Chuck Search, a seasoned mogul skiing judge, will proudly represent Western New York at the Olympics.

ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. — Chuck Search, a mogul skiing judge with more than 20 years of experience, is preparing to represent the United States at the Olympics this year in Livigno, Italy, where dual mogul skiing will make its Olympic debut.

Search grew up in Holiday Valley and competed locally until he was 18. After skiing out west for a period, he returned to Western New York and became deeply involved in the local skiing community.

“I grew up in Holiday Valley. Buffalo. Started competing here until I was 18, then skied out west for a bit, and then came back to Buffalo and came back to the community. Started judging and yeah, here we are. This is really home turf,” Search said.

As a mogul judge, Search evaluates skiers on turns, speed, and aerial maneuvers.

“You’ll see like a 360. It’s 60% turns, 20% speed, and 20% air. The competitors want to go straight as possible, absorb the moguls as smooth as they can with a good upper body, really good carve. You know, the skis go off the jumps, landing control and as fast as they can,” he said.

He also highlights the growing opportunities for Western New York skiers: “There’s probably over 200 mogul skiers in Western New York alone. That’s, you know, not even you would think to be more out west, but we have a really big community here, so it’s great to see.”

Dual moguls, which pits skiers head-to-head, will be new to the Olympics this year.

“Dual moguls first time, so it’s going to be real exciting,” Search said. He added that he is serving as the sole U.S. judging representative from Western New York, and one of the five turn judges on the panel.

Search’s path to the Olympics began three years ago when he was promoted to U.S. head judge. He has previously judged the World Cup, the World Championships in St. Moritz, and an Olympic test event in Italy.

Reflecting on why he continues to stay involved in the sport, Search said, “We really want to see the kids be successful, and we want to have good judges to do that, so it’s really important to have good judges, because, like any sport, you really want to validate the judges so there’s no questions or concerns, especially at the higher levels.”

For Search, the opportunity to judge at the Olympics is both a professional and personal milestone. “I used to be a competitor, Olympic dreams, like everybody else here, and I didn’t make it ski. I realized that was going to happen. So I just somehow, kept in the sport, and 20 years later, and here we are. I am really excited to get over to Livigno and be in Italy for Olympics.”

The Olympics will include five days of mogul events, starting with singles and concluding with the dual mogul competitions. Search says technology will help judges make accurate calls: “We have instant replays. … We do have a lot of really good technology. We have screens in front of us. We have tablets versus just writing. It’s a little more technical, and that’s good.”

Search emphasizes the importance of representation and the growing prominence of mogul skiing in Western New York: “To really be able to do all these, especially freestyle skiing, and you wouldn’t think, right? I’m gonna be like, oh, you should be from Vail or Colorado or whatever. Well, we’re not, we’re from Western New York, right? We’re from Holiday Valley, or we’re from a local resort. It’s great to represent and encourage my friends kids to get their kids to ski out here, because you can go all the way to the Olympics someday.”

Search will begin the Olympic judging schedule on Tuesday, with events continuing through the week.