Deer Valley and Lake Placid to host freestyle World Cups in 2005

Deer Valley and Lake Placid to host freestyle World Cups in 2005{mosimage}The high-flying, high-energy action of the FIS Freestyle World Cup circuit will return to Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT, and Lake Placid, NY, this 2004-05 season, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association announced Friday.

In addition, Lake Placid will host its first snowboard World Cup, featuring all three Olympic snowboard disciplines including the newest event of snowboardcross (SBX), which will debut in Torino in 2006.

2004-05 Domestic World Cup schedule:
FIS Freestyle World Cup, Lake Placid, NY
Friday, Jan. 14 – aerials
Saturday, Jan. 15 – moguls
Sunday, Jan. 16 – aerials

FIS Freestyle World Cup, Deer Valley Resort, Park City, UT
Friday, Jan. 28 – moguls
Saturday, Jan. 29 – aerials
Sunday, Jan. 30 – dual moguls

FIS Snowboard World Cup, Whiteface Mountain (Lake Placid), NY
Friday, March 3 – parallel giant slalom
Saturday, March 4 – superpipe
Sunday, March 5 – snowboardcross

Snowboardcross, described as a ‘roller derby on snow’ because of its non-stop, up-close action on the course, will headline the three-event weekend which kicks off with a parallel giant slalom race Friday, March 3.

On Saturday, riders drop into the Superpipe at Whiteface Mountain (just 10 miles from Lake Placid), followed by the SBX event Sunday. Up to 3,000 spectators from as far away as Baltimore are expected to attend each day’s event, which also will be the first time a domestic snowboard World Cup will be broadcast on network television.

“Hosting a snowboard World Cup continues to be very valuable for us’ said Annette Royle, USSA vice president of events. ‘With the Olympics right around the corner, hosting a World Cup gives our U.S. Snowboarding athletes the opportunity to earn valuable FIS points and potentially quota spots for the Games.’

Lake Placid, which held a snowboardcross and halfpipe event as part of the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games, also has hosted more freestyle World Cup events than any other U.S. venue. This year’s freestyle World Cup will be held Jan. 14-16. Lake Placid has been on the World Cup schedule every year but two since 1985 and also held the 1991 FIS Freestyle World Championships.

‘Lake Placid continues to be a great partner resort by hosting these international events as well as many USSA competitions’ said Royle. ‘As a former Olympic venue, they truly appreciate international competition and do a fantastic job at organizing World Cup events.’

Royle said the same is true of Deer Valley, which hosted the freestyle events for the 2002 Olympics and 2003 World Championships as well as several World Cups. The 2005 World Cup will be held Jan. 28-30. Aerials, moguls and dual moguls will take place on Deer Valley’s 2002 Olympic venues Champion for moguls, White Owl for aerials.

“Deer Valley is one of the strongest freestyle venues in the world,” Royle said. “U.S. athletes have had great success at Deer Valley and we certainly want that to continue.”