Rod Aller

 

 

The racing career of Rod Aller epitomizes the value of amateur sportsmanship. From cross-country skiing at age eight in 1924 to his four gold medals at The World Masters Criterium (Abetone, Italy) in 2001 at eighty-five, Rod loved to ski and served as an ambassador of the sport.

 

He formed the Princeton Ski Team in 1934 winning numerous Ivy League alpine races. He also placed eighth in jumping at the Dartmouth Winter Festival in 1938.

 

He won the first Connecticut State Slalom Championship in 1941.

 

As president of The Salisbury Winter Sports Association in Connecticut, he restored the 60-meter jump, site of the 1931 Olympic Ski Jumping trials and worked with Norwegian legend Paul Satre to establish a Nordic training center.

 

During the 1986 -87 season Rod won 20 races on the International Alpine Masters circuit including nine for nine at Bad Kleinkircheim, Bormio, Saanen, Bequera Beret, Olympic Valley and Lake Tahoe.

He was named U.S. Masters Skier Of The Year in 1988 (Class X) and again in 1991 (Class XI).

 

April 14, 1986, Sports Illustrated – Faces In The Crowd: ÒAller, a 69-year-old lawyer, placed first in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom and combined to sweep the 65 -69 age group events for the second straight year at the National Alpine Masters skiing championships in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Ó

 

In the 1991 – 1992 season Rod was the FIS International Masters Cup Champion in Class IX. He took GS gold at Kossen, AUT; GS gold in Murren SUI; two SG gold medals and the SL at the Criterium Mondial (Gstaad/Saanen SUI); gold in two GS races (Alpine Meadows, CA); gold in two SL races (Heavenly Valley, CA).

 

He was selected to race on The U.S. Alpine Masters Team in 1997 at age 81 for the fifth time in nine years.

 

In over 70 years of Alpine Racing Rod accumulated more that 200 gold medals.

Rod served on the ski patrol of Catamount for over 50 years and supported Nordic/Alpine competition for all age levels.