Erica Adams "Rickey" Skinger (born March 21, 1949) is a former
World Cup alpine ski racer
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
from the
United States.
Early years
Born in
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
, she was one of three daughters of
Joseph and Constance Adams Skinger.
The family moved from
Alburg Springs on
Lake Champlain to
Stowe in 1957, where Skinger learned to ski and race on
Mount Mansfield at the
Stowe ski area. Her father Joe was a sculptor and jeweler and the family also operated a ski inn, the Tucker House Lodge on Mountain Road.
U.S. Ski Team
While in her late teens, Skinger was a member of the
U.S. Ski Team
The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and ...
.
She was one of three teenagers (with
Kiki Cutter and
Judy Nagel) that arrived in Europe a month before the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
to gain experience and also challenge for spots on the U.S. Olympic team.
Allowed four entrants for each of the three Olympic alpine events, the U.S. team was traditionally selected at the previous year's national championships in March, but head coach
Bob Beattie was dissatisfied with the women's team's performance in late 1967. Skinger did not make the U.S. Olympic team (Cutter and Nagel did) but had eight top ten finishes in World Cup competition, four in
downhill
Downhill may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse
* ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...
and four in
slalom
To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to:
Sports
;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding
* Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline
* Super-G ...
in just over a year, from January
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
to January
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
.
World Cup results
* 8 top tens – (4
DH, 4
SL)
References
External links
*
Erica SkingerWorld Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
*
1949 births
Living people
American female alpine skiers
Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont
21st-century American women
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