U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named Houston Deck as the Athletic Development Coach for aerials and freeski. Deck’s hiring comes on the heels of completing an internship with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance team and he joins the organization with more than four years of athletic training experience. 

“We’re excited to welcome Houston into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard family full time,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Director of High Performance, Troy Taylor. “Over the last five months as a high performance intern, Houston has proven himself to be a knowledgeable and skilled Athletic Development Coach, and he has showcased his ability to build effective relationships with athletes, coaches, and staff alike.”

Originally from Orlando, Fla., Deck graduated from Florida Southern College with a degree in Human Movement and Performance. He spent two years working under renowned sport scientist Dr. Mike Young at his Athletic Lab in North Carolina. There Deck gained experience working with elite athletes and implementing cutting edge developments in sports science. Following his time with Dr. Young, Deck returned to Orlando and worked in the private sector before returning to school to pursue his master’s degree in exercise science.

Deck came on to U.S. Ski & Snowboard as a high performance intern this past spring and has been working with athletes across all teams. “Since starting here it’s been an absolutely awesome experience working with Tschana [Schiller, Athletic Development Manager],” said Deck. “I’ve worked the most with snowboardcross - Hagen, Faye, Diebold, and Rosie have all been amazing. I’ve spent some time with [Michael] Bingaman and men’s alpine. We have 13 disciplines so there’s a lot to learn, it’s been really fun.”

In Deck’s new position he will be working with athletes of the U.S. Freestyle Aerials Ski Team and the U.S. Freeski Team. He approaches athletic development as a creative opportunity to engage his athletes in different ways. “I’ve enjoyed learning and using the almost unlimited amount of tools we have in our toolbox here,” he said. “While typical athletic development scenarios work, like hitting the weight room, we have lots of unique equipment: the skateboard bowl, the trampoline, the spring floor, etc. I like to be creative in my workouts, like building obstacle courses, so I keep the athlete interested.” 

Deck’s coaching philosophy is getting to know his athletes first as people, to make a connection with them. “Working with other populations can be rewarding, but being able to watch the athletes grow, and them being open enough to have us on their journey brings me goosebumps.”

When not working, Deck can be found enjoying Utah’s outdoor playground hiking, SUPing or mountain biking. He looks forward to the season ahead, his first real winter. “I haven’t been in any weather that’s below freezing really. It’s going to be a real wake up call, winter is coming!”

Top U.S. cross country athletes will join their Canadian counterparts at seven stops for the 2019-20 SuperTour. The tour is a series of International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned cross country events across North America produced by U.S. Ski & Snowboard together with its divisions and clubs.

“The SuperTour is one of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s longest-running event series, and we’ve seen quite a number of U.S. National Champions, World and Olympic champions compete in SuperTour events over the years,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Development Manager Bryan Fish.

The SuperTour is a vital component of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s development program. Leaders of the SuperTour series earn World Cup berths throughout the season.  The SuperTour provides top-level racing at key cross country centers and providing a proving ground for club athletes with aspirations of qualifying for the U.S. Ski Team and competing on the FIS World Cup tour and in the Olympics. 

This season’s SuperTour features five stops in the United States and two in Canada, including the season opener Dec. 6-8 in Canmore, Alberta, and the SuperTour Finals in Vernon, British Columbia, March 26 through April 2. In between, U.S. stops will include Sun Valley, Idaho, Dec. 14-15; Houghton, Mich., Jan. 2-7; Craftsbury, Vt. Jan. 24-26; Minneapolis, Feb. 16-17 as a test event leading up to the Minneapolis World Cup in March; and the American Birkebeiner, in Cable, Wisc., Feb. 19 and Hayward, Wisc., Feb. 22.

