March 2026 Team Update

March is Championship Month, and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Watching the growth and improvement our athletes achieve in just a few short months is always inspiring. This is when they get to showcase the skills, confidence, and resilience they’ve been building all season long.

While this winter has been a bit unusual in some ways, it has also been a fantastic season. Compared to many ski areas across the West, Little Cottonwood Canyon has treated us well. Although powder days may have been fewer than we hoped, the training conditions have been excellent for all of our teams. The result has been a winter full of strong performances and memorable events. You’ll find highlights from each group included in this month’s update.

Be sure to check out the Snowboard Team highlight page—especially if you enjoy reading about SBSEF athletes earning Paralympic medals and World Cup titles. It’s truly incredible and a testament to the dedication of our athletes and coaches.

Another standout feature of this winter has been the unwavering enthusiasm of our community. Whether helping run events at home and on the road, stopping by training sessions, or cheering on our athletes from the sidelines, the SBSEF family continues to be one of the greatest strengths of this organization. Thank you for being such an important part of our team.

Best of luck to all of our athletes as they head into the final stretch of the season. We look forward to a great final few weeks of the season!

~ Bridger Call, SBSEF Executive Director

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The Junior Bounous Endowment Fund has been established!

Honoring a Legacy. Supporting our Athletes.

Junior Bounous is a legendary figure in American skiing. For a century, Junior’s passion, vision, and lifelong dedication to skiing and youth development have shaped the sport of skiing in Utah and beyond. As Snowbird’s first Director of Skiing, founder of the Snowbird Ski Team, and a pioneer of modern ski instruction, Junior was instrumental in establishing Little Cottonwood Canyon’s reputation as a world-class destination for elite athletes and recreational skiers alike.

At Snowbird, Junior’s influence is still seen—both in the legendary terrain he helped develop, and in the culture of excellence and joy that defines the community. He believed that skiing wasn’t just a sport, but a lifelong journey.

The Junior Bounous Endowment Fund, established by the Snowbird Sports Education Foundation with significant support from the community, carries forward this legacy by supporting young athletes in their pursuit of excellence, on and off the mountain. The goal of the fund is to provide resources in perpetuity for financial aid and the health of the foundation. The foundation will use the endowment to promote excellence in training, competition, education, and mentorship—ensuring that Junior’s spirit and vision continue to inspire the next generation of winter athletes in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Over the next few years, we aim to raise $2 million to establish an endowment, thereby ensuring the ongoing availability of scholarships, financial aid, and competition funding. This new initiative will ensure our ability to transform the lives of SBSEF athletes for decades to come.

With your support, our endowment can help our athletes realize their dreams today and for generations to come.  Check out this link for more info: https://sbsef.com/junior-bounous-endowment-fund/

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Community Update:

Mark your calendars for the annual BBQ and Duals race on Bryce’s Run Saturday April 11!  This annual event marks the official end of training for the season and is a great opportunity for our entire community to enjoy a cookout and a duals SL course on the race hill.  Our team volunteer coordinators and parents have been very busy this past month arranging tailgating events and meals on the hill for athletes and staff at South Series in Sundance; U14s were very busy with 5 straight days of races at Park City and Snowbird; our Devos enjoyed hot chocolate and toppings at the annual Hot Cocoa cup at Snowbird; and Freeride parents were busy at the IFSA 3* junior qualifier at Snowbird.  We are so appreciative of our Parent Coordinators, and all the team families, who have worked hard and put in the many hours to pull these events together.  Thank you!
~ Ellen Tolstad

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SBSEF Waitlist is OPEN for the 2026-27 Season!

Tell your friends and family who want to ski with SBSEF to sign up on the waitlist. Freeride tryouts are set for April 18 & 19. To receive a link for tryouts you must be on the waitlist! CLICK HERE

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Academic Honor Roll!

SBSEF believes in rewarding hard work in academics as well as athletics. SBSEF awards an Academic Honor Roll acknowledgment for secondary school athletes (middle school or jr high and senior high). We recognize 3.0 and higher cumulative GPA for the 2025-26 academic year.

We also award a “Scholar Of the Year” for Senior High graduating athletes. The deadline is April 13!
CLICK HERE

Attention Class of 2026!

Each May, SBSEF enjoys highlighting our graduating seniors on social media and our Annual Report. We want to celebrate your teen’s accomplishments and inspire our younger athletes to achieve their dreams and set their goals high! Please complete the following form so we have your senior’s data, and if you would like us to highlight your senior! If you do not wish us to highlight them, let us know in the last question. CLICK HERE

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