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New Series Puts Utah Front and Center of Winter Action Sports Viewed 40,933 times
By: Senior EditorPublished for Salt Lake City, Utah (Area-Info.net Jul. 20, 2012)
USSA and Utah Sports Commission partnership brings five events and Olympic Team announcement to Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (July 20, 2012) – Utah will remain one of the nation’s leading states for winter action sports with an announcement Friday of five major on snow events leading up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert, Utah Sports Commission President and CEO Jeff Robbins and U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt made the joint announcement at the Utah State Capitol that the Olympic governing body will bring some of its most important World Cup and Sprint U.S. Grand Prix events to Utah’s Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort, including the official naming of the first ever U.S. Freeskiing Olympic Team. The events are a partnership between the USSA, the Olympic governing body for skiing and snowboarding, and the Utah Sports Commission.
"This action sports series will provide an estimated $15 million in economic impact and $5 million in media value to Utah, and is a welcome extension of Utah's success in continuing its Olympic legacy," Governor Gary R. Herbert said . "The event again underscores why Utah is The State of Sport."
These events will be added to Utah's portfolio of action and motor sports which includes Red Bull Rampage, Red Bull Air Race, Dew Tour, Supercross, Superbike and others.
"Since 2002, Utah has established itself as a hub for both summer and winter action sports," said Jeff Robbins, president & CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "This partnership with USSA and our terrific world-class winter venues is another example of Utah leveraging its sports infrastructure and resources to bring top action sports events and athletes to our state."
HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, together with the Utah Sports Commission, jointly announced a schedule of five major winter action sports events in Utah leading up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
- Utah’s Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort will host events in freestyle skiing, freeskiing and snowboarding with events in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 competition seasons.
- The series will culminate with the announcement of the first ever Olympic Freeskiing Team in January, 2014.
- The events will attract hundreds of the world’s top Olympic competitors to Utah for a mix of International Ski Federation World Cup and Sprint U.S. Grand Prix events.
- Global TV and digital broadcasts of the events will include NBC, NBC Sports, Universal Sports and others with a mix of live, taped and streaming coverage.
- Economic impact of the events is estimated at $15 million with media value of $5 million.
- The events will have a mix of sanctions at the highest levels of the sport including FIS World Cup, Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) Platinum level and TTR World Snowboard Tour Five Star level.
- The core of the freeskiing and snowboarding events is based around the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix tour, now entering its 17th season.
"Utah’s resorts have become a hub for action sports, providing both a great atmosphere for Olympic level competitive events as well as a productive environment for long term athlete training," said Bill Marolt, president & CEO, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. "More and more of America’s top winter sports athletes are making our Utah-based Center of Excellence their training base. We’re proud to bring our Visa Freestyle International World Cup and Sprint U.S. Grand Prix events to our home state."
Jen Hudak, one of the athletes that will compete in the events, is a Hamden, CT native and who trains in Park City and is a 3-time X Games champion and 2-time World Championship medalist in halfpipe skiing. "Eight years ago I moved to Utah with the dream that I would one day be able to compete in the Olympics for my sport of halfpipe skiing - now that dream is becoming reality," she said. "The Olympic culture in Utah truly breeds success and serves as a constant inspiration for me to continue working hard. Winning a World Championship silver medal at Park City in 2011 was one step closer to fulfilling that dream. I look forward to having more events at home to prepare me for the big show in 2014."
"Competing in Utah is home for me," said Emily Cook, a two-time Olympian and seven-time World Cup podium finisher in aerials. "From the world class resorts to the unbelievable fans, there's really nothing else like it on the World Cup circuit. Utah also provides all the athletes with a best in the world training facility and an Olympic legacy that continues to flourish."
Faye Gulini, a native of Salt Lake City and a snowboardcross athlete, will also compete in the events. She is a 2010 Olympian, Sprint U.S. Grand Prix medalist and currently ranked 16th in the world. "Being born and raised in Utah has been such a great experience for me," she said. "Last season when I took second at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix it was such a highlight of my season to be able get on the podium in my home state. It is indescribable to explain the pride and support I feel when I get to compete at home."
UTAH WINTER ACTION SPORTS SERIES
2012-13 Season
Dec. 21-22 – Park City Mountain Resort, Sprint U.S. Grand Prix (halfpipe skiing and snowboarding)
Jan. 31-Feb. 2 – Deer Valley Resort, Visa Freestyle International (moguls, dual moguls and aerials)
Mar. 1-3 – Canyons Resort, Sprint U.S. Grand Prix (skicross and snowboardcross)
2013-14 Season
Jan. – Deer Valley Resort, Visa Freestyle International (freestyle moguls and aerials)
Jan. – Park City Mountain Resort, Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix (halfpipe and slopestyle skiing)
Jan. – Park City Mountain Resort (U.S. halfpipe skiing and slopestyle skiing Olympic Team Announcement)
TBD - Canyons Resort, (U.S. skicross and snowboardcross Olympic Team Announcement)
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