PARK CITY, UT (March 14, 2016) – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s U.S. Grand Prix, in its 20th season, reached 6.972 million U.S. television viewers over the three-stop tour. The Grand Prix culminated in spectacular fashion with the highest-rated winter action sports television broadcast of the season from its Polartec Big Air at Fenway on NBC. The NBC broadcast averaged 1.357 million viewers with a .87 rating – greater than any other winter action sports program this year on any U.S. network.
TIGNES, France (March 10, 2016) – The U.S. scored three podium finishes at the final FIS World Cup halfpipe event of the season in Tignes, France. Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, CA) won the event for the women while Annalisa Drew (Andover, MA) was second. Lyman Currier (Boulder, CO) took second for the men. Devin Logan (West Dover, VT) became the first freeskier (halfpipe/slopestyle/big air) to win the FIS Freestyle Skiing overall crystal globe.
Maddie Bowman wins the last World Cup of the season.
TIGNES, France (March 9, 2016) – The U.S. will lead the pack into the final FIS Freeski World Cup halfpipe event of the season in Tignes, France Thursday. With 10 of the 16 overall finals spots nabbed by American athletes, the U.S. looks to finish the season strong. In coordination with the SFR Freestyle Tour, the event will be held under the lights on Thursday in one of the world’s best halfpipes.
The American men locked down six of the 10 spots in the finals. David Wise (Reno, NV) was the top overall qualifier, followed by Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO) and Lyman Currier (Boulder, CO) in second and third respectively. Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, CO) was fifth, Broby Leeds (Vail, CO) was seventh and Kyle Smaine (South Lake Tahoe, CA) was ninth.
SILVAPLANA, Switzerland (March 4, 2016) – Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT) earned her second FIS World Cup podium Friday when she finished third at the final slopestyle event of the 2016 season in Silvaplana.
For Voisin, the podium in Silvaplana comes just two weeks after her first World Cup podium at the Olympic test event in PyeongChang, Korea, where she placed second. The 17-year-old put down a great run that included back-to-back 900s. “So happy to end my (competition) season on the podium!” Voisin said in an Instagram post. “Huge congrats to all the ladies…looking forward to some spring skiing!”
WINTER PARK, CO (March 2, 2016) – The Revolution Tour continued this week with a stop at Winter Park Resort, where some of the world’s best up-and-coming freeskiers competed in back-to-back slopestyle contests. Americans Nadia Gonzales (Keystone, CO) and Caroline Claire (Willmington, VT) each picked up a win for the women, while Aaron Milligan (Avon, CO) and Cody Cirillo (Breckenridge, CO) both took wins for the men.
Ryan Mcelmon (Left), Aaron Milligan and Hunter Hess top three freeskiing slopesyle 1.
OSLO, Norway (Feb. 28, 2016) – It was an American sweep for the men at X Games Oslo Sunday night with Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, CO) making a triumphant return to the top of the X Games halfpipe podium, followed by good friend Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO) in the silver-medal position and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) in bronze. Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, CA) led for the women with a silver medal.
BOKWANG, Korea (Feb. 28, 2016) – Tania Prymak (Goshen, NY) finished 10th at the Bokwang stop of the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup tour, the official Olympic test event for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.
It was a career-best World Cup finish for 23-year-old Prymak. It was also the best finish a U.S. woman has ever had in a skicross World Cup event. It’s a record that has been bettered throughout the season by Prymak, who tied the record with a 12th-place finish in January at Watles, Italy.
The top American finisher for the men was Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, CA), who finished 36th. Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, CO) did not finish.
The skiers next head to Arosa, Switzerland for the last World Cup of the season.
OSLO, Norway (Feb. 27, 2016) – American skier Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) scored a bronze medal in a highly competitive men’s big air competition at X Games Oslo on Saturday. Bobby Brown (Breckenridge, CO) took eighth for the men and Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, MT) finished fifth at the inaugural X Games women’s ski big air.
WINTER PARK, CO (Feb. 29, 2016) – The 2016 U.S. Revolution Tour continues with the third stop at Colorado’s Winter Park Resort. As the premier contest tour for the next generation of freeskiers and snowboarders, the Rev Tour serves to bridge the gap between grassroots competitions and the elite-level professional comps. At the third of four stops on the tour, Winter Park will play host to back-to-back freeskiing and snowboard slopestyle events for both men and women.
Future Olympic hopefuls will compete in Winter Park’s world-class Dark Territory terrain park. The Revolution Tour is an International Ski Federation (FIS)-sanctioned event, offering amateur athletes a chance to earn valuable points. Skiers will also earn points on the Association of Freeskiing Professionals Tour (AFP), where the Revolution Tour serves as a sliver-level event, while snowboarders will also earn points on the World Snowboard Tour (WST) where the Rev Tour qualifies as a national event.
OSLO, Norway (Feb. 25, 2016) – This weekend the world’s best snowboarders and freeskiers will descend upon the site of the 1952 Winter Olympic Games for X Games Oslo. It is the first time in history an X Games event will be held in Norway and only the second time in history a second winter event has been added to the X Games schedule (X Games Tignes, 2013).
Americans dominated at X Games Aspen (Jan. 28-31) where they claimed 21 total medals including seven gold. Amongst the gold medalists were freeskier Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, CA) and snowboarders Chloe Kim (La Palma, CA) and Matt Ladley (Steamboat Springs, CO), all slated to compete in Oslo.
X Games Oslo will feature men’s and women’s ski and snowboard halfpipe, as well as a big air competition held on a 190-foot-tall scaffolding structure. Women’s snowboard big air has not been held at the X Games since 2001 and it is the first time in history the X Games will feature a women’s ski big air event.
