If you were to happen upon Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park in Livigno, Italy, you might find yourself in a sea of knit hats and cutouts of the letter "J" all adorned in red, white, and blue.

Those 50 or so supporters are gathered to cheer on American freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf as she competes in women's moguls.

"I could see all the Js," Kauf said. "Even from up in the start gate, I can hear them cheering for me down here. So, I love having them around."

Moguls runs in the Kauf family. Kauf's parents, Scott and Patti, competed professionally in moguls, winning seven titles on the Pro Mogul Tour between the two of them. Kauf followed her parents around the world as they competed, even standing with her mother on the podium once when she claimed an X Games medal in ski cross in the early 2000s. After missing out on seeing their daughter claim Olympic silver in 2022 due to the pandemic, Kauf's family and friends showed up in droves to watch her compete in Italy.

"It's so fun having them all here," Kauf said. "They just give me so much energy.”

Kauf is one of Team USA's biggest cheerleaders. In addition to the glitter freckles Kauf sported during her competition, she flashed red, white, and blue painted nails.

“I got them done at home," she said. "I love going all-in on the Team USA Olympic spirit.”

In honor of her representing the U.S. at the Olympic Games for a third time, Kauf knitted custom red, white, and blue hats for all 50 of her supporters that came out to watch her compete. She spent a whopping 75 hours knitting, averaging about 90 minutes per hat.

Kauf's family isn't the only one decked in custom knitwear. 

Jesse Andringa, American Tess Johnson's boyfriend and a moguls skier himself, knit hats for her family and friends that came to support her at her second Olympic Games.

"We felt we needed something to unify us all for Tess," Heidi, Andringa's sister, said.

When Andringa's brother, Casey, skied at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the family wore matching shirts to show their support. Andringa wanted to do the same for Johnson.

The couple recently started knitting together after Kauf introduced knitting to members of the U.S. women's moguls team. The team now knits together while traveling to competitions or when enjoying downtime. 

"Jaelin was the one who inspired Tess to start knitting, so I gave it a go too," Andringa said.

For Christmas, Johnson and Andringa knit stockings for themselves and their family members, incorporating pictures of everyone skiing or competing in moguls on each one. When Johnson was officially named to the U.S. Olympic Team, Andringa wanted to knit hats and other headgear for everyone traveling to Italy to support her. With 23 people traveling to see Johnson and only a week to knit, Andringa made several pieces to distribute amongst family and friends.

He wanted them to be as fun as possible, with patterns and colors representing Johnson herself. Andringa's own hat is the longest of the ones he knit, doubling as a scarf with mittens hanging off the end. The hat has "Tess" knit on the front in red with an American flag theme running from the top of the hat through the end of the scarf.

He knit three headbands with "Tess" stitched on the front as well as two larger hats, all of which were designed in the signature American red, white, and blue. Roma Sandberg, Casey's girlfriend, stitched Olympic patches and American motifs on 12 additional hats in support of Johnson.

"We wanted to cheer on Tess and support her as much as we can," Heidi said.

The family, which is from Deer Valley, New Hampshire, missed the chance to watch Johnson ski when the World Cup circuit arrived in Deer Valley just prior to the Olympics. Having the chance to see Johnson ski in person means the world to her family.

"Seeing Tess in her second Games is emotional," Heidi said. "She's battled through injuries and disappointments, so just to make it here is amazing. We are so proud of her no matter how she does. Tess is so deserving of success, and we are so happy to be here in person to cheer her on."