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Sprint Freestyle Championships Hit Park City
PARK CITY, Utah (March 22) - The top freestyle skiers in America will converge on Park City March 27-30 for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships. The events will be held at three of Park City's Olympic venues, the Utah Olympic Park, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort.
The Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships are an opportunity for top divisional freestyle athletes to compete against the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, which is coming off a great season. 10 team athletes combined for 19 World Cup podium finishes, including wins by aerialist Emily Cook (Belmont, MA), and moguls skiers Emiko Torito (Steamboat Springs), Michelle Roark (Denver), Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV) and David Babic (Washington, VT).
"It was a great season for the Team and we always love coming home to showcase our best athletes,” said Freestyle Director Polly-Jo Clark. "And for the younger athletes, it's a chance to break through and gain a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team.”
Action will get underway Thursday with aerials at the Utah Olympic Park. Aerials is one of the most exciting events with athletes twisting and flipping 60 feet in the air. Cook, who won her first World Cup in Moscow last month, will lead the women with veteran Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO) among the top men. Also in the field will be FIS World Cup rookie of the year Allison Treleaven (Ft. Wayne, IN). Cook is the defending U.S. champion. St. Onge has won three titles, the last coming in 2005.
Friday action shifts to the superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort for skier halfpipe. Defending champions Jen Hudak (Park City, UT) and David Wise (Reno, NV) are expected to lead, along with Jessica Cumming (Wilton, CT) and Jonathan Marks (Boise, ID).
Hudak had a sensational season on the World Cup winning the season finale in Valmalenco, Italy and taking second in the final standings.
Moguls action gets underway on the weekend with individual moguls Saturday and duals on Sunday at Deer Valley Resort, site of the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships. Deer Valley's Champion run is considered one of the toughest in the world and a fixture on the World Cup. Nearly 20,000 spectators were on hand at Deer Valley in early February for the Visa Freestyle International World Cup.
Both defending individual champs Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) and Holt Haga (Boise, ID) are out with injuries. But the field is stacked with World Cup winners including Torito, Roark and Robertson on the women's side, plus Babic and Nate Roberts (Park City, UT) for the men. And watch for World Cup Rookie of the Year Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA), too.
In duals, fans can look for Robertson, who won the World Cup in January, to be favored to defend her U.S. title. Sho Kashima (South Lake Tahoe, CA) will defend his men's title.
"The younger kids are looking forward to the chance to try and beat the veterans," said Freestyle Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen. "The World Cup athletes are a little tired coming off the season, but they'll rally. It will be nice to be back at Park City. It's our home area. It's a venue we're really familiar with. For the team, it certainly gives them an edge because it's our home court."
"Utah is a real hotbed of freestyle skiing - you can see the young aspiring athletes at all of the resorts,” said USSA Vice President of Events Calum Clark. "And we have three of the world's best Olympic venues as our stage. It will be four days of exciting competitions.”
Admission is free to all of the events.
2008 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships
Thursday, March 27
11:00 a.m. - Sprint Aerial Championships (Utah Olympic Park)
Friday, March 28
9:45 a.m. - Skier halfpipe qualifications (Park City Mountain Resort)
12:00 p.m. - Sprint Halfpipe Championships (Park City Mountain Resort)
Saturday, March 29
10:15 a.m. - Women's moguls qualifications (Deer Valley Resort)
12:45 p.m. - Men's moguls qualifications (Deer Valley Resort)
2:45 p.m. - Sprint Moguls Championships (Deer Valley Resort)
Sunday, March 30
10:15 a.m. - Women's dual moguls qualifications (Deer Valley Resort)
12:45 p.m. - Men's dual moguls qualifications (Deer Valley Resort)
2:45 p.m. - Sprint Dual Moguls Championships (Deer Valley Resort)
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