Sydney Daly and Ian Tezak Named 2026–2027 Race Place Catalog Cover Winners

From a standout U16 season to a late start that led to FIS speed racing, this year’s winners share the stories behind their love for the sport.

Sydney Daly and Ian Tezak took different routes into ski racing. Daly grew up spending weekends and holidays on the mountain, progressing through ski programs at Whistler before finding a home with Park City Ski & Snowboard. Tezak discovered racing in eighth grade at Wisconsin’s Tyrol Basin, then worked his way from high school competition to the FIS circuit.

Now, both athletes have earned a place on the 2026–2027 Race Place catalog. Daly is the front cover winner and recipient of a $3,000 Race Place gift certificate, while Tezak takes the back cover and receives a $1,500 gift certificate.

Their application letters offer a look beyond the action photos, sharing what brought them into racing, the people who have supported them and where they hope the sport will take them next.

Sydney Daly: Finding a Home in Park City

Daly’s early skiing years unfolded in the Pacific Northwest at Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie. When she was three, her family began spending most weekends and holidays at Whistler, where she eventually progressed from the weekend ski program into race development.

“Some of my best childhood memories were made on those mountains, chasing speed, tackling the steeps, and developing a love for skiing,” Daly wrote in her application.

When the U.S.–Canada border closed during the pandemic, those regular trips to Whistler stopped. With her Washington school operating online, Daly and her family spent the winter of 2021 in Park City. What began as a temporary arrangement became a lasting move.

Daly now races for Park City Ski & Snowboard and is a junior at the Winter Sports School. She enters her first FIS season following a successful final year at the U16 level, which included the U16 Western Region Slalom Championship title, seventh in slalom and ninth overall at U16 Nationals.

She finished the season with 11 victories and the Bryce Astle IMC Overall Cup.

Those results have helped shape her next goals: becoming one of the top first-year FIS women in the country and earning a place on the U.S. Ski Team Regional Development Team. But her application also makes clear how much she values the daily work and relationships behind those ambitions.

“Ski racing has taught me how to embrace challenges, push my limits, and find joy in hard work,” Daly wrote. “It has introduced me to incredible coaches, teammates, and friends, many of whom have become like family.”

Representing More Than Results

For Daly, the opportunity to appear on the catalog cover also means representing the community that has helped her develop. Mentoring younger athletes and supporting teammates have become meaningful parts of her experience in the sport.

“The cover photo would not just represent race results,” she wrote. “It would represent a young athlete who is dedicated to skiing, values her community, supports her teammates, and inspires younger skiers to pursue their own dreams.”

Her $3,000 Race Place gift certificate will provide equipment support as she makes the transition into FIS competition and begins working toward those next goals.

Ian Tezak: From Wisconsin to FIS Racing

Tezak learned to ski with his dad and brother at Tyrol Basin in southern Wisconsin. Family trips also took them to Indianhead and Powderhorn in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where his father had grown up skiing.

Racing came later. Tezak joined the Tyrol Basin Ski Team in eighth grade and earned the team’s Most Improved award in his first season. The experience sparked an interest that would become central to his high school years.

“There is truly nothing like the feeling of standing in the starting gate,” Tezak wrote in his application.

“But the second I break the wand and leave the gate, the quiet takes over. It becomes just me, the line, the bite of my edges on the ice, and pure speed.”

Tezak balanced racing with varsity football and track, playing middle linebacker and special teams in the fall and running sprints in the spring. Over four years of high school ski racing, he earned Team MVP honors four times, served as captain for three consecutive years and qualified individually for the Wisconsin State Championships.

He also raced with the Mad Alpine Midwest Area Ski Race Team in USSA events throughout high school.

A torn meniscus during the football playoffs in his junior year interrupted that progression. After surgery and rehabilitation, Tezak returned to racing and qualified for the Wisconsin State Championships, earning varsity letters in skiing, football and track that school year.

Finding His Direction in Speed

When it came time to choose a university, Tezak wanted to continue his education while giving himself the opportunity to take racing further. He chose Montana State University in Bozeman, where he is pursuing a finance degree.

With Bridger Bowl and Big Sky nearby, he joined Bridger Ski Foundation and began competing in FIS races as a freshman. It was only his fifth year of competitive ski racing.

Racing across all four alpine disciplines helped him discover a particular interest in super-G and downhill. His plans now include lowering his FIS points in giant slalom and the speed events, with goals of competing in the South American Cup and NorAm circuits. His ultimate ambition is to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

Taking those steps requires equipment and financial support. In his application, Tezak described racing on a combination of older and borrowed FIS gear while balancing the costs of coaching, team fees, entries and travel.

“Earning a spot on the Race Place cover would not only be a highlight of my athletic journey, but the support would directly help fund my push toward the South American Cup, NorAm circuit, and beyond,” he wrote.

The $1,500 Race Place gift certificate will help him upgrade his equipment as he continues that pursuit.

The Stories Behind the Covers

For Daly, the next step is building on her U16 results as she enters FIS racing. For Tezak, it is gaining experience and finding more opportunities to compete in speed. Both athletes describe a sport that has given them friendships, direction and goals that keep them coming back to the start gate.

Their photographs appear on the front and back of the 2026–2027 Race Place catalog, with gift certificates totaling $4,500 to support the seasons ahead.

Source: Race Place and the athletes’ catalog cover contest application letters. Sydney Daly photo: Smiley’s Mountain Photo. Ian Tezak photo: WIARA.