College skiers, snowboarders face off at Mt. Bachelor
College winter sports athletes from across the nation have converged on Mt. Bachelor for this year’s Collegiate National Ski and Snowboard Championship.
According to The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) the numbers are record-breaking.
USCSA president Andy Rangen said Friday the competition has drawn 550 athletes who have traveled from all over the country, from 50 to 60 colleges.”
Mt. Bachelor is hosting the event for the second time in the 39 years of competition.
“A lot of athletes, especially those from flatter lands, like the Midwest and even parts of the East and Southeast are saying that they’ve never seen anything like this — three feet of snow and waist-deep powder,” Rangen said. “So there’s some added benefit there, in addition to the competition this week.”
This year, there are 24 events in total. Ranger said after nearly four decades, the competition has evolved.
“It started as alpine, only alpine and slalom and GS, with some Nordic as well, and then it just continued to grow,” Rangen said. “Obviously as snowboard and free ski became much more popular, we adopted those events.”
Now competitors are taking chances and trying new things. Wayne Randolph said his daughter, Dana, has been skiing for years, but not in head-to-head races.
“She’s really excited about racing against other people, though, so it will be interesting. She’s really competitive, so we’ll see how that goes,” he said.
Dana Randolph took second and moved on to the next heat. The week is competitive, but for the athletes, it’s also about having fun.
Race results and information can be found at the links below:
http://www.uscsa.com/national-championships.html
