Ayers established himself as one of the premier skiers in New England in the late 1950s. In his sophomore and junior seasons he was a consistent top-five performer and won back-to-back slalom race titles at the Dartmouth Carnival. He won the alpine combined title in 1958 and was second in 1959.
He served as the co-captain of the team in 1959 and despite suffering a career-ending injury was unanimously voted the team captain in 1960, despite not being able to compete. He was eligible to compete in the 1960 pre-Olympic races based off his performances, but due to his leg injury he couldn’t go.
“Being able to ski with a great bunch of guys was the best part,” Ayers said. “One of my favorite races was an international race in Stowe and I remember the course was interesting and frightening at the same time. We would be coming into turns at 40 miles per hour and then hitting 50 to 60 mph before building up speed to well over 70 at points.”
Ayers graduated with a degree in Business Administration before serving his country for two years. After that he went into the retail business for 40 years with different companies, including Woolworth’s (12 years), King’s Department Store and then Ocean State Job lot (15 years). He retired at 65.
Ayers lives with his wife of 51 years Cynthia in Southington, Conn. She is a 1959 Vermont College graduate, but the two met in Germany on the ski slopes. They have two children Derek and Charlotte, as well as three grandchildren in Trenton, Dorrina and Ethan.
