Bode Miller Ends His Season in Style at BodeFest 2005; Raises Money for Adaptive Ski Program

Bode Miller Ends His Season in Style at BodeFest 2005; Raises Money for Adaptive Ski ProgramIf you thought Bode Miller’s season was over after the U.S. Nationals, think again. Over 200 skiers ages 6 to 82 raced against the overall World Cup champ at BodeFest, held April 30, 2005 at Bretton Woods Resort. In a short GS, no one got near Miller’s time of 20.97. One spectator shot amature video of Bode’s Run. Click here to watch. Rich Hutchinson (21.84) of Team Coca Cola and Bob Hill (21.89) of the Flatlanders team were the only two to come within a second of Miller’s time. Scott Berobe of the Maineiacs rounded out the top three overall in 22.01.

The race ran in a team format with the ski race in the morning and a nine-hole golf scramble in the afternoon, with proceeds benefiting the Bretton Woods Adaptive Program. Teams were comprised of coworkers, racing buddies, and families, including Miller’s friends and family. Bode’s dad, Woody Miller, reportedly skiing with the same poles that Bode used in his first ever World Cup, finished in 27.77. Mom, Jo Miller, led her own team and with a speedy 24.54, and showed the crowd that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The day started out pleasantly, with the sun shining on the slopes of Bretton Woods. Miller got off to a good start, clocking 21.10 his first run. He then returned by snowmobile to the start to offer pointers, sign autographs, and pose for team photos. Austin Florian, 10, from Connecticut foreran the course but not until Miller had autographed his helmet. What will he do when he outgrows the helmet? “Still try to cram it on,” he said. Twelve adaptive skiers then started off the race, with Tyler Walker, a blind skier, clocking an impressive 27.67.

The fastest kid was 11-year-old Garrett Quimby in 23.54. With a 22.45, Tania Ripnik, 17, ripped down the course and was the only woman to crack 23 seconds, beating top masters skiers, Jessie McAleer (23.25) and Carolyn Beckedorf (23.59). Joe Lahout, 82, took the oldest skier honors with a respectable 40.31.

“It was awesome to be at the start and raise money for the adaptive program’ said Miller, who reveled in the relaxed festive atmosphere, including live music and a beer tent sponsored by Harpoon Brewery.

The Flatlanders-top masters skiers and the defending BodeFest champions-got 2nd the ski competition, then weren’t too shabby in golf either. “It was fun,” said Flatlander Sean Florian, 41, who was also happy “to help benefit handicap skiers.”

As everyone scrambled to the tees for the afternoon golf tournament, the sun gave way to wind, then a cold, dreary rain. By cocktail hour, everyone seemed happy to thaw out in the lobby and ballroom of the Mt. Washington Hotel during a silent auction, reception, and awards banquet. Awards kicked off with Miller receiving his third Outstanding Competitor Award from the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. The top individuals and teams in BodeFest also received prizes. In first, the Atomic team each received Atomic skis, but they turned around and auctioned them off to raise more money for the adaptive program.

Official Scoring and Results

Scoring required higher math, but three teams distanced themselves from the competition at the 2005 BodeFest on April 30. The Flatlanders-Sean Florian, Jim Burke, Bob Hill, and Chris Johnson-took the lead in the ski competition, scoring the lowest NASTAR handicap (5.91). Second through the gates was the Connecticut Connection-Doug Siwik, Mike Drew, Ray Bahr, and Ken Hylwa-with a handicap of 9.63, followed by masters skier Carolyn Beckedorff’s team-Beckedorff, Tony DiGangi, Mike Morin, and Ivar Dahl-with 14.24.

But the golf scramble shook things up. In sixth after the GS with a NASTAR handicap of 17.9, Team Atomic-Bruce McDonald, Matt Sleeper, John Esterbrook, and Koji Kubota-apparently took some tips from Tiger Woods. They reportedly scored a hole-in-one to finish five under par, giving the team a negative score of -14.1 to win the overall. The Flatlanders finished three under par and fell to second with an overall score of -2.09, while the Connecticut Connection, two under par, stayed on the podium in third (5.63).

Rounding out the top five were Carolyn Beckedorff’s team (one under par and a final score of 12.24) in fourth and Sunapee Won-Richard Jefferson, Alex Jefferson, Dean McLellan, and Dawn McLellan-in fifth after finishing the race with a zero handicap and the scramble on par for a zero score.

Scoring was tabulated by taking each team’s average NASTAR handicap and adding it to a modified golf score. A golf score of six under par was assigned a modified score of -64, five under par a score of -32, four under par a score of -16, all the way up to six over par assigned a score of +64. Twenty-eight teams participated in both the ski race and golf scramble.