Jack Bunting served as chairman of Rocky Mountain Freestyle 1981-1990. During his ten-year term, Jack created a culture of legitimacy to the young sport of freestyle skiing. Together, Jack and Jane Bunting transformed Rocky Mountain Freestyle into the respected, quality organization that has become the standard for freestyle venues. The two of them handled every position from Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer to Production Crew, Starter, and Chief of Competition; all at the same time and all as volunteers. It was Jack who came up with the idea of purchasing the sound equipment and gear needed to produce a freestyle event and then transport it to each venue. He packed all the gear into a trailer and hauled it to the resorts after collecting the entries and creating a run-order. All of it done after a full week of working at Martin Marietta. After traveling through one raging blizzard, to Telluride, those of us who made it, waited at the condo wondering if Jack would arrive and we would have an event the next day. Early in the morning, I heard a loud Umpf as Jack found a “strategically placed ski boot” and I knew the event would happen.

In the 1980’s all of the mogul courses were natural snow and made of the moguls created by the skiing public. When there was a complaint about obstacles, voiced at a team leaders meeting, Jack said, “This is the Rocky Mountains, there will be rocks”. We loved the clever wittiness and the finality of Jack’s words. Many of us tried to imitate his humor but never quite got his Virginian accent.

Jack’s son, Rad, asked his friends to come up with words to describe his Dad. The most repeated descriptors were brilliant, generous, humorous, respected, welcoming, humble, sharing, ethical, kind, reserved, gifted, and logical. Ironically, this brilliant mind was taken from us by Alzheimer’s.

After Jack handed the reins of Rocky Mountain Freestyle to Greg Heinsohn, Greg created the Bunting Award. The award recognizes the most dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer of the year. I pulled up the list of recipients and was amazed that the award has been presented 30 times. Jack also created the staff position that I have held for 21 years. I have always considered Jack one of my mentors. His voice and words of wisdom come to mind often. The world of freestyle skiing owes a lot to Jackie O. Bunting.

Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association
Obituary: https://www.claytorrollins.com/obituary/Jackie-Bunting

Greg Heinsohn (1991)
Ray Hill (1992)
Nancy Hill (1993)
Andy Wise (1994)
Linda Jacobson (1995)
Art & Ranene Smith (1996)
Deb Dawson (1997)
John & Judy Robinson (1998)
Kathy Crawford & Rob Dick (1999)
Rick & Gay Gillespie (2000)
Jim & Kate Gmeiner (2001)
Lance & Wendy Lana (2002)
Robyn Levy (2003)
Marnie Haywood (2004)
Dan Miller (2005)
Robert Haywood (2006)
Craig & Lailla Matthews (2007)
Mike & Theresa Campbell (2008)
Lou & Deb Cirillo (2009)
Mike Harrell (2010)
Wendy Beiswenger (2011)
Kari Wright (2012)
Dave Lawson (2013)
Rob Schuessler (2014)
Jeff & Pam Andringa (2015)
Erin Giaccio (2016)
Adam Leseur (2017)
Patsy Patnode (2018)
Dave McPherson (2019)
Della Crone (2020)
Not Awarded (2021)
Chip Harris (2022)
Jay Lucas (2023)
Erica Cupp (2024)
Alina & Aaron Walters (2025)

Each year, Colorado Ski Country USA and the Rocky Mountain Division of U.S. Ski & Snowboard sponsor a Freestyle All-Star Team. In recent years, Colorado Ski Country USA has allotted 20 Gold Passes annually, providing unlimited skiing at member resorts for selected athletes.

Additionally, Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have historically awarded Epic and Ikon passes to the top 20 All-Star Team athletes. The Rocky Mountain Division (parent organization for Rocky Mountain Freestyle) provides funding for special training opportunities and gear for athletes selected to the team. The current Colorado Ski Country USA Freestyle All-Star Team consists of 20 positions (plus alternates) but is subject to change. All-Star athletes must meet specific in-season criteria to maintain membership on the team and are expected to consistently demonstrate exemplary sportsmanship and act as role models for younger athletes.

The purpose of the All-Star Program is to support elite athletes who represent Colorado while competing at the highest levels of freestyle skiing. Selection into the program is limited to athletes who have resided and trained in Colorado for at least the three preceding years, list USA as their FIS country of affiliation and who demonstrate strong potential for success at the international level.

Click here for the 2026-2027 Selection Criteria

The National Brotherhood of Skiers’ Grand Prix is a financial aid program operated through RMF to award scholarships to RMF athletes, to be used for education or qualified freestyle programs or competition expenses, based on their performance in the RMF competitive mogul series (COMP Series).

The 2025/26 Grand Prix rules have been finalized and can be found here: Grand Prix Rules.

The 2024/25 final Grand Prix standings are:

• Men’s Standings
• Women’s Standings

The 2023/24 final Grand Prix standings are:

• Men’s Standings
• Women’s Standings

The 2022/23 final Grand Prix standings are:

• Men’s Standings
• Women’s Standings

The 2021/22 final Grand Prix standings are:

• Men’s Standings
• Women’s Standings