Stella Holt
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Glacier Nordic Club member qualifies for the 2011 USSA Scandinavian Team Photo by Kelly Marchetti
Stella is 17 years old and attends Whitefish High School
hen Stella Holt was in 8th grade she made the decision to take a more serious approach towards Nordic ski racing by competing not only in local races but also in regional competitions. She chose to race up an age group in order to get better racing experience, and although she was a year younger than a number of the other athletes, she qualified for the Intermountain Ski Team; a team comprised of athletes from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah that competes annually at the Junior Olympics. At the age of 13 her eyes were opened to the world of cross-country ski racing as she spent a week competing with the best junior skiers in the nation at the Cross Country Junior Olympics. For the last four years, Stella has continued to race on the Intermountain Circuit and has attended Junior Olympics in Utah, Alaska, California, and Maine. Over the years she has overcome serious injury and sickness in order to place in the top ten in the nation twelve times. Stella recently returned from a week of ski racing in Rumford, Maine at the U.S. Nationals where she was again taking a more serious approach towards her skiing. This annual week of races attracts the best skiers from across the country as they compete for spots on a number of international teams. Stella was lucky enough to be taken under the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation's wing for the week, which gave her a valuable opportunity to experience ski racing at some of its highest levels as several of the Foundation's athletes competed in Vancouver at the Olympics last year. Stella's ultimate goal in traveling to Rumford was to place high enough throughout the week to qualify for the 2011 USA J1 Scandinavian Cup Team, which will travel overseas to Sweden at the end of January. With the help of her previous racing experience, quality training season, and determination, Stella had strong races that secured her place as the fifth female skier in her age group in the nation. As a result she will be one of twelve athletes from across the nation traveling to Sweden to represent the United States at the Scando Cup races. Making this team is a major steppingstone in the U.S. ski team pipeline. Stella is very humbled by the opportunities she has already had through skiing and competing internationally, and wearing the U.S. Ski Team suit will be an honor.  93