PARK CITY, UT (Dec. 13, 2016) - Thirty-six skiers have been named to the 2017 U.S. Freeskiing halfpipe and slopestyle team, including 19 on the pro team and 17 on The North Face Rookie Team. The team is headlined by 2014 Olympic gold medalists David Wise (Reno, NV), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) and Joss Christensen (Park City, UT) as well as Sochi medalists Gus Kenworthy, Devin Logan and Nick Goepper.
The 2017 season features the first PyeongChang Olympic qualifiers, with the first of five taking place at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain - the first time the Olympic qualification process has extended itself over two seasons. After a slopestyle test event last season and a halfpipe test event taking place this season, the athletes are hunting for the Olympic team.
After extensive training this summer in the Southern hemisphere and in Mt. Hood, Oregon, followed up by camps in Europe, the slopestyle riders started the season at the Dew Tour, Dec. 9-11, while the team’s first halfpipe World Cup will take place at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Dec. 15-17. In addition to the first Olympic qualifiers in Mammoth, the X Games will be another highlight of the season, where athletes will shoot for medals in both Aspen and Oslo. It’s also a World Championships season, with this year’s events taking place in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Olympic medalists: Six of the 36 athletes named to the 2017 U.S. Freeskiing team are Olympic medalists, including Wise, Bowman, Christensen, Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO), Devin Logan (West Dover, VT) and Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, IN).
- Olympic team selection: PyeongChang 2018 team selection begins this season with the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain acting as the first of five Olympic qualifying events.
- Toyota U.S. Grand Prix: The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix will hit three locations this season--Copper Mountain in December, Solitude Mountain Resort in January and Mammoth Mountain in February.
- Upstarts: Caroline Claire (Manchester Center, VT) was the overall Revolution Tour champion in slopestyle in 2016, with Abigale Hanson (June Lake, CA) winning the Rev Tour halfpipe title. At the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games, Alex Hall (Salt Lake City, UT) took silver in slopestyle, while Birk Irving (Winter Park, CO) won gold in halfpipe.
- Test events: The official FIS World Cup Olympic slopestyle test event went off at the Bokwang Phoenix Park last season with Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT) stepping on her first World Cup podium in second. The halfpipe test event will take place in February 2017.
- X Games: Torin Yater-Wallace (Aspen, CO), Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO) and Kenworthy went 1-2-3, sweeping the halfpipe podium at the 2016 X Games Oslo, while Bowman won silver, bringing her X Games medal total to seven after also winning gold in Aspen. Kenworthy also won bronze in the Oslo big air and two silvers in both slopestyle and SuperPipe at Aspen. Bobby Brown took silver in the Aspen big air and Annalisa Drew silver in the Aspen SuperPipe.
- Season Kickoff: U.S. Freeskiing slopestyle team kicked off their season in Breckenridge, CO at the Dew Tour, while the halfpipe team will compete at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain.
QUOTES
Jeremy Forster, U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding Director
There’s such an amazing group of athletes named to the team this year, along with a veteran coaching staff. With Olympic qualifying for both halfpipe and slopestyle beginning during the Mammoth U.S. Grand Prix, it should be an exciting season.
Mike Jankowski, U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding Head Coach
U.S. Freeskiing is very fortunate to have such talented teams of both hungry rookies breaking into the scene and seasoned pros leading the charge. After several fun and productive camps this fall, the teams are all eager to begin the contest season.
