We recently received an email from a shredder that we just had to pass on...

Dear Slytech,

My name is Sophia Winfrey, I am fourteen ( second year J3 racer). On
Sunday, January 16th, 2011, I crashed and I crashed hard. The back brace
made by your company, saved my back, and probably more than just my back .
So I would like for you to check out my clip. It was a Super G race, on
Tiehack, at Buttermilk ski area in Aspen Colorado. I got launched into the
air from a compression that I wasn't ready for. Instead of breaking my
back, I tore my ACL, stretched my MCL, and broke my thumb. It could have
been a lot worse, and I feel lucky. I love ski racing. To sum it up, it is
my life. I have skied since I was five for Loveland Race Club in Colorado
and have been a competitive ski racer since I was ten. I have been training
four days a week this year, and hope to increase that to five days next
year. I am always going to love skiing and speed is still my favorite event.

Sophia Winfrey (LRC racer)

These are the REAL STORIES we receive from people who see back protection on par with helmets and that it's not a matter of IF you will need one, but WHEN. Accidents are a probability and the more we reasonable protect against that probability, the less injury we'll incur, the more money we'll save (on forgone medical bills) and the more fun we'll have.

And by "reasonable" I mean, it's got to be COMFORTABLE. Who wants gear on that hinders you from full and natural movement? Certainly not racers like Sophia and CERTAINLY NOT big mountain guys like Wolle Nyvelt who need every ounce of personal grit and movement possible to make it down potentially fatal spines, fingers and chutes.

Thank you Sophia for sharing your amazing story!

Here's a video of Sophia's crash...

Finals in Lenzerheide are not only about competition now. They're also about a group of skiers who are banding together to make a difference in the lives of people in Japan.

Shredders like Julia Mancuso, Ted Ligety, Akira Sasaki, and many more have pledged to donate half of their prize money to "Skiers Helping Japan. " In addition, many have come together to send personalized messages to Japan.

Here are just a few...

As if there weren't reason enough to watch World Cup skiing, now you've got racers plunking down big bucks if they win for a worthy charity.

The 2011 Asian Winter Games from Kazakhstan in February saw some hard-fought alpine ski battles. In the end it was South Korean Slytech Athlete Jung Dong-hyun on top in men's super combined event.

Congratulations Jung Dong-hyun and our South Korean Slytech distributor Mr. Yong-Chul Kim of TOLES. The whole Slytech Team in Europe and the USA sends you big-up!

Rockin the Slytech Nerve Series 4Arm Guards and 2nd Skin Backpro Superlite, Ted Ligety skied to a Giant Slalom gold medal victory at  FIS World Championship's in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on February 18th, 2011.

He came back from a  4th place the first run to win by  0.08 seconds. Ted is on top of his game now... check out his run down below.

Congratulations, Ted!

This was a sweet weekend of World Cup Ski action with the women up in Zauchensee, Austria and the men in Adelboden, Switzerland.

A lot of Slytech Nervous Shin and Forearm Guards were out in Adelboden with the men shredding the giant slalom and slalom tech events. Gates slappin' and men tumbling... Adelboden is one of the toughest hills on the tour. A real grind.

Saturday's mens giant slalom saw Ted missing his 4th victory in a row with an unfortunate second run hiccup that sent him flying. Back protector on, 4 Arm guards in place, Ted finished 28th. Swiss Slytech man, Marc Berthod finished an impressive 7th place while his iron man team mate (you may recall his near fatal crash in Kitzbuehel a few years ago) Daniel Albrecht finished 29th.

Sunday's Slalom results:

• 10th Silvan Zurbriggen
• 19th Filip Trejbal
• 21st Marc Berthod
• 24th Will Brandenburg

Click the Image above to see Brandenburg's Runs

The women were out in Altenmarkt/ Zauchensee, Austria where they battled in downhill and super g. While not wearing her customary Nervous Shin Guards for speed events (obviously), Lindsey Vonn once again showed her dominance in downhill with a victory. Other top finishing Slytech athletes were:

• 7th Gisin Dominique
• 11th Nadia Kamer
• 12th Fabienne Suter

Sunday's Super G was almost a repeat for Vonn, when out of nowhere a little Swiss Shredette (who also wears Sltyech Nervous Shin and Arm Guards) took first place. What an upset! A lot of Slytech ladies in the bunch:

• 3rd Dominique Gisin
• 11th Nadia Kamer
• 23rd Laurenne Ross
• 24th Andrea Dettling
• 32nd Leanne Smith

... and if I'm not mistaken, there was an AUSTRIAN ski racer in the bunch who I swear I saw wearing Slytech Nervous 4Arm Guards in the Super G. If my memory serves me correctly it was Margret Altacher, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyone out there see which Austrian wore Slytech?

Check out tomorrow's Women's night slalom event from Flachau, Austria when Resi Stiegler enters the mix again and Sarah Schlepper looks to keep her red hot skiing going. Next weekend's action comes from Wengen, Switzerland where the men duke it out in Downhill and Super Combined. Women head out to Maribor, Slovenia where it's been a slalom and giant slalom slush-fest the past few years. Should be interesting!

There was some pretty spectacular action in Europe on the Alpine Skiing Front. The men were at probably the gnarliest downhill on the World Cup in Bormio. Several guys went down including American Marco Sullivan. We wish him a speedy recovery.

The women were kickin' it in Semmering, Austria tech style with Giant Slalom and Slalom on the 28th and 29th.

