Clair Bidez (born 1987) is an American former professional

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

and research analyst.

Early life and education

Bidez grew up in the Vail Valley in Colorado and attended Battle Mountain High School. She skiied from the age of two and was a ski racer. She began snowboarding at the age of nine. Her younger brother Dillon was also a competitive snowboarder.

Snowboarding career

At age 10, Bidez began competing as a snowboarder. When she was 16, she placed 5th at the US Open at Stratton Mountain and was asked to join the U.S. Snowboarding team soon after. In 2006, she became the Halfpipe Junior World Champion in Vivaldi Park, South Korea. At the Winter X Games XX, she placed 4th in halfpipe competition. In the last Grand Prix of 2009 at Copper Mountain, she broke her heel in the finals. After recovering from her injury, Bidez made it to finals in every Olympic qualifier. She was featured in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition as a potential Olympian, but a persistent ankle injury turned out to be the end of her professional snowboard career. The injury, along with a desire to go back to school, influenced her decision to retire from competitive snowboarding.

Personal life

Bidez was born in 1987 and grew up in

Minturn, Colorado Minturn is a List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,033 at the 2020 United States census. Geography Minturn ...

. Her younger brother Dylan was also a member of the U.S. Snowboarding Team. Bidez earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from Westminster College (through a special Tuition Grant Program with USSA) and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in Geography from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

References

Living people American female snowboarders 21st-century American sportswomen Sportspeople from Colorado 1987 births Westminster University (Utah) alumni University of Utah alumni 21st-century American women People from Eagle County, Colorado {{US-snowboarding-bio-stub