U.S. Snowboarding



U.S. Snowboarding, the snowboarding arm of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), is committed to the progression of snowboarding by providing athletic programs, services, and competitions for male and female athletes of all ages, coast-to-coast. Since the inclusion of snowboarding as a medal sport in 1998, U.S. Snowboarding has accounted for 14 Olympic medals, including the sweep of the podium in men’s halfpipe in 2002 and a best in the world performance of seven medals in 2006.

Early years
*The first U.S. Snowboarding Team was officially named in 1994, prior to the 1994–95 season in order to prepare for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, where the sport would make its Olympic debut, however the United States had participated in snowboarding World Cup competitions since the tour was created in 1988.

1965 – Invention of the Snurfer. Snowboarding was born in 1965 when Sherman Poppen created the "Snurfer" by bracing a pair of skis together and riding sideways down his backyard hill in Muskegon, Michigan. Through the late 60s, 70s and early 80s snowboard designs developed with the help of snowboard innovators.

1968 – Tongue-in-cheek, students at Muskegon Community College in Muskegon, MI organize the first "World Snurfing Championship." Hosted at "Blockhouse Hill" in Muskegon State Park, the event draws between 200 and 300 spectators, and becomes an annual affair.

1978 – JEM Corporation, manufacturer of the "Snurfer," sponsors the "National Snurfing Championship" in Muskegon. This is the first competition to offer prize money.

1979 – Jake Burton and Paul Graves compete in the "National Snurfing Championship" in Muskegon.

1981 – Modern competitive snowboarding begins with a small contest held in April at Ski Cooper in Leadville, Colorado.

1982 – Paul Graves organizes the National Snowsurfing Championships

1983 – Jake Burton Carpenter organizes the National Snowboarding Championships

1987 – North American Snowboard Association formed

1988 – The first World Cup is held. Four World Cup events were held with two in North America and two in Europe.

1988 – United States Amateur Snowboarding Association formed. Former amateur surf promoter Chuck Allen incorporates the United States Amateur Snowboarding Association (USASA) in July with a $500 donation from Transworld SNOWboarding Magazine. USASA is the first governing body exclusively for competitive amateur snowboarding.

1989 – The USASA held a Trampoline Snowboarding Contest at Snow Valley, California.

1990–94
1990 – The USASA holds their first national championships. Held in February, at Snow Valley, the worst snow storm of the decade hits just before the event and closes all roads to Big Bear. Amateur snowboarders from all over the country are left stranded.

1990 – The International Snowboard Federation (ISF) forms. Following the collapse of the National Association of Professional Snowboarders, Ted Martin, Kazuo Ogura, and Christian Savioz create the ISF as the sanctioning body for international competition.

1993 – First official World Championships held. The ISF holds its first official Snowboard World Championships in Ischgl, Austria.

1993 – The International Ski Federation (FIS) votes to recognize snowboarding. The FIS votes to recognize snowboarding and plans several events in 1994 with a full-fledged World Cup Tour to start in 1995.

1995–2009
1995 – First U.S. Snowboarding Team named. Created as the snowboarding arm of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, U.S. Snowboarding created a national team to compete on the World Cup tour in preparation for the Olympic Games, where the sport was to debut in 1998. Former competitor Peter Foley was named head coach.

1995 – First World Cup tour held

1996 – U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix created

1997 – U.S. Skiing changes name to U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. When U.S. Skiing became the official National Governing Body of snowboarding in 1997, the organization changed its name from U.S. Skiing to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

1998 – Snowboarding debuts at the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan

2002 – U.S. men sweep Olympic halfpipe podium at Park City, Utah

2006 – U.S. Snowboarding lands seven medals at the Olympics in Torino, Italy

2007 – Center of Excellence Groundbreaking

2010–present
2022 – Foley dismissed

In 2022, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) alleged that U.S. Ski & Snowboard had been interfering with a United States Center for SafeSport investigation into charges by three former American athletes and a former U.S. Ski & Snowboard employee against head coach Peter Foley, who coached the U.S. Snowboard team from 1994 to 2022. U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt pushed back on the claims the organization had interfered in the probe. After former snowboardcross Olympian Callan Chythlook-Sifsof accused Foley of sexually and racially inappropriate remarks in Instagram posts, and others accused Foley of sexual misconduct, he was temporarily suspended by SafeSport, and then dismissed by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. By August 2022, at least five women had made reports to SafeSport regarding Foley's behavior.

2023 — On August 8, 2023, after an 18-month investigation, SafeSport suspended Foley for ten years for sexual misconduct.

Making the U.S. Snowboarding Team
The pipeline to making the U.S. Snowboarding Team begins with young riders competing at regional competitions across the country. Riders can compete as individuals or often as part of a local club organization or team. Most regional competition series are sanctioned by the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA). From local series events, freestyle riders make the jump to the Revolution Tour for halfpipe, snowboard cross and slopestyle.

The U.S. Snowboarding Race to the Cup is the national competition series for alpine riders. Based on results from these and other national competitions, riders earn points through a specified criteria toward qualifying for the U.S. Snowboarding Team.

U.S. Snowboarding names team riders for halfpipe and snowboard cross. The team is named annually, usually in mid summer. The USSA is one of the only Olympic sports in America to support a full-time standing national team in every sport. These athletes compete as a team in major national competitions like the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, X Games, Vans Cup, and US Open, as well as World Cup competitions. Teams for FIS World Championships (held every odd year) and Olympic Winter Games (every four years) are selected by specific criteria and named for those individual events. Additionally, top riders from both the Revolution Tour and Race to the Cup series receive invitations to train with U.S. Snowboarding as part of the Project Gold