A detailed SuperTour schedule, individual event information, and race results are available at USSkiandSnowboard.org/event-series/supertour 

2019-20 U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD CROSS COUNTRY SUPERTOUR
Period 1
Dec 6-8
Canmore, Alberta, CAN
Men: sprint freestyle, 10k classic, 15k freestyle
Women: sprint freestyle, 5k classic, 10k freestyle

Dec 14-15
Sun Valley, Idaho
Men: sprint classic, 15k freestyle
Women: sprint classic, 10k freestyle

Period 2
Jan. 3-7
Houghton, Mich.
Men: sprint freestyle, 15k freestyle, 30k classic mass-start, sprint classic
Women: sprint freestyle, 10k freestyle, 20k classic mass-start, spring classic

Jan. 24-26
Craftsbury, Vt.
Men: sprint classic, 10k freestyle, 15k classic mass-start
Women: sprint classic, 5k freestyle, 10k classic mass-start

Period 3
Feb. 16-17
Minneapolis, Minn.
Men: sprint freestyle, 10k classic
Women: sprint freestyle, 5k classic

Feb. 19
American Birkebeiner
Cable, Wisc.
Men and women: sprint classic

Feb. 22
Hayward, Wisc.
Men: 50k freestyle Marathon mass-start
Women: 50k freestyle Marathon mass-start

Period 4
SuperTour Finals
Mar. 26 - April 2
Vernon, British Columbia, CAN
Men: freestyle TBA classic, TBA, sprint classic team relay, 50k freestyle mass-start
Women: TBA classic TBA, sprint classic team relay, 30k freestyle mass-start

Four U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are headed to the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway for the fourth edition of X Games Norway Aug 31 for a one-of-a-kind big air competition.

U.S. Snowboard Team riders Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn,), and two-time Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) all plan to compete. X Games Norway will serve as Marino and Anderson’s first competition of the 2018-19 season, while Corning will arrive in Scandanavia with momentum on his side after defending his Winter New Zealand World Cup big air title by landing his signature quad cork 1800 melon. 

“This is my second time competing at X Games Norway,” said Corning. “I ended up in third-place last year, so I’m hoping to improve on that and do well this time around. I always take each contest one at a time and try not to think much about the last one. I am excited to get the invited and am looking forward to the event.”

The defending X Games Aspen slopestyle gold medalist Alex Hall (Park City, Utah) will represent the U.S. Freeski Team and is excited to kick off the competition season in such unique circumstances. 

“I’m pretty hyped to be going out to Norway this time of the year,” said Hall. “It’s kind of crazy to be competing in an event as big as X Games at the end of the summer, but it should be really fun. Summer in Norway is always great!”

Event organizers have built the big air jump adjacent to the Telenor Arena and temporarily removed the stadium’s roof panels allowing for skiers and riders to drop directly through the roof of the stadium as part of the in-run to the impressive 130-foot tall kicker. Hall is excited about the opportunity. 

“The through the roof drop-in sounds insane,” he said. “I heard there is a metal beam on the in-run that’s only a few meters above the snow, so it should definitely be a crazy experience.”

It’s a small, but strong U.S. Ski & Snowboard crew headed to Norway for what should be quite the spectacle. Both Marino and Corning found their way to the podium in 2018 and will be looking to take over the top spot this year. 

“I'm looking forward to this X Games mainly because of the unique venue, said Marino. "Last year all of the events were in separate locations and this year all of the sports are going to be in the same stadium. Not to mention dropping in from outside the stadium and coming in through the roof is going to be so cool.”

With four U.S. Olympians on the start list, fans watching back on the mainland are in for a treat. However, with a strong international field including 2018 X Games Norway women’s snowboard big air champion Kokomo Murase from Japan as well as the freeski men’s 2018 gold and silver medalists from Norway, Birk Ruud and Oystein Braaten, U.S. skiers and riders have their work cut out for them. 

For more details on the athletes, schedule and more visit xgames.com/norway.

VIDEOS
The Build Has Begun
2019 Hype Reel

HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via ESPN App, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Aug 31
3:30 a.m. - Men’s snowboard big air eliminations - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App
6:00 a.m. - Women’s snowboard big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App
8:30 a.m. - Men’s snowboard big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App

Sunday, Sept 1
7:00 a.m. - Men’s snowboard big air eliminations - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**
9:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboard big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**
1:00 p.m. - Men’s snowboard big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**

Sunday, Sept 8
2:30 p.m. - Best of Ski & Snowboard at X Games Norway 2019 - ABC

FREESKI
Saturday, Aug 31
3:30 a.m. - Men’s ski big air eliminations - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App
8:30 a.m. - Women’s ski big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App
11:30 a.m. - Men’s ski big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN App

Sunday, Sept 1
7:00 a.m - Men’s ski big air eliminations - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**
1:00 p.m. - Women’s ski big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**
4:00 p.m. - Men’s ski big air - Fornebu, Norway - ESPN NEWS**

Sunday, Sept 8
2:30 p.m. - Best of Ski & Snowboard at X Games Norway 2019 - ABC
 

Aspen Snowmass, in collaboration with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club (AVSC), will host the 2020 U.S. Alpine Tech Championships Mar. 28-31 at Aspen Highlands. The agreement also ensures the return of the U.S. Alpine Tech Championships to Aspen Snowmass in March of 2022. Tech Championships include the disciplines of men’s and women’s slalom, giant slalom and parallel slalom. 

