With just over a year left until the highly-anticipated 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the U.S. Freesking team has announced a stacked team to take on the 2016-17 season. Within the team are eight different groups: men’s halfpipe pro team; women’s halfpipe pro team; men’s The North Face halfpipe rookie team; women’s The North Face halfpipe rookie team; men’s slopestyle pro team; women’s slopestyle pro team; men’s The North Face rookie slopestyle team; women’s The North Face rookie slopestyle team.
With a surplus of talented American athletes in the running, and tons of Olympic qualifiers going down this season, choosing who made the cut wasn’t easy. To make decisions a bit clearer, the following criteria from the Discretionary Selection Policy are used: opportunities previously provided to an athlete in relationship to results; attitude and commitment; outstanding results based on strength of field; relative Association of Freesking Professionals Ranking; physical fitness level; injuries.
Below, find the full lists of athletes comprising the 2016-17 U.S. Freesking Team. Among them are six Olympic medalists: David Wise, Maddie Bowman, Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy, Devin Logan and Nick Geopper. Additionally, some highly-notable 2016 X Games athletes made the cut such as Torin-Yater Wallace, Alex Ferreira, Bobby Brown and Annalisa Drew.
The 2016-17 U.S. Freesking Team
Men’s halfpipe pro team
- Wing Tai Barrymore—Sun Valley, Idaho
- Aaron Blunck—Crested Butte, Colorado
- Lyman Currier—Boulder, Colorado
- Alex Ferreira—Aspen, Colorado
- Gus Kenworthy—Telluride, Colorado
- David Wise—Reno, Nevada
- Torin Yater-Wallace—Basalt, Colorado
Women’s halfpipe pro team
- Maddie Bowman—South Lake Tahoe, California
- Annalisa Drew—Andover, Massachusetts
- Devin Logan—West Dover, Vermont
- Brita Sigourney—Carmel, California
Men’s The North Face halfpipe rookie team
- Jacob Beebe—Bend, Oregon
- Cameron Brodrick—Mammoth Lakes, California
- Hunter Hess—Bend, Oregon
- Jaxin Hoerter—Breckenridge, Colorado
- Birk Irving—Winter Park, Colorado
- Jake Mageau—Bend, Oregon
Women’s The North Face halfpipe rookie team
- Anna Gorham—Bend, Oregon
- Abigale Hansen—June Lake, California
- Carly Margulies—Mammoth Lakes, California
Men’s slopestyle pro team
- Bobby Brown—Denver, Colorado
- Joss Christensen—Park City, Utah
- Nick Goepper—Lawrenceburg, Indiana
- Gus Kenworthy—Telluride, Colorado
- Chris Laker—Cincinnati, Ohio
- McRae Williams—Park City, Utah
- Keri Herman—Bloomington, Minnesota
- Julia Krass—Hanover, New Hampshire
- Devin Logan—West Dover, Vermont
- Maggie Voisin—Whitefish, Montana
- Willie Borm—Chaska, Minnesota
- Eddie Gildea—Boston, Massachusetts
- Alex Hackel—Sunday River, Maine
- Alex Hall—Salt Lake City, Utah
- Cody LaPlante—Truckee, California
- Colby Stevenson—Park City, Utah
- Caroline Claire—Manchester Center, Vermont
- Darian Stevens—Missoula, Montana
