, Adrian Ballinger, Chad Sayers and Eva Walkner.
The new team members are elite skiers in their respective disciplines and have chosen to join the Blizzard/Tecnica team to compete and explore on their products as well as to be an integral part of the development process of building new equipment to improve the skier experience.
Pearson Neal, national competition manager for Blizzard/Tecnica, said, “I am very excited to have Robby on board adding to our U.S Race Team athletes. Robby is a good old Vermont boy who only brings positivity and good leadership and is an ideal role model to our junior ski racing community. He is a hardworking and humble person that will bring the Blizzard/Tecnica race team to the next level.”
A native of Starksboro, VT, Kelley was on the US Ski Team for three years. Currently, Kelley is racing with other fellow Vermonters on a self-made team, Redneck Racing, and most recently was the slalom winner at the New Zealand National Championship and the Australia New Zealand Cup Champion, and runner-up in the U.S. Nationals in slalom.
Frank Shine, brand creative and Freeride team manager, commented on the Freeride athletes: “We have been focused for many years on creating a well-rounded Freeride program at Blizzard/Tecnica that represents the diversity and dynamic nature of this part of our sport. We are proud to announce three new athletes to our international team that embody this focus.”
Ballinger is a world-class mountaineer, skier and founder and head guide of Alpenglow Expeditions. He is the only American to have skied two 8,000-meter peaks, was the first person to ski Manaslu, the eighth tallest mountain in the world, and in 2011 became the first person to summit three 8,000-meter peaks in three weeks (Everest twice, Lhotse once). Ballinger is the only American to holds the prestigious AMGA/IFMGA guide certifications and has achieved more than 10 summits of 8,000-meter peaks. Ballinger calls Squaw Valley USA his hometown.
Sayers, a Canadian native and hometown mountain skier at Whistler/Blackcomb, has signed for a two-year international Freeride contract with Blizzard/Tecnica worldwide. He was on the Freeride tour for seven years and continues today skiing big mountains from Patagonia to La Grave. Sayers said, “Skiing has been my gift, my truth, my expression, my passion, my job, my life in so many more ways … It’s the freedom and joy of being in the mountains that keeps me longing for more of whatever lies ahead.”
Walkner, a native of Austria, is the reigning female Freeride World Champion in 2015 and 2016 and has 14 World Tour podiums. She joined the ranks on the Austrian Alpine National Team until an injury sidelined her. Changing career paths, Walkner became a sports journalist, but discovered freeride skiing in 2010, where she stood on the podium in her first official race. Walkner will play an integral role in the development of Blizzard/Tecnica product as the brands launch an all-women’s product initiative from the ground up. Walkner’s first competition on the Freeride World Tour will be January 27, 2017 on the peaks of Mont Blanc in Chamonix.
Blizzard Sport USA is under The Tecnica Group umbrella, where Blizzard and Tecnica operate as a single business unit in the United States.