“We are thrilled to bring elite ski racing back to Aspen for U.S. Alpine Tech Championships, says U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of World Cup Events, Lindsay Arnold. “The 2017 FIS Ski World Cup Finals were a highlight for many of our athletes, and U.S. Alpine Championships is always a great opportunity to expose our up-and-coming national talent to the likes of some of the best alpine ski racers in the world, such as double Olympic champions Mikaela Shiffrin, Ted Ligety, and more.”

Mark Godomsky, executive director of AVSC continues, “Hosting U.S. Alpine Championships will be very special for Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club. Not only will our older athletes have the chance to compete with the best in the country on their home hill, but our younger athletes will have the chance to watch, interact with, and be inspired by the top competitors in their sport. We are incredibly grateful and proud of the Aspen Highlands race venue, and can’t wait to share it with athletes and clubs around the country during this awesome event.” 

The last time Aspen Snowmass hosted a U.S. Alpine Tech Championships was 60 years ago, but ski racing runs deep in the Roaring Fork Valley, as the resort not only hosted the first World Championships outside of Europe in 1950, but has been a continuous stop on the World Cup circuit for both the men and women. Aspen also hosted the 2017 FIS Ski World Cup Finals. 

“Ski racing is deeply engrained in Aspen’s heritage and our mountains have seen ski racing triumphs from greats such as Billy Kidd, Franz Klammer, Tamara McKinney, Ingemar Stenmark, Alberto Tomba, and Mikaela Shiffrin,” says John Rigney, senior vice president, Aspen Snowmass. “We are honored to continue this storied history and look forward to providing the best possible races for the U.S. Ski Team athletes and up-and-comers vying for the honor of national champion.”

Prior to hosting the U.S. Alpine Tech Championships, Aspen Snowmass will host the 2020 and 2021 NASTAR National Championships at Snowmass Mar. 24-28, 2020 and Mar. 23-27, 2021. NASTAR is a youth feeder program for the U.S. Ski Team, and U.S. Ski Team athletes set the pace for NASTAR. For the first time, both events will be at the same venue, allowing the top recreational racers to have the unique opportunity to compete side-by-side with the best American alpine ski racing athletes. 

The first NASTAR National Championship was held in the Spider Sabich race arena on Snowmass in the spring of 1998 and the event has expanded to include all age groups from U6 to 95+. More than 50,000 racers will compete at 100 resorts across the country to qualify for a spot at the National Championships. Recreational racers compete within their age and ability group to earn a National Championship title and place in the final, Race of Champions. Each National Champion carries their handicap into the race to compete for the overall win. For more information about the NASTAR National Championships, visit www.nastar.com/national-championships. 

The U.S. Alpine Speed Championships venue announcement will be forthcoming. 

U.S. Alpine Tech Championships Event Schedule
March 28 Parallel Slalom (National Championships) – Snowmass, Colo.
March 29 Slalom – Men and Women – Aspen Highlands, Colo. 
March 30 Women’s Giant Slalom – Aspen Highlands, Colo. 
March 31 Men’s Giant Slalom – Aspen Highlands, Colo. 

The 2019-20 FIS Snowboard World Cup season opened up in spectacular fashion for the U.S. Snowboard Team at the Winter Games NZ big air in Cardrona, New Zealand as Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) defended his title by once again landing a backside quad cork 1800 melon grab on his second run. 

“Being able to defend the Winter Games NZ title feels amazing, but I am happier we just got to ride,” said Corning. “If we did not get to compete today, the contest would have likely been canceled due to weather. Also, I’m really happy to share the podium with Red. It’s moments like these that we work so hard for. Everyone rode really well and I was stoked to watch everyone charge.”

U.S. Snowboard Teammate and Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) finished second, and Kalle Jarvilehto of Finland finished was third. 

