Justin's biography is at: http://www.ussnowboarding.org/public//team.php?sN=2&&dId=7&aId=57

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Reiter rides to opening World Cup race
By John F. Russell (Contact) Thursday, October 2, 2008

Steamboat Springs — Alpine snowboarder Justin Reiter was excited about the opening World Cup race of the season, even if it will take place inside what he refers to as a giant refrigerator.

“It’s a nice place to open the World Cup,” Reiter said before leaving for SnowWorld, an indoor ski resort in the Netherlands. “It’s a unique experience to ski inside in a totally controlled environment.”

Reiter said he would miss the sun, which doesn’t shine inside the enclosed walls of SkiWorld, but he said the competition inside the garage-like indoor ski resort should provide plenty of heat.

The parallel slalom is ex­­pected to draw the best alpine snowboarders in the world, racing for the first World Cup points of the season. Several U.S. riders, including Reiter and teammates Tyler Jewell and Chris Klug, will make the trip. But because it’s parallel slalom, a non-Olympic event, the U.S. Ski Team’s staff will not make the trip to Landgraaf to support the riders.

“I wouldn’t dream of missing the race,” Reiter said. “It’s a World Cup, so I can’t imagine skipping that race to save a few bucks.”

Reiter and his Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club coach, Thedo Remmelink, think making the trip is key to the success of the U.S. team as it prepares for this season and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

That’s why many of the riders on the U.S. team have decided to foot the bill out of their own pockets for coaching, support and travel this week. American athletes who will compete include Winter Sports Club riders Reiter, Ben Fairchild, Josh Wylie, Erica Mueller and Zachary Kay. Tyler Jewell, who trained for several years in Steamboat before the 2006 Olympics, also will make the trip, along with former club member Andi Jo Stump.

Remmelink also has been approached by Klug and American Adam Smith for coaching. Remmelink will provide riders with coaching support before and during the race, which is scheduled for Oct. 10.

“All of these riders have great work ethics,” Remmelink said. “But many of them are also struggling to make ends meet right now.”

U.S. Ski Team spokesman Tom Kelly stated in an e-mail that the decision not to send coaches should not be interpreted as a lack of support for the alpine snowboarding team. He said early-season World Cups present unique challenges for many teams. In the past, he added, the U.S. Ski Team has looked carefully at the expenditures to ensure there really was value in going to the event. He said the team has made similar decisions in other snowboarding, freestyle and cross-country events to make its money work in the best way possible. In this case, he said, the team thinks the money is spent more productively at events that will increase America’s chances of earning qualifying spots to the Olympics.

However, Reiter and many of his American teammates decided the Landgraaf event was important — with or without U.S. coaching.

Reiter said he missed part of last season and at least two months this summer with an injury that doctors have not been able to pinpoint. He said he feels good right now, and he is ready to get back on snow and prove himself.

“My goal is to win,” Reiter said. “If my body feels strong, and I ride to my ability, I don’t think that winning is out of the question.”

Reiter is hoping for a solid finish in the World Cup slalom. He said there are not a lot of early-season races to test riders this year. He and his American teammates will have to wait until Dec. 6 for the next race — a parallel giant slalom race set for Grenoble, France.

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2009 U. S. Snowboarding Team boasts depth, experience
Monday, 15 September 2008

A crew of America's best riders will highlight the 37-athlete roster for U.S. Snowboarding in 2009. The group includes X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott, Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter, Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis, Olympian Elena Hight, U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix overall champion Louie Vito and four-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland.

With nearly the entire 2008 roster making a return to the program, U.S. Snowboarding will showcase a group that garnered three X Games gold medals, 20 World Cup podium finishes, seven of which were wins, and 13 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix podiums, four of which were wins.

"We have an incredibly talented group of riders in our 2009 programs. All the major players are back and ready for a busy season with Grand Prix, X Games, Action Sports Tour, and the U.S. Open all taking place," said U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster. "This year, the World Cups will be a focus to begin locking down 2010 Olympic start spots and it's a World Championship season which is a big focus for the alpine and SBX athletes."

Snowboardcross will feature a powerhouse team with Wescott, Jacobellis, Holland and Shaun Palmer leading a pack of athletes hungry for success. Olympian Graham Watanabe, who won his second World Cup during the 2008 season, Jeep King of the Mountain overall winner Callan Chythlook-Sifsof and Olympian Jayson Hale, who is returning to competition after an 18-month hiatus, will all be in the hunt for the podium.

