PARK CITY, Utah (Dec. 2) – American riders across the country

will take their shot at a World Cup start and perhaps even the

Olympic Winter Games when U.S. Snowboarding holds the inaugural

U.S. Snowboardcross Championships at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort

in Oregon, Dec. 16. (Please note: This replaces the event

previously scheduled at Snow Summit in California.)

The competition, which offers $15,000 in prize money, will

attract an international field and feature top U.S. Snowboarding

riders including World Cup winner Nate Holland (Olympic Valley,

CA), World Championships medalist Jayson Hale (Sierraville, CA)

and women's snowboarding pioneer Leslee Olson (Bend, OR),

looking to make a run at the Games after being on the brink of

retirement in 2004.

"For snowboardcross athletes trying to make the U.S. Olympic

team, this is the biggest event America will host this season,"

said Oregon native Peter Foley, U.S. Snowboarding head coach and

SBX head coach. "This is the first U.S. SBX Championships, and

even more importantly this race will decide who gets to compete

in the final two Olympic qualifying events. Meadows has a bunch

of snow so the jumps and banks should be huge, and I'm super

stoked to have such a big event in my home town."

The U.S. SBX Championships will match the best U.S. Snowboarding

and international athletes with more than 100 aspiring American

riders looking to measure themselves against world-class racers

as they aim for spots on the World Cup, Junior World

Championships Team and U.S. Olympic Team. The top two U.S. males

and females will earn spots in the last two World Cup events,

which are still part of the Olympic qualifying period: Jan. 5 at

Bad Gastein, Austria, and Jan. 14-15 at Kronplatz, Italy. The top

two U.S. male and female juniors will earn their place on the

U.S. Junior World Championships team. In addition, the winners

of the men's and women's events will be crowned U.S. champions...

Read more at www.ussnowboarding.com