Freestyle NorAm, selections calendars set

Competition schedules for the 2007 freestyle NorAm Cup and U.S. Ski Team selections have been set for the coming winter.
    The NorAm Cup is the freestyle skiing Continental Cup series for North America and a proving ground for athletes aspiring to compete at the World Cup level and higher. Last season Americans won seven out of eight NorAm titles that are awarded in moguls, dual moguls, aerials and ski halfpipe.

COMPETITION SCHEDULES for the 2007 freestyle NorAm Cup and U.S. Ski Team selections have been set for the coming winter.
    The NorAm Cup is the freestyle skiing Continental Cup series for North America and a proving ground for athletes aspiring to compete at the World Cup level and higher. Last season Americans won seven out of eight NorAm titles that are awarded in moguls, dual moguls, aerials and ski halfpipe.
    The schedule includes two stops in Canada before shifting to the United States, with Park City's Utah Olympic Park and Tamarack Resort, Idaho, new to the freestyle NorAm scene, hosting competitions. The tour concludes with NorAm Finals Feb. 16-18, 2007 at Snowbowl, outside Missoula, Montana.
    "It's tremendous that Tamarack, which already is holding a Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix event this season, is joining our freestyle skiing schedule, too," said U.S. Freestyle Program Director Polly-Jo Clark. "We're always looking for new sites, and even though Tamarack's a young resort, organizers are anxious to be part of what we're doing … and we're glad to have them come forward like this to provide our athletes with another opportunity to compete."
    In addition, each winter the U.S. Ski Team hosts selections for qualified athletes from around the country, giving them the opportunity to prove themselves and win a spot on the U.S. team for moguls, duals and aerials. Current national team members also compete to shore up start positions for the World Cup circuit.
    Park City Mountain Resort and Utah Olympic Park will host the selection events prior to the holidays Dec. 17-22 with two moguls contests, a dual moguls event, two aerials and two ski halfpipe competitions.
    "We've changed selections a bit," Clark explained, "because in recent years our freestyle clubs have said their athletes haven't had enough training by early December. So, we've pushed selections back to the middle of the month and then we'll roll into the four NorAms starting in late January, after the World Cups in the U.S. and Canada are over [in early January]."

The 2007 domestic freestyle schedule:

Dec. 17-22, 2006 – U.S. Ski Team selections in Park City, Utah
– Dec. 17 – Moguls at PCMR
– Dec. 18 – Halfpipe at PCMR
– Dec. 19 – HP at PCMR
– Dec. 20 – Moguls at PCMR, nighttime aerials at UOP
– Dec. 21 – Dual moguls at PCMR
– Dec. 22 – Aerials at UOP

Jan. 24-27, 2007 – NorAms at Mont Gabriel, Quebec
– Jan. 24 – Aerials
– Jan. 25 – Moguls
– Jan. 26 – Duals
– Jan. 27 – Aerials

Feb. 3-4, 2007 – NorAms at Beaver Valley, Ontario
– Feb. 3 – Moguls
– Feb. 4 – Duals

Feb. 9-10, 2007 – NorAms at Utah Olympic Park, Park City, Utah
– Feb. 9 – Aerials
– Feb. 10 – Aerials

Feb. 9-11, 2007 – NorAms at Tamarack Resort, Idaho
– Feb. 9 – Halfpipe
– Feb. 10 – Moguls
– Feb. 11 – Duals

Feb. 16-18, 2007 – NorAm Finals at Snowbowl near Missoula, Montana
– Feb. 16- Moguls
– Feb. 17 – Aerials
– Feb. 18 – Duals

— USSA