3.9 - [RELEASE] USCSA 2015 National Championship Recap

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Sullivan

LauraSullivan@uscsa.com

BEND, Oregon. – MARCH 9th, 2015.  The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) finished its 5-day long annual Collegiate National Championship on Saturday March 7th. Mt Bachelor served as host for all events over the five days of exciting competition.

A record breaking 513 Collegiate athletes representing 70 universities across 6 regions competed in 24 events within a 5-day period. This championship represents the best collegiate athletes from around the country. USCSA has member schools in every geographic region of the United States. Events include Giant Slalom, Slalom, Cross-Country Sprints, Cross-Country Relays, Cross-Country Distance, Slopestyle, Skier Cross, Snowboard Cross and a Rail Jam.  For a complete schedule of events, news, results, and list of schools, please go to the official USCSA website at www.uscsa.com.

Alpine teams competed in 5 events on the Thunderbird trail. Sierra Nevada College took home 5 national championship titles, winning Men’s and Women’s Slalom and Giant Slalom titles. These victories also secured overall National Championship titles for both the Sierra Nevada men and women. On Saturday teams competed in a head to head team Dual Slalom. For the first time every Alpine team participated in the elimination bracket; teams were seeded based on their Slalom finish. After several nail-biting heats, St Olaf College’s women and Rocky Mountain College’s men finished the day as National Champions. According to John Jacobs of Reliable Racing Supply and guest member of the USCSA Board of Directors, “Team and individual head-to-head slalom is a collegiate alpine sport discipline unique to USCSA. For many of us who watched the 2015 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships at Vail•Beaver Creek, the Team Parallel Slalom event was perhaps the most exciting event to see. The same can be said for the 2015 USCSA National Championships. Even though the results do not count for combined and Presidents Award podiums, school pride is on the line and the athletes were racing all out! The new 5-person team single run elimination format added a new element of drama and excitement, whereby the winner of the 5^th run often decided which team would move on to the next round! We are delighted to add this exciting aspect of alpine ski racing to USCSA, which puts this organization at the cutting edge of collegiate snowsports competition.”

Snowboard and Freeski athletes were given the chance to compete in 4 unique events during the week: a Rail-Jam, a Slopestyle, A Boarder/Skier Cross, and Snowboard Giant Slalom. Westminster College and Sierra Nevada  College traded event team Championships all week, with Rocky Mountain College continuing their strong Skier Cross performance by taking home Men’s and Women’s National Championships in that event. Westminster won the overall Men’s Women’s Snowboarding National Championship, and Sierra Nevada took home overall titles in Men’s and Women’s Freeski. Doug Grayson the USCSA Technical Delegate for all Snowboard and Freeski events, said, "The venue of Mount Bachelor, USCSA, and the dedicated athletes who attended this year's National Championships have truly raised the bar for collegiate Snowboarding and Freeski. The tricks were bigger and the speeds were higher than any of the Championships events that I have attended previously. The large contingency of teams that made the trip to Oregon this year just confirms that Freeski and Snowboarding in the USCSA is no longer on the sidelines of winter athletics, but they are now in a league of their own for all the right reasons!"

Nordic teams competed in three events at the base of Mt Bachelor surrounded by the towering volcanoes that dominate the landscape. The University of Wyoming and St Olaf College each took home event championships. In the end, the University of Wyoming’s Men and St Olaf College’s Women were crowned overall team National Champions. After the events, Christi Boggs, USCSA Vice President of Nordic, said, “I want to thank all the volunteers, especially Dan Simoneau, for all their hard work. I got a great deal of positive feedback from multiple athletes and coaches that this was the best nationals ever! I also would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers for helping to produce such a wonderful event”

The Men’s and Women’s President’s Award, given to the team with the highest combined Alpine and Nordic scores, were both awarded to St. Olaf College. For the first time, USCSA also awarded the Military Cup to the top  combined score from the armed services academy team present at the National Championships. In its inaugural year, the award was won by The United States Air Force Academy.

“The United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships were some of the best we've ever had. Our competition level continues to increase across the board and participation also continues to grow. The partnership with Mt. Bachelor and MBSEF was fantastic. These events are very challenging to plan for and Mt. Bachelor really stepped up to that challenge. We had a lot of goals for improving the event this year, and we were able to attain all of those goals. The biggest of which was a simultaneous broadcast of all 3 disciplines. Many thanks go out to the Athletes, those that support the Athletes, the USCSA Staff, USCSA Volunteers, MBSEF, and Mt. Bachelor,” Said USCSA President Andy Rangen.

Teams begin their quest to qualify for the U.S. Collegiate Skiing and Snowboarding National Championship^TM in their local conference competitions – held across 11 conferences spanning the nation. Top teams from each conference attend one of 6 regional championships, which decide who ultimately qualifies to participate in events held this week. Results from all events can be found at www.uscsa.com, and archives of the live video and audio broadcasts can be found at http://broadcast.uscsa.com.

The USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate team ski racing and Snowboarding in America. The USCSA believes that student-athletes of all levels and abilities should have access to quality and exciting venues of competition. Team performance is emphasized within the USCSA, a departure from the typical individual or world cup scoring format often found in skiing. USCSA athletes agree that this team orientation fosters a team approach across their collegiate athletic and academic careers, and often the mentality proves indispensable in their adult lives and careers. The organization includes 178 colleges from coast to coast, fielding over 5,000 male and female, Alpine, Freeski, cross-country, Snowboarding and Nordic ski jumping athletes in over 300 events annually.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Laura Sullivan at laurasullivan@uscsa.com