FWSA Awards

Jimmie Heuga exemplifies the best of the Far West Ski Association. He is a product of the Far West Junior Racing Program and the Lake Tahoe Ski Club. He started skiing at age three with his father at Squaw Valley, participated in many Sacramento Bee races and, ultimately, joined the US Ski Team. Jimmie won a Bronze in slalom at the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria
A week later, Jimmie won the combined at the prestigious Arlberg-Kandahar in Garmisch, Germany, so far, the only American to do so.

In 1966, Jimmie finished fourth in the combined at the World Championships in Portillo, Chile. The following year he skied to a third place overall in World Cup giant slalom. He had two top-ten finishes at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. His ten years on the US Ski Team ended in 1968. Jimmie was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1976.

Jimmie’s greatest challenge commenced with disturbing health indications in 1967 and a final diagnosis in 1970 as having Multiple Sclerosis (MS). After a period of indecision as to his course of action, he started a three-year personal program of rehabilitation in 1976. He created a program of cardiovascular endurance, stretching and strengthening exercises. He moved back to the mountains and resumed skiing. After this period, he started his own outreach program for persons with MS, founding the Jimmie Heuga Center in 1984. The center in Avon, Colorado is dedicated to “reanimating the physically challenged” to regain a quality of life. The center also supports scientific research.