With relatively high winds causing a small delay at the start of the competition, event organizers and riders came to the joint decision to run the men’s competition, but with safety in mind, the women would use their qualification results from Friday as the final results. Top qualifier Enni Rukajarvi of Finland was awarded her first World Cup win since 2017, and the fourth of her career, followed by Great Britain’s Katie Ormerod in second, and Norway’s Silje Norendal in third.

The 75-foot kicker was the stage for impressive performances from all riders. Corning was the first to drop for the U.S. and landed a perfect flat spin 1440 melon, a trick that is very difficult to stop the rotation. Gerard followed suit stomping one of the most stylish tricks of the day, a frontside 1440 tail grab.

Rookie pro team rider Luke Winkelmann (Blowing Rock, N.C.) also started the competition strong landing a frontside 1260 tail grab displaying great control in his landing. Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii) continued the U.S. streak of stomped landings with a skillful backside 1620 melon showing the rest of the field the speed necessary to take it to the sweet spot of the landing.

The energy at Cardrona Alpine Resort rose to a whole new level in run two as Corning stomped his signature backside quad cork 1800. Last season at the Winter Games NZ, Corning became the first rider ever to land a quad cork in the southern hemisphere. With a score of 95, Corning would move comfortably into the top spot. Gerard continued the strong U.S. performance by executing a clean backside 1440 triple cork mute grab complete with a very stylish late backside shifty to the satisfaction of the Kiwi crowd. Winkelmann and Farrell would both struggle to bring their tricks to their feet on run two.

Heading into the final run, Americans held down the top-three positions, but the strong international field stepped it up on their last jump making for an exciting finish. First, Australian Mathew Cox would bump Farrell out of the top-three. Then Canadian Nicolas Laframboise landed backside triple cork 1440 with massive amplitude to bump Gerard into third place. Jarvilehto followed with a switch backside 1440, a very difficult rotation, to overtake Laframboise and bump Gerard into fourth place. Finally, Just as he did in qualifications, Gerard showed his ability to be clutch when it matters most and landed a beautiful backside triple cork 1440 to overtake second-place. Corning would remain the top position and claim the yellow bib after the first big air World Cup.

The Cardona World Cup big air was a stellar start to the season for the U.S. Snowboard Team. From all five Americans performing well in the qualifier, to a great finish by Corning and Gerard in the finals, U.S. riders will undoubtedly be fun watch this competition season. Stay tuned for more action from Winter Games NZ as members of the U.S. Freeski team will take to the halfpipe Sept 6-7.

RESULTS
Men’s snowboard big air finals
Women’s snowboard big air finals

EVENT REPLAY 
Men’s snowboard big air finals
 

2019 Alpine Combined and Slalom National Champion Luke Winters (Gresham, Ore.) was victorious under the lights and through the fog in the Winter Games NZ parallel slalom opener Friday night at Coronet Peak, New Zealand.

The men's Europa Cup group (a.k.a. #SlamifestDestiny) has been training at Roundhill and Ohau, New Zealand since mid-August, with excellent training conditions and support from each of the resorts despite a relatively mild winter down under. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard staff—led by coaches Matt Underhill, Ryan Wilson and Josh Benge—together with resort partners, has worked tirelessly to water and prep the surface to allow for world-class training conditions in both giant slalom and slalom disciplines as the athletes get back on snow and dive into the 2019-20 prep period.  

Winters edged out Slovakia's Adam Zampa in the big final for the victory in spectacular fashion, with a tight finish and a near-crash at the bottom. Belgium's Sam Maes—the 2019 FIS Junior World Ski Championships slalom and giant slalom bronze medalist—rounded out the podium in third. 

The group, including Winters, double Junior World Champion River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.), Junior Worlds silver medalist Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, Vt.), Bridger Gile (Aspen, Colo.), Jacob Dilling (Vail, Colo.), as well as invitees Jimmy Krupka (Waitsfield, Vt.) and Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.) traveled to Coronet Peak from Ohau on Friday for the event, and will conclude their New Zealand training camp, heading back stateside on Monday, August 25.

More details about Winter Games NZ can be found on their website. 

HIGHLIGHTS
Winter Games NZ Parallel Slalom Highlight Video

Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii) led four U.S. Snowboard Team riders in the qualifying round at the opening FIS Snowboard World Cup big air of the season at Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand Friday. 

