Happy Holidays Freeriders!

It's almost 2012 and with a bunch of scheduled events upcoming it's time for an update. Snowfall has been marginal at best and the temps have not been ideal for continuous snowmaking but the mountain staff has been doing all they can to make the best of it. The snowmaking crews here especially deserve a big thank you for keeping the hill white when most are mainly brown. We are doing better than most mountains out there!

The USASA series had it's first event - the Deck the Halls rail jam - last Friday and the setup provided by the Park Crew was great! Congrats to snowboarders Dale Mortensen & Bekah Ashley and NYSEF skiers Nick Edwards & Coach Cari Verner for winning their divisions and earning the invite to the USASA Rail exhibition at X-Games 16 in Aspen this January. Hopefully they will be able to make it out to represent the ADK's!

The first scheduled USASA slopestyle event is coming up next Sunday Jan 8th. The plan is to get some more snow made in the park over the next several days so we can get some jumps built in time. The final decision will be announced on the www.usasa.org "Adirondack" region page by Wednesday Jan 4th so keep an eye on it. Also, the first SX/BX planned for the North Creek Ski Bowl, January 16th, is still on as snow is being made there in order to get the course built.

The Empire State Games comes back again this year with the addition of slopestyle to the now traditional skier and boarder cross event. Membership in one of the three USASA NY series is all that's required to sign up along with meeting the age class criteria. Classes include ladies' and men's, ski & snowboard 13-15, 16-18, and open class. Contact me for more info mikek@nysef.org .

Lastly, be sure to tune in to NBC at 5pm New Year's Eve to catch the World Cup Snowboardcross from Telluride, CO. Our own Derek DiCastro got his first start on the tour at this event a couple weeks back. Although he did not make it through qualifying he did get to wear the GoPro follow camera during all the heats so hopefully his footage will be included in the show.

Deck The Rails

Hey everyone,

This is a reminder that there is a USASA Rail Jam this Friday, Dec. 23. This is a USASA event, however if it your first time ever competing at a USASA event then you do not have to be a USASA member.

- Registration starts at 2:00 pm in the NYSEF building at Whiteface Mt.

- Practice will start at 3:00 pm.

- Cost is $20

I hope to see everyone at Whiteface!

***The winner of the Open Class qualifies to compete at a USASA exhibition rail jam in Aspen, CO under the lights during Winter X-Games 16***

***All other competitors will have the chance to qualify for rail jam in their respective age group at USASA Nationals at Copper Mt. CO in April (must be a USASA member to receive national points)***

Photos from the Dec 11th Rail Jam

Here are a bunch of the competitors getting after it. There were 51 athletes at this event in total spread over 3 age groups: grom, teen, and adult.

K.C. Breusseau is testing his skills on whiteface's new soccer goal cross bar rail. This awesome new rail made it's debut at the Dec 11th Rail Jam. Thank you to James Kelly, the shop staff, and the park staff for designing and building this awesome new addition to the Whiteface rail inventory!

Brian Gardiner is on his way to a 1st place finish for the 12 and under age group. He appears to be winding up for a steezy front 270 off of Whiteface's new Cross Bar rail.

Anthony Russo is sliding the C box like a boss! He finished the day in 2nd for the 12 and under age group.

All of these photos are courtesy of Bradi Reiley at Whiteface, and more of her photos can be seen on flickr or facebook.

1st Whiteface Rail Jam of the Year

Sunday Dec 11th.

Whiteface mt was host to one of the best Rail Jams that I have EVER been to in NY State!

There were two lanes with three features each. One lane comprised of rails and the other of boxes. The riders right lane went: 10ft flat box, to 16 ft bank box, to 15ft c box (left curving c). The riders left lane went: tall, 15 ft long, round rail set up urban on a slight down pitch, to the 10 ft red rail set up urban on a down pitch, to a 10ft double barrel, down flat rail.

This rail jam was filled with upwards of 50 athletes spanning 3 age groups each with men and women ski and men and women snowboard. To my knowledge the number of athletes competing Sunday was greater then that of any other rail jam event at Whiteface ever! The level of competition was higher too! Skiers and boarders came from all over the state to compete for a share of the shwag from the Whiteface sponsors.

