Created: 04 August 2020
The Southwest Freeride Series is a family affair for series directors Tiffany and Tony Hinojosa. “Our series, be it participants, parents, volunteers, and judges, all come together to support one another on the snow and off. We are more than a series. We are a family.” says Tiffany. For the last five years, Tiffany and her husband Tony along with son and daughter Diego and Ela have run the Southwest Freeride Series but long before that, when Tiffany and Tony were just teenagers they were competitors in that very series. Tiffany, now a mother of two up-and-coming USASA competitors, still competes in both snowboarding and in roller derby as part of the Los Alamos Derby Dames and her experience as a lifelong competitor combined with her series director chops, gives her great perspectives on all sides of competition and how through competing on winter weekend as part of the Southwest Freeride Series bonds as thick as blood are formed on the hill and in the gates. We sat down to learn a little more about Tiffany and what makes her tick.
We know that series directors wear many hats and that running a series is a passion project, what does your life look like and what do you do when you’re not running USASA events? Helping to run our series takes up the majority of our time for about 4 months. In the offseason, I play Roller Derby with the Los Alamos Derby Dames to keep me active. I also enjoy reading, drawing, dancing, and playing my guitar when I have downtime.
How did you become a series director? My husband talked me into it.
Husband and co-series director, Tony Hinojosa, lining up the next generation.
What is your favorite part of being a Series Director? The best part is knowing that we are giving back to the snowboarding/freeskiing community. Snowboarding has been a huge influence in my life and the directions it has taken me. I wouldn't be who I am, where I am, or whom I'm with if it hadn't been for snowboarding.
Do you have any standout moments or memories from events? Probably the best memory is the one with a little girl who was scared to take one of the jumps. I got down on a knee to explain to her that taking the jump wasn't for everyone else, this was for her. I told her that she could choose to roll over the jump or go for it, but either way, as long as she was proud of what she had accomplished, that's what we were here for. She put on her goggles and went for it. I was so excited that she decided that she wanted to step it up, for herself.
What is a typical “day in the life” when you're hosting an event? Typical days are actually typical weeks. Tony and I have a routine that we follow each week to ensure our events go as smoothly as possible. Each day of the week we follow a checklist of things to do before the event. Some of what I do is getting change for the event, determining prizes for the week, purchasing snacks/lunches, posting event info on Instagram, etc. We then head to our location on Friday after I get off of work to make sure we are there early in the morning for unloading and set up. I work closely with Tony the entire time to coordinate the events. I'm on the inside/behind the scenes with things like registration, start lists, judge sheets, website updates, results, names for drawings, and also supporting Tony throughout the event. After the event, either that night or the next, I'm making sure results are uploaded, verifying, saving judge sheets/timing sheets, and ensuring all paperwork has been completed, verified, and stored.
The Southwest Freeride Series family in full effect!
How do you see USASA impacting the lives of your community of competitors? Not every kid is a team sport kind of kid. It's great to see individuals that can excel as an individual but have the support of a team with our series. Our series, be it participants, parents, volunteers, and judges, all come together to support one another on the snow and off. We are more than a series. We are a family.
Favorite part of USASA Nationals? Best part of Nationals is that it takes our little events and puts it over the top. Being able to see kids, and those young at heart, riding from all over the country together, is an awesome sight.
Tiffany and Tony taking home some USASA National Championships hardware.
I've seen you and Tony on the podium at Nationals, can you talk about your experience as a USASA competitor too? I started competing with Tony when I was in High School. And continued to compete on and off throughout the rest of my life. It's been a wonderful experience to see both sides of the events and be able to use that experience to improve how we do things as series directors.
Created: 23 July 2020
USASA ASSURANCE PROGRAM (TERMS & CONDITIONS)
USASA Membership Assurance provides peace of mind for USASA members to purchase a competitor, official or judges membership for the upcoming 2020-2021 season. In the event a 2020/2021 USASA Member is not able to use their membership, due to a series, resort, or event closure due to COVID-19, the USASA will honor the membership for the following 2021-2022 season.
UNUSED 2020/2021 USASA MEMBERSHIPS MAY BE DEFERRED FOR CREDIT TOWARD A USASA 2021/2022 MEMBERSHIP
Created: 14 July 2020
The Owens Family celebrating the finish of the 2020 Southern Vermont Series Season at Okemo (pictured from left to right, Maggie, Leslie, Amy, Kevin, Harrison).
Fourteen-year-old Maggie Owens’s homework assignment was simple, make a video about something you’re passionate about and explain what it means to you. The Fairfield, CT native immediately thought about the weekends she spent competing at USASA, “I wanted the video to show what I love about my winters in Vermont with my family and how much I love competing every weekend with my snowboard friends” Maggie said as she set out to capture what she and her twin sister Leslie experience as part of the competitive and tight-knit Breaker Girls snowboard division in the Southern Vermont Series.
Created: 06 July 2020
Meet the Southwest Series’ Pepper Family. Parents Billy and Jenna along with Porter, 14 (Breaker Snowboarder), and Ry, 11 (Menehune Snowboarder), Delmar, 7 (Ruggie Freeskier) relaxing after a big day at Nationals 2019.
Five years ago, Billy and Jenna Pepper along with their three young boys lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and started a USASA journey that would change their lives. Their oldest son, Porter who was nine at the time, fell in love with snowboarding and after spending two years shuttling the whole family the three hours from Albuquerque to New Mexico resorts Billy and Jenna decided it was time for a change. “Competing at USASA events was such a fun way to spend the weekend, we totally reshaped our lives around it and being in the mountains,” Billy said.
Created: 24 June 2020
SNU Claiming another USCSA National Championship Title.
Nestled in the heart of Lake Tahoe, CA, Sierra Nevada University, is a small and nimble educational institution. Long before COVID-19 was our new reality and distance learning and training programs were being sought out by every school, SNU was ahead of the curve. In the fall of 2019, Chris DeLeon, SNU’s Athletic Director, and Women’s Head Soccer Coach saw the need for SNU’s soccer and snow athletes to have consistent training and access to coaches while away from campus. Enter Volt Athletics, a digital training platform that allows coaches, trainers, and athletes to track, tweak and monitor programs and performance from afar. SNU became one of the first small schools to Beta test this Seattle, Washington based Gatorade fueled app which has changed the game for SNU student-athletes.
Created: 24 June 2020
Capt. Jack Gouge, an Air Force Special Tactics Officer assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron at Fort Benning, Georgia, is leading outreach efforts to collect over a thousand pounds of food and supplies for COVID-19 relief in Puyallup, Washington.
The STO is currently serving as the Director of Global Outreach and Community Impact at Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup, Washington as part of the Department of Defense’s Career Skillbridge program.
Created: 10 June 2020
By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Over the past two decades, United States of American Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) Executive Director Mike Mallon has served tirelessly in a wide range of roles that have had a direct impact on the success of freeski and snowboard athletes. Mallon was honored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard with its John Clair Award Award for service to the national team.
