Development

U.S. Snowboarding Development

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Development Pipelines are a cornerstone of athletic programs, providing a systematic roadmap for progression from grassroots to the Olympic Winter Games. Pipelines illustrate how an athlete moves through the U.S. Ski & Snowboard competition system and who is primarily responsible for the development of athletes at those different stages.

There are many factors that influence athlete development at each stage including training, technical and tactical markers. There must also be an appropriate emphasis on fun, fitness and fundamentals at each of the various levels, as these are all core factors of recruitment, retention, participation and athlete development.

The pipelines are designed to define the pace of development, to lead program design both at the regional and national level, and to educate stakeholders such as parents and athletes about program design at the local level through the national team.

Snowboard Development Pipeline

 
 
 
 

U.S. Snowboarding Competitive Pipeline

The competitive snowboarding pipeline can often be difficult to navigate. Below are a few resousce and descprtions to help better understand the competitive landscape.

Competitive Pipeline Structure

Where to start - Find a club in your region. Local clubs are a great starting point for aspiring athletes, introducing them to knowledgeable coaches who can guide them along the delevelopment pipeline. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard provides education and support to its local clubs including a certification process for coaches, judges and officials and the club itself to ensure the best experience possible for athletes and parents.  

USASA events are the best events for entry level athletes. USASA offer event in each region of the country.  30 USASA regional series are located across the USA.  Each series presents organized competitions in halfpipe, slopestyle, alpine snowboard racing, boardercross®, rail jams and banked slalom.  At the conclusion of the regional series season, the organization hosts the USASA National Championships at the end of March / early April.    To learn more about the USASA and the regional series closest to you, log onto:  www.usasa.org.

Next steps - Once you are feeling comfortable at the regional USASA leve eventsl, you can start checking out national events.  Through your regional USASA series, you can qualify for USASA Nationals (largest junior snowboard competition in the world).  Athletes qualify from USASA Nationals into the Revolution Tour and U.S. Snowboard Project Gold development projects.  From the Revolution Tour atheltes start to build their World Snowboard Tour points profile and are eligible to qualify for the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix

As athletes have success at the international level qualify for the U.S. Snowboard Team programs or the U.S. Olympic Team.

 

Event Sanctioning Organization

USASA - The United States of American Snowboard and Freeski Association is a great place to get your start in competitive snowboarding. USASA facilitates fun and fair events for all ages across the country. USASA also host the largest competitive snowboarding event in the world - USASA Nationals, each spring.  USASA nationals is used to qualify athletes for Project Gold Camps and Revolution Tour. 

U.S. Snowboard - U.S. Snowboarding is a part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard, recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for competitive snowboarding in the U.S. Once an athlete has decided to pursue competitve snowboarding and has reached the age of 13, the next step is membership with U.S Ski & Snowboard. U.S. Ski & Snowboard offers a wide range of elite level events such as the Revolution Tour, Race to the Cup and Hole Shot Tour, along with talent development programs such as Project Gold.

FIS - The International Ski Federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the International Federation for Olympic snowboarding. Athletes participating in FIS international events - both in and outside of the USA - earn FIS or World Cup points which are used to then qualify those atheltes for elite level events and development projects. Most Revolution Tour and U.S. Grand Prix events are FIS sanctioned events. To participate in FIS events, athletes must hold a current U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership and also obtain a FIS license, which can all be managed through Membership.

World Snowboard Tour - TTR Pro Snowboarding is an international organization whose World Snowboard Tour has grown into the strongest international tour representing the most important snowboarding events around the world. The goal of the World Snowboard Tour is to provide a unified international snowboarding ranking and committed to holding world class events. The Revolution Tour and U.S. Grand Prix events are typically sanctioned as World Snowboard Tour events as well. The World Snowboard Tour ranking list is used to qualifty athletes for elite level events and projects. 

Key U.S. Snowboarding Event Programs
Revolution Tour

Race to the Cup

Hole Shot Tour

U.S. Grand Prix

 
 

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