NYSEF Freestyle was represented exceptionally well at the award ceremony. 1st place for 12 and under skier boys was was: Brian Gardiner, a NYSEF athlete from Connecticut. 1st place for 13 - 17 skier boys was Northwood student: Jason Castle. and 1st place for 18 and over skier men was a NYSEF alum: Nick Edwards.
Other notable NYSEF performances came from Camden and Kaylen Reiley in the 12 and under division, Art Griffin, Mason Kozak, and Gavin Fritz in the 13 - 17 division.

"Lost the rail jam... idc. it was the best. i did awesome seeing as though my age group was from 13 to 17" - Gavin Fritz

Overall fun was had by all, and the Whiteface Park Staff did an absolutely phenomenal job putting together this awesome rail jam! They really raised the bar! Everybody that I talked to after the jam mentioned that they are really excited for the next event.


-JP

P.S.
I'm hoping that I will be able to wrangle up some pictures from the rail jam to post here on the blog in the very near future.

NYSEF Program begins Sunday Dec 4th

Hello everyone,

Just a reminder to everyone that this Sunday, December 4th, marks the start of our weekend program - weather permitting. For now we are a go and with cold temps forecast for at least Wed-Fri nights the mountain should be able to make up for the rain and warmth we've had since last week.

Saturday, athletes may pick up passes and free ski with parents & friends while our staff orientation/training is taking place. Coaches will be on hand from 8-9am to meet and answer questions about gear and the program in general but there will be no coaching until Sunday morning.

On Sunday, our normal program start is 8:30am, however at 8:45am I will be holding our information session for all our Freeride parents & athletes to go over program policies, competition options, staff introductions, etc. This will take place no matter the conditions. I promise I will try to keep it short and sweet so all our athletes and parents can get out on the slopes.

If you have any questions before then please feel free to contact me. We are looking forward to a great season. Now let's all hope for snow!

Mike Kirchner
NYSEF Freeride Director
mikek@nysef.org

Loaded Turkey Rail Jam

Yesterday (11/20/11) Killington Mt. was host to the Loaded Turkey Rail Jam. Some of the East Coast's best skiers and riders showed up to throw down their bag of tricks on Killington's early season set up. Amidst these young and talented athletes was Whiteface's own: K.C. Brousseau. K.C. Put everything on the line in hopes of winning an invitation to the Rails to Riches Rail Jam. Sources tell me that he even rodeoed (flipped) out of one of the rail features. In the end the Judges rewarded K.C. with a second place finish. Congratulations K.C.! Way to start your competition season with a podium finish!!

NYSEF Freeride Pre-Season Training Trips

NYSEF Freeride is offering two opportunities for skiers and riders to travel to Killington, VT prior to our program start to get a jump-start on the season. Coaches Justin Perry and Kevin Brousseau will be attending both so athletes can focus on their freestyle and/or cross skills.
The first option is a day–trip on Tuesday Nov 22nd. Athletes will depart from Lake Placid promptly at 6:30am and travel via National Sports Academy bus to the Keeseville exit on the Northway for a 7:15am pick-up/departure to Killington. Return trip will arrive back in Lake Placid at approximately 8pm. $75 cost includes ground transportation & lift tickets but no food so athletes should plan to either pack a lunch or bring extra spending money.
The second option is a two-day, two-night trip the following week departing Lake Placid on Tuesday evening, Nov 29th at 5pm and returning approximately 8pm on Thursday Dec 1st . Athletes will stay on site and will have supervised study time daily so assignments will need to be arranged and brought along. Price will include 2 breakfasts and 1 dinner but is dependent on attendance so please get in touch as soon as possible to reserve your spot.
Both of these options are first-come, first-serve and we are limited to the first 12 athletes who respond with payment. For more details or to sign-up please contact Justin Perry at jpskier900@gmail.com or 518-946-7001.

