Park City, UT (Saturday, May 17, 2003) - Twenty-eight young riders have been named to the Chevy Truck Junior Gold Snowboarding Team, according to U.S. Snowboarding program manager Becky Woolley.

Each year, the Junior Gold Team is selected from the top three freestyle and alpine finishers at both the Eastern and Western Regional Championships. Riders must be born between 1983 and 1987 for alpine and '83-'89 for freestyle to reach the Junior Gold team and, most importantly, receive an invite to train with the U.S. Snowboarding coaches for a week in the summer

Wooley said the team - 13 young men and 15 women - was drawn from qualifying at the Eastern Regional competitions at Loon Mountain (NH) and the Western Regional in Aspen, CO. The 2004 Chevy Truck Junior Gold Team:

ALPINE
Men: Quinn Orb (19; Sun Valley, ID), David Rodman (17; Aspen, CO), Jayson Hale (17; Sierraville, CA), Vic Wild (16; Salmon, WA), Sean Smarse (17; Lincoln, NH), Alex Scherbatoskoy (18; Saratoga Springs, NY), Adam Gibney (18; Bondville, VT), and Shane Carrick (19; Ouray, CO)

Women: Andy Stump (16; Wenatchee, WA), Michelle Gorgone (19; Sudbury, VT), Monica Gemmiti (16; Mount Vernon, NH), Michelle Panagos (19; Westfield, NJ), Katie Smarse (16; Lincoln, NH), Nelle Ward (16; Dorset, VT), Sabrina St. Marie (15; Vail, CO), Elissa Rodman (15; Aspen, CO) and Ashley Nice (18; Gates Mills, OH)

FREESTYLE
Men: Jayson Hale, Michael Kunz (15; Sun Valley, ID), Matt Fortuna (18; Ludlow, VT), Shayne Pospisil (18; Manasquan, NJ), Pat Moore (16; Plymouth, NH), and Yancy Caldwell (17; Sun Valley, ID)

Women: Clair Bidez (15; Minturn, CO), Tori Carrigan Koski (16; Steamboat Springs, CO), Eliza Greene (14; Chester, VT), Krissy Fagen (18; Mount Laurel, NJ), Mimi Kurz (17; Portage, MI), and Elizabeth Shanklin (17; South Bellevue, ID)

“The Chevy Truck Junior Gold program is the grassroots of competitive snowboarding,” said Woolley. “For most of these kids, the regional competitions are their first major competition away from their home mountain – it really is the proving ground for higher competition and their first ticket to possibly making the national team.”

Top names receiving their competitive start with the Chevy Truck Junior Gold program include ’02 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Kelly Clark (Mount Snow, VT), double Grand Prix winner Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) and ’03 World Championship bronze medalist Steve Fisher (St. Louis Park, MN). Among the alpine ranks, Gorgone - two-time World Junior Championships medalist – and ’02 World Juniors bronze medal-winner Eric Warren (Bennington, VT) were once donned Junior Gold status, yet are now current national team members.

“Most of these riders come straight out of their local club,” added Woolley, “but it’s also the local club that supports and hosts the regional events. It really is a huge effort by each local snowboarding community to put the regionals on and in that regard, everyone is really psyched to see how the process works and then also the result – the nation's best snowboarders.”

U.S. national coaches monitor the team members at summer camp with the national team, checking out some of the best talent in the country as these young riders try to prove they belong on the national squad.

“The Junior Gold program is really where these young riders hit out radar,” said U.S. Snowboarding Head Coach Peter Foley. “It’s a great opportunity for the coaches to get a look at who should be on the Junior World Championships team and it gives us an idea of who has the talent to move up to the next level with the help of some coaching attention.”

“Every year I look forward to which athletes will be named to the Junior Gold Team, as it identifies the true up and comers in the sport,” Woolley said. “I love following these riders from event to event and seeing them progress each season. Every year there are a couple of new faces to the scene, and I enjoy getting to know these riders and working with them, their parents and coaches about how to keep them in the pipeline and help them to realize their potential.”