Farrell qualified third, followed by Luke Winkelmann (Blowing Rock, N.C.) in sixth, Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) seventh, and 2018-19 FIS Snowboard overall champion Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) in ninth. 

“I feel great,” said an elated Farrell. “I was so stoked to put my first run down. I had a hard time in practice and almost missed my run, but was able to put it all together when I dropped in. Also, I could not be happier to see all my teammates ride well and make it through. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting finals in the books this weekend.”

Under a blue sky with virtually no wind, Farrell secured his place in finals by putting down a beautiful backside 1620. First-year U.S. Snowboard Pro Team rider Winkelmann landed both of his runs, gradually improving throughout the competition. This is a great trend for the pro team rookie heading into the first World Cup final of the season.

“It feels super good to get that contest rust out of the system,” said Winkelmann. “It’s always nice to land both of my runs at the first contest of the season. Also, it’s insane that there are three other U.S. riders heading into the finals. No other country got more than one, so really excited to ride with my teammates and make a run at the podium. My strategy is to mainly have fun with it and hope to put down another couple of solid tricks.” 

Olympic gold medalist Gerard put the pressure on by falling on his first run, and in a very rare scenario, found himself sitting 28th heading into his second run. On Gerard’s final opportunity, he put his clutchness on display and earned a top-10 score. Corning, who was arguably the favorite coming into the event, landed a solid first run, but it would only be good enough for ninth place. Corning, who won the event last season, will need to put together two strong runs in the finals to catch the competition.

American rider Storm Rowe (Jamaica, Vt.) landed his first backside triple cork in a contest and finished 11th, just missing finals by one position. Rowe held is own in a diverse international field of 35 athletes. Safe to say the future is bright for this young rider. 

Finals are scheduled to take place on Saturday, Aug 24. Tune in on the Olympic Channel to catch the action live.

RESULTS
Men’s big air qualification
Women’s big air qualification

START LIST
Men’s big air finals
Women’s big air finals

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST
Subject to change

SNOWBOARD
Friday, August 23
5:15 p.m. - World Cup men’s and women’s big air - Cardrona, New Zealand - Olympic Channel-TV & OlympicChannel.com
 

For most people, spending 23 hours on an airplane certainly doesn’t sound like an enjoyable experience. But it's just part of the job if you’re a winter athlete looking to escape the summer heat and humidity of Vermont and Massachusetts.

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.), along with U.S. Cross Country Team Coach Jason Cork, recently made the trip to Snow Farm, near Wanaka, New Zealand, to jump back on snow and enjoy the area’s 55k of groomed trails. But most importantly, they were looking for a change of scenery and the unique opportunity to mix up their training regime for a few weeks. 

Following a heavy training block that included The Presidential Traverse - a 21-mile trail run that features 9,000 feet of climbing across all 10 of the mountains in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, Diggins was more than happy to trade in her running shoes for ski boots.

“It’s really incredible to be back on snow, and I’m so excited for this three-week opportunity to continue working on my technique and on-snow classic striding. There are some things you can only really improve on when you’re actually on skis and skiing on real snow, and I’m ready to take advantage of every training day this camp!”
   – Jessie Diggins

While a number of their U.S. Cross Country Ski Team teammates have donned race bibs in a number of roller ski events recently, Diggins and Kern will get their opportunity at the Merino Muster World Loppet race on August 31. In addition, they also plan to participate in a couple of the NZ Winter Games races Sept. 3-5.

“The chance to put a bib on again and practice race-day tactics, dialing in the wax and overall effort is perfect at this time of year,” Diggins added.

Diggins and Kern make the 23-hour return trip back home in September to resume their training programs prior to the next round of training camps for the U.S. Cross Country Team Oct. 7-20 in Park City, Utah, and Lake Placid, N.Y.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is doubling down on athlete physical fitness with its national validated physical fitness testing program, SkillsQuest-Fitness. 

SkillsQuest-Fitness is part of SkillsQuest, a cornerstone program of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Training Systems, designed to motivate and reward athletes in working toward and improving abilities in the key areas of emphasis. 

SkillsQuest-Fitness tests eight physical properties including strength and power, coordination, speed, and aerobic fitness. It’s a holistic view of an athlete’s fitness, and through the data gathered during testing sessions and already amassed by the high performance staff, athletes have the ability to see where they stack up against peers and national team members in their sport.