USASA Adirondack Schedule Now Online

The 2011/12 ADK schedule is now online at usasa.org . New this year, Railjams have been added as an official category with the same nationals qualification criteria as the rest of the disciplines. So, now it's possible to compete at the 2012 Nationals in one of three age divisions - 13 & under, 14 & over, and Open class!
Also new for this year, your best three scores from anywhere in each discipline will count towards your national ranking. In the past, only your first event outside your home series could count. Now, its like flying Southwest..."you're free to move about the country" plus no baggage fees!
So while we're waiting for Mother Nature to get the party started, keep thinking snowy thoughts, and mark December 23rd on your calendar. That's the first Railjam - afterhours at the Face. See you there!

2011-2012 Season Almost Here!

Okay, so I haven't posted since last Spring. That's because there was no hope of snow...until now! The season is almost upon us and it's time to get the gear in order (or order new gear), update your memberships, and start setting your competitve goals.
The USSA Eastern Freestyle schedule is not up yet but will be soon so all you freestyle skiers keep an eye on their site. Here you'll find info on events all over the East including Aerials, Moguls, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air.
The USASA schedule will be up very soon but tentative dates are already included on NYSEF's google snowboard calendar. New for this year, Railjams have been added as an official discipline! That means you can accumulate points and head to Copper next Spring to become the first Rail Champion in USASA's history. Also, the first railjam will be a qualifier to represent the Adirondacks at the 2nd annual USASA X-Games exhibition in January. If you're joining or renewing, don't forget to do it before Oct 31st so you can save $10.
The Empire State Games are back at Whiteface too with Skier & Boarder Cross. Oh yeah, and we added Slopestyle this year! About time, right? Skiers and Boarders 13 years old and up are eligible to compete as long as you're a current member of one of the three New York USASA series. They're still updating their site but know that the games will happen Feb 2-5 and you can always get more info by contacting me at mikek@nysef.org .
So I know that's alot of info to keep track of but ,before you know it, we'll be on snow ,so get it all figured out now while you still have time!

22nd USASA National Championships Results

Well the 22nd USASA Nationals is in the books and the ADK was well represented to say the least! Twenty-eight athletes took part in both Ski and Snowboard events resulting in 13 top 20's and 5 podiums including the new national champion in 16-18 yr old Skier Cross, Matt Brady (NSA-pictured above left)! If you include non-ADK, NYSEF-coached athletes you could add three more top tens and another podium too.
The hardware came home thanks to the dominating ADK SX team. In addition to the 1st place from Matt, KC Brousseau brought home 2nd place in Open Class(+$1k), Peter Palumbo 2nd in 13-15 yr olds, Lindsay Rath 3rd in 9 & under, and Ed Sparkowski 3rd in the 19 & overs.
The deep fields in the snowboard disciplines kept the ADK off the podium but noteworthy was Dale Mortensen's 8th place in Slopestyle followed up the following day with another 8th, this time in Boardercross. Dale was the only rider on the slopestyle course to pull off a front flip off the first-down rail though a fall later in the run kept him from reaching one of the top spots.
Derek DiCastro managed a 10th place finish in Open Class boardercross coming back off a mid-season injury and Anthony Russo took a 14th place in BX in the 10-11yr olds at his first-ever Nationals.
All our athletes represented us well in victory and defeat. Many of the athletes stayed to cheer on their teammates even after they were knocked out of competition - truly a sign of sportsmanship and what the USASA is all about.
This Nationals was dedicated to the memory of USASA founder Chuck Allen who passed away this past winter. Chuck was a SoCal surf coach who came up with the idea of a "Little League" for snowboarding. His legacy was represented by the Aloha print bibs modeled after his beloved Hawaiian shirt. Over the years the organization evolved to include our skier siblings and the rest is history. There wasn't a dry eye in the village after Chuck's good friend and Slopestyle Technical Supervisor Bryce Maxwell spoke about the man who started it all and what the sport meant to him. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more emotional Bryce introduced Chuck's widow Christine and you could see how touched she was by the love of a bunch of strangers who understood Chuck's vision.
It's hard to believe it's over as we start to plan for next year and an even bigger and better event - if that's possible! 1641 athletes came to Copper Mt to compete and share in the camraderie of our sport. Who knows? Maybe 2000 isn't out of reach?
Special thanks has to go to all the NYSEF staffmembers who empowered our athletes to such great heights - Head SX Coach Kevin Brousseau, Head Wax Tech Corey Brousseau, Head Freeride Coach Jusin Perry, Asst Freeride Coach Keith Shipman, Head Snowboard Coach Tommy Thomson, Asst Snowboard Coach Bob Witt, and Coach/Athlete Derek DiCastro and USASA Volunteer/Coach/Team Mom Linda Brousseau.
Thank you everyone!
BTW-Anyone with pictures to share please send them along!

