16 Riders Named to Olypmic Halfpipe Team - 2006

MOUNTAIN CREEK, N.J. (Jan. 22) – Teen halfpipe superstar Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) and snowboardcross world champions Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, VT) and Seth Wescott (Kingfield, ME) lead a 16-member U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team announced Sunday, subject to U.S. Olympic Commitee approval, following the last Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix qualifier.

Bill Marolt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, said the team – introduced following completion of the final Grand Prix halfpipe contest at Mountain Creek resort – will include nine men and seven women.

Three riders competed in previous Olympics (defending 2002 halfpipe gold medalist Kelly Clark, 2002 Olympic silver medalist Danny Kass and Rosey Fletcher, the first American named to the first U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team in 1998). All Olympic nominations submitted by the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding are subject to the approval of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

White, 19, swept the five Grand Prix halfpipe contests and has energized his sport in recent seasons with his creativity and dynamic rides. Jacobellis and Wescott were SBX gold medalists at the 2005 World Championships.

The 2006 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team (age, hometown, previous Olympics):

SNOWBOARDCROSS
Men
Jayson Hale, 20, Sierraville, Calif.
Nate Holland, 27, Olympic Valley, Calif.
Jason Smith, 24, Basalt, Colo.
Seth Wescott, 29, Kingfield, Maine
Women
Lindsey Jacobellis, 20, Stratton, Vt.

HALFPIPE
Men
Mason Aguirre, 18, Duluth, Minn.
Andy Finch, 24, Fresno, Calif.
Danny Kass, 23, Hamburg, N.J. (2002 Olympics)
Shaun White, 19, Carlsbad, Calif.
Women
Gretchen Bleiler, 24, Aspen/Snowmass Village, Colo.
Kelly Clark, 22, Mount Snow, Vt. (2002)
Elena Hight, 16, Zephyr Cove, Nev.
Hannah Teter, 18, Belmont, Vt.

ALPINE
Men
Tyler Jewell, 28, Sudbury, Mass.
Women
Rosey Fletcher, 30, Girdwood, Alaska (1998, 2002)
Michelle Gorgone, 22, Sudbury, Mass.

Kass and Finch each clinched Olympic Team spots with second-place finishes in Mountain Creek on Friday night and Sunday, respectively. White and Bleiler, who led men’s and women’s qualifiers, narrowly missed selection in 2002.

"Adding snowboardcross brings an incredibly exciting event to the Olympics, and fortunately, we have many of the best riders the world," said U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster. "This is certainly not a one-dimensional Olympic Team. We have a huge legacy to live up to from our success in 2002, but I think everyone will see next month that this team is certainly as strong, maybe even stronger.”

Shaun Palmer (South Lake Tahoe, CA) would have qualified for the Olympic team with a second place in a World Cup, but suffered an injury earlier this month in training in Europe that will keep him out of competition.

Most riders will head to Aspen, Colo., this week for the Winter X Games before heading to Torino in early February for a pre-Olympic training camp.