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Copper kicks off snowboard NORAM season

Ryan Slabaugh

COPPER MOUNTAIN – So far, Summit County native Justin Goto-Reiter’s first year on the U.S. Snowboard Development Team has been all camps and yoga.

The Steamboat resident has been training with the U.S. Team at camps at Loveland and Arapahoe Basin but now, it’s time for competition.

The season’s first major snowboard alpine races in North America will take place on Copper Mountain Nov. 20-21.



The Continental Cup will feature national teams from Sweden and Canada, as well as the United States.

“I have incorporated yoga,” Goto-Reiter said. “I’ve improved my flexibility. Every preseason, I typically get a cold and and I get super nervous. This year, I have not been sick and I haven’t had the preseason jitters.”



The NORAM level races will allow World Cup athletes to work on form, while boosting the stakes for up-and-comers.

Folks like Goto-Reiter will be able to benefit from the points system, which is based on the top five racers at each event.

The parallel giant slalom and slalom will feature the likes of Adam Smith, who’s already notched a World Cup win this season.

“We’ve been off to a great start,” said Becky Woolley, U.S. Snowboard Team program manager. “Essentially, the reason we run this (NORAM) race is to give the younger guys a chance to really max out points.”

For NORAM Cup events, only 500 points can be won at a time, again, based on the competition. The races at Copper will near that 500-point mark, Woolley said.

For Goto-Reiter, the next week will be spent dialing in his equipment and staying healthy. After that, he’ll head to other Continental Cups, NORAM events and the Grand Prix series.

Racing for the U.S. women’s team will be Stacia Hookom, from Edwards, who is the 2003 Grand Prix alpine champion.

Breckenridge will host the Vans Triple Crown Dec. 12-14, featuring halfpipe and other competitions.

Ryan Slabaugh can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 257, or at rslabaugh@summitdaily.com.


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