Created: 14 April 2021
The 2021 USASA Annual Silent Auction is all about our USASA community. It’s a celebration of our athletes, our perseverance, and the light at the end of the tunnel.
For the second year in a row, the USASA National Championships have taken a back seat to the pandemic. Through this experience, we have proved that we are flexible and together we can rally around the regional communities of USASA. To culminate the experiences we have shared we are launching our second annual USASA Silent Auction to celebrate what we have all been through and set the stage for a brighter future for USASA.
The funds raised in this Annual Silent Auction will support the Mission and Vision of USASA. We have several new initiatives in light of the past season and the need to provide additional support to our regional series who have been greatly impacted by COVID-19.
If you do not find anything in our auction that you want or need, please consider a thoughtful contribution to one of our Fund-In-Need items, setting up a recurring donation, or exploring our Double Your Donation platform.
Together, we can make a difference!
Created: 31 March 2021
It is with a heavy heart that we share this news with you today.
USASA Alumni Bibian Mentel, who spent two decades fighting cancer while dominating her sport, including becoming the first Paralympic snowboarding champion in 2014, died Monday at age 48 from the effects of widespread bone cancer.
Amy Purdy, a fellow Paralympic snowboarding medalist and friend, video chatted with Mentel and their husbands earlier this month. “Bibian reminded us, all that matters is what we have today,” Purdy said in a recent interview. “She said, ‘Look at us right now. I have love in my life. You guys have love in your life. We love each other. We’ve lived this incredible life side by side. What more can we ask for?’
If you’re wondering what can you do for Bibian now that she’s gone, we suggest helping in her mission and keep her dream alive by giving to help children and young adults with a physical disability to live independently and full of self-confidence again.
Simply click on this donation link https://mentelityfoundation.org/doe-een-donatie and you can easily make a one-off donation to the Mentelity Foundation to keep her dream alive. Just be sure to set your browser to “Always Translate Dutch”
With these donations we can show Bibian that her Mentelity Foundation will continue to help children even after her death.
Created: 10 March 2021
Paralympic Gold Medalist, Noah Elliot, doing some tweaking and testing on Winterstick's custom fleet.
The 2014 Paralympics were on TV as seventeen-year-old Noah Elliott laid in his hospital bed recovering from yet another surgery as part of his battle with osteosarcoma cancer. Chemo treatments had been successful but the damage had been done to his leg and this latest surgery fused his leg with metal rods and bolts in such a way that running and his beloved skateboarding were off the table, forever.
That night in the hospital, he found inspiration in the Paralympics, planting a seed that set into motion an entirely new life for the Missouri native. “I knew that’s what he wanted to do.” Noah said and a week later when a nurse came into his room and asked if he wanted to go on a trip to Colorado for kids with cancer he jumped at the chance. When he landed in Steamboat Springs, CO he met Paralympian Brenna Huckabee, who was also an osteosarcoma survivor. In Brenna, Noah found a mentor, someone he could instantly connect with and consult with as his body rejected the metal and he was faced with the decision to amputate. “It wasn’t a hard decision”, Noah remembers and after consulting with Brenna,“I was ready to cut off my leg and get back to sports again.”
Created: 30 January 2021
Bud Keene, a pioneer in the snowboarding community, has spent the past four decades coaching snowboarders from grassroots groms to Olympic gold medalists; most famously known for coaching Olympic phenom Shaun White and the US Team to 9 Olympic medals. And while Keene has coached a slew of the next generation of freeskiers in his signature BKPRO Progression Sessions he is embarking on a whole new frontier as head coach of the Sierra Nevada University Freeski Team.
“I love coaching skiers as much as snowboarders.” Keene said, “I’m pumped to be working with these athletes,” Keene, known for his passion and charisma, has his sights set on making SNU the place to train for committed student-athletes. “I don’t see why we can’t do the same thing that the Alpine Team is doing, getting kids to compete at the World Cup level and pursue their education at SNU.”
Created: 21 January 2021
A few days before the world shut down due to COVID-19, 23-year-old Senna Leith stepped onto his first SBX World Cup Podium at Big White, BC. Now, months later, as the World Cup Circuit is back up and running, we caught a few moments with Senna and to hear about his journey from Rocky Mountain grom to World Cup rockstar and how he is bringing a little custom Aloha to Donek’s quiver of boards.
You’re fresh off a World Cup podium but how did you go from USASA grom to World Cup athlete?
USASA was definitely the start of my career in competitive snowboarding, I started in the Rocky Mountain Series. USASA was a massive part of my development as an athlete. USASA introduced me to a healthy competitive environment, created countless friendships over many many years, and taught me the value of true sportsmanship and work ethic.
Created: 14 January 2021
“I have Autism and so many friends I made through snowboarding helped me overcome Autism” explains twenty-five-year-old USASA Catskill Series member, Zach Elder.
At two-years-old Zach Elder was diagnosed with Autism and despite the physical therapy, occupational therapy, and applied behavioral science at six years old he still was non-verbal. Parents Rich and Karen Elder along with Zach’s older brother Douglas were avid skiers and spent their weekends up at Windham Mountain, NY enjoying a respite from the New York City hustle and bustle which opened some of the first doors to Zach’s snowboarding career. Windham, NY is also home to the Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF), an organization that provides sports and recreation opportunities for people with physical and cognitive disabilities which seemed like a perfect fit for Zach. “It was great to get him on skis and he loved being on snow” Rich remembers, but three years later, Zach was ready for something new. Zach, who was still non-verbal, made it very clear that he was done with skiing and wanted to snowboard. “I saw kids enjoying themselves snowboarding and I let it be known that I wanted to do that too” Zach recalls.
Created: 07 January 2021
(January 8th, 2021)--United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA), along with Copper Mountain, a POWDR resort, announced today that the annual USASA National Championships, originally scheduled for March 26th-April 8th 2021, has been canceled in support of COVID-19 safety regulations and guidelines. Both organizations are optimistic that the event will be able to be held in the 2021-2022 season.
This historic two-week long celebration of the USASA competition season had been held continuously for 30 years before the streak abruptly ended last year due to COVID-19. Each year the USASA celebrates the top freeski and snowboard athletes from all 31 USASA series with coveted invites to the Championship event. The largest event in the world of its kind, this annual celebration hosts over 1000 athletes each week across all age groups, competing in halfpipe, slopestyle, cross, and rail jam, as well as giant slalom and slalom for snowboarders.
