US Snowboarding News
PROJECT GOLD RIDERS STEP IT UP AT WINDELLS FREESTYLE CAMP MT. HOOD, Ore. (June 19) – Following touch-and-go weather for the first few days, a perfect halfpipe and three days of sun highlighted a successful 2006 Project Gold freestyle camp for U.S. Snowboarding at Windells on Mt. Hood, Ore. With U.S. Snowboarding’s coaches Mike Jankowski and Rick Bower at the helm, around 34 riders participated in the seven-day camp that will be capped June 20-21 with the final stop of the Chevrolet Revolution Tour. “We’ve been having a great time snowboarding,” said Jankowski, who took over as head halfpipe coach earlier this month. “When we started the camp last week, Bower and I had all the riders write down six goals and they’ve been checking them off all week. The progression has been really quick and as the riders nail their goals, they make new goals.” With the mission of making sure the riders have the most fun while working towards becoming the best in the world, Jankowski said each day begins with a group meeting to organize everyone’s mental goals and set a theme for the day. “After breakfast and our morning meeting, we do what we love to do the rest of the day – we snowboard,” said Jankowski. “The riders decide if they want to progress, and Bower and I are here to help make it happen. We’ve had riders like Chris Waker (Stratton Mountain, VT), who came into this camp barely landing a backside five, now he’s stomping mute backside nines that look like Shaun White. Everyone has stepped it up. The vibe is good, everyone is feeding off each other’s energy and we’re all having fun.” Nick Fuca (Park City, UT), who is attending his first Project Gold camp at Windells, credited both Jankowski and Bower for the rapid progression. “I’m way stoked to be a part of this camp,” said the 17-year old. “The coaches have been awesome. They have a no-pressure style that keeps the fun going and makes you want to get better. There are so many good riders here and seeing everyone land new tricks really pushes you.” The Project Gold camp concludes with the final Chevrolet Revolution Tour event with men’s and women’s halfpipe slated for June 20 and slopestyle to follow on June 21. Winners of each Revolution Tour stop gain an automatic starting spot for the 2006-07 Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, the nation’s premier snowboarding tour with prizes that total more than $340,000.

WINNINGEST U.S. AERIALS CHAMPION ERIC BERGOUST ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PARK CITY, Utah (June 19) – Former Olympic, World Championships and World Cup aerials champion Eric Bergoust (Missoula, MT) has retired from competition after the most successful aerials career in international history – 16 years on the World Cup, four Olympics, four World Championships and 15 World Cup victories. The emphasis, he said Monday, has shifted from planning big jumps to a different kind of jump: he’s planning to marry Sally Jo Beck July 22 in Missoula. they were childhood friends and have been together for six years. “Neither of us is very nervous now,” Bergoust said, “but maybe that’ll come.” Bergoust was an ardent trampoline fan as a youngster, but when he saw aerials footage on ESPN in 1985, he found a new sport. He was the first person through the gate at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary where aerials was a demonstration event; that summer he moved to Lake Placid on his own and was all but adopted by the U.S. coaching staff. He won the NorAm aerials title that season and was on his way. One of the most intense competitors, he would go on to collect the silver medal at the 1997 World Championships in Nagano, Japan, then come back a year later to win the 1998 Olympic aerials gold medal in Nagano. He also was aerials gold medalist at the 1999 World Championships, and was a three-time World Cup champion – 2001 and ’02 in aerials plus the overall title in ’02.At one point, indicative of his dominance in his event, Bergoust owned the three highest scores for an aerials event in history. “He did it all,” said U.S. Freestyle Team Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen. “It’s been fun being around him because he was such a professional, such a hard worker...always looking to do more than the coaches wanted him to do. They’d be looking for him to pull back and ‘Bergy’ would want to do more. And he was a good teammate, which is so important. His record, of course, speaks for itself. We certainly wish him the best.” Bergoust said he had no immediate plans beyond working with Coach Joe Chalmers and local freestyle skiers in the Missoula Freestyle program at the Snowbowl. “Joe’s my best friend and he runs a great program, and I’d like to learn about coaching with him this winter. We’ll see,” Bergoust said. He doesn’t have a “single greatest moment” in his career, Bergoust said, but any list would include his first Olympics (1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, where he was seventh), the ’98 Olympic gold medal in Nagano, and a “Bumps&Jumps” contest at California’s Heavenly resort (also in 1998) when he won after completing five outstanding jumps. Another favorite was any competition in Meiringen, Switzerland, site of the 1999 World Championships.
US ski & Snowboard Assn

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The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will be held in Sapporo, and in Asia for the first time ever.Sapporo has been recognized by the world, and the new Championships history in the making will raise the curtain on this city. Exhilarating competitions will be staged as Sapporo experiences "scorching heat in freezing temperatures" and shares the jubilation and excitement with all concerned in 2007. Link to Site
Sapporo 2007
Ski Assn of Japan

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New Lifts
Big White -Kelowna, BC Big White Ski Resort Ltd. announced the installation of the new Snow Ghost Express - a state-of-the-art $7M six-passenger chairlift, that will be constructed at the base of the popular Ridge area. The Snow Ghost Express is named after the legendary snow covered trees that Big White is famous for in its alpine region. The Leinter-Poma lift will be built using a local Kelowna contractor. "This is the best equipment in the world at this time," commented Resort President, Peter Schumann. The Snow Ghost Express will be the longest six-passenger chair in Canada - 6190 feet, (1862 metres) long, and will whisk skiers and riders to the top in just under six minutes. Situated parallel to the current Ridge Rocket Express, the Snow Ghost will service Big White's most popular runs and terrain. The two lifts combined will generate an uphill capacity of 5,400 skiers per hour (ten passengers every seven seconds) and increases the hourly lift capacity to an impressive 28,000 riders per hour. Bear Valley Ca. a new high-speed lift to the mountain. The addition of the quad lift, scheduled for operation in the 2006-07 ski season, comes as part of Bear Valley’s first phase facilities upgrade plans to enhance and expand the resort’s facilities and nearby lodging. The new high-speed lift, manufactured by Leitner Poma of America, will replace Bear Valley’s Hibernation Chair and represents one of the most advanced, environmentally-friendly high speed quad lifts in production