In the GS, Slytech user, Julia Mancuso had another good race with a 5th place finish. Her confidence levels are skyrocketing and she sits in the top 10 overall. Good to see her rockin' again. 7th place Lindsay Vonn -- using Slytech Nervous Destroyer Shin Guards -- was the overall leader, trying to push to get points, but was pushed out of the top spot after Wednesday's slalom crash and Maria Riesch's 2nd place.

Click the Image above to see the video

Other Slytech GS finishes were:

10th Fabienne Suter
15th Sarah Schleper

Slalom saw a hometown Austrian, Marlies Schield win it again! The place was rockin when she came out ahead of the German Maria Riesch. The almost biggest story is that Slytech's Sarah Schleper is back! She was 6th after the first run, and was just hauling ass in the second run until the last 10 gates when she unfortunately made a big mistake and straddled a gate and was out of the Game. She raced with orange Brain Bucket and Yoni la Tigre red.

The gnarly men's downhill in Bormio, Italy saw Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI) confirming his good shape with a powerful 2nd place finish. Silvan on Slytech 2nd Skin is now one of the best in the World in Slalom and Downhill.

Other notables were  20th Travis Ganong (USA) and   25th Ambrosi Hoffmann (SUI).

You just can't say enough about Ted Ligety's roll in the Giant Slalom discipline. Last week he was named Athlete of the Week by the USA Today and this week comes out charging once again and beating out the competition for his THIRD STRAIGHT World Cup win.

He now stands all alone atop the World Cup Overall Leader-board.

Ted was rocking the Slytech Destroyer Arm Guards and the Slytech 2nd Skin Superlight Back Protector. Last week he mentioned in an interview, that besides keeping him safe, the back protector also offers him a higher level of aerodynamics. Who knew?

If you're into Ski Racing, you've got to check out Ted's amazing 2 runs from Alta Badia. Click on the image and you'll be directed over to Universal Sports where both runs are available.

Saturday was witness to another Ted Ligety Giant Slalom victory, 2nd one in a row. And not just by a slim margin either: we're talking by over a second! That is just an insane amount of time for skiing. Underneath his speedsuit: Slytech 2nd Skin back protector. Destroyer Nervous Arm Guards deflecting the gates.

Also an interesting read: New York Times reports on Ligety.

Other Slytech guys included:

• 8 Sandro Villetta of Switerland
• 21 Marc Berthod Switzerland
• 25 Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland

Saturday's women's race was called off due to inclement weather. Sunday was on though and saw a bunch of girls wearing Slytech Protection for the Giant Slalom:

• Julia Mancuso ended up 8th, wearing the back protector.
• Fabienne Suter 25th and skied with slytech arm guards.
• Sarah Schleper and others...

Val d'Isere Slalom Men included:

• good 4th place for Silvan Zurbriggen, he was 2nd after the 1st run.
• 11th Marc Gini
• 25th Ted Ligety, quiet good first run, he finished the race after a big mistake but he wanted to finish the race anyway;
• Will Brandenburg was so good after the first, unfortunatly he went out in the second.

A lot of athletes who wear Slytech Protection excelled in this weekend's races. Starting with Slytech's own: TED LIGETY.

Ted Ligety celebrates his win at the Audi Birds of Prey World Cup at Beaver Creek, Colorado. (c) 2010 U.S. Ski Team

It was an amazing performance on Ted's part who sported the Slytech Nervous Destroyer Arm Guards, as well as the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector for his decisive Giant Slalom victory. He smoked the competition by more than 8/10's of a second (which in skiing parlance is an eternity). After years of coming in under the top spot, the Shredder finally came through on home turf.

Another amazing story from this weekend's Beaver Creek race was the return of Slytech Shredder Daniel Albrecht. 677 days ago he suffered life threatening brain injuries in a horrendous crash in Kitzbuehel, Austria and now, finally, after a huge uphill battle, he crossed the finish line again to the delight and cheers of the Colorado crowd. The Slytech team welcomes him back! Congratulations, Daniel.

The Ladies up in Lake Louise, Canada also had a few Slytech girls perform well. Lindsey Vonn who usually wears Slytech Nervous arm guards in the tech events came in 2nd in the Downhills and in the top spot in Super G. Julia Mancuso, also Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector and Nervous wearer  is clearly in top shape again, taking her new Volkl skis to the next level. She cam in 4th and 6th in the downhills and rounded out the podium in 3rd for the Super G. Solid!

Also Switzerland's Dominique Gisin, Nadia Kamer and Andrea Dettling all performed well, with Gisin taking a podium in Saturday's downhill.

If you consider yourself a ski racing fan or are a racer yourself, then the following article in the November 25th New York Times provides a VERY interesting insight on the cream of the crop ski racers and the importance of ski manufacturers who are committed to making fast skis and help them win. Racers mentioned in this article who have ridden on Slytech are:

• Ted Ligety
• Lindsey Vonn
• Julia Mancuso

Enjoy the read...

By NATE PETERSON
Published: November 25, 2010

VAIL, Colo. — Forget podium ceremonies, World Cup trophies or Olympic medals. Perhaps the best way to judge the stature of top Alpine racers is to count the pairs of skis allotted them for testing, training and racing during a year.

Ted Ligety of Park City, Utah, the gold medalist in combined at the 2006 Olympics and a two-time giant slalom overall World Cup champion, said he had used 35 pairs of skis while training here.

Read the entire article here...