2021-2022 Race Place Catalog Cover Stories
Photo Credit: Jim Walsh
Tatum Akers
Tatum is a 2nd year U16 at Palisades Tahoe Ski Team in Olympic Valley. Everything about ski racing excites Tatum, and she believes it is one of the best things in life. Ski racing has brought many life lessons, friendships and a close-knit community that helped her get through the trials of this past year.
Tatum’s biggest lessons through ski racing are balancing training with academics and working with younger athletes to share her love of the sport. She has done a great job in this area, earning a current grade point average of 4.14 and ranking first for Downhill and second for Slalom in the nation for her age!
Her goals are to compete on the World Cup circuit and in the Olympics. She works hard and shows dedication in achieving her dreams.
We are honored to have Tatum as our 2021-2022 cover winner and grant her the award of $3,000 in gear to assist in reaching these dreams!
BACK COVER WINNER: Thomas Sickler
Thomas is from our local mountain, Mt. Bachelor and has been a part of the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation team for over eight years. He is so dedicated to ski racing that he took on two jobs this past summer to help pay for his expenses, trains five days a week with the team and keeps up his academics even through the uncertainty of the pandemic. His math teacher wrote this on his report card and is a tribute to his dedication.
“Thomas, when I saw your final grade in precalculus this term, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes! What seemed like an almost impossible feat (finishing up incompletes in multiple winter courses, ending a ski season, and transitioning to in-person learning while also maintaining mastery of current content) took a tremendous amount of hard work, maturity, dedication to your studies and a true desire for success. Bravo Thomas!”
We appreciate Thomas’s passion for the sport and welcome him as our back cover athlete along with the $1,500 award.