Champions Plaza “Spirit of Competition” unveiled

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The long awaited 11 foot tall bronze sculpture "Spirit of Competition" perched on top of a 4.5 ton boulder was unveiled during a ceremony at Champions Plaza Friday.

Sculptor Gareth Curtiss transported his creation from his studio in Fortine, Montana just two days ago in the back of his van, early Thursday morning the bronze sculpture was picked up with a crane and placed on top of the boulder, bolted in and wrapped up for the ceremony.

Curtiss was awarded the contract after the idea of creating a champion plaza to celebrate local athletes formed when three South Shore Olympians returned from competing in the Sochi, Russia Olympics, two with gold medals.

Even though the idea for South Lake Tahoe to have a sculpture was formed in 2014, the idea had been building in Curtiss's plans for 25 years. His initial plan for the sculpture met with resistance from some in the community as the figures looked more male-like, and with the only three Olympian medalists being female he went back to the clay and recreated the sculpture unveiled October 27.

"This represents the fire in someone's belly," Curtiss said of the sculpture, depicting what is inside the athletes that go into the national and international competition levels. It shows three "spirits" reaching for the brass ring, coming out of a fire. "It's not about individuals," he added.

The unveiling was delayed due to fires this summer near Curtiss's Montana studio just south of the Canadian border. The studio is very close the elementary school he attended in Fortine, and often the students visit him on field trips to watch the process.

SLT Mayor Austin Sass spoke to the gathered crowd, and told them dedication and the quest for perfection gets a person to the next level. "This represents the art of work that goes into their quest," said Sass.

Sass thanked City Manager Nancy Kerry for shepherding the plaza and sculpture.

"Government doesn't always get to do creative things," said Kerry. "The idea was inspired by the Golden Girls and this is now a place to recognize them and local champions. "It was an amazing opportunity."

She also thanked Tracy Franklin, the City's PIO for creating the special Champion's flag which flied above the sculpture.

In the Spring of 2018, the 2017 inductees into the South Lake Tahoe Walk of Champions will be celebrated with another ceremony. That list includes Elena Hight, Glen Plake, Hannah Teter, Jamie Anderson, Jonna Mendes, Kyle Smaine, Maddie Bowman, Shaun Palmer, Travis Cabral and Travis Ramos. The walk will be lined with 16" x 16" bricks with the athlete's name, medal and/or title, year of event and discipline. If an athlete already in the walk goes onto win another event that brick can be amended.

Cabral and Teter were on hand Friday at the unveiling of the sculpture. Teter, a snowboarder, won gold in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, silver in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, medaled in eight X Games, one World Championship and six World Cup championships. Cabral, who is now a married father of four and a sergeant with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. When he was a competitive freestyle mogul skier he made it to the 2006 Olympics in Torino where he came out of the qualifying rounds in second, falling short of a medal. He won the 1999 U.S. National Championship at just 15-years-old and was the youngest male World Cup moguls champ and was on the podium at several other international events.

Jim Marino, Asst. Director of Public Works, said Ed Cook donated the crane services. He also said they hand picked the boulder the 1700 pound sculpture sits on. It took a little sanding to make it perfectly flat but Mother Nature did most of it. The boulder sits on a bed that was calculated to hold the weight and handle the weather. The creation has lights on it at night and can be seen by those driving by on Highway 50.

Champions Plaza is at the corner of Highway 50 and Lakeview Avenue in South Lake Tahoe across from Lakeview Commons.