There are six sections a snowboarder can compete in to be in the Olympics: men’s and women’s boarder cross, halfpipe and GPS (Giant Parallel Slalom). And pretty sure most of our eyes are going to be fixed on who is getting on the halfpipe team.
There is a lot of speculation as to who might make the cut for the 2010 Vancouver games. As for the guys obviously we’re all thinking Shaun White, hands down not a problem. But there are still three more spots to fill, so who’s it gonna be? Loui Vito has been on the tip of people’s tongues and Snowboarder Mag seems to think Luke Mitrani has got a promising chance. The Olympic site itself is saying Kevin Pierce is a top dog, but could we maybe see Danny Kass coming back for another round? There are so many people with the skill to bring it against the rest of the world’s teams, it’s gonna be one hell of a show down I promise you that.
Not only are the guys going to be battling it out, but the girls are going to be getting cut throat too. Kelly Clark is going to be looking for some redemption after her heart breaking 2006 run. Kelly threw down a run for the history books in Torino, going as big as the guys and gnarred out on every hit that would have easily given her a gold, until her last trick, a FS 900, she fell and missed the medals. But the reigning gold medalist Hanna Teter isn’t going to let her just take it, nor will silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler. These girls are going to be fighting for their spots on the team against some incredible talent, but once they’re there the fight isn’t over. At the Olympics they can still look forward to going head to head with Torah Bright, who will most likely be on the Australia team and Liu Jiayu for China.
Keep your eyes on the throw down as it happens. There are going to be five U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Olympic qualifying competitions and it all starts December 9 at Copper Mountain. The final stop and the tell all of the entire competition will be at Park City Mountain Resort Jan. 20-23, and by the end of it we will have a shiny new halfpipe team.
Ah! It’s all so exciting, but there are way too many names to list here. So leave us note below and let everybody know who you think is gonna make the team no problem.
