Park City, UT (June 1, 2016) – Nineteen U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing athletes will take a break from training this week to travel to Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico to build a house for a family in need.
For the second year in a row, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) is partnering with Hope Sports to give athletes this unique opportunity to grow outside of their sports. Hope Sports is a nonprofit founded by professional cyclist Guy East that helps promote personal growth and community among athletes through short-term service trips. During the trip, athletes will not only be helping the Medellin Balderas family, but they will also learn basic carpentry and construction skills and participate in discussions with renowned sport psychologists and Olympians.
"I'm really excited to be going back down to Mexico with U.S. Freeskiing and Hope Sports for a second year in a row,” said Olympic silver medalist Devin Logan. “My first experience was incredible and being able to help build another house for a family in need is very rewarding. This experience really makes me grateful for everything that I have and I hope that I can continue coming back every year."
Joining Logan will be nine other skiers including aerialist and alumna Emily Cook (Belmont, MA), alpine skier Keely Cashman (Strawberry, CA) and U.S. Freeskiing athletes Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, CO), Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, CA), Jacob Beebe (Bend, OR), Eddie Gildea (Boston, MA), Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, CA), Nikita Rubocki (Boise, ID) and Darian Stevens (Missoula, MT).
U.S. Snowboarding riders attending include Zoe Kalapos (Vail, CO), Jake Pates (Eagle, CO), Nik Baden (Steamboat Springs, CO), Jake Vedder (Pinckney, MI), Hailey Langland (San Clemente, CA), Lyon Farrell (Haiku, HI), Karly Shorr (Milford, MI), Hailee Mattingley (Sandy, UT), and Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT).
Pates, Vedder, Baden, Langland, Cashman and Rubocki are also representing the Youth Olympic Games as part of the Young Ambassador + Gold Program with the goal of promoting the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.
Fans can follow the athletes’ progress over the weekend on using the hashtag #USSAGivesBack.
