2017-18 Berlack/Astle Memorial Fast Skier Award Winners Announced

World Cup Supply and 1to3go are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017-18 Berlack/Astle Memorial Fast Skier Awards. Sugar Bowl Academy athlete Georgie Sullivan and Luke Kearing from the Sugarloaf Ski Club were each awarded the prize for U16 racers.

California native Georgie Sullivan was born and raised in San Francisco and her parents bought a home in Sugar Bowl when she was 3 years old so they could spend weekends and holidays skiing as a family. Entering her first race at the age of four, Georgie has been dedicated full-time to accomplishing her goals in ski racing. She was 1st overall for U16 women at the 2018 U16 Western Regionals in Alyeska, Alaska, and 1st in slalom at that event as well.

“this scholarship is dear to my heart as it embodies my passion and love for skiing and the ski community,” Sullivan said. “I am committed to demonstrating the passion and drive that Ronnie and Bryce displayed for sport, as well as their love of the mountains through this scholarship. I am deeply honored to have been given the opportunity, with this scholarship, to pursue my goals.”

Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Club skier Luke Kearing is from Carrabasset Valley, Maine. Luke was the overall U16 alpine national champion after competing in Mission Ridge, Washington, in April. Luke was also 2nd in slalom and 3rd in GS and SG at the U16 Ronnie Berlack Eastern Championships this past March.

“It’s a real honor to have been chosen to receive the Berlack/Astle Memorial Award,” said Kearing. “I am familiar with Ronnie and Bryce’s story about training in Austria with the U.S. Ski Team and losing their lives tragically in an avalanche. This memorial award in their memory is very special and I will do my best to honor their legacies by working hard to follow my dream of making the U.S. Ski Team one day.”

Both athletes will receive a $1,500 cash award, helmet, goggles and back protector from POC and a hat, backpack, and t-shirt from World Cup Supply.

This is the 9th year the Fast Skier Award has been awarded and the 3rd year that the award has been presented in memory of Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, two USST athletes whose lives were lost in an avalanche in Soelden, Austria, in January 2015. The awards are based on race results, academic excellence, coach recommendations and community involvement.

World Cup Supply and 1to3go congratulate Georgie and Luke and wish them all the best in their future endeavors. We’d also like to thank POC USA and Atomic North America for their generous donations and help recognizing Georgie and Luke’s achievements.

Interested U16 athletes may learn more about the Award by visiting www.junioralpinescholarship.com.

Release courtesy of  World Cup Supply.