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.

BRECKENRIDGE, CO (Dec. 11, 2016) – It was redemption for Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) at the Dew Tour on Sunday, when he joined forces with Atomic teammate Jossi Wells of New Zealand to take the win in the Team Challenge competition. Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, IN) and teammate Alex Beaulieu-Marchand of Canada took second place for Volkl, while Canada’s Evan McEachran teamed up with Jesper Tjader of Sweden to take third for Head.

Kenworthy came into the 2016 Dew Tour on a two-year winning streak, but placed dead last in the individual competition on Saturday. “I won slope here the last two years and I came in kinda trying to capitalize on that, but I just blew it.” Kenworthy said. “I just couldn’t put it down on the jump for a second run and I messed up on the rails yesterday, so I just wanted to land some runs today. It feels pretty good to put up some points for Atomic.”

COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO (Dec. 10, 2016) – U.S. Freeskiing rookie halfpipe team member Hunter Hess (Bend, OR) was on the podium in third at the first stop of the U.S. Revolution Tour at Copper Mountain on Saturday.

Joining Hess on the podium were Benoit Valentin of France in first and Mike Riddle of Canada in second.

Also in the top 10 for the men were Cameron Broderick (Mammoth Lakes, CA) who finished eighth and Birk Irving (Winter Park, CO) who finished ninth.

Leading the charge for the American women was Abigale Hansen (June Lake, CA) who finished eighth. Right behind Hansen was Jeanee Crane-Mauzy (Park City, UT) in ninth.

The U.S. Revolution Tour continues at Waterville Valley, NH, Jan. 8-13 where athletes will compete in back-to-back slopestyle events.

HIGHLIGHTS

BRECKENRIDGE, CO (Dec. 10, 2016) – U.S. Freeskiing pro slopestyle team member Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT) had a great start to the 2017 season with a second-place finish at the Winter Dew Tour on Saturday.

Standing alongside Voisin on the podium were 14-year-old Kelly Sildaru of Estonia in first and Kaya Turski of Canada in third.

The Dew Tour competition format was completely reinvented for 2016. Slopestyle athletes competed in two separate contests - a big air event on Friday, which combined the best two scores of four, and a rail section on Saturday, which took the best score of three. The scores were then combined to determine the overall winner, the greatest possible score being a 200. Though there was apprehension going into the event, riders seemed to enjoy the format, saying that it gave them a chance to focus on individual obstacles vs. an overall slopestyle run.

COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO (Dec. 6, 2016) – The 2017 U.S. Revolution Tour kicks off Dec. 7 at Colorado’s Copper Mountain. The premier contest tour for the next generation of freeskiers and snowboarders, the Rev Tour serves to bridge the gap between grassroots and elite-level competition. At the first of four stops on the tour, Copper Mountain will play host to both snowboard and freeski halfpipe competitions where future Olympic hopefuls will compete in Copper’s world-class, 22-foot Main Vein superpipe.

The Revolution Tour is an International Ski Federation (FIS)-sanctioned event. Skiers will also earn valuable Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) points at this silver-level event, while snowboarders will earn points on the World Snowboard Tour (WST) at the national-level event.

COPPER MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHTS

X Games announced their first wave of invitees to the 2017 Winter X Games in both Aspen, Colorado and Oslo, Norway. 10 Americans were included in the list.

This year marks the first time women will be participating in the big air with Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT) leading the way for the American women. Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) will look to defend her SuperPipe titles she won in both Oslo and Aspen last season, bringing her X Games tally up to five gold medals. Annalisa Drew (Andover, MA) won her first X Games medal last season with a bronze in SuperPipe and will be looking for more.

Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) nailed two silvers last season in both SuperPipe and slopestyle and wants to translate those into gold, while Bobby Brown (Denver, CO) looks to do the same after grabbing silver in big air.

Look for the list to get larger in the months leading up to 2017 Winter X Games.

With the PyeongChang Olympics just 15 months out, Joss Christensen (Park City, UT), David Wise (Reno, NV) and snowboarder Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, CA) sat down with Team USA to talk about what life has been like since winning gold medals at Sochi and their goals for the upcoming Games.

READ: How Jamie Anderson, Joss Christensen, David Wise are Preparing to Defend Their Olympic Titles

PARK CITY, UT (Nov. 4, 2016) – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s (USSA) Revolution Tour has announced its schedule for the 2016-17 season. Veteran Rev Tour hosts Copper Mountain, CO, Mammoth Mountain, CA and Seven Springs Mountain Resort, PA are all returning for the Tour’s 13^th season along with first time resort partner Waterville Valley Resort, NH.

Established in 2004, the U.S Revolution tour is the premier series of progressive events for top junior riders. Focused towards 13-19-year-old athletes, the Rev Tour is designed to serve as a stepping stone from the grassroots to the elite level. Throughout the tour, athletes will have the opportunity to compete in halfpipe, slopestyle, cross and big air competitions.