Alpine athletes on the development team, National Development Group and anyone aspiring to compete in the Alpine World Junior Ski Championships will have to pass a minimum overall standard assessed by SkillsQuest-Fitness by November 1 of this year. Minimum physical fitness standards will be phased into all levels of the Alpine National Team over the next few years. 

“Physical fitness is extremely important for athletic development for athletes coming up the pipeline onto the national team,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. “We want there to be a baseline of physical conditioning that aspiring athletes have as a foundation for them to continue to move forward in our sport. Anyone who has national elite level aspiration should be targeting these SkillsQuest-Fitness events and working on their physical conditioning in the summer.”

“Research consistently shows that improved physical fitness is correlated to improved alpine ski racing performance, particularly in junior skiers,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Director Troy Taylor. “The fitter you are the more quality training you can do, the more quality training you get, the better you can improve.”

“We’re pushing fitness to support quality skill and technical development,” emphasized U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Coordinator Calin Butterfield. “Fitter, more physically robust athletes can train for their sport with higher quality and less likelihood of injury.” 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will offer multiple SkillsQuest-Fitness validated tests across the country before the November 1 deadline. However, these tests are not exclusive to the alpine community. Taylor encourages any ski or snowboard athletes 14 years or older to participate in the events so that they can get assessed and see where they stack up against the best in their age group, their region, or the best of the national team members. 

For more information on registering for validated SkillsQuest-Fitness testing and dates in each region, please visit our registration website.

U.S. Snowboard Team athletes will compete in the first FIS World Cup big air event of the season this week in Cardrona, New Zealand Aug 23-24. 

U.S. Pro Team riders Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.), Luke Winkelmann (Blowing Rock, N.C.), Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii), Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.), and American Storm Rowe (Jamaica, Vt.) are all scheduled to compete.

“I am excited to be back in New Zealand," said Corning. “I hope to bring home a win again. The jump is usually pretty great and if the weather holds out it should be a good contest. Being in a contest after the summer can always be more nerve-wracking than one in the middle of the season, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Big air will serve as one of the marquee events in the Winter Games NZ program, which also hosts freeski, alpine, and cross-country competitions. It has become a tradition to kick off the freeski and snowboard World Cup competition season in the southern hemisphere. Last year, on Corning’s 19th birthday, he stunned the crowd and his fellow athletes with a perfectly stomped backside quad-corked 1800 melon grab on his second run. That was the first time the trick was landed in World Cup competition. Corning’s performance earned him the top spot on the podium. His teammate and PyeongChang Olympic big air silver medalist Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.) just missed the podium, finishing fourth. 

Corning is coming off yet another impressive season where he earned his fifth and sixth FIS Crystal Globes in March by winning the snowboard slopestyle and overall titles. He is certainly a favorite this weekend, but there are plenty of contenders ready to put up a fight including teammate and Olympic gold medalist Gerard. Gerard also had a successful season last winter taking home the gold at the 2019 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, as well as at the 2019 Burton U.S. Open Slopestyle finals. In addition, first-year pro team member Luke Winkelmann is searching for his first World Cup podium. U.S. Snowboard slopestyle and Big Air Pro Team Head Coach Dave Reynolds is excited about the team he has on the ground in New Zealand. 

“We are excited to be back on snow down here in New Zealand,” said Reynolds. “We have a small, but very capable crew out here with four out of our top five ranked riders competing. We don’t get many on snow big airs (vs. scaffolding) and the crew is pumped to get the first big air of the season in the books.”

While this weekend’s original schedule called for qualifications on Saturday, Aug 24, and finals on Sunday the 25th, a winter storm front approaching means that that is all very likely to change. The one window of good weather projected for this weekend appears to be for Friday, Aug 23, when blue skies and mellow winds are expected. With this forecast in mind, organizers and officials have decided to move qualifications up to Friday. And while hopes are high that a fitting finals will be able to go down sometime between Saturday and the Monday weather day, there is the distinct possibility that those qualification results may have to stand in as official results should finals not be possible.

Don’t miss your chance to watch the first snowboard World Cup event of the season. Tune in on the Olympic Channel to catch the action live.

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST
Subject to change

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, August 24
8:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s and women’s big air - Cardrona, New Zealand - Olympic Channel-TV & OlympicChannel.com