U.S. Grand Prix Kicks Off at Mammoth Mountain

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA (Jan. 19, 2016) – The first stop of the U.S. Grand Prix tour will be held at California’s Mammoth Mountain Jan. 21-24. Both snowboarders and freeskiers will compete in halfpipe and slopestyle.

With a fantastic start to the 2015-16 season, Mammoth has plenty of snow in their legendary Unbound terrain park and the 22-foot Main Park pipe is open and ready for world-class action from Olympians such as David Wise (Reno, NV), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA), Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) and Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA).

The event will serve as the first FIS World Cup of the year for both the freestyle skiing and snowboarding disciplines. Points will go towards the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) rankings and the World Snowboard Tour (WST) rankings. Halfpipe skiing and snowboarding finals will be broadcast on NBC with slopestyle skiing and snowboarding finals on NBCSN, along with live streaming of all finals on NBC Sports Live Extra.

“The iconic slopestyle and halfpipe venues at Mammoth are the perfect kick off to the 20^th year of the U.S. Grand Prix,” stated USSA’s Chief Marketing Officer Michael Jaquet. “The USSA is once again delivering an action-packed weekend on the hill and through our extensive live streaming and broadcast schedule. With the next stop in Park City and the Polartec Big Air at Fenway Park, it should be one of the best Grand Prix seasons ever.”

HIGHLIGHTS - Mammoth Mountain

•  History: Mammoth Mountain has been hosting elite-level freestyle FIS competitions for 20 years. Their reputation as one of the best halfpipe and terrain park builders in the world has been proven year after year. The very first resort to boast a “superpipe,” Mammoth Mountain continues to maintain their terrain features with upmost care. 
• Olympians: A host of U.S. Olympians are scheduled to compete at the Mammoth stop of the U.S. Grand Prix, including three-time medalist Kelly Clark and Sochi champions David Wise (Reno, NV) and Joss Christensen (Park City, UT).
• Invited Athletes and Schedule: Check U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing for the most up-to-date athlete lists and schedule.

HIGHLIGHTS - U.S. Grand Prix

• General: 2016’s U.S. Grand Prix events are slated at top resorts that support the progression of freeskiing and snowboarding. Mammoth Mountain, CA and Park City, UT will be showcasing the best athletes in the world on the highest-quality terrain. New for 2016 is a big air event scheduled at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park.
• Network Television: Each stop of the U.S. Grand Prix will be broadcast on NBC and NBCSN. Finals will be live streamed NBC Sports Live Extra.
• Live Streaming: Fans can see it all in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports Live Extra online at NBCSports.com/LiveExtra, or through the Live Extra app on mobile, tablet and through the Apple TV or Roku connected TV devices.
• Sanctioning: Snowboarders will earn valuable FIS points as well as points on the WST Rankings list; Skiers will earn FIS points and points on the AFP tour.

QUOTES

Kelly Clark, Four-Time Olympian
I’m excited that two of my favorite things - Mammoth and the Grand Prix - are coming together again. Mammoth and the Unbound crew always do a great job with the pipe and they have a long history hosting some of the best events in the sport.

David Wise, Olympic Champion
I’m really excited about the Mammoth Grand Prix. Not only is it the first Grand Prix of the season, it’s also the closest event to my home so I’m looking forward to dragging some of my friends and family down to Mammoth to show them what’s going on. Everyone’s been riding really well and progressing and that Olympic contest pressure is off so everyone’s just flowing and I’m excited to see what happens out there. 

Michelle Tomaier, Mammoth Events, Athletes Sponsorship Director
We are thrilled to have USSA back at Mammoth for our 11th Grand Prix. Hosting our U.S. team athletes for training throughout the year, then watching as the world's best compete on a perfect slopestyle course and halfpipe in Main Park is something we look forward to year after year.

EVENT SCHEDULE
Jan. 21, 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Halfpipe Qualifiers

Jan. 21, 8:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Slopestyle Qualifiers

Jan. 22, 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Halfpipe Qualifiers

Jan. 22, 8:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Slopestyle Qualifiers

Jan. 23, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Jan. 23, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

Jan. 24, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Jan. 24, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

U.S. GRAND PRIX TELEVISION SCHEDULE (all times EST)
Jan. 24, 2:00 p.m. – NBCSN – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

Jan. 24, 3:00 p.m. – NBC – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Jan. 27, 1:00 a.m. – NBCSN – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

Jan. 30, 3:00 p.m. – NBC – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Feb. 6, 8:00 p.m. – NBCSN – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix -  Slopestyle Finals (reair)

Feb. 7, 5:00 p.m. – NBCSN – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

U.S. GRAND PRIX LIVE STREAMING SCHEDULE (all times EST)
Jan. 23, 2:20 p.m. – Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Jan. 23, 3:50 p.m. - U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals

Jan. 24, 2:20 p.m. – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix - Halfpipe Finals

Jan. 24, 3:50 p.m. - Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix - Slopestyle Finals