The alpine skiing season opens in Austria at the end of October. There, U.S. Ski and Snowboard will be looking for potential 2026 Olympians.
“The first race, we start using that as a criteria to name the team,” Chief of Sport Anouk Patty said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Wednesday.
She manages athletic performance for 10 national teams. Those include Alpine, para-Alpine, cross country, free ski, moguls, aerials, ski jumping, Nordic combines, snowboard and para-snowboard.
Patty has about 250 athletes under her care and she fosters relationships with each of them to understand their needs and how best to support them.
“I view my role as kind of chief mom in many respects,” she said. “Leadership is kind of parenting at scale, really. And in this role in particular, where I've got athletes who range from 14 years old to 44, you have to really adapt and adjust and build relationships with them.”
On her list are Park City native and Alpine skier Elisabeth Bocock and rookie slopestyle snowboarder Ollie Martin.
The 20-year-old Bocock made her World Cup debut two years ago and finished in the top 25 last season. Martin, 17, entered the World Cup circuit last winter. At 16, he etched his name in history as the youngest male rider to win a World Cup slopestyle event.
Patty said Alpine favorites like 30-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin, who has the most World Cup wins of any Alpine skier ever, and 40-year-old Lindsey Vonn, who won four World Cup championships, are also on her watchlist.
As chief of sport, Patty cultivates athletes long before the Games are even an option. She said scouting young athletes starts with the numbers.
“We literally have spreadsheets that map out athletes' trick progression and how they're comparing not only domestically but internationally,” Patty said. “Then in each of our sports, we have regional coaches that are out in the field, and they go to competitions.”
Patty said skill isn’t enough — it takes grit to become a champion. Coaches want competitors who are willing to experiment and push themselves.
“We look for a young athlete who just wants nothing but being out there and competing and playing in the snow and has just a deep love and passion of the sport, because there are times where it's tough,” she said.
Those athletes are invited to “Project Gold” camps and programs to train. Several are in the Park City area, including at the Utah Olympic Park.
The top performers are selected for Team USA, gaining access to an arsenal of resources like the U.S. Ski & Snowboard USANA Center of Excellence in Park City with gyms, coaches, dietitians and more.
Patty said the organization has also developed summer training programs in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and Park City.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard will announce its 2026 Olympic rosters in January. Those athletes will compete in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22.
