World Cup season begins Aug. 31.
August 15th, 2007
PARK CITY, Utah -- Forty-one riders, including top pros Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT), Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO), Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, CO), Scotty Lago (Seabrook, NH), Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) and Seth Wescott (Carrabassett Valley, ME), have been named to the 2008 U.S. Snowboarding roster, according to U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster.
With nearly the entire '07 roster returning, U.S. Snowboarding will feature a squad that tallied three World Championships medals (one gold), 15 World Cup top-3s (six wins), 11 Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix podiums (three wins), two Junior World Championships medals and six X Games medals (three gold) last winter. U.S. Snowboarding also gathered dozens of podiums at other major competitions, including the Grand Prix, Chevrolet Revolution Tour, Race to the Cup, US Open, Vans Cup and USASA Nationals.
"Across the board, U.S. Snowboarding continues to work with the best riders in the country," said Forster. "From some of the top pros in the industry to the best young up-and-coming talent, this year's roster is set to be successful at every level of snowboarding as we set our focus on preparing for the 2010 Olympic Games."
Continuing to build its development program, U.S. Snowboarding's halfpipe squad again will integrate a Rookie Team that includes major up-and-coming talent like Matt Ladley (Steamboat Springs, CO), Dylan Bidez (Minturn, CO) and Brooke Shaw (Litchfield, CT). Veterans of the Rookie Team include Louie Vito (Sandy, UT), who was runner-up to teammate Tommy Czeschin (Mammoth Mountain, CA) in the '07 Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix standings, and Ellery Hollingsworth (Stratton Mountain, VT), who made the jump to the Pro Team.
Snowboardcross again will feature the deepest talent pool in the world with World Championships medalists Jacobellis, Wescott and Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) leading a pack of eager young riders including defending U.S. champions Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) and Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (Girdwood, AK), plus Junior World Championships bronze medalist Brooke Shaw, who joins Jacobellis as a double-threat - halfpipe and SBX.
In the technical department, '06 Olympians Tyler Jewell and Michelle Gorgone (both Sudbury, MA) join '02 Olympic bronze medalist Chris Klug (Aspen, CO) and a crew of promising talent like U.S. parallel giant slalom champion Lindsay Lloyd (Centerville, UT) and Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) as the Team looks to get back on the World Cup podium.
Returning for his 14th season as U.S. Snowboarding head coach, Peter Foley leads the SBX program with the help of former Team rider Jeff Archibald. Back for his second season as halfpipe head coach, Mike Jankowski is joined by former halfpipe world champion Rick Bower. Steve Persons, also in his second season as head coach, will lead the alpine Team with Jan Wengelin returning to the program after a year away to take over as technical head coach.
2008 U.S. Snowboarding roster (birthdate, hometown and * if Olympian)
Halfpipe Men
Pro Team
Tommy Czeschin (6/15/79, Mammoth Lakes, CA)*
Steve Fisher (10/21/82, Breckenridge, CO)
Scott Lago (11/12/87, Seabrook, NH)
Elijah Teter (3/7/84, South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Louie Vito (3/20/88, Sandy, UT)
Rookie Team
Dylan Bidez (9/11/90, Minturn, CO)
Matt Ladley (5/17/91, Steamboat Springs, CO)
Broc Waring (6/3/92; Edwards, CO)
Halfpipe Women
Pro Team
Molly Aguirre (9/10/84, Mammoth Lakes, CA)
Clair Bidez (8/7/87, Minturn, CO)
Gretchen Bleiler (4/10/81, Aspen, CO)*
Tricia Byrnes (11/18/74, Aspen, CO)*
Ellery Hollingsworth (9/2/91, Stratton Mountain, VT)
Lindsey Jacobellis (8/19/85, Stratton Mountain, VT)*
Hannah Teter (1/27/87, Belmont, VT)*
Rookie Team
Elizabeth Beerman (7/18/91, Weston, VT)
Kaitlyn Farrington (12/18/89, Bellevue, ID)
Brooke Shaw (5/12/91, Litchfield, CT)
SBX Men
A Team
Nick Baumgartner (12/17/81, Iron River, MI)
Jayson Hale (6/26/85, Sierraville, CA)*
Nate Holland (11/8/78, Squaw Valley, CA)*
Seth Wescott (6/28/76, Carrabassett Valley, ME)*
B Team
Alex Deibold (5/18/86, Manchester Center, VT)
Jason Smith (1/11/82, Basalt, CO)*
Graham Watanabe (3/19/82, Sun Valley, ID)*
C Team
Jonathan Cheever (4/17/85, Park City, UT)
Pat Holland (5/5/82, Sandpoint, ID)
Robert Minghini (6/24/86, South Lake Tahoe, CA)
SBX Women
A Team
Lindsey Jacobellis (8/19/85, Stratton Mountain, VT)*
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (2/14/89, Girdwood, AK)
C Team
Jordan Karlinski (8/24/89, Aspen, CO)
Brooke Shaw (5/12/91, Litchfield, CT)
Marni Yamada (8/26/78, Seattle, WA)
Men's Alpine
B Team
Tyler Jewell (2/21/77, Sudbury, MA)*
Zac Kay (8/18/81, Mount Shasta, CA)
Chris Klug (11/18/72, Aspen, CO)*
Justin Reiter (2/2/81, Steamboat Springs, CO)
Adam Smith (9/7/80, Bend, OR)
C Team
Vic Wild (8/23/86, White Salmon, WA)
Josh Wylie (7/7/81, Londonderry, VT)
Women's Alpine
B Team
Michelle Gorgone (10/18/83, Sudbury, MA)*
Erica Mueller (7/25/81, Steamboat Springs, CO)
C Team
Lindsay Lloyd (2/18/81, Centerville, UT)
The World Cup competition season opens Aug. 31-Sept. 1 with halfpipe in Cardrona, NZ. Both SBX and alpine have a bit later start with the first SBX World Cup event slated for Sept. 25-29 in Valle Nevado, Chile. Alpine again will kick off in the fall with the annual indoor parallel slalom slated for Landgraaf, Netherlands, on Oct. 12.
The U.S. Snowboarding Cup on March 1-3 in Lake Placid, NY, will serve as the lone U.S. World Cup stop. The World Cup includes SBX and PGS. During the previous three stops at Whiteface, located in nearby Wilmington, U.S. riders have produced 16 podiums, with eight wins including a sweep of the men's halfpipe podium last March.
The domestic calendar gets kicks off Dec. 14-15 with the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Breckenridge, CO with later stops at Tamarack, ID, and Killington, VT.
