Aspen World Synchro Championships wrap up Sunday on Aspen Mountain
Courtesy photo
Founded 20 years ago by Jerry Berg, Aspen Team Diva began as a way for women to empower women. While that’s still the case, they also are one of the country’s best showcases for synchronized skiing.
Every year since 2003, Aspen Team Diva has helped host the Aspen World Synchro Championships. This includes the 2017 competition, which concludes Sunday on Aspen Mountain.
“You get to know all these girls from different places,” said Carolina Vivo, who has competed with Aspen Team Diva since 2014. “You can feel a huge sense of community and friendship — a huge support from an incredible group of women from all over the world.”
Today, Aspen Team Diva has three different teams, each comprised entirely of women, competing in the main event of the world championships. The competition started Saturday with the racing and bumps events, which are 30 percent of a team’s final score. The remaining 70 percent comes from Sunday’s synchronized competition, which begins around 10 a.m. on North American.
The best viewing of the race is from Bonnie’s Restaurant.
“The Divas have become a staple of the ski and snowboard schools of Aspen. For almost 20 years these ladies have been out on the early morning first chair working on ski performance, technique, synchronicity and trust,” said Aspen Team Diva coach Jen Rupert. “They represent a healthy, supportive culture of empowering and growing strong women as they grow in what has historically been a male-dominated industry. This year’s team is an amazing group of ladies.”
The majority of the women competing for the Aspen Team Diva groups are ski instructors in Aspen, and come from all nationalities. Vivo is among them, and like many, heads to South America during the summer months, where it will be winter there. She is a native of Argentina.
“It gets people together from all over the world,” Vivo said of Aspen Team Diva. “If you believe skiing is hard, getting in sync is twice as hard.”
The world championships in Aspen attracts other teams from all over the world as well. This year 14 teams are competing, including one team of Argentine snowboarders, with no rules regarding the balance of men or women each team can have on their six or eight member team.
Each team is expected to get three to four runs Sunday, depending on weather and snow conditions. One run will be the same for all, while the others will be each team’s individually choreographed routines.
The 2016 world championship was won by the Telluride Ghostriders, which also won the inaugural USA national synchro championship in Telluride back in February. Aspen Team Diva took second at nationals.
Visit aspenteamdiva.com for more info.
Conservationists urge the public to disinfect all river gear after use, including waders, paddle boards, and kayaks
Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) such as zebra mussels, rusty crayfish, quagga mussels, New Zealand mud snails, and invasive aquatic plants have already caused lasting damage to rivers and lakes across the state.
