RMISA Releases 2021 Ski Schedule

BOULDER—The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association released the 2021 schedule for the western region schools Friday and the University of Colorado will host the Ninth Annual Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational at Eldora (alpine) and Aspen (Nordic).

What will be coach Richard Rokos' 31st and final season at Colorado will prove to be one of the most challenging, as teams from the RMISA will likely have to remain flexible with potential COVID-19 impacts throughout the season. Last season, the final two days of the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the pandemic.

RMISA coaches are taking every precaution to abide by NCAA, conference, and institution regulations surrounding COVID-19 along with working closely with each venue surrounding local, county, and state regulations.

Due to the pandemic, alpine and Nordic skiers will not be in similar locations until the NCAA Ski Championships, which are set to be hosted by New Hampshire after the original host Middlebury could no longer host with its conference canceling winter sports. Most alpine meets will not see the men and women competing on the same day and most Nordic races are slated to be interval starts.

The alpine season will open in Colorado, with the University of Denver hosting two giant slalom races for each gender Jan. 10 (women) and Jan. 11 (men). The women will then head to Eldora for CU's Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational, where the women will compete in two slalom races on Jan. 12 and the men on Jan. 13.

The alpine teams will move from Colorado to Utah for 11 days of racing over three meets. The second RMISA Invitational will consist of two slalom races for each gender on Feb. 8-9 at Snowbird with races hosted by Westminster College, and then the first RMISA Invitational at Utah will conclude with two GS races on Feb. 11-12. Alpine teams will remain in Park City for the RMISA Championships Feb. 18-19.

The Nordic racing will begin Jan. 17 in an RMISA Invitational at Soldier Hollow Utah, with freestyle races on Jan. 17 and classic races on Jan. 18. Teams will then travel to the Vail area to complete the Denver Invitational at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colo., Jan. 22-23.

Nordic teams will remain in Colorado two weeks later in Aspen to complete the SJN Invitational on Feb. 5-6 before taking a break and heading back to Utah to complete the regular season and RMISA Championships. The second RMISA Invitational in Utah's Nordic events will take place Feb. 22-23 in Soldier Hollow and teams will stay at SoHo for the RMISA Championships on Feb. 26-27.

The NCAA Championships are set for March 10-13 in Francona (alpine) and Jackson, N.H. (Nordic).

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