Liv Moritz, a University of Denver women’s alpine skier and soccer player, competed in the FIS Alpine Women’s World Cup technical events at Copper Mountain Resort this past weekend. This marked her fifth career World Cup start and was a significant moment for Moritz, who grew up in the nearby Vail Valley.
Reflecting on her experience racing among top international skiers, Moritz said, “Very cool. I grew up idolizing these people, so to just be alongside them, watch how they free ski, watch how they train, watch how they inspect the course was a great learning experience.”
Colorado has typically hosted men’s speed events for the World Cup at Beaver Creek. The women’s technical races are usually held in Killington, Vermont; however, construction there led to this year’s relocation to Colorado.
Moritz raced in the women’s slalom event on Sunday with friends and family present. She wore bib 40 and had strong timing splits during her first run but did not finish after missing several gates near the end. Despite this result, she expressed optimism about her performance: “I do think it went well,” Moritz said. “I actually went into the day very nervous, just because it was a home race and I knew everyone was going to be there, but I surprised myself with my skiing. I actually thought I skied very well. Unfortunate ending, but I’m proud of myself.”
Moritz is the reigning overall slalom champion on the FIS North American Cup circuit and has spent recent months training and competing in Europe. She began this season at World Cup stops in Levi, Finland, and Gurgl, Austria. To focus on skiing this year, she took a redshirt season from DU’s soccer program.
“It’s been great. I actually haven’t gotten this much training since high school because of my soccer seasons,” Moritz said. “So I entered Levi and Gurgl with more preparation than I’ve ever had and feel confident.”
The weekend also saw Liv’s twin sister Kjersti make her own World Cup debut in giant slalom before both participated in Sunday’s slalom event. The twins celebrated their 21st birthdays just before competition began.
“It was a little bit similar to my first World Cup races,” Liv said regarding Kjersti’s debut. “Those were probably the most nervous I’ve ever been. So I just tried to coach her through those moments and tell her that it was normal, and it was going to work out. Every race is going to get easier from there.”
With more international competitions scheduled soon—including World Cup, Europa Cup, and North American Cup events—Moritz will continue preparations ahead of DU’s collegiate skiing season starting in January.
Last year Moritz redshirted the ski season but previously recorded two podium finishes as a freshman in 2024—including a win at the Utah Invitational—and earned All-American first-team honors by placing fifth at nationals.
