Snowboarding

Olympic Selection Kicks Off at 2016-17 U.S. Grand Prix

by
USSA
2016-06-23 06:55
 

PARK CITY, UT (June 23, 2016) – The U.S. Grand Prix, the longest running winter action sports tour, has announced three stops for the 2016-17 season. Copper Mountain, CO and Mammoth Mountain, CA and will host the world’s best skiers and riders in halfpipe, slopestyle and big air, while skicross and snowboardcross athletes will return to the U.S. for the first time since 2011. The event at Mammoth will also act as the first of five Olympic selection events for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

The tour kicks off at Copper Dec. 14-17 with halfpipe competitions for freeskiing and snowboarding and a big air snowboarding competition. The big air competition is also part of the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Team USA Winter Champions Series, a single-day television event featuring the Grand Prix along with luge and women’s hockey.

“Copper always does a fantastic job preparing its Main Vein halfpipe to give us an early season event in the U.S.,” said U.S. Grand Prix Tour Director Nick Alexakos. “The addition of the big air snowboarding event is a great opportunity to showcase the new Olympic sport in an iconic skiing and snowboarding community.”

Skiers and riders will descend upon Mammoth’s Unbound terrain park Feb. 2-5 for a weekend of halfpipe and slopestyle action, including the first Olympic selection events for men’s and women’s halfpipe skiing, slopestyle snowboarding and slopestyle skiing. This is the first time a selection event has been held a season prior to the Olympics. The U.S. Grand Prix has been the U.S. Olympic qualifying series since 1998 and Mammoth has hosted previous Olympic qualifying events, including the final qualifying event before the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

An additional four Olympic selection events for halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and slopestyle skiing will take place during the 2017-18 season. Slopestyle snowboarding athletes will have three events plus a big air snowboarding event as part of the selection process for those teams. Olympic selection criteria and qualification sites will be announced in the coming months.

“Based on feedback after Sochi, we felt it would be beneficial to extend the qualification period and host an Olympic selection event this season,” stated U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Snowboarding and Freesking Director Jeremy Forster. “Mammoth has been part of the selection process since snowboarding became part of the Olympics in 1998 and we are fortunate to have them on board to support both snowboarding and freeskiing athletes on the Road to PyeongChang.”

A third U.S. Grand Prix event, featuring skicross and snowboardcross, is on the calendar for Jan. 19-22, with the location to be announced separately at a later date.

All U.S. Grand Prix freeskiing events will be sanctioned as FIS World Cup and Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) Platinum events. Snowboarding competitions will be sanctioned as FIS World Cups and World Snowboard Tour international events.

Last season, with a strong broadcast partnership with NBC Sports, the U.S. Grand Prix reached a total of 6.972 million U.S. television viewers. The third stop on the 2015-16 tour, the Polartec Big Air at Fenway, was the highest-rated winter action sports television broadcast of the season, averaging 1.357 million viewers with a .87 rating. Coverage is expected to grow this season and the next with the Grand Prix being the focal point of Olympic qualification for 2018. A full TV schedule will be released fall 2016.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The U.S. Grand Prix has announced three stops for the 2016-17 season, including the first Olympic selection events for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
  • Copper Mountain will host the first snowboarding and freeskiing halfpipe events of the season, as well as a big air snowboarding competition.
  • Mammoth Mountain will host both halfpipe and slopestyle competitions for snowboarding and freeskiing.
  • The halfpipe skiing, slopestyle skiing and slopestyle snowboarding events at Mammoth will serve as the first selection events for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.
  • The U.S. Grand Prix has been the official Olympic qualifying series since 1998.
  • A skicross and snowboardcross event is also on the calendar for January 2017 with a site still to be determined.
  • U.S. Grand Prix freeskiing events will be sanctioned as FIS World Cups and AFP Platinum events.
  • U.S. Grand Prix snowboarding events will be sanctioned as FIS World Cups and World Snowboarding Tour international events.
  • TV viewership of the U.S. Grand Prix is expected to continue to grow after a record 6.972 million U.S. television viewers last season. A full TV schedule will be released in the fall.

 

QUOTES
Nick Alexakos, U.S. Grand Prix Director, USSA
Copper always does a fantastic job preparing its Main Vein halfpipe to give us an early season event in the U.S. The addition of the big air snowboarding event is a great opportunity to showcase the new Olympic sport in an iconic skiing and snowboarding community.

Jeremy Forster, Snowboarding and Freeskiing Program Director, USSA
Based on feedback after Sochi, we felt it would be beneficial to all athletes to extend the qualification period and host an Olympic qualifier this season. Mammoth has been part of our qualification process since snowboarding became part of the Olympics in 1998 and we are fortunate to have them on board to support both snowboarding and freeskiing athletes on the Road to PyeongChang.

Jesse True, Senior Vice President, Copper Mountain Resort
We are both excited and honored to have the Grand Prix return to Copper. Athlete progression is a top priority for us, and the Grand Prix has helped put Copper on the map as a top training and competition venue. We look forward to continuing our partnership with USSA and providing a world-class location for elite athletes from around the world.

Erik Forsell, Chief Marketing Officer, Mammoth Resorts
We look forward to continuing Mammoth’s longstanding tradition of producing world-class freeskiing and snowboarding events with USSA for the 2016-17 season. With the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang just around the corner, we are excited to host the world’s elite athletes at Mammoth for the first Olympic qualifying event of the year.

Joss Christensen, Olympic Champion, U.S. Freeskiing
The season leading up to the Olympics can get crazy, so it will be nice to have a qualifying event this season and take some of the pressure off. Mammoth has a sweet set up and will put on a great event to close out the Grand Prix season and kick off Olympic qualifiers.

Kyle Mack, U.S. Snowboarding
I'm really stoked to see the Grand Prix adding big air to their contest at Copper this year. It will be great to see all of the athletes pushing each other to another level on different terrain.

2016-17 U.S. GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE

Copper Mountain, CO
Dec. 14: Halfpipe snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 15: Halfpipe skiing and big air snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 16: Halfpipe snowboarding finals
Dec. 17: Halfpipe skiing and big air snowboarding finals

Mammoth Mountain, CA
Feb. 2: Halfpipe skiing and slopestyle snowboarding qualifications
Feb. 3: Slopestyle skiing and halfpipe snowboarding qualifications
Feb. 4: Halfpipe skiing and slopestyle snowboarding finals
Feb: 5: Slopestyle skiing and halfpipe snowboarding finals

 


 


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