Sub - Mardens Club

Lady Mary von Westenholz congratulating Fred on
winning the Anniversary Cup at the Marden’s
Prizegiving in 2005 after his epic race on the Pischa.
OBITUARY
FRED BERGLAS - MY FATHER
Most Marden's members will remember my father
as a distinguished elderly gentleman who seemed
very keen to support his son's racing efforts. It is
true that I will miss the enthusiastic interest of my
biggest fan and, deep inside, I now realize that one
of my main motivations for competing was the
pleasure it gave him when I did well.
But what you probably don't know is that my father
was a top international racer in his own right. He
was selected for the US Olympic Team in 1948 and
sadly injured himself just before the Games in St.
Moritz. That disappointment was hard to swallow
but he went on to finish 7th in the famed
Hahnenkamm, in Kitzbuehel, in 1950 (or 1951).
I will always remember his tales of when he arrived in Europe with the first black metal skis
manufactured by Head and how the local racers ridiculed him... until he started winning races that is;
and how he mingled with a very young Tony Sailer and many other great racers of the time.
However, what impressed me the most as a teenage boy was when we were stopped whilst strolling
in Val d'Isere by non other than Jean-Claude Killy, who had recognized the Hahnenkamm medal my
father was wearing.
I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn that it took a very, very long time for my father to give up his
leather lace-up boots as well as his 2,20m skis. Even at the age of 82 he was skiing on 1,91 skis - he
had to look up to them...
Like a lot of us, he was a different, much happier man when he
was skiing and he, physically, seemed to lose at least ten years.
When his health did not permit him to ski, he intensely disliked
walking into the Chesa wearing after-ski boots, he wanted to be
in his ski-boots like the rest of us.
I was with him that day he skied the winter before last and I
think he instantly knew his skiing days were over - his balance
had gone. How fitting in a way that he should pass away in
January this year - a winter without skiing was not really
conceivable - as life had lost part of its allure.
My father was equally accomplished on water as he was on the
snow. He raced speed boats in the Med and actually held the
world record in water-ski jumping. (My grand-father,
Alexander, was one of the pioneers of the sport, one of those
snow skiers who wanted to have some fun on skis in the
Summer as well.)
37
Fred Berglas presenting The
Anniversary Cup (70 years & over) to
Bill Thomson the first winner of the
cup in 2004. This lovely cup was
given to the Club by Fred and has
only been won twice!