USSA sanctions The Honda Ski Tour skiercross

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, will be officially calendaring The Honda Ski Tour 2007 as a sanctioned USSA skiercross event. USSA’s sanction requires the event to be run according to USSA rules, which mirror FIS international rules, under the direction of an approved competition jury and officials.
THE U.S SKI AND SNOWBOARD ASSOCIATION, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, will be officially calendaring The Honda Ski Tour 2007 as a sanctioned USSA skiercross event. USSA’s sanction requires the event to be run according to USSA rules, which mirror FIS international rules, under the direction of an approved competition jury and officials.
    THST is North America’s new elite, four-stop mountain festival and skiing competition that features the world’s best halfpipe and skiercross skiers competing for $500,000. Tour stops are Sun Valley, Idaho; Breckenridge, Colorado; Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., and Squaw Valley USA, Calif..
     The International Olympic Committee approved the addition of skiercross for the 2010 Winter Olympics, in a meeting in Kuwait City on Nov. 28. Snowboardcross made its first Olympic appearance at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino and drew big crowds and excellent television ratings. Skiercross has quickly become popular around the world and is gaining momentum.
    “The Ski Tour is a very high-profile series in the newest Olympic event of skicross and we applaud tour organizers for taking steps to manage the series to international standards,” said USSA Chief Operating Officer Dick Coe. “It’s important with such a high-level series that it follows the same international standards as the World Cup, World Championships and ultimately the Olympics. That standard will be very important for elite athletes as the sport grows in popularity over the next few years.”
    USSA sanctions and calendars more than 3,000 U.S. competitions each season. Sanctioned events, including The Honda Ski Tour, are required to be run according to USSA rules, which mirror the FIS International Competition Rules, including homologation or approval of the courses to meet international standards. In addition, USSA will appoint a technical delegate to oversee the competition, as well as a competition jury and other key competition officials. Participating athletes must be current members of USSA.
    “We are thrilled by the USSA’s decision to sanction our skicross events,” said THST President Steve Brown. “This essentially makes The Honda Ski Tour the proving ground for our future Olympic skicross athletes. This is a great development for The Honda Ski Tour.”
    Athletes confirmed for THST skiercross competition include X Games gold medalists Enak Gavaggio, Casey Puckett, Shaun Palmer, Lars Lewen, Zach Crist and two-time World Cup skiercross champion Tomas Kraus. Fresh from his World Cup retirement is alpine world champion and 13-time World Cup winner Daron Rahlves, who also has victories at the famed Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel and the Lauberhorn in Wengen.
 
Skiercross athlete lineup for THST Sun Valley
Zach Crist
Cody Smith
Justin Glick
Iezza Massimiliano
Lars Lewen
Stanley Hayer
Markus Wittner
Tomas Kraus
Roman Hofer
Enak Gavaggio
Kyle Sul
Chris DelBosco
Casey Puckett
Davey Barr
Daron Rahlves
Clic Bloomfield
Shaun Palmer
Jake Fiala
Eric Archer
Christian Questad
Travis Svensrud
Tyler Williams
Tahir Basic
David Lamb
Chip Knight
Jamey Parks
Brian Long
Nathan Schwing
Matt Murphy
Rob Webb
Griffin Post
Ryan Dean
Christian Wartusch
Olin Glenne
Rick Greener
Luca Cattaneo
 
The Honda Ski Tour schedule 2007
Stop 1: Jan. 11-15, Sun Valley, Idaho
ABC airdate/times: Saturday, Jan. 20, 4 p.m. PST / 5 p.m. MST / 2 .pm. EST

Stop 2: Feb. 1-4, Breckenridge, Colorado
ABC airdate/times: Saturday, Feb. 10, 4 p.m. PST / 5 p.m. MST / 2p.m. EST

Stop 3: Feb. 22-25, Aspen, Colorado
ABC airdate/times: Sunday, March 11, 11 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. MST / 2 p.m. EST

Stop 4: March 8-11, Squaw Valley USA, California
ABC airdate/times: Sunday, March 25, 11 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. MST / 2 p.m. EST