Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — There was plenty to celebrate Wednesday night inside the walls of Howelsen Hill’s Olympian Hall.

It was the end of another season, and the membership of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club gathered to recognize the accomplishments of some of its best coaches and athletes in an end-of-season tradition where people are honored for accomplishments that rise above simple results.

“This is an exciting time for our club,” said Rick DeVos, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club executive director. “These awards recognize athletes, coaches and supporters who went above and beyond in the pursuit of excellence.”

The awards, many of them named in memory of former coaches, athletes and supporters of the club, are some of the highest honors an athlete can receive in a season. In many cases, they include athletic achievements, but these awards also recognize the characteristics the club hopes to promote within the community. The club honors traits such as hard work, dedication and success in the classroom, as well as the continued pursuit of goals on the slopes.

“I feel like I’ve worked really hard for it,” Samantha Stamp said after receiving the Ashley Stamp Memorial Award, which is named after her sister, who died after a collision with a snowmobile in 2004 on Vail Mountain. The family started presenting the award in 2006 in Ashley’s memory, and this year, Samantha’s coaches felt she had earned the honor based on the characteristics she displayed in training and races.

Family friend and former Winter Sports Club coach Marnie Smith presented the award to Samantha and praised the young skier for her hard work, courage and strength. Samantha won the “bibbo award,” which goes to the skier who moves up the farthest from his or her starting position, at this year’s J3 Junior Olympics.

“I know that Ashley is so proud of you for winning this award,” Smith said to the crowd inside Olympian Hall. “I know she’s up there … and that she is walking much taller.”

Samantha said the award came as a surprise. Smith has presented the award every year since it was introduced, so the young skier didn’t think about it when her friend stepped to the podium. Past winners were Maria Hillenbrand (2006), Shane McLean (2007), Lexie Baden (2008) and Katie Arnis (2009).

Several other skiers won memorial awards, including Sam Harrelson, who earned the Ritter Memorial Courage Cup; Adam Loomis, who won the Wilbur Madsen Memorial Award; and Molly Newman, who earned the Charles Abernathy Memorial “True Grit” Award.

Other awards, such as the John Fetcher Honorary Sus­taining Member award, go to those who have supported the club and helped it thrive. DeVos said this year’s winner, Gordon Jones, represents the qualities that have helped make the club what it is in Steamboat Springs.

Jones’ son was an athlete and coach at the club for several years. He has since moved to another program and is considered one of the top cross-country coaches in the nation. But that hasn’t stopped his dad from continuing to support and help the Winter Sports Club however he can.

“Gordon is always right there asking what he can do to help the club,” DeVos said. “He’s the type of guy who shows up to volunteer at 5 a.m. and will stay past midnight if needed.”

Jones said he was flattered by the award and said his dedication to the club is fueled by a love of watching young skiers in Steamboat grow and flourish in the shadows of Howelsen Hill.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Jones said. “I do it because I like the Winter Sports Club so much and what they do. If you come to Howelsen Hill at 4 p.m. on any afternoon during the winter, it goes from nothing to this marvelous program. So anything I can do to help, I’ll help. I’m not John Fetcher. … He was somebody we should all emulate as far as what he did for the Winter Sports Club and winter sports.”

— To reach John F. Russell call 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@steamboatpilot.com