Named Skiing magazine’s Skier of the Year three times between 1973-1978, Fuller’s career earned her numerous World Freestyle championships and titles. Her first title was earned in 1973 with her winning the Women’s National Freestyle Championship at Sun Valley, Idaho. That same year she skied for Willy Bogner in the ski film “W.”
The first competition of the 1974 season was at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, and Genia won all three disciplines, as well as, the overall title. This has never been repeated by any competitor, male or female. In 1975, she won the overall Women’s Grand Prix freestyle title along with winning four of the six overall events. In 1976, she finished fifth overall, despite an injury-shortened half season, and moved her overall ranking to fourth in 1977. In 1978 she won the overall World Freestyle Championship title along with three out of five individual titles. Fuller became an innovator in pole-free ballet, touring Europe and Japan, sharing skills and knowledge with many upcoming young freestyler skiers. She performed in over 500 days of dryland ski shows.
All freestyle competition events today, whether on skis or snowboards, are rooted in what the pioneers of freestyle—the hotdoggers—created in the 1960s and 1970s. The freestyle skiing competitions in the recent 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, all evolved from earlier versions of the various disciplines considered freestyle events. Today’s Olympic skiing and snowboarding freestyle events include aerials, moguls, ski cross, slopestyle, and half pipe.
Fearless both on and off the hill, she also led the effort to bring equal prize money to the women’s tour. She parlayed her skiing fame into high-visibility roles on television, with the Women’s Superstars, in the Battle of the Sexes, and in the ABC special, “The Lady is a Champ,” which featured Genia alongside Billie Jean King and Chris Evert. At the height of her career in 1976 she signed new contracts with Colgate, ABC television, which earned recognition for freestyle skiing through media exposure.
Today, Genia Fuller-Crews is still involved in promoting and serving the snowsports industry. She was inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2016 and currently serves on its Board of Directors. In 2019 she authored the “The Women in Snowsports Industry Award” for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and serves as chairman of the program.
Outside skiing, Genia is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a CPR, First Aid, and EMT Instructor. She is well immersed in disaster teams and disaster / emergency preparedness activities for Ventura County, and lives in Simi Valley, California.