International Bobsled and Skeleton Racing Begins this Weekend

After months of offseason training and a competitive team selection process, international racing begins this weekend for USA Bobsled & Skeleton athletes competing on the Intercontinental Cup (ICC) and North American Cup (NAC) circuits. Athletes racing the World Cup circuit began an international training week on Monday in preparation for their season opener in Lake Placid, N.Y. Nov. 9-10.

Both tours kick off in Whistler, Canada this weekend. ICC, a skeleton-only circuit, hits the ice on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. ET. Team USA fields a strong group of six athletes on the tour, led by Annie O'Shea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) on the women's side and Nathan Crumpton (Park City, Utah) on the men's, both of whom raced on World Cup last season.

Each discipline will have two races. The full race schedule, with times listed in ET in parenthesis, is below:

Saturday, Nov. 4:
9 a.m. (12 p.m. EST): NAC women's bobsled and men's and women's skeleton
12 p.m. (3 p.m. EST): ICC women's and men's skeleton
3:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. EST): NAC two-man bobsled

Sunday, Nov. 5:
9 a.m. (12 p.m. EST): NAC women's bobsled and men's and women's skeleton
12 p.m. (3 p.m. EST): ICC women's and men's skeleton
3:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. EST): NAC two-man bobsled

Monday, Nov. 6: 10 a.m. (1 p.m. EST): Four-man bobsled
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 10 a.m. (1 p.m. EST): Four-man bobsled

Also competing on the men's ICC circuit for Team USA is Kyle Brown (Concord, N.H.), who made his fourth consecutive national team after a strong showing at USA Skeleton National Team Trials. Mike Rogals (Orwell, Vt.) rounds out the U.S. men's team. Rogals was brought up to the national team for the second half of the season last year after competing on the European Cup circuit during the first half.

Joining O'Shea on the women's team is Meg Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) and Gracie Clapp-Taylor (Saint Johns, Fla.). Henry and Clapp-Taylor both have experience racing on the ICC tour. Henry's fourth place finish at USA Skeleton National Team Trials earned her her spot on the national team this year, while Clapp-Taylor, who spent last year on NAC getting back into the sport after taking a year off for hip surgery, is back stronger than ever.

NAC bobsled will also begin on Nov. 4, beginning at 12 p.m. ET for the women, and 6:30 p.m. ET for two-man. Pilots Geoff Gadbois (Milton, Vt.) and Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) will represent Team USA on the men's side in both two-man and four-man, while Kristi Koplin (Park City, Utah) and Nicole Vogt (Dallas, Texas) will pilot sleds in the women's competition.

NAC skeleton will also race this weekend, as Veronica Day (Vienna, Va.), Samantha Culiver (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Kristen Hurley (Columbia, Conn.) and ___ will don the Stars and Stripes in the women's competition, while Austin Florian (Southington, Conn.), Austin McCrary (Colleyville, Texas), Andrew Blaser (Meridian, Idaho) and Mike Brandt (West Haven, Conn.) will race for the men.

Race recaps will be released following the ICC races on Nov. 5 and at the conclusion of the NAC races on Nov. 7.

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.