Birthplace of Freestyle skiing figures in new Slopestyle events

(TRAVPR.COM) USA - February 4th, 2014 - Waterville Valley, NH – With a long history of Olympic ties, Waterville Valley Resort will once again figure into many storylines that will develop at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.  Eight athletes and one coach with ties to the Valley are headed to the Olympics, making Waterville Valley Resort the most represented resort on the East Coast.  Led by 2010 Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney and 4-time Olympian Kris Freeman, Waterville’s Olympians will be creating a buzz throughout the games.

Hannah Kearney, WVBBTS team alum is one of the most successful mogul skiers in US history and is favored to win gold in 2014 once again.  At 27 years old, Kearney is making her third appearance at the Olympics and quite possibly her last.  Since taking home a gold medal in 2010 from Vancouver, she has also won two Overall Freestyle World Cup titles and four Moguls World Cup titles.

Campton, NH resident, Kris Freeman, will make his fourth Winter Games appearance.  As a competitor on the world stage for more than a decade, Freeman claims a World Championship in the 30km and is a three-time and current National Champion in the 50km. Freeman’s years of training at Waterville Valley have also led to a position currently as an instructor.

Also of Campton, Bill Enos is headed to Sochi as a coach of the US Snowboard team for the new event of Snowboard Slopestyle. Enos brings with him years of coaching experience, which he gained at the Waterville Valley Academy.

In addition to coaching prowess, Enos brings with him to Sochi, X-Games gold medalist and WVA alum, Chas Guldemond, who will be competing in Snowboard Slopestyle.

WVBBTS female alums, Ashley Caldwell (Freestyle Aerials), Julia Krass (Ski Slopestyle) and Annalisa Drew (Ski Halfpipe) will be also make the trip to Russia to compete. Their coach, Dan Shuffleton, is also responsible for training Devin Logan (Ski Slopestyle) and Jessika Jenson (Snowboard Slopestyle) who have both trained at the WVBBTS/SEF Phil’s Hill BagJump Training Center and will represent the US.

To celebrate these athletes Waterville Valley will be abuzz during the Winter Games and a great place to get away and catch all the action. On the mountain, the resort will be airing events in T-Bars and Buckets, while down in the Valley there are a number of great restaurants like The Lantern where the games will be airing as well.  Waterville would like to welcome all to come and enjoy the XXII Olympic Games at the resort steeped in freestyle skiing and snowboarding history.

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