Utah Awarded ISF World Championships

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, in partnership with the Olympic community of Park City and State of Utah, has been awarded the International Ski Federation’s 2019 World Championships for freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding. The decision of the governing FIS Council was announced Thursday during the FIS Congress in Barcelona. The innovative bid featured a partnership of three resorts – Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort – for an event that is expected to attract the very best skiers and snowboarders in the world for a minimum of 12 competitions over 10 days in February, 2019.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The International Ski Federation has awarded its 2019 World Championships in freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, in partnership with the community of Park City.
• The USSA has entered into an innovative partnership with the Park City community and the State of Utah, along with Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort.
• Partnerships with the Utah Sports Commission and the Park City Chamber/Bureau will enhance global promotion of the event, which will have strong domestic and international media impact.
• Leaders of each resort, along with USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw and Vice President, Events Calum Clark, made the formal presentation to the FIS Council.
• In producing the FIS World Championships, the USSA plans to work closely with other sport sanctioning bodies including the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) and TTR World Snowboard Tour to ensure that the best athletes in each event come together for a strong Championships.
• The USSA played a key role in the recent addition of new events to the Olympic program including halfpipe skiing along with slopestyle skiing and snowboarding, and is presently actively engaged in pushing big air snowboarding and team snowboardcross for the 2018 Olympics. All of the new events will be on the program.
• The event will bring together the traditional freestyle skiing events of moguls and aerials (Deer Valley) with halfpipe, slopestyle and big air skiing and snowboarding (Park City) plus skicross and snowboardcross (Canyons).
• Since the 2002 Olympics, Utah has established itself as one of the world’s premier centers of winter action sports having hosted two World Championships, FIS World Cup and USSA Sprint Grand Prix and Dew Tour events.
• Utah also served as the launching pad for 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams with events at major resorts.
• The event will be broadcast worldwide with anticipated audiences in the tens of millions across the globe including Europe, Asia, and other markets.
• The World Championships will be broadcast in the USA through the USSA’s partnership with NBC Sports Group with record-breaking audiences expected with live coverage and digital streaming. The USSA recently announced a similar partnership with NBC for the 2015 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek.

Tiger Shaw, President and CEO, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association: The 2019 World Championships will be a major global event featuring the largest showcase of winter action sports outside the Olympics. Our partnership with FIS and other athletic sanctioning bodies, together with the State of Utah and Park City community – especially Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City resorts – will help to shape this as an historic event in freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding.

Gian Franco Kasper, President, International Ski Federation: The USA has a rich tradition in freestyle skiing and snowboarding and it seems only fitting that we go to Park City, Utah for the FIS 2019 Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships, I am certain USA and Utah will do an excellent job welcoming the athletes, teams, media and fans to what is sure to be an exciting event with an electric atmosphere.

Governor Gary Herbert, State of Utah: The 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City opened a new era for sport in Utah. The growth of action sports in Utah continues as athletes train in our world class facilities and on the Greatest Snow on Earth. Utah truly is the state of sport and will be a great global host for the 2019 World Championships.

Mike Goar, Vice President and General Manager, Canyons Resort: Canyons Resort is prepared to host the ski and snowboardcross competitions for the 2019 World Championships. Past experience in providing the world’s best athletes with a superior venue has situated Canyons to participate in this historic event. We maintain a strong passion for sport and dedication to showcasing Canyons to the world while delivering an elite event.

Bob Wheaton, President and General Manager, Deer Valley Resort: With our wealth of knowledge and experience in hosting FIS events, it only made sense for us to readily agree to participate in the 2019 World Championships. Deer Valley has invested in, and been a supporter of, freestyle skiing since the 1999 U.S. Championships through the 2002 Olympics, hosting two FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in addition to annual World Cup events. We continue to build upon our legacy, dedicated to advancing the sport and delivering quality competitions enjoyed and appreciated by both athletes and spectators.

Jenni Smith, President and General Manager, Park City Mountain Resort: As a hub for action sports progression, known for some of the industry’s finest terrain parks and halfpipes, we are the perfect host venue for the world's greatest snowboard and freeski athletes in 2019. We have hosted the world for Olympic, World Championship and USSA Grand Prix competitions, and look forward to doing so again, with our fellow Park City resorts, when the world’s best freestyle skiers and snowboarders return for the 2019 World Championships.

Canyons Resort: Canyons Resort has become a premier center for skicross and snowboardcross through its hosting of the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix.

• Canyons has also been a strong supporter of U.S. Snowboarding athletes including Jonathan Cheever and Faye Gulini.
• As the largest resort in Utah, Canyons Resort offers a world-class skiing and riding experience to guests with amenities like the only heated and enclosed high-speed chairlift in the U.S. Canyons provides a superior spectator venue with side-line viewing access to the cross course and a robust resort village at the finish.
• Canyons is dedicated and invested in growing the sport as well as hosing the most elite athletes at a world class venue.

Deer Valley Resort: Deer Valley Resort has become the premier stop on the FIS Freestyle World Cup tour since its 1999 debut leading up to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

• The site for moguls and aerials at the 2002 Olympics, Deer Valley also  played host to both the 2003 and 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.
• Since ratings have been tracked, Deer Valley has consistently been rated number one in the individual categories of dining, grooming and guest service by the readers of SKI Magazine, in addition to being awarded the number one resort in North America five years running, beginning in 2007.

Park City Mountain Resort: Park City Mountain Resort has a long legacy in winter action sports as one of the top-ranked terrain park centers in North America according to the industry’s most respected publications including Freeskier and TransWorld SNOWboarding magazines.

• Three homegrown Park City Mountain Resort athletes won Olympic gold in Sochi including slopestyle skier Joss Christensen and slopestyle snowboarder Sage Kotsenbug. Both won gold medals in Slopestyle’s Olympic debut.
• Park City Mountain Resort played host to the final Olympic freeskiing qualifying competitions in 2014 as well as snowboarding in 2010.
•  In 2011, Park City played an integral role in the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships as a host venue where local star won Alex Schlopy won men’s slopestyle.
• Park City’s legacy in winter action sports began in 2002 as the site of the Olympic halfpipe snowboarding event where Americans swept gold with Kelly Clark taking women’s gold and Ross Powers leading a gold-silver-bronze USA men’s sweep.