The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Snowboard Team qualified 15 riders for the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) National Championships at Copper Mountain, Colo. Friday through Friday, April 1-8.
Program director Andy Gilbert said, "This is one of the largest snowboard events in the world, with five events being held each day and over 1,500 competitors taking part. Sun Valley qualified riders in all five disciplines—halfpipe, slopestyle, boardercross, slalom and giant slalom."
Gilbert added, "Prep Team head coach Jacob Tyler and his staff have done an amazing job help-ing to qualify six riders in three disciplines. Field sizes this year for kids ages 10-12 were the biggest we've seen so this is a great accomplishment.
"The Comp Team qualified nine riders, including Ryan Roemer, who is a contender in all five events and is currently ranked No. 1 in the country for the overall. French exchange student Florian Bourdot qualified for halfpipe—a discipline he had never participated in until coming to Sun Valley."
SVSEF qualifiers:
Halfpipe—Prep: Clara Jenner, Cora Schneider, Dehner Figge, Elk Spencer and Emmy McCune. Comp: Hailey Rheinschild, Ali Appleton, Rex Kelly, Dash Stethem, Florian Bourdot, Chase Josey, Mal Prior (post grad), Cameron St. Pierre and Ryan Roemer.
Slopestyle—Prep: Clara Jenner and Emmy McCune. Comp: Ryan Roemer, Ali Appleton, Cam-eron St. Pierre, Chase Josey and Mal Prior.
Boardercross—Prep: Brooke Beckwith, Emmy McCune and Clara Jenner. Comp: Ryan Roe-mer.
Slalom/GS—Ryan Roemer.
Freestylers at Deer Valley
SVSEF Freestyle Team program director Andy Ware took seven J5 and J4 boys to Deer Valley, Utah last weekend for the first-ever Devo (ages 13-and-under) moguls event at the site.
Ware said, "This was their first time ever traveling without their parents for a competition. Ex-citement was very high. We spent Friday afternoon training in the USSA Center of Excellence training center—the same training center where U.S. team athletes Morgan Arritola, Graham Wa-tanabe and Shane Cordeau work out.
"The boys practiced their tricks on the trampolines and launching into the foam pit."
Saturday's competition included 31 boys and 26 girls. SVSEF freestylers placed second, third and fourth in the J5 division. Jamie Rollerson led the SV J5s in second (9th overall) followed by Blake Harmon third and Hunter Diehl, 9, in fourth.
Brody Buchwalter topped the local J4s with a sixth overall and sixth J4. Eli Roberts was 10th J4, Alvaro Jiraldo 11th and Cooper Roquet 13th.
