World Cup racing may still be three weeks away, but international bobsled and skeleton competition commences this weekend with the Intercontinental, European and North American Cups all holding their opening races of the 2016-2017 season.
The skeleton-only Intercontinental Cup will be held in Igls, Austria and six USA Bobsled & Skeleton (USABS) national team members will be competing in the races, which begin Nov. 10.
On the men's side, Kyle Brown (Concord, N.H.) and Stephen Garbett (Parker, Colo.) each spent time on the Intercontinental Cup last season. Brown earned two medals on the circuit before moving up to World Cup racing for the second half of the season, while Garbett posted three top-10 finishes. Joining them will be Greg West (Springfield, Mo.), who strung together four impressive USA Skeleton National Team Trial races to earn an Intercontinental Cup spot for the third time in his career.
Meanwhile, Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.) and Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) competed on the ICC last year, and both placed in the top-10 during the Igls leg of the circuit. Veronica Day (Vienna, Va.) will race in her first Igls competition, though she also spent much of the 2014-2015 season on the Intercontinental Cup circuit.
The North American Cup is the only circuit that will feature Team USA bobsledders this weekend. Racing will take place Nov. 11-14 in Calgary, Canada, and each discipline is scheduled to have two races.
On the heels of his first national team berth as a driver, up-and-coming pilot and Olympic gold medalist Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) will compete alongside two-time Olympian Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.), Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) and Geoff Gadbois (Milton, Vt.). On the women's side, Katie Eberling (Palos Hills, Ill.), Nicole Vogt (Dallas, Texas), Brittany Reinbolt (Searcy, Ark.) and Kristi Koplin (American Fork, Utah) will each pilot a sled in Calgary.
Eight skeleton athletes will also compete in the North American Cup races this weekend. On the women's side, Gracie Clapp-Taylor (Saint Johns, Fla.), Leslie Stratton (Bedford, N.H.), Megan Dovell (Duluth, Ga.) and Morgan Tracey (Champion, Ohio) will kick off their seasons in Calgary, while Andrew Blaser (Meridian, Idaho), Austin Florian (Southington, Conn.), Allen Blackwell (Jackson, Miss.) and Jake Miter (Troy, N.Y.) will compete for the men.
Kellie Delka (Collinsville, Texas) and Samantha Culiver (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will be joined by Alex Ivanov (Concord, Mass.) and Mike Rogals (Orwell, Vt.) on the European Cup circuit, which overlaps with the Intercontinental Cup in Igls on Nov. 10.
To find a full schedule of events, please click here. For live updates, please follow USABS on Twitter @USBSF or on its official Facebook page. For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USABS Marketing & Communications Director, at amanda.bird@usabs.com, or at (518) 354-2250.
About USA Bobsled & Skeleton: USA Bobsled & Skeleton, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USABS would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, Kampgrounds of America, Thorne, Boomerang Carnets, Classroom Champions, Aspen Institute's Project Play, Tesa Tape, Hudl Technique, Ferris Mfg. Corp, Stress Engineering, Machintek, deBotech, Carpenter and PVS International. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com.
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