Training begins on new big air jumps

PARK CITY, Utah – After nine months of construction, athletes took their first jumps into the new Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) on Monday, June 22. A grand opening celebration for the newly renovated facility was then on Saturday, June 27. The event included a special evening performance by the Flying Ace All-Stars, who performed choreographed acrobatics on the jumps.

Originally built in 1992, the water ramps at the UOP are one of the most heavily utilized training facilities of Utah’s Olympic Legacy Foundation venues. The new pool features seven ramps designed specifically for aerials, moguls, freeskiing, snowboarding and big air. The pool itself was also expanded from 750,000 gallons to just over a million to accommodate the new jumps.

“I don’t even know how to describe how awesome this is,” said U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerialist and World Cup champion Mac Bohonnon after taking the inaugural first jump. “We’ve been anticipating this since October 1 when they started tearing all the old jumps down. To take the first jumps with our whole team here is so much fun. The jumps are awesome. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”

In partnership with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (UOLF) launched its “Project Big Air” campaign in 2014 to fund the expansion and renovation. U.S. Ski Team alumnus and philanthropist Spencer F. Eccles also contributed a $1 million challenge grant that jump-started the project’s successful campaign.

“With over 200 donors, making this project a reality was truly a team effort,” said UOLF President and CEO Colin Hilton. “This renovation really exemplifies the community support for winter athletics and our organization’s mission to ensure long term viability and relevance of Utah’s Olympic Legacy efforts.”

Both the USSA and UOLF pointed to the project as an example of Utah’s commitment to Olympic winter sports and showcasing the region’s unique and collaborative efforts to utilize its active Olympic venues.

“We’ve been able to achieve so much in terms of drawing youth into the support and training Olympians with this facility,” said USSA Executive Vice President, Athletics Luke Bodensteiner. “This renovation will expand on that success and allow us to bring all of the freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding elements into the training center. What we’ve put in place is really unique worldwide. It will be an asset for athletes for years to come.”

Just prior to the grand opening event, the Utah Olympic Park hosted the 2015 Olympic Day. This family-friendly festival offered sport-themed booths including demonstrations from the National Ability Center, athlete training in the Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool, Olympian “meet and greets,” bounce houses, arts and crafts and more.

Release courtesy of USSA