TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — This past weekend, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) was the host of several U.S.A. Snowboard Freeski Association (USASA) competitions where skiers and snowboarders from Sun Valley, Park City, Boise and Jackson competed in both slopestyle and rail jam events.
This is JHMR’s second year in a row hosting these events after a several year hiatus. Athletes competed in a rail jam on Friday, judged on their style and difficulty of tricks on just rails and slopestyle events on Saturday and Sunday, where they’re judged on their style, trick selection and difficulty on both jumps and rails. For an athlete to qualify for the National Championships, they need at least three results in regional events throughout a season.
Jackson Hole Ski Club’s (JHSC) freeride program director Andy Lex wanted to set up two different slopestyle events with the idea of minimizing the travel and financial barriers for athletes to be able to qualify for Nationals. Essentially, athletes who could receive results in the two slopestyle competitions this weekend would have otherwise had to travel for another competition in order to qualify for Nationals.
JHSC snowboarder Ace Emery finished in sixth place in the competitive boys 13-14 division, with Jackson snowboarders Ellis Swayne and Noah Roberston following, with seventh and eighth-place finishes in Sunday’s slopestyle competition. Ellis’s sister Ivy Swain took home a first-place finish in Sunday’s slopestyle as well. Sunday’s bluebird day was also JHSC athlete Zach Lightharts best skiing, as he took home third place and teammate River “Fin” Rohrbaugh followed in fourth in the boys 9-10 division. JHSC skiers Emelyen Baev and Isaac Goralaski were the top finishers out of the Jackson locals for Saturday’s slopestyle with seventh and eighth-place finishes.
The JHSC Freeride Program will also host the Jackson Hole Junior IFSA Regional competition in Toilet Bowl Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 20-22 at JHMR.
