INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Professional alpine ski racer Lila Lapanja is officially a marketing ambassador for Incline Village General Improvement District’s recreation venues after the board approved the agreement at a recent meeting. 

“If you’d like to come up to Diamond Peak and see Lila talk to the kids and sign autographs, talk to the customers at the resort about her journey and being raised in Incline Village and skiing on the slopes at Diamond Peak … I think you’d get a great sense of what I mean by she’s a great ambassador for our region and for the ski hill,” said IVGID Marketing and Communications Manager Paul Raymore. “I think the compensation in this potential agreement is in line with and is actually probably a great deal in terms of getting great photo shoots with a very accomplished skier. She’s got a great story to tell and is also local.” 

The agreement gives Lapanja access to the Incline Village Recreation Center, the Incline Village Tennis and Pickleball Center, and Diamond Peak Ski Resort in exchange for doing marketing photo and video shoots. Lapanja would use the facilities while she is in town during the off-season or in between ski races in Europe and across North America. 

She is currently training to qualify for and race in the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

“For more money than that we would have to pay professional skiers to appear in some of our marketing videos … again to me as your marketing manager, I’m bringing this to you because I feel it’s a good value,” Raymore said during the Wednesday, July 31, meeting. “She’s got a great story to tell and actually an amazing story if she qualifies for the Olympics. We can tie our name and our brand to that story. It’s a homegrown story. It’s pretty hard to beat something like that.” 

Tulloch called the arrangement a sponsorship agreement. 

“It’s not a case of the money here. It’s a case of what it’s trying to do,” Tulloch said after giving significant push-back to the agreement. 

“So I’m trying to understand what we’re hoping to get out of this and what the value of it is,” Tulloch said. “Because I’m concerned it’s setting precedents. It’s not actually the dollar value in this case, but it’s opening the flood gates. There’s all sorts of deserving cases that could come up … so I’m trying to understand what we’re hoping to do and what benefits we’re going to get out of it.” 

Tulloch abstained.

“I think it’s a fantastic deal for IVGID…” said Trustee Dave Noble. “There’s tremendous upside potential depending on how she does and the fact that she would be utilizing some of our facilities for free I think is well worth it given the opportunities that lie ahead. So I fully support this agreement.” 

Board Chair Sara Schmitz supported promoting Diamond Peak through the eyes of a successful ski racer. 

“I think it’s fantastic having someone from our local community promoting what’s here,” Schmitz said. “…I’m highly supportive of this.” 

But ultimately, she voted against it.

When Lapanja was 2 years old, she began skiing at Diamond Peak Ski Resort. 

She raced in all disciplines throughout the western region and consistently placed at the top of the field. At age 16, Lapanja was named to the U.S. Ski Team and represented the USA and Incline Village at races around the world. 

Lapanja is the reigning 2024 U.S. National Champion in Slalom. She won four U.S. National Championship titles in 2021 in both Giant Slalom and Alpine combined disciplines, and in 2023 and 2024 in Slalom. 

Lapanja has stood on 10 U.S. National Championship podiums, and has competed on the World Cup, European Cup, and North American ski racing series, and two Junior World Championships. 

Lapanja was born and raised in Incline Village, and still calls Incline Village her home. She maintains ties to Diamond Peak and the Diamond Peak Ski Team. Lapanja goes to events for both organizations to sign autographs and speak to racers. 

Over the years, Lapanja has been in Diamond Peak Ski Resort marketing videos and photo shoots, and lent her voice and persona to the resort’s publicity campaigns.