U.S. Freeskiing
2016-17 Team Announcement
(Hometown; Club; USASA Series; Birthdate)
* denotes current participant in Westminster program
HALFPIPE
PRO TEAM
Men
Wing Tai Barrymore (Sun Valley, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; Big Mountain West Series; 5/1/92)
Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/12/96)
Lyman Currier (Boulder, CO; Winter Park Freeski Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/28/94)
Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Aspen/Snowmass Series; 8/14/94)*
Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO; Telluride High School; Southwest Colorado Series; 10/1/91)
David Wise (Reno, NV; 6/30/90)
Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, CO; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Aspen/Snowmass Series; 12/2/95)
Women
Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA; Sierra-at-Tahoe Education Foundation; South Tahoe Series; 1/10/94)*
Annalisa Drew (Andover, MA; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Southwest Colorado Series; 5/28/93)
Devin Logan (West Dover, VT; Mount Snow Academy; Southern Vermont Series; 2/17/93)*
Brita Sigourney (Carmel, CA; Big Mountain West Series; 1/17/90)
THE NORTH FACE ROOKIE TEAM
Men
Jacob Beebe (Bend, OR; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; Big Mountain West Series; 6/15/99)
Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, CA; Mammoth Mountain Freeski Team; Unbound Series; 2/6/98)
Hunter Hess (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation; Central Oregon Series; 10/01/98)
Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, CO; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/17/00)
Birk Irving (Winter Park, CO; Winter Park Freeride Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 7/26/99)
Jake Mageau (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation; Central Oregon Series; 11/25/97)
Women
Anna Gorham (Bend, OR; Central Oregon Series; 7/22/00)
Abigale Hansen (June Lake, CA; Mammoth Mountain Freeski Team; Unbound Series; 5/26/98)
Carly Margulies (Mammoth Lakes, CA; Mammoth Mountain Freeski Team; Unbound Series; 12/24/97)
SLOPESTYLE
PRO TEAM
Men
Bobby Brown (Denver, CO; Rocky Mountain Series; 6/5/91)
Joss Christensen (Park City, UT; Park City Freestyle Ski Team; 12/20/91)
Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, IN; Hanley Consulting Inc.; Rocky Mountain Series; 3/14/94)
Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO; Telluride High School; Southwest Colorado Series; 10/1/91)
Chris Laker (Cincinnati, OH; Central Series; 6/23/93)
McRae Williams (Park City, UT; Big Mountain West Series; 10/13/90)
Women
Keri Herman (Bloomington, MN; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/16/83)
Julia Krass (Hanover, NH; Team Park City United; New Hampshire Series; 6/7/97)
Devin Logan (West Dover, VT; Mount Snow Academy; Southern Vermont Series; 2/17/93)
Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT; Team Park City United; Big Mountain West Series; 12/14/98)
THE NORTH FACE ROOKIE TEAM
Men
Willie Borm (Chaska, MN; Midwest Freeskiing Association; Midwest Freestyle Association; 5/21/97)
Eddie Gildea (Boston, MA; Hanley Consulting Inc., Waterville Valley BBTS; Southern Vermont Series; 7/3/97)
Alex Hackel (Sunday River, ME; Hanley Consulting Inc.; Eastern Series; 7/10/96)
Alex Hall (Salt Lake City, UT; Team Park City United; Big Mountain West Series; 9/21/98)
Cody LaPlante (Truckee, CA; Squaw Valley Freestyle and Freeride Team; Far West Series; 2/15/02)
Colby Stevenson (Park City, UT; Team Park City United; Big Mountain West Series; 10/3/97)*
Women
Caroline Claire (Manchester Center, VT; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 2/2/00)
Darian Stevens (Missoula, MT; Missoula Freestyle Ski Team; 10/29/96)*
U.S. FREESKIING STAFF
Jeremy Forster, Director
Abbi Nyberg, Sport Development Manager
Kelsey Sloan, Team Manager
Mike Jankowski, Halfpipe and Slopestyle Head Coach
Dr. Andrew Cooper, Team Physician
Bret Kelly, Strength & Conditioning Coach
Halfpipe Staff
Andy Woods, Pro Halfpipe Coach
Ben Verge, Pro Halfpipe Coach
Luke Byers, Halfpipe Technician
Caralyn Baxter, Pro Halfpipe Physio
Slopestyle and Big Air Staff
Skogen Sprang, Pro Slopestyle Coach
Dave Coombs, Pro Slopestyle Assistant Coach and Technician
Lauren Tietjen, Pro Slopestyle Physio
The North Face Rookie Team Staff
DJ Montigny, Halfpipe and Slopestyle National Development Head Coach
Peter O’Brien, Halfpipe and Slopestyle National Development Coach
OFFICIAL U.S. FREESKIING SUPPLIERS
Uniform/Licensees
The North Face
High Sierra
SmartWool
2XU
Wax/Tools/Supplies
Boot Doc
Buff
Dermatone
Dominator
EPS
Extended Exposure
Huge Sportswear
Identity Plus
Insight Replay
Lasting Impressions
Liftopia
Thule
Tools4boards
Reliable Racing
Rollerblade
Slingshot Sports
Sun Valley Ski Tools
Swix
Vauhti Wax Technologies
Vertical Brands
WEND Wax
Wintersteiger
WinCraft
Follow U.S. Freeskiing throughout the season on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (usfreeskiing).
