The Snowboard Cross (SBX) Team headed East to Waterville, New Hampshire, during the first week of December to kick off the training and competition season alongside the US Snowboard Team. With the Milan Cortina Games approaching, the US Team was looking for one last training opportunity at home before kicking off the World Cup season in Europe. It was a great opportunity for the SSWSC crew to get to train alongside some of the best athletes in the world – not only to watch how they operate on track, but also to pick up a few pointers from the athletes themselves. Ethan Deters got a few notes from fellow Michigander, and Olympic Gold Medalist, Nick Baumgartner, while Brady Burton got some razzing from US Team Athlete Jake Vedder for not taking better care of his boards (Burton rides one of Vedder’s past race boards).
After the holiday week of training, the weather chose to show up in force for race week. With winds in the high 50’s and 10+ inches of snow overnight, the first NorAm was delayed enough that they were forced to take results from qualifying. Day two, the clouds rolled in thick enough that visibility was less than 25’ and they were forced to cancel. On the third and final day, the weather cleared, the temps dropped, and the SSWSC SBX crew was able to race. Dylan Tuttle lead the way with a 15th-place finish.
While the weather didn’t cooperate, the SSWSC SBX athletes were able to get some valuable early-season training alongside some off-hill adventures that included a quick dip in the Atlantic and some of the best pizza in North America.
December 3 RESULTS
December 5 RESULTS
Photos: (top to bottom)
1. Suited and booted on the third and final race day.
2. Quick dip in the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Best pizza in all the land (which happens to be Coach Alex Deibold’s family pizza).
