¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp’s Ski and Snowboard team will be competing at the Annual United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Virginia on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25.
This is the fourth consecutive year for the club to be participating in the regional competition. Fifteen colleges and universities across the mid-Atlantic region will compete in this event in hopes of qualifying for the National Championships in March.
At this year’s competition, 14 Fairfield students will compete in slalom and giant slalom events. Giant slalom and slalom are alpine skiing and snowboarding events where racers have two runs and the fastest combined time of the two runs is the winner.
“The competition level steps up a notch, because every team there is gunning for a coveted opportunity to compete at the National Championships in Lake Placid in early March,” stated senior Luke Tinkham. “There's always a rush of adrenaline competing at regionals because the margins are razor thin, and one mistake could cost you.”
The women's alpine team includes Tess Guarino ‘18, Maggie Driscoll ‘18, Cody Ryder ‘21, Liz Belinski ‘20, and Jackie Conte ‘18 who will compete in both slalom and giant slalom events. The men's alpine team consists of Tom Summers ‘20, Luke Tinkham ‘18, Ryan Carlucci ‘18, Brendan Cary ‘19, and Tom Mitsch ‘18 competing in both slalom and giant slalom events. Snowboarder, Roberto Ramos, will compete in the snowboard giant slalom and a rail jam while freestyle athletes Adam Ostaszewski ‘19, Paul du Toit ‘21, and Brookelyn Conte ‘21 will be competing in the rail jam event.
The club’s performance at regionals will dictate if they compete in March’s National Championship. To qualify for nationals, the organization combines the times of the teams from both the slalom and giant slalom, with the top four teams among the 15 competing advancing to the National Championships.
“I'm excited to see my teammates step up and compete to the highest of their ability,” said Tinkham. “I truly think both the men's and women's teams have fantastic chances to qualify for Nationals.”
Tune into Fairfield’s Snapchat account, fairfieldu, to follow the Ski and Snowboarding Club at the mid-Atlantic regional competition.
