2023-24 U.S. Para Snowboard Team Nominations Announced

By Ryan Odeja

August, 23 2023

Mike Minor competes in the dual banked slalom team event at the 2023 Para Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain. (Alex Franco)

Park City, UT (August 23, 2023) - U.S. Ski & Snowboard is thrilled to announce the 10 athletes nominated to represent the U.S. Para Snowboard Team across sport classes for the 2023-24 season.

This year’s roster is highlighted by the 2023 “Best Athlete with a Disability” ESPY Award winner Zach Miller. Miller wrapped up last season with three medals at the 2023 World Championships in La Molina, Spain with a gold in banked slalom team, silver in dual banked slalom and snowboardcross bronze. Also headlining the team with Miller are two-time Paralympic gold medalist Brenna Huckaby and two-time Paralympic medalist Keith Gabel.

New to the pro team this year are athletes Peggy Martin and Darian Haynes. Martin has been a staple and trailblazer on the U.S. Para Snowboard Team scene for the past 30 years as one of the first competitive snowboarders in the world. Haynes is a surfer by trade but swapped the ocean for the mountains and made a huge impact in her first competitive season, becoming the 2022-23 FIS World Cup overall Para banked slalom champion.

“Our Para Snowboard team has had great achievements the past few years and we are excited to now have these athletes on board with U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” said Anouk Patty, U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Chief of Sport. “The team has the ability to find success on the slopes and we can’t wait to see how they do this upcoming season.”

The U.S. Para Snowboard Team is led by Para Sport Director Erik Leirfallom and newly hired Head Coach Mark “Skiddy” Kelly. Kelly has been in the Para sports world for more than 20 years, including coaching and working as the alpine and snowboard team service tech with the USOPC since 2010.

“I believe the team has what it takes to be very competitive this season,” said Leirfallom. “This group has a lot of great talent and the ability to push each other on and off the slopes. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish with the new resources available to us to help the athletes improve.”

The 2023-24 FIS Para Snowboard World Cup season is scheduled to start with a set of banked slalom races for men and women in Landgraaf, Netherlands at the end of November. Additionally, the team will make stops in Finland, Italy and Germany before finishing up the season in Mt. Sima, Canada. Find the finalized FIS World Cup schedule here.