Park City Hootenanny raises money for World Cup Dreams

The World Cup Dreams Foundation, a fundraising organization designed to support the “nation’s best skiers,” rounded up Park City’s cowboys and girls for an old west hootenanny last Saturday.

The shindig was hosted at the Hi Ute Ranch in Park City. Partygoers hung out with U.S. Ski Team members, rode a mechanical bull, competed in a horseshoes tournament, ate barbeque and danced to live music provided by foundation cofounder Bryon Friedman and his band.

“Everyone likes to ride mechanical bulls, dance and listen to country music so we decided to try something new,” said cofounder and former U.S. Ski Team member Erik Schlopy. The organization decided to break from their routine of hosting Park City golf tournaments in order to open the floodgates to a greater number of guests.

“The bottom line is protecting and supporting the sport of ski racing in the United States,” said Schlopy. 

Special guest, Cody Marshall, was on hand to enjoy the party and support the cause.
“This is awesome, it’s great to raise money for athletes who can’t fund themselves,” said the U.S. Alpine Ski Team member who continues to recover from a head injury that left him hospitalized for more than a month this summer. “I feel great, I’m lucky to be alive.” 
 
“If this goes well we would love to make it an annual thing,” said Jennifer Vance, the foundation’s executive director “Our goal is to create ten different events throughout the year that all have their own theme.”

“Our mission is two fold,” said Vance. “A portion is to provide funding to those athletes who don’t have any, we’re also working on a disability insurance plan, so if any of these guys have a season-ending or career ending injury they will receive some financial support.”

Vance, who has been with the organization since April, said the focus of the event was to spread the word about the organization in the Park City area, a place many of the athletes call home.

U.S. B-Team member Jake Zamansky was in attendance to give back to the organization that has helped him reach his own World Cup Dreams.

“They’ve helped me put a lot, the first year they were in place I lost my funding and they came through with a grant so I could finish out my year and I won the Nor-Am  spot that year and last year it ended up giving me a chance to race World Cup and I had three top thirties and made my way back onto the team,” said Zamansky.

The event not only raised money for athletes, but also gave the team’s fan base a chance to get to know the racers in a fun environment.

“The men’s alpine team is definitely closer together than it has been ever, I think events like this are what build that even more,” said U.S. B-Team member Will Brandenburg. “This is a lot of fun to bring friends and family into it to,”

World Cup Dream’s next function will be a dinner/auction in Vail, Colo, Nov. 13. Click here to visit their website. 

To see a slide show of the event click here. Look for a video of the event in the next digital issue of Ski Racing.

Image: TJ Lanning rides a mechanical bull at the Park City Hootenanny (Jennie Williams)