Sugarloaf to host top snowboard competitors

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A year ago, mainstream America became acquainted with a sport that had previously been hugely popular in extreme sports competitions as snowboardcross – known also as boardercross to some, boarder X to others, snowboard X to still others – made its Olympic debut.

The rough-and-tumble sport (picture multiple snowboarders careening down a mountain, over bumps and jumps) was a huge success … and Maine’s own Seth Wescott won the gold medal.

That win propelled him from X Games fame to a broader world stage and helped promote the sport to a broader audience as well.

Now Wescott, who lives in Carrabassett Valley and attended high school at Carrabassett Valley Academy, is ready to bring that sport back to his home mountain.

On March 24, Wescott and Sugarloaf/USA will welcome some of the world’s best snowboardcross riders to Maine for the inaugural Champion’s Cross Sugarloaf Open.

According to Sugarloaf’s public relations staff, the race will pit the top 24 athletes on the FIS World Cup tour against other invited American riders in a battle for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

Unfortunately, however, Wescott won’t be among those vying for the loot.

“Seth is not going to compete because of his injury,” Sugarloaf communications manager Bill Swain said. “He broke his arm in a World Cup event in [Furano] Japan [on Feb. 17].”

Swain said on Thursday that Wescott was heading to Lake Placid, N.Y., this weekend to finalize the roster of competitors at a World Cup event being staged there. Swain did say that spectators at the Sugarloaf event would likely see him on the mountain during the weekend.

“He’ll be around riding, doing some free-riding,” Swain said. “You wouldn’t know [he was injured] by looking at him. He’s been put together with pins and screws and things so he’s not even wearing a cast or anything.”

Swain said he and other Sugarloafers are looking forward to the races.

“It’ll be a really cool event,” Swain said. “It’s going to be a fun event for spectators and athletes as well. Late March at Sugarloaf, [it] doesn’t get much better, and this is kind of the frosting on the cake.”

In a news release posted on Sugarloaf’s Web site, Wescott explained his reasons for helping organize the Champion’s Cross.

“Our goal is to create the premier boardercross tour in North America,” Wescott said, pointing out that a professional tour of this kind hasn’t been offered since 2002. “As a result, we haven’t seen progress in course design and evolution of the sport. Putting an alternative to the World Cup out there gives a lot more riders a chance to stay in the sport professionally.”

Wescott said he envisions the tour making multiple stops across the U.S. and Canada next year.

Wescott will design the course, and the winner will walk away with at least $10,000 in cash and a Suzuki motocross motorcycle.

The course will begin on lower competition hill and finish on lower narrow gauge. Organizers describe the course as “spectator-friendly” and say viewing areas will be available along the length of the course.

“There is no better representative of the sport than Seth, or a better place to take snowboard cross to the next level,” Sugarloaf president John Diller said in a statement. “Seth built his dream of winning Olympic gold on Sugarloaf’s slopes. Events like this will inspire the next generation of Sugarloafers to follow in his footsteps.”

A time trial will be held on March 23, with racing on March 24 and a parade of athletes and awards presentation later that evening.

CVA student makes Cup debut

Wescott isn’t the only talented athlete to come out of Carrabassett Valley Academy, of course: accomplished veterans Bode Miller, Brenda Petzold, Kirsten Clark, and Emily Cook are also CVA’ers.

On Thursday, yet another CVA product made her World Cup debut … and she’s still months away from graduating from the school.

Heather Doolittle of Belgrade, a senior at CVA, made her World Cup snowboardcross debut during a competition at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Doolittle finished 28th among 31 starters in Thursday’s snowboardcross. The event was won by Lindsey Jacobellis of Stratton Mountain, Vt.

Doolittle and her CVA teammates have spent the winter competing in the United States Snowboard Association’s Chevrolet Revolution Tour.

That tour staged competitions in Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont, and serves as the premier U.S. development series.

Snowboarders were able to use the series to qualify for other events, including the U.S. Grand Prix Tour, and Doolittle parlayed solid Grand Prix results into an invitation to Lake Placid.

She is also currently ranked third in points for the Junior World Championships.

“Heather’s hard work and dedication are really paying off for her this year,” CVA snowboard program manager Chris Clark said in a news release. “In each event this year she has gained greater confidence. This confidence, combined with her riding style and level-headedness, makes her a natural fit for snowboardcross.”

Doolittle said she was eager to compete in her first World Cup event.

“The last six weeks of competition have really opened doors for me to compete at the highest level,” she said in the news release. “I’m really looking forward to Lake Placid where I get to test myself against the best riders from around the world.”

Doolittle is a high honors student at CVA who takes advanced placement classes in all of her subjects. She is considering attending Dartmouth, Middlebury, Williams, or Vermont after her graduation.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.