Custom Nationals ADK Hardway Hoody Now Available!

Nationals time is finally here and that means its time to unveil our custom ADK hoodies. And this year it has local flavor thanks to Susan Hirschfeld and the Hardway crew -local rider/designers John Wilkins and Dan Lillo! Yep, custom Hardways in green with our new ADK logo on the goggle wipe and a green tinted Nationals logo on the rear. If you won your age group you get one for free. If you didn't you can still get one for just $60. They come in L, XL, and XXL (yes they're meant to be oversized) but quantities are limited. The green fleece is exclusive (not counting Cardany's) so once they're gone they're gone!


Available by order and for sale onsite at the 22nd Annual USASA National Championships at Copper Mt., CO starting this Saturday April 2nd. If you're going to be there, be sure to contact me & pick yours up to wear in the opening ceremonies parade to represent ADK the Hardway! Contact mikek@nysef.org to reserve your size before they're gone. If you're not going to CO your order will be available for pickup from the NYSEF Training Center after Nationals.

USASA Nationals Coaching & Lodging

If you plan on heading to Nationals and are in search of lodging, we have some limited availability in both snowboard and ski weeks staying on site with other athletes and coaches.
Also, our coaches are available to work with your athlete whether or not you are a NYSEF athlete. Remember, only coaches and athletes may be on course and able to make protests. Our coaches are all certified, know the ropes at Nationals, and can help with strategy and prep from practice day through comp day.
If you wouuld like more info about either please contact mikek@nysef.org .

Footy Fest Award Winners

The Reiley Family

Cam Willis & Jack Van Wie


A good time was had by all last night at the first ever Footy Fest held at The Hollywood Theatre in AuSable Forks. Amateur filmmakers turned out to see who would claim the 1st place awards for both the <5 minute and <30 minute categories. Prizes included cash and Go Pro cameras for the winners as well as Skis from Liberty, a snowboard from Nitro and gift certificates from local sponsors for the runners-up.
Sponsors included NYSEF, Hardway Apparel, Go Pro Cameras, Placid Planet, Lifted Boardshop, Liberty Skis, and Whiteface Mt. The competition served as a fundraiser for USASA ADK athletes headed to Nationals at Copper Mt, CO April 2-12.

<5 minute
1st - Jack Van Wie - "Dream"
2nd - Nick Edwards - Self-titled
3rd - Cam Willis - "East to West and Back"

<30 minute
1st - Brandee Reiley - "Little Dudes Don't Do Little"
2nd - Jack Van Wie - "Until Now"

DVD copies of the 2011 Footy Fest are available for $10 through NYSEF Freeride. Contact mikek@nysef.org to get your copy and aid our ADK athletes.

Freeride Picnic

Sunday the 27th of March will be the day for the Freeride end-of-season picnic. Sign-up this weekend at the front desk for a food item to bring/donate to the cause. It all kicks off at 11:30am - location to be announced.
And don't forget about our upcoming events! The Skimeister is this Saturday the 19th and is open to Freeride athletes as well as our alpine counterparts. One run of GS, one run of paneled SL, and one run timed Ski Cross. Sign up at alpine reg or contact Brian Fitzgerald.
Saturday the 26th is the final Cross race of the season here at Whiteface. Open to all USSA/USASA members the race wraps up our Cross Camp that runs Wed-Fri. A great tune-up for Nationals or just for fun. C'mon out and give it a try. Want more info contact mikek@nysef.org . Hope to see you all there!

