Created: 23 January 2020
Kiernan Fagan nabbed a gold and silver medal at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 (OIS - Queenbourough)
TEAM USA FREESKI
The Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 wrapped up with five Team USA members earning six medals. Team USA was led by U.S. Freeski Pro Team member and Maine Mountain Series freeskier Kiernan Fagan who backed up a gold medal in slopestyle with a silver medal in big air.
"It definitely was an awesome day," said Kiernan. "I'm really stoked to back up my slopestyle gold with another medal in big air! I was super hyped to throw down one of my biggest tricks (triple cork 1440 mute). The energy was really high today and it was amazing to see everyone send it."
U.S. Freeski Rookie Team and New Hampshire Series freeskier Hunter Henderson, finished behind Kiernan in slopestyle taking home a bronze medal. Sharing the podium was a special moment for both Kiernan and Hunter, who have been skiing together and pushing each other since childhood throughout USASA New England regional series events.
The halfpipe proved to be another site of success for Team USA freeskiers with U.S. Freeski Rookie Team and Aspen Snowmass Series freeskier Hanna Faulhaber earning bronze and Rocky Mountain Series athlete Hunter Cary taking home silver.
Maine Mountain Series alum, Dusty Henricksen wowed judges to win gold in men's slopestyle. (OIS - Ben Queenborough)
TEAM USA SNOWBOARD
U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team and Maine Mountain Series rider Dusty Henricksen took top honors in slopestyle earning the sole medal for the Team USA snowboard team.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Dusty. “It’s been such a crazy experience since I arrived in Lausanne and I’m super stoked to be representing Team USA. I’m super grateful to have this once in a lifetime experience competing out here and hyped to walk away with the gold. I honestly couldn’t ask for more.”
Rocky Mountain Series’ rider Jack Coyne had a solid top-ten finish landing in eighth place.
On the women’s side, U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Ty Schnorrbusch led Team USA with a sixth-place finish in slopestyle followed by teammate and Midwest Best Series alumna Courtney Rummel in seventh.
In halfpipe, Unbound Series halfpipe star, Tessa Maud finished just shy of the podium in fourth place. Coyne would also finish just outside podium contention in fifth-place. Coyne put up solid results in both slopestyle and halfpipe.
RESULTS
FREESKI
Men's freeski slopestyle
Women's freeski slopestyle
Men's freeski halfpipe
Women's freeski halfpipe
Men’s freeski big air
Women’s freeski big air
SNOWBOARD
Men's snowboard slopestyle
Women's snowboard slopestyle
Men's snowboard halfpipe
Women's snowboard halfpipe
Men’s snowboard big air
Women’s snowboard big air
FREESKI & SNOWBOARD MEDALS
Kiernan Fagan: Men’s freeski slopestyle - Gold | Men’s freeski big air - Silver
Hunter Henderson - Men’s freeski slopestyle - Bronze
Hanna Faulhaber - Women’s freeski halfpipe - Bronze
Hunter Carey - Men’s freeski halfpipe - Silver
Dusty Henricksen - Men’s snowboard slopestyle - Gold
Created: 22 January 2020
Sierra Nevada University senior, Gabby Dodd grew up skiing in Durango, Colorado but didn’t discover her love for competition until her first year on the SNU Freeski Team. Known for its programs in entrepreneurial leadership and outdoor recreation leadership, Sierra Nevada University is one of the few programs that offer students, like Gabby, the opportunity to balance freeskiing and snowboarding competition with a full-time college education. As part of the SNU Team, Gabby and her teammates ski nearly every day of the week at any one of the nine local resorts Tahoe has to offer and SNU’s class offerings make scheduling easy. Despite a stacked semester of school and Nationals ahead of her, we managed to snag a few precious moments with Gabby to chat college-life, ski-life and what’s ahead.
Created: 06 January 2020
2020 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Last season the USASA celebrated 30 years of Excellence, Respect, and Fun at our 3Oth annual USASA National Championships! This was a huge milestone for USASA and also a good time to reflect and try to improve for the future.
Looking forward to the 2020 USASA National Championships we are reviewing our current competition groups and daily schedules and have made some adjustments to create the best experience for all in attendance. These finalized event schedules will be available in early February once we have a better understanding of national membership numbers in each age group.
Created: 05 December 2019
Live Like Sam and USASA recently partnered on the USASA National Merit Scholarship Competition, providing five lucky winners with a prize pack valued at $1,500.
We received 150 incredible submissions from talented young athletes all over the country, all of whom embodied the Live Like Sam guiding principles and USASA core values of excellence, respect, and fun in their own special way. Of these 150 applicants, five were selected from each of the USASA regional series:
Each winner will have all entry fees to their respective regional competitions covered for the upcoming 2019 – 2020 winter season. And, if they qualify, each winner will also have their entry fees for the USASA National Championship in Copper Mountain, Colorado paid in full.
Created: 27 November 2019
It's #GivingTuesday and USASA is looking to raise $10,000 in just one day! Help us support the grassroots development of the next generation of snowboarders and freeskiers!
Created: 25 November 2019
Big Mountain West rider and the newest member of the Donek Snowboards SBX team, Anna Miller, took a few minutes out of her busy fall schedule to chat with us about winning the 2019 USASA National Championships for the second time and to share some of her earliest USASA memories.
What was your first USASA event and what was that experience like?
My first USASA event had to have been in Grand Targhee, Wyoming about 10 years ago. It was a boardercross event, and I had no idea what I was doing. But my coach at the time, Lane Clegg, told me to always ride on the small side of the stubby and he additionally informed me that, "if you're not first you're last". I remember the course having this big uphill section that I had to jump up every single run because I didn't have enough speed to make it up. It was very nerve wrecking for me. But from that event on, I never wanted to stop competing and traveling to such beautiful mountains, interacting with likeminded individuals, and pushing myself to the limits of my abilities.
Created: 15 November 2019
By Andrew Gauthier
October, 31 2019
This Dec. 20-21, Atlanta’s SunTrust Park will transform into a ski and snowboard destination for the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover. We are not talking about a chairlift serviced resort, or a backcountry powder-filled peak, but rather a 15-story steel structure covered in snow featuring a massive kicker designed to launch the world’s best freeskiers and snowboarders for international World Cup big air competition.
So the question is, why Atlanta? Why build a ski slope in a city that doesn’t always embrace the snow? In a January 2017 article in Curbed Atlanta, the mere presence of snow was referred to as “the devil’s dandruff,” yet here we are just 50 days out from Olympic snowboard gold medalists Jamie Andreson and Red Gerard dropping in at SunTrust Park with hopes of topping a World Cup podium. So again...why Atlanta?
