Winter Sports Club Athletes Named to US Snowboarding Team
11/27/2013 12:15PM ● By Grant Johnson
US Snowboarding's Matt Ladley in the US Snowboard Grand Prix, Tamarack, ID. Feb. 2007
Olympic medalists Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT), Gretchen Bleiler, (Aspen, CO), and Scotty Lago (Seabrook, NH) headline the 2014 U.S. Snowboarding team, which also includes slopestyle athletes Chas Guldemond (Reno, NV), Sage Kotsenburg (Park City, UT) and Eric Willett (Breckenridge, CO). Slopestyle will make its Olympic debut this February in Sochi. With an impressive roster of 32 athletes, the team will begin its season and Olympic qualifying period at the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships at Breckenridge Dec. 12-15 followed by the FIS World Cup and Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain Dec. 19-22. Members of the team will be on hand Saturday, Nov. 30 at Copper Mountain, CO for the Woodward Remix Weekend–home of the only Olympic-sized halfpipe currently open in the U.S.
"It's such an exciting time for U.S. Snowboarding right now with next-level halfpipe runs and the slopestyle team getting its first shot at Olympic medals. This group of riders has truly shaped what U.S. Snowboarding is all about and is blazing a path into the future. I have to give all my respect to them for their hard work and true dedication to the sport of snowboarding," said head coach Mike Jankowski.
We talked with the athletes as they prepare for to earn thier spots at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia:
Matt Ladley
Matt has three X-Game appearances and three FIS World Cup top-10 finishes.
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Benji Farrow
Benji was named to the U.S. Snowboarding Pro Halfpipe Team in 2012. He placed seventh in the 2013 European X Games.
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Arielle Gold
Ranked second in the world in women’s half pipe by the World Snowboard Tour and finished fourth in the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen.
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Maddy Schaffrick
Within the past two years, halfpipe snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick has competed in three X Games, landing a top-10 finish in each event.
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Nik Baden
One of the youngest talents in snowboard slopestyle, Nik landed a fifth place finish at the U.S. Revolution Tour Slopestyle in 2012.
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Taylor Gold
Taylor is on the U.S. Snowboarding Rookie Halfpipe Team and has ridden in the X Games in France and the Burton U.S. Open.
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Read the full press release from the USSA.