Clair Bidez is an American former professional

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

and research analyst.

Snowboarding career

Bidez began competing in snowboarding competitions at age ten, after realizing that her brother, Dylan, was having more fun as a snowboarder than she was as a skier. When she was 16, she placed 5th at the US Open at Stratton Mountain and was asked to join the

U.S. Snowboarding U.S. Snowboarding, the snowboarding arm of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), is committed to the progression of snowboarding by providing athletic programs, services, and competitions for male and female athletes of all ages, ...

team soon after. In 2006, she became the Halfpipe Junior World Champion in Vivaldi Park, South Korea. At the

Winter X Games XX Winter X Games XX (re-titled Winter X Games Aspen '16; styled as Winter X Games Twenty in the official logo) were held from January 28 to January 31, 2016, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 15th consecutive Winter X Games held in Aspen. The events ...

, she placed 4th in halfpipe competition. In the last Grand Prix of 2009 at Copper Mountain, she broke her heel in the finals. After recovering from her injury, Bidez made it to finals in every Olympic qualifier and was featured in the 2010

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted cov ...

as a potential Olympian, but a persistent ankle injury turned out to be the end of her professional snowboard career. The injury, along with a desire to go back to school, influenced her decision to retire from competitive snowboarding.

Personal life

Bidez was born in 1987 and grew up in

Minturn, Colorado Minturn is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,027 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Minturn is located in southeastern Eagle County on the Eagle River between the resort commun ...

. Her younger brother Dylan was also a member of the

Team. Bidez earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from Westminster College (through a special Tuition Grant Program with USSA) and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in Geography from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

References

Living people American female snowboarders Sportspeople from Colorado 1987 births Westminster College (Utah) alumni University of Utah alumni 21st-century American women People from Eagle County, Colorado {{US-snowboarding-bio-stub