At the top of the halfpipe class, expect to see Bleiler, Vito and Teter, along with X Games gold medalist Steve Fisher contending for the top of podiums around the world.

Also adding to the talent pool will be Clair Bidez and Ellery Hollingsworth, who each placed in the final two stops of the 2008 Grand Prix. Greg Bretz who went from traveling with U.S. Snowboarding to winning a World Cup, finishing second in the overall standings, and being named to the Pro Team in less than a year, will also be a standout on the squad.

The entire alpine roster will be making a return in 2009 with World Cup podium performers Tyler Jewell, Michelle Gorgone, Justin Reiter and Adam Smith trailblazing the way for the team to make waves on the World Cup circuit. Newcomer Andi Jo Stump, along with veterans Erica Mueller and Lindsay Lloyd round of the women's alpine roster.

In his 15th season as U.S. Snowboarding head coach, Peter Foley leads the snowboardcross athletes along with Jeff Archibald. Mike Jankowski is back for his third season as the halfpipe head coach along with U.S. Snowboarding alum Ricky Bower, a halfpipe world champion. Steve Persons, who was on the podium during U.S. Snowboarding's most successful alpine World Cup season, returns for his third season as head coach of the alpine program along with Jan Wengelin as the tech head coach.

2009 U.S. Snowboarding Roster (birthdate, hometown and * if Olympian)

Halfpipe Men
Pro Team
Greg Bretz (12/19/90; Mammoth Lakes, CA)
Steve Fisher (10/21/82; Breckenridge, CO)
Scott Lago (11/12/87; Seabrook, NH)
Elijah Teter (3/7/84; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Louie Vito (3/20/88; Columbus, OH)
Tommy Czeschin (6/15/79; Mammoth Lakes, CA)*

Halfpipe Women
Pro Team
Gretchen Bleiler (4/10/81; Aspen, CO)*
Elena Hight (8/17/89; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Hannah Teter (1/27/87; Belmont, VT)*
Ellery Hollingsworth (9/2/91; Stratton, VT)
Clair Bidez (8/7/87; Minturn, CO)

SBX Men
A Team
Nick Baumgartner (12/17/81; Iron River, MI)
Jayson Hale (6/26/85; Sierraville, CA)*
Nate Holland (11/8/78; Squaw Valley, CA)*
Shaun Palmer (11/14/68; South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Graham Watanabe (3/19/82; Sun Valley, ID)*
Seth Wescott (6/28/76; Sugarloaf, ME)*

B Team
Jonathan Cheever (4/17/85; Saugus, MA)
Alex Deibold (5/18/86; Manchester Center, VT)
Pat Holland (5/5/82; Tahoe City, CA)
Jason Smith (1/11/82; Durango, CO)*

SBX Women
A Team
Lindsey Jacobellis (8/19/85; Stratton Mountain, VT)*

B Team
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (2/14/89; Girdwood, AK)
Brooke Shaw (5/12/91; Litchfield, CT)
Marni Yamada (8/26/78; Seattle, WA)

Men's Alpine
A Team
Tyler Jewell (2/21/77; Steamboat Springs, CO)*
Justin Reiter (2/2/81; Steamboat Springs, CO)
Adam Smith (9/7/80; Bend, OR)

B Team
Zac Kay (8/18/81; Mount Shasta, CA)
Chris Klug (11/18/72; Aspen, CO)*
Vic Wild (8/23/86; White Salmon, WA)

C Team
Josh Wylie (7/7/81; Londonderry, VT)

Women's Alpine
A Team
Michelle Gorgone (10/18/83; Boston, MA)*

B Team
Erica Mueller (7/25/81; Steamboat Springs, CO)
Lynn Ott (10/20/67; Bend, OR)

C Team
Lindsay Lloyd (2/18/81; Centerville, UT)
Andi Jo Stump (9/10/86; Wenatchee, WA)

The World Cup season opened Sept. 6 in Cardona, New Zealand, with men's and women's halfpipe. The following week, snowboardcross athletes got their first taste of World Cup action in Chapelco, Argentina, and alpine opens Oct. 10 in Landgraaf, Netherlands.

The World Cup tour makes its lone stop in the U.S. at in Sunday River, Maine, on Feb. 27 for men's and women's alpine and snowboardcross races.

