2008 Sprint U.S. Championships in Park City
PARK CITY, Utah (Dec. 12) - Three Olympic venues will be the stage next March as the 2008 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships return to Park City with four days of title-chasing by the nation's best and the top aspiring freestyle athletes.
Calum Clark, vice president of events for the Park City-based U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said the championships will be held at Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort and Utah Olympic Park. "These championships will be exciting for all of us. Not only are they the latest example of the ongoing legacy from the 2002 Olympics, but because they involve three of our top USSA venue partners," Clark said.
Upwards of 200 athletes are expected to compete in the four events. "The organizing committee and these venues are competition-tested. These should be a great few days of action-packed skiing to showcase the excitement of freestyle," U.S. Freestyle Director Polly-Jo Clark said.
The championships, which were last held in Park City in 2005, will begin with two days of training at the venues and then competition March 27-30. The schedule:
March 27 (Thursday) - Aerials at Utah Olympic Park
March 28 (Friday) - Halfpipe at Park City Mountain Resort
March 29 (Saturday) - Moguls at Deer Valley Resort
March 30 (Sunday) - Dual moguls at Deer Valley Resort
Versus will televise coverage from the championships April 5 with two one-hour shows beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
During the 2002 Winter Games, Deer Valley was the freestyle venue and Utah Olympic Park hosted ski jumping. Park City Mountain Resort held both snowboarding events - including the halfpipe and parallel giant slalom - as well as alpine skiing's GS. Deer Valley, an annual stop on the freestyle World Cup schedule, also staged the 2003 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships and, in 2011, will be the first venue in the world to stage the championships for a second time.
The 2007 national champions: Aerials - Jeret Peterson (Boise, ID) and Emily Cook (Belmont, MA); moguls - Holt Haga (Boise, ID) and Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA); dual moguls - Sho Kashima (Zephyr Cove, NV) and Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV); and halfpipe - David Wise (Reno, NV) and Jen Hudak (Park City, UT).
One other element of the Olympic legacy, Clark said, is utilizing part of Historic Main Street for nightly awards, sponsor exhibits and entertainment Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. "We're partnering with the City of Park City during these championships, and we want Park City's Main Street, which was a social focal point during the 2002 Olympics, to be a dynamic site again during the Sprint nationals."
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2008 Sprint U.S. Championships in Park City
