Every year the New England Ski Museum recognizes the most promising Junior Skiers with the Golden Ski Award.
The Golden Ski Award, established in 1969, honors the top junior male and female alpine racers in the Eastern U.S. The trophy was lost in 1975 and rediscovered in 2007 among donations to the New England Ski Museum. That year, the Museum revived the tradition in collaboration with the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. Since 2018, the New England Ski Museum has presented the award independently.
Golden Ski Award 2025
Awarded to Annika Hunt of Burke Mountain Academy, VT
The New England Ski Museum is thrilled to announce that Annika Hunt is the 2025 recipient of the Eastern Ski Writers Golden Ski Award — her third consecutive win. The award was presented at a reception held at the New England Ski Museum at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, NH, on Friday, June 6, 2025.
Annika Hunt is a standout junior alpine racer from Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont and a native of Park City, Utah who continues to dominate on the NorAm circuit. This season, Hunt secured the overall NorAm title with 938 points, placing 1st in both Downhill and Super-G, and earning 16 podium finishes—including six wins—across North America and Europe.
Hunt began the season ranked 390 in Downhill and improved to an impressive 100, with similar leaps in Super-G (from 342 to 85) and Slalom (275 to 85). Her consistent performance marks her as one of the most promising talents in Eastern junior ski racing.
“The Golden Ski Award is the oldest honor for junior alpine racers in the U.S.,” says Andrea Masters, executive director of the New England Ski Museum. “We’re excited to recognize Annika Hunt again this year and can’t wait to see what’s next in her amazing ski career.”
Previous Golden Ski Award winners
1969: Tyler Palmer, Karen Middleton
1970: Charles Bent, Karen Middleton
1971: Rod Taylor, Judy McNealus
1972: Laurent Gaudin, Jody Palmer
1973: Jerry McNealus, No female winner
1974: No award
1975: Scott Light, Holly Flanders
1976-2007: Award lost
2008: Bump Heldman, Julia Ford
2009: Nolan Kasper, Julia Ford
2010: Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Julia Ford
2011: Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Mikaela Shiffrin
2012: Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Mikaela Shiffrin
2013: Kieffer Christianson, Mikaela Shiffrin
2014: Sam Morse, Alice Merryweather
2015: Drew Duffy, Nina O’Brien
2016: Ben Ritchie, Cecily Decker
2017: George Steffey, Patricia Mangan
2018: Jimmy Krupka, Abigail Jewett
2019: Ben Ritchie, Claire Thomas
2020: Ben Ritchie, Zoe Zimmerman
2021: Ben Ritchie, Ava Sunshine Jemison
2022: John Kerbaugh, Ava Sunshine Jemison
2023: Jay Poulter, Annika Hunt
2024: Harper Sargent, Annika Hunt
2025: Annika Hunt; no male winner