going fast and giving back

Friends, competitors and now teammates, Stef Fleck and Tricia Mangan are excited to team up this season to take on the Audi FIS World Cup Speed Circuit as independent athletes. Here’s their plan:

Mission:

As we head into the 2022/23 season, we are determined and excited to continue our pursuit of World Cup success and to use our platforms to inspire young athletes to work hard at their passions and never stop believing in their dreams. Unconventional paths are not always celebrated. We want to encourage athletes to take pride in their hard work regardless of how it looks from the outside. Ultimately, we hope to demonstrate to others that there is more than one path to success and if you really believe in yourself, you can make it.

With two Olympic Games, seven World Junior Championships, two college degrees, five NCAA National Championships, and 40 FIS World Cup starts, our little team has accomplished some big things. At only 25 years old, we are both confident that our best results are ahead of us. 

We are proud to be supported by some awesome sponsors this year including Rossignol (Stef), Head (Tricia), Swix, ASP, SYNC Performance, Clif Bar, Nita Lake Lodge and many more. We are also very excited to partner with Ski Racing Media this season to bring behind the scenes content from life on the road as World Cup skiers and to share real stories of all the ups and downs along the way. 

Our Plan to Go Fast and Give Back

Going Fast:

With the help of many mentors, we have created an independent World Cup speed program that we believe will best provide the support required to achieve World Cup success. We plan to commit full time to the World Cup speed circuit again this season and are eager to utilize the knowledge and experience from our first WC speed season last year to break into the WCSL top 30. 

Giving Back:

From overcoming setbacks and challenges to redefining the what success means to us, we both continue to learn and grow tremendously. We strive to support other young athletes, especially girls, to feel this empowerment through sport. We are committing to this goal in a multitude of ways. Including working with existing non-profits to target growth in grassroot programs, hosting in-person workshop events to encourage community through sport and creating empowering messaging through podcasts, blog posts, YouTube and social media. 

Fundraising:

Starting our own speed team will entail financing for two World Cup coaches, a ski technician, quality summer speed training and prep, as well as World Cup training and competitions throughout the season. In total, our season will cost $250,000. We both work part-time and have applied for non-profit grants and scholarships to defray this cost. Additionally, we are building our brands, promoting partnerships and giving back to the ski racing community. But given the expenses this year, we still need help to achieve our goals. So, we have started a Go Fund Me to raise money to support our season. We have set our initial goal at $50,000 to help get our team off the ground. All money donated will go towards our team’s expenses, including the purchase of coaching and training equipment, travel and lodging expenses and financing our summer prep camps.  

We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to pursue our goals at the World Cup level and deeply appreciate the support we have received so far. We are excited to pay it forward as much as possible through sharing our stories and supporting and encouraging the next generation.