The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix kicks off domestic snowboard competition Dec. 10-13 at Copper Mountain in Summit County, Colo.

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Reiter, Mueller win Snowboarding's Race to the Cup
February 9, 2008

Park City, UT - It was a victorious day Wednesday for U.S. men's snowboarders who swept the podium of a NorAm parallel slalom in extremely snowy conditions in U.S. Snowboarding's Race to the Cup Series at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah. U.S. Snowboarding's Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) won the race followed by Tyler Jewell (Steamboat Springs, CO) in second and Vic Wild (White Salmon, WA) in third.

"I feel pretty good. It was a great day out there. Park City Ski Team and the race department up there did a great job dealing with adverse conditions and putting on a good race," Reiter said. "It was a lot of fun to ride and the racing was good. The action was tight. It was great to see these guys who haven't qualified for World Cup yet duke it out and there were some knock down drag out rounds out there."



Reiter said that although it was a competition, it was also a welcome departure from his regular schedule.

"It was pretty relaxed. It was a nice break to come back from the World Cup tour and see all our friends from Canada and the U.S. and even some from Japan."

On the women's side, Erica Mueller (Steamboat Springs, CO) won with U.S. Snowboarding teammate Michelle Gorgone (Boston) in second. Karol Sztokfisz of Poland finished third.

"It was pretty good [to win]," Mueller said. "Actually, just the other day Justin and I were talking about how I haven't won a race in a couple of years and I said I really needed to do that again. I'd been on the podium but I hadn't won, so it was pretty cool to come out on top."

According to Mueller, while she anticipated the storm they had to compete in, with her experience in those conditions, she wasn't thrown off.

"I knew it was going to be soft but I'm used to that, being from Steamboat, and you just ride the ride and do what you have to do to get to the bottom without falling on your rear," Mueller said.


OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS SNOWBOARDING NORAM CUP
Race to the Cup
Park City Mountain Resort
Park City, UT - Feb. 6, 2008
Parallel Slalom

Men
1. Justin Reiter, Steamboat Springs, CO
2. Tyler Jewell, Steamboat Springs, CO
3. Vic Wild, White Salmon, WA
4. Masaki Shiba, Japan
5. Zachary Kay, Mount Shasta, CA

Women
1. Erica Mueller, Steamboat Springs, CO
2. Michelle Gorgone, Boston
3. Karol Sztokfisz, Poland
4. Lilian Halme, Canada
5. Jessie Hazen, Denver

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Juliann Fritz, jfritz@ussa.org

Reiter Leads U.S. In WC
LA MOLINA, Spain (Jan. 20) - Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) led U.S. riders Sunday as he finished eighth in a World Cup parallel slalom that featured riders from 19 nations.
The men's race was won by Rok Flander of Slovakia, followed by Benjamin Karl of Austria in second. Andreas Prommegger, also of Austria, finished third. Tyler Jewell (also Steamboat Springs), who finished third in Saturday's parallel giant slalom, finished 12th.

Michelle Gorgone (Boston) led U.S. women at 24th, followed by Erica Mueller (Steamboat Springs, CO) at 39th. Heidi Neururer of Austria won the women's competition. Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands finished second, followed by Austrian Claudia Riegler in third.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup continues Jan. 26-27 in Bardonecchia, Italy, with halfpipe.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP
La Molina, SPA - Jan. 19, 2008
Men's Parallel Slalom
1. Rok Flander, Slovakia
2. Benjamin Karl, Austria
3. Andreas Prommegger, Austria
4. Roland Haldi, Switzerland
5. Patrick Bussler, Germany
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8. Justin Reiter, Steamboat Springs, CO
12. Tyler Jewell, Steamboat Springs, CO
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Women's Parallel Slalom
1. Heidi Neururer, Austria
2. Nicolien Sauerbreij, Netherlands
3. Claudia Riegler, Austria
4. Ilona Ruotsalainen, Finland
5. Marion Kreiner, Austria
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24. Michelle Gorgone, Boston
39. Erica Mueller, Steamboat Springs, CO
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Update: Fisher, Reiter named to U.S. team for 2007 Snowboard World Championships

DAILY NEWS STAFF REPORT, January 9, 2007

PARK CITY, Utah - Breckenridge resident Steve Fisher and Silverthorne native Justin Reiter, who now lives in Steamboat Springs, have been named to the U.S. team headed to the 2007 Snowboard World Championships slated for Jan. 14-20 in Arosa, Switzerland, U.S. Snowboarding announced.

