After a breakthrough season last year, Summit County’s Kaitlyn Adams is days away from being back on board for the 2022-23 competition season.

During the 2021-22 season, Adams gravitated her way to the top of the Nor-Am Cup circuit, capturing numerous wins in both slopestyle and big air snowboard competitions to ultimately be crowned the Nor-Am Cup overall champion. 

Out of the 12 Nor-Am Cup competitions that Adams competed in last season, she earned nine podium finishes with her worst finish being fourth place. 

Adams’ success was not only a huge personal milestone for the now-17-year-old, it also opened the door for her to compete at the world stage. Winning the Nor-Am Cup comes with an invitation to attend all of the next season’s World Cup slopestyle and big air competitions.

The invitation is a huge step in Adams’ career and offers her the opportunity to compete against some of the best female riders in the world. However, after spending the majority of the summer and early winter training with the U.S. Snowboard rookie team at Mount Hood in Oregon and in Austria, Adams is well prepared for the stiff competition

Adams — who trains under William Rivera with Worldwide Snowboarding — will put all her preparation on display when she opens her season in Edmonton, Canada, at a World Cup big air competition on Saturday, Dec. 10.

“I am really nervous because it is my first big air competition on a scaffolding jump,” Adams said of the competition in Edmonton. “It’s the first jump I have hit all season, too, so I am pretty nervous. But I am pretty excited because it is in a stadium.”

The city of Edmonton will be the first to host a FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup competition in a stadium. The 147-foot-tall and 483-foot-long jump has been constructed at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and will be covered with 1,200 cubic meters of snow ahead of the competition. 

Adams is excited to get a new season underway and is hoping to make a name for herself against Olympic level competition.

“I am hoping to do my best because I know I am competing against Olympians,” Adams said. “I know that I am probably not coming away with a World Cup, but I just want to do my best and hopefully make it to finals. I also want to keep doing Nor-Ams in order to keep my standings. My goal is to do the best I can.” 

Adams isn’t nervous to face Olympic level talent but is rather more stressed about the bigger jumps and venues she is going to be facing at the world cup level.

“The courses I am going to be hitting are going to be bigger and more advanced,” Adams said. ”That’s more of what I am scared of rather than the competition. I know what everyone can do — and I know what I can do — so it doesn’t really scare me.”

After competing in Edmonton, Adams will have the opportunity to compete in her own backyard at the VISA Big Air competition from Dec. 14-17 at Copper Mountain Resort.

“I am really excited to compete somewhere that is at my house,” Adams said. “I can sleep at my house, and all my friends and dad can come watch. It will be fun because I know a couple of my friends are coming, and it will be nice to have my home support system.”

The fans will be nice for Adams since she said she doesn’t get the same support when she is on the road and oftentimes stays off her phone prior to competitions in order to maintain a clear state of mind.

Overall, Adams is excited for the upcoming season and thankful for all of Rivera’s coaching over the last few years.

“Will has brought me up and to this point,” Adams said. “He has put me here. We train like everyday, and he has always been there for me. He is like my support system — both in and out of competition. He is like family.”

“Last season’s success was a precursor to what’s next for Kaitlyn in the world of competitive snowboarding,” Rivera said. “She showed she has what it takes to become successful in the field. This natural step to compete and succeed at bigger events such as the Copper’s big air and other prominent slopestyle competitions will not be too far-fetched for the young lady since she has been in preparation for this for the last few years mentally and physically. Her hard work and dedication will truly pay off this season, and I look forward to some great finishes from the talented kid.”