Abe Studler Wins "B" Mogul Championship

March 12: This past weekend, Abram Studler(Brant Lake) took first place in the USSA Eastern Qualifier Series Mogul Championships at Mount Snow Ski Resort in West Dover, Vermont. Out of 60 competitors, Abram out scored every one by over an entire point, a feat rarely seen in this fast paced sport. Battling illness and nerves, Abram finished his winning season solidifying the number one spot in the Eastern "B" competitors list, a spot that he held onto for the entire 2010-2011 season. Coach Mike Lynn said "Abe skied this competition like he has all year,confidant and composed" Abram now will compete in the next level with his first competition in April at Killington Mountain.

Empire State Games SX/BX Results

The 2nd Ski Cross and Snowboard Cross in Empire State Games history was held this past weekend at Whiteface Mt with tons of great racing. Last year's Scholastic & Open male snowboard champions, Dale Mortensen & Derek DiCastro repeated their dominating performances from 2010. NSA/NYSEF's Veronica Gaspar took the Scholastic Girls Ski category while fellow teammate Matt Brady took the Boys division with Josh Nixon right behind in 2nd. The Mens Ski Open Class was a 1-2 finish by our own Ed Sparkowski and Chris Grant. For full results see the link above on the Snowboard page.
Special thanks to all the volunteers, the Whiteface Park Crew, and Catskill Mountain Series staff for helping make this event bigger and better than last year. I'm already looking forward to 2012!

2011 Footy Fest

What is Footy Fest? It's a winter-sports amateur film contest to benefit USASA ADK Nationals athletes. Anyone can enter with either an under 5 minute or under 30 minute film with footage from this season. Entries are $20 for each <5 minute and $40 for each <30 minute. The top three films will be shown at Footy Fest March 18th at The Hollywood Theatre in AuSable Forks. The top three also win prizes and the first place winners will win cash and a GoPro Helmet Hero HD camera.
Tickets are available at the door for $5 the night of the event. All entries must be submitted to NYSEF, P.O. Box 300, Wilmington, NY 12997 Attention: Mike Kirchner/Footy Fest. For more details contact mikek@nysef.org.

Empire State Games SX/BX Feb 25th and 26th at Whiteface

Congratulations to those who have qualified for the Empire State Games Ski and Snowboard Cross this week! The course will remain open to the public on Thursday the 24th while we work on some fine-tuning and re-install our start gate. Friday's training sessions for qualified athletes are from 9-11am and 12-2pm. The course will be closed to the public during these times so we can have some quality training.
All athletes must check-in and have a bib for training and competition.

Saturday's schedule is as follows: 8:30am Inspection & Practice - 9:30am One-Run Time Trial - 1pm - Heats/Finals. Awards will immediately follow in the NYSEF Training Center.

President's Week Freeride Training Schedule

Another Holiday Week is upon us so for those of you not going away on vacation here is the training schedule:
All are full days.

Sat 2/19
Sun 2/20
Tues 2/22
Wed 2/23
Thurs 2/24
Sat 2/26
Sun 2/27

Unless specifically directed by your coach this is the official Freeride schedule. Don't forget to come out and watch the Empire State Games Skier Cross and Boarder Cross on Wolf. The course will be closed for training Friday the 25th and Sat the 26th for Time Trials and Finals.

Slopestyle at Whiteface

Hereis the link to results from this weekend's USASA ADK Slopestyle in the Brookside Terrain Park. Special thank to Jake Sporn Photography!

