Over 1,400 USASA members from 40 states marched in the Parade of Athletes as part of USASA's 30th Annual Snowboarding National Championships Opening Ceremonies.


The 2019 USASA National Snowboard Championships are set to take to the slopes of Colorado’s Copper Mountain Resort this weekend to begin five jam-packed days of competition, as well over 1000 of the nation’s best amateur riders have gathered to square off in halfpipe, slopestyle, slalom, giant slalom, snowboard cross, and rail jam competitions.

While the USASA National Championships already holds the distinction as the largest such snow-sports event in the world, the 2019 iteration of the event is made extra special by the fact that this season we celebrate 30 years as an organization. And, with the USASA’s dedication to growing snowboarding at a grassroots level by facilitating competitions, fostering a community amongst our members, and helping to build the next generation of leaders and champions, the next 30 years are looking bright. 

In fact, when you look back through the USASA alumni ranks, you’ll find that since the 2006 season every single rider who has gone on to represent the USA in Olympic competition cut their teeth at some point on the USASA level, which goes to highlight just how successful the USASA has been over the past 30 years in helping to teach and aid the next generation of riders.

When you break down this year’s Championships by the numbers, the size and scope of what the event has become over the past 30 years is truly incredible.

Of the USASA’s 5000+ members spread across our 32 regional series, close to 1400 of the top riders from across the country have qualified to compete in Copper. Those riders are divided into age groups from the 7-and-under Ruggies all the way up to Methuselah 60+ category, as well as the top-tier “Open” class, the adaptive and specially abled categories, and all the other age brackets in between, with all groups featuring competitions for both women and men.

There is truly a staggering amount of snowboarding to be done in Copper this week, and excitement on and around the hill is only growing stronger. The six main venues here on site at Copper will play host to over 150 competitions over the coming days, as the 30 different age and ability groups square off for the 450 medals up for grabs. And, in the evenings, a further 24 medals are set to be decided over the course of four evenings’ rail jam events.

This will be the 12th-straight season that Copper has hosted the USASA National Championships, and with an agreement in place to continue hosting the event through to at least 2022, the Championships are in excellent hands in a good home for the foreseeable future.