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!