Derek DiCastro Wins Hole Shot SBX at Steamboat

In his second season on tour and his fifth race of the year Derek Dicastro(Rome,NY) made his mark with his first Nor-Am Snowboard Cross podium and it was a big one. Racing against many of the top riders in North America from both the junior and pro ranks Derek took the lead early in his final heat of The Hole Shot Tour in Steamboat Springs, CO and never gave it up.
In his previous four races he's managed to finish within the top 20 each time and had a 10th place just the day before his win. His time trials have consistently ranked among the top ten even while competing against top names such as Shaun Palmer(USA) and Robert Fagan(Can). Taking up the 2nd and 3rd places were brothers Bobby & Jarod Minghini(USA) fresh off their top five finishes the previous day.
Derek spent his time training and working last season at NYSEF/Whiteface, competing regionally in the USASA ADK Series, and travelling around the country on the USSA Revolution Tour, the top US junior snowboarding tour. After qualifying for the US Junior World SBX Team in his first year on tour, he placed tenth at the World Championships in New Zealand last August.
"It's been exciting watching Derek's rise through the ranks over the past couple of seasons. He's learning with every race and result and the other riders on tour are taking notice. This is still just the beginning for him." commented NYSEF Freeride Director Mike Kirchner.
His busy race schedule takes him next to Alpine Meadows, CA for two Hole Shot Nor-Am races next week, followed by a single Revolution Tour race at Boreal, CA the following Monday and then it's on to The Canyons, UT for the US Grand Prix National Snowboard Cross Championships.

USASA Cross Results from MLK Day

The first Ski and Boardercross races of the USASA ADK season took place on MLK Day at the North Creek Ski Bowl. Over 60 racers showed up to compete in both ski and snowboard categories with many NYSEF athletes turning in strong performances. In Skier Boys 9 & under, Camden Reilly placed 1st in his first SX race and brother Kaylen took 4th while Duncan Segger took 5th. Lindsey Rath took first in the girls 9 & under and older sister Melissa took first in the snowboard Breaker Girls(12-13yrs). In Skier Boys 10-12 Brian Gardiner took 1st just ahead of 2nd place finisher Gavin Fritz. In snowboard Breaker boys (12-13yrs) Michael Fahey took 1st followed by Alex Neron 2nd. In Skier Men (13-15yrs) Erik Sparkowski took 1st, Jake Wenn 2nd, Peter Palumbo 3rd, David Knapik 4th, Nate Foster 6th and Brad Jubitz 7th. Skier Men (16-18) NSA's Matt Brady took 1st, Josh Nixon 2nd, and Sam Johnston 3rd.
The next ADK comp is the January 30th Slopestyle at Whiteface followed by the 2nd SX/BX at the Ski Bowl. Come on out and give it a try.

Mt Hood Rev Tour Re-Cap

Well, the Freeride team arrived home safe & sound and a little weary early Sunday morning after a very succesful showing at the second stop of the Rev Tour in Mt Hood Meadows, OR. The weather was difficult with wind and rain assaulting the competitors in the latter stages of the week making Ski Slopestyle and Halfpipe tricky as well as both Ski and Snowboard Cross. Regardless of the conditions, the NYSEF Freeride team had its best results yet with everyone contributing in at least one event.
John Wilkins(NSA) followed up his 17th place in Slopestyle with a 35th in his first Jr National level Snowboard Cross(SBX). K.C. Brousseau was forced to pull out of both Halfpipe(HP) and Slopestyle(SS) due to a toe injury but managed to pull it together for an impressive 2nd in Friday's Ski Cross(SX) event. Steph Lawee(NSA) took 4th place in both SS and HP and made the podium in SX with a 2nd place finish. Matt Brady(NSA-SX) and Jessica Powers(SBX) both brought home 10th place finishes and Derek DiCastro took the fastest time trial in SBX but had a crash in his first heat placing him 13th.
All in all this was the most succesful Rev Tour showing yet for NYSEF athletes and much credit goes to Head Freeride Coach Justin Perry. Part coach, part tour guide and all heart, JP kept our athletes focused on their goals through trying conditions and we all look forward to their next showing at the tour stop in Boreal, CA in early February.
Way to go guys. Keep up the good work!

