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Mammoth to host national championships

Tahoe Daily Tribune Staff Reports

USSA and Tribune reports

PARK CITY, Utah – The 2005 U.S. Championships’ schedule has been set for all four sports, the U.S. Ski Team announced Thursday. Among the selections was Mammoth Mountain for the U.S. Alpine Championships on March 29 thorugh April 5.

The alpine championships wrap up the season at Mammoth Mountain. Mammoth hosted a leg of the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix for several seasons and shows great support for the U.S. Ski Team each spring and fall when the team heads to the resort for training.



Mammoth Mountain Ski Club was recognized as this year’s USSA Alpine Club of the Year.

South Shore’s Jonna Mendes, a U.S. Ski Team veteran, made her World Cup debut at Mammoth and will try to repeat her national downhill championship at the mountain she knows very well.



U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Vice President of Events Annette Royle said the events are returning to venues with strong affiliations to USSA and a solid history of hosting world-class events.

“These are venues and clubs which have shown tremendous dedication to USSA,” Royle said. “We’re truly looking forward to staging our championships at these fantastic venues. I know they will host outstanding competitions.”

The other choices are:

– March 24-27, 2005 – U.S Freestyle Championships, Bogus Basin Mountain Resort, Idaho.

– Jan 3-10, 2005 – U.S. Cross Country Championships, Soldier Hollow, Utah (including the U.S. Disabled Cross Country Championships)

– March 24-25, 2005 – U.S. Jumping/Nordic Combined Championships, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

The U.S. Freestyle Championships return to Bogus Basin, which hosted the championships in 2002. Royle described Bogus Basin as one of the “great local ski areas in the country.”

South Lake Tahoe’s Travis Cabral won two national freestyle titles at this year’s championships at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

Soldier Hollow will host the U.S. Cross Country Championships for the second time since 2000. Soldier Hollow also hosted a World Cup in 2001 and the Olympics in 2002. Last year, it played host to the Under-23 Championships and is slated to host the U.S. Championships again in 2006.

Steamboat will host the jumping/Nordic combined championships for the fourth consecutive year. Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, which recently won the USSA cross country and snowboard Club of the Year awards, was also the recipient of the USSA Gold Award as overall Club of the Year. Steamboat hosted 90 event days during the 2003-04 season.

The uniqueness of the championships is that they allow aspiring World Cup competitors to participate against proven veterans.

“Every athlete wants to win a U.S. title, whether they are a veteran or a development team member,” Royle said. “The U.S. Championships are particularly exciting because they offer the opportunity to see up-and-coming American athletes compete alongside our World Cup competitors. These younger skiers get a chance to measure themselves against World Cup racers and Olympians, and of course, the championships give the U.S. coaches an opportunity to see these athletes who are moving toward the U.S. Ski Team.”


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