PR: U.S. Team Selected For FIS World Championships In Italy
(January 21, 1997)

SAN CANDIDO, Italy--A team of 17 men and 10 women was named Sunday for the FIS World Snowboard Championships, which will be held this week in San Candido, near the Austrian border.

The event will foreshadow the debut of snowboarding in the Olympics at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, where U.S. officials will select the best U.S. riders from all world circuits. The '97 U.S. World Championship team includes veterans of the International Snowboard Federation (ISF) World Tour.

American riders led the 1996 FIS World Championships by winning nine medals. The 1997 team includes reigning world giant slalom champion Jeff Greenwood (Granby, Conn.), world halfpipe champion Ross Powers (S. Londonderry, Vt.) and reigning World Cup GS champion Mike Jacoby (Hood River, Ore.) plus former ISF World Championships medalists Jimi Scott (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Betsy Shaw (Manchester, Vt.).

Coach Peter Foley announced the team selections following World Cup competition in Kreischberg, Austria. The first World Championships event is the women's giant slalom Tuesday; the championships run through Sunday.
Two new events, parallel slalom and snowboardcross, the scramble-style downhill race over bumps and berms while riding through gates, make their debut at the FIS World Championships.

"These championships are a highlight of the season," Foley said. "We've got the riders who've shown, on any day, they can be very successful."

Members of the 1997 U.S. FIS World Championship Snowboard Team are:

MEN
Jeff Anderson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
Rob Berney, Whitefish, Mont.
Ricky Bower, Park City, Utah
Jeff Greenwood, Granby, Conn. (1st 1996 FIS World Champs GS)
Zach Horwitz, Aspen, Colo.
Mike Jacoby, Hood River, Ore. (2nd 1996 FIS World Champs GS, 3rd U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix GS, '95 & '96 World Cup GS champion)
Rob Kingwill, Jackson, Wyo. (3rd 1996 FIS World Champs HP)
Chris Klug, Aspen, Colo.
Tom Lyman, Whitefish, Mont.
Manuel Mendoza, Whitefish, Mont.
Thomas O'Brien, Salt Lake City, Utah
Steve Persons, Whitefish, Mont.
Anton Pogue, Hood River, Ore.
Ross Powers, S. Londonderry, Vt. (1st 1996 FIS World Champs HP, 1st U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix HP)
Ian Price, Manchester, Vt.
Jimi Scott, Carlsbad, Calif. (2nd 1993 ISF World Champs HP)
Dan Smith, Aspen, Colo.

WOMEN
Rosey Fletcher, Girdwood, Alaska
Griselda Gonzalez, Saratoga, Calif.
Stacia Hookom, Edwards, Colo.
Erin O'Malley, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
Lynn Ott, Bend, Ore.
Cammy Potter, Park City, Utah (3rd 1996 FIS World Champs HP)
Sabrina Sadeghi, Aspen, Colo.
Betsy Shaw, Manchester, Vt. (2nd SL, 3rd GS 1995 ISF World Champs)
Annemarie Uliasz, Huntington Beach, Calif. (2nd FIS World Champs HP)
Sondra Van Ert, Ketchum, Idaho (3rd 1996 FIS World Champs PSL and GS)

THE DAILY SCHEDULE: 1997 FIS WORLD SNOWBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tuesday, Jan. 21 Women's Giant Slalom
Wednesday, Jan. 22 Men's Giant Slalom
Thursday, Jan. 23 Men's & Women's Slalom
Friday, Jan. 24 Halfpipe
Parallel Slalom Qualifiers
Saturday, Jan. 25 Parallel Slalom Finals
Sunday, Jan. 26 Snowboardcross