Submitted photo

Dominic Vavala, a Lakewood native, has been attending the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy in Colorado during his high school years to train, compete and pursue his passion for snowboarding. Vavala has been invited to compete as a snowboard racer on the national level for the past six years because of his No. 1 ranking locally in the Western New York region and his high ranking in the Rocky Mountain Series. This past year, as a high school junior, he ended the competition year as No. 1 in the Rocky Mountain Series. The United States Amateur Snowboard Association has him currently ranked in the top 12 in the nation in the Youth Men’s Division. When not on the snow, which is about 150 days of the year, he spends time on his skateboard. Vavala hopes to continue his career in the snowboarding industry.