USSA Revolution Tour Update

Mt Hood Meadows - Tuesday, January 11 - The NYSEF Rev Tour Team posted it's first result of the latest tour stop with an impressive 17th place finish in slopestyle by John Wilkins. Coach Justin Perry passed on the news that John had landed his first "Double Cork Rodeo 900" on snow in his last practice run before the contest started. The trick is a double off-axis backflip with a 180 degree rotation. After witnessing another rider land the trick - one that John had practiced countless times this past summer at the Olympic Jumping Complex's water ramps - he knew that it could be done on the relatively small jumps on the Hood course.
John wasn't able to land the trick in his first competition run but pulled it out in the second run which put him in 6th place with 15 riders to go in his heat. The top 6 from each heat move on to finals. "Two riders bested John's score bumping him out of finals but his 17th overall was by far John's best finish at this level and his first major contest result in some time", said NYSEF Freeride Director Mike Kirchner. "The last few years he had been plagued by season-ending injuries but he has perservered and worked his way back into top form. This is a great result." Up next for John will be Friay's Snowboard Cross.
The competition for the rest of the team continues today with NSA's Steph Lawee and NYSEF's KC Brousseau competing in Ski Halfpipe.
The Revolution Tour is USSA's top-level Junior National Tour and features competition for up-and-coming skiers and snowboarders in the disciplines of Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Ski & Snowboard Cross. Other local athletes attending and competing this week include Jessica Powers(SBX), NSA's Matt Brady(SX), and Derek Dicastro(SBX).

Weekend Training and Competition Results

Well, another weekend down and a some great results and training to report on. Abe Studler bested a field of over 40 & brought home double gold from the Sugarslide Moguls at Sugarbush with wins in both Moguls events Saturday and Sunday. Way to go Abe! He wins best result for the weekend for sure!
At another Vermont event, The Eastern Freeride Tour @ Okemo, NYSEF athlete Oliver Holmes took a 7th, Northwood's Nick Edwards took a 17th and NWS's Jason Castle took a 23rd out of 70 in Saturday's slopestyle. Way to represent!
On the snowboard side, the first USASA ADK in GS & SL took place Sunday at Mt Pisgah, and Ri Kirchner took home golds in both events, Alex Neron 1st in GS & 2nd in SL, Mike Fahey 2nd in GS & 1st in SL, and Anthony Russo two 2nds.
Weekend training consisted of many laps on the newly built Cross course on Wolf, Park training on Danny's/Brookside, and a new bump line at the bottom of the park as well as some great freeskiing.
This coming weekend we plan to have the start gate installed on the Cross course, a re-built Broadway Park, and a new top section of the Danny's/Brookside Park right through the jump line as snowmaking freshened things up - or buried them depending on your perspective.
Competitions this coming weekend - USSA "A" & "B" Moguls at Bristol Saturday thru Monday and USASA SkiCross and Boardercross at North Creek Ski Bowl on Monday, MLK Day. Check with your coach for details on these and more events coming up and check back for ongoing results from our USSA Revolution Tour athletes competing this week at Mt Hood Meadows!

Competition Season is Here!

Well, the holidays are over, the rust is off, and competition season is here! Though there is the odd contest here and there in December, January really kicks things into high gear. Athletes have gotten back to where they left off last year(hopefully!) and should now be setting their sights on achieving their comp goals. For some, that might mean hitting our first USASA slopestyle at the end of the month or heading off to one of the many USSA "B" events around the Northeast. Whichever way they choose to go it's important to leave enough time to practice and not to overload the schedule with comps every weekend. Mid-season burnout is no fun!
For the parents out there, take the time to talk to your kids and their coaches while you are at the hill and find out what their focus is and should be. Check out the USASA and USSA schedules online and as always, I am here to answer any and all of your questions.
Good luck in 2011!

USASA GS & SL @ Mt Pisgah Postponed

The snowboard races scheduled for Sunday January 2nd have been postponed due to a lack of snow and the closure of Mt Pisgah. Snowmaking will resume as temps allow and we are hoping that next weekend's event will go off as planned. More information regarding makeup dates and next week's event status can be found on the USASA ADK site here.
Regular program schedule will be in effect at Whiteface this Sunday.