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Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame celebrates Vail’s Jeannie Thoren and John Dakin

Tickets available for 45th annual celebration on Aug. 21 to welcome five new members

John Dakin spent nearly 50 years in media operations, including work with the University of Colorado Ski Team, U.S. Ski Team, 1996 Olympic Summer Games and the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
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Snow sports industry pioneers, legends, enthusiasts, athletes, and more will come together on Sunday, Aug. 21, for the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame’s 45th annual induction celebration.

The Class of 2022 includes Ron LeMaster, Jeannie Thoren, Chester “Chet” Upham, John Dakin, and Peter Rietz. Annual Award recipients include Chan and Melitta Bergen, the National Brotherhood of Skiers, Mikaela Shiffrin, Filip Forejtek, Katie Hensien, and Thomas Charles Walsh. Of all the individuals being recognized, both Jeannie Thoren and John Dakin have made a special impact on Vail and beyond.

Thoren, who will be inducted as a sport builder, is a skier with a mission: to create ski equipment to “fit” women according to their body type. Her motto is “Women Aren’t Small Men” and for the past four decades, she has been perfecting skis and boots to enhance women’s ability to ski. The Thoren Theory evolved to help women skiers radically improve their technique through equipment modification.



In 1986, she built the first women’s specific ski featuring a forward binding location in the Blizzard factory in Mittersill, Austria. In 2005, Dynastar/Lange hired her to perfect the Dynastar Exclusive Carve Ski which won the 2007 Gear of the Year Award.

Jeannie Thoren is a 2014 U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer whose motto is “Women Aren’t Small Men.”
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In 2009, she opened Vail’s first women’s ski shop. Fast forward to 2018 to present, Thoren is a partner with the Steadman Philippon Research Institute’s BioMotion Lab in Vail, to study the effects of ski boots in relation to ACL injury risk in women.

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Thoren did not start out to save the world. She just wanted to be a better skier. Along the way, however, she transformed the thinking of an entire industry. Through her dedication, tenacity, and perseverance, she has elevated the skiing experience for women across Colorado and globally.

Dakin, who will also be inducted as a sport builder, brings close to 50 years of media operations experience to the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, including work with the University of Colorado Ski Team, U.S. Ski Team, 1996 Olympic Summer Games and the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games. A native of Grand Junction, Colorado, Dakin served as vice president of communications for the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation since 1987, helping to create, organize and produce the foundation’s annual athletic, cultural and educational events and programs, along with major international events, including the 1989, 1999 and 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and the 1994 and 2001 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships.

He has served as chief of media for all Vail and Beaver Creek’s World Cup races since 1987, while also helping to coordinate World Cup media operations in Yongpyong, Korea, the site of the Alpine technical races for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Following his retirement from the Vail Valley Foundation in 2015, Dakin went on to serve as director of communications for the Colorado Snowsports Museum, helping to facilitate the museum’s $2.5 million complete renovation. He retired from the museum in 2019.

“In 2021 we redesigned the annual celebration with the goal of making it more inclusive, fun, and welcoming, and to reflect our mission and excite people about the rich history of skiing and snowboarding in Colorado,” stated Jennifer Mason, executive director of the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame, in a news release. “We are honored and excited to build upon the success of last year’s event.”

Hall of Fame candidates are nominated under the established criteria of athlete, sport builder, inspiration, or pioneer categories, with the Hall of Fame Nomination Committee evaluating and confirming the nominees to move on to the final ballot. The 140-member Hall of Fame Voting Panel is comprised of current Hall of Fame members, key snow sports industry representatives, and the Hall of Fame’s board of directors.

All are welcome to this, open-to-the-public, family-friendly, event. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: SnowsportsMuseum.org/shop/2022celebrationtix.


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