Four Olympic medalists will headline a team of 27 riders on the team. Among the group are reigning World Champions and 2006 Olympic snowboardcross medalists Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis , as well as Olympic medalists Gretchen Bleiler and Chris Klug, both of Aspen. Clair Bidez of Minturn also was named to the team in halfpipe.

"We have a super strong team for Worlds in every event, including defending world champions in snowboardcross," said U.S. Snowboarding program director Jeremy Forster. "Plus we've got a lot of young riders on this team including X Game medalists Scotty Lago and Steve Fisher as well as Junior Worlds medalists Clair Bidez and Ellery Hollingsworth. All of them could crack the podium, so we're looking for good things to happen in Arosa."

The Americans collected four medals at the 2005 Worlds, where Wescott and Jacobellis swept snowboardcross gold and Jayson Hale took bronze.

"It's been a tough year for snow in Europe. Most of our World Cups have been canceled or postponed, but we've had some great U.S. events and training camps, so I feel like we are coming into the Worlds well prepared and ready to kick butt," said U.S. Snowboarding head coach Peter Foley.

Competitors from 47 countries will be on hand to compete for top honors in SBX (Jan. 14), parallel giant slalom (Jan. 16), parallel slalom (Jan. 17) and halfpipe (Jan. 20).

U.S. World Championships Team

Halfpipe Men: Tommy Czeschin, Steve Fisher, Michael Goldschmidt, Scotty Lago
Halfpipe Women: Clair Bidez, Gretchen Bleiler, Tricia Byrnes, Ellery Hollingsworth
Snowboardcross Men: Alex Diebold, Nate Holland, Jason Smith, Graham Watanabe, Seth Wescott
Snowboardcross Women: Joanie Anderson, Callan Cythlook-Sifsof, Kristen Fagan, Lindsey Jacobellis, Marni Yamada
Alpine Men: Chris Klug, Tyler Jewell, Justin Reiter, Adam Smith, Josh Wylie
Alpine Women: Michelle Gorgone, Stacia Hookom, Lindsay Lloyd, Erica Mueller
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Update: Denver Post, November 27, 2006:
SNOWBOARDING: Reiter carves way to second

Steamboat Springs boarder Justin Reiter continued his heralded carving streak last week at Copper Mountain with a second-place finish in the parallel slalom on Tuesday's final day of the U.S. snowboarding race to the Cup competition. Reiter was tracking toward gold through the finals before crashing on his last two runs, which allowed Sweden's Daniel Biveson to take the gold.

Reiter took fifth the day before in the parallel giant slalom. His Copper Mountain finishes mark the fourth time in four races that Reiter finished in the top 16 this season. Fellow Steamboat Springs carver Erica Mueller finished sixth in Tuesday's parallel slalom, making her the top American woman.

The American riders return to competition Sunday with a World Cup parallel giant slalom in Italy.
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March 26, 2006

2006 North American Snowboarding Finals
Reiter captures NorAm and U.S. alpine snowboard titles

Saturday, March 25, 2006

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mike McQuaid, 206.286.8200 mike@mcquaidcompany.com
Juliann Fritz, jfritz@ussa.org
Tiana Enger, tiana@skicrystal.com

Canadians sweep women’s PGS event

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, Wash. (March 25) – In an all American men’s final, Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) swept 2006 Olympian Tyler Jewell (Sudbury, MA) on both championship runs to capture the men’s alpine Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS) title and the U.S. National Championship on Saturday at the 2006 North American Snowboarding Finals at Washington’s Crystal Mountain. It was Reiter’s second win in two tries on the Crystal Mountain PGS course and his first NorAm and U.S. national title.

The U.S. women’s title was won by Erica Mueller (Chester, VT) with a fourth place finish overall in an event that was swept by the Canadians. The alpine snowboarders are among 82 riders from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland, Poland, and the Philippines competing for U.S. and Canadian national titles in the NorAm PGS event at Crystal Mountain.

“This win feels great – I love Crystal,” said Reiter who has had two top three PGS finishes in 2006 and finished third at the 2005 NorAm PGS at Sun Peaks, Canada. After edging Jewell on the first of two championship runs, Reiter secured the win when Jewell caught an edge entering the final stretch on Crystal’s Gold Hills course. “This is a pretty tough hill and the snow was choppy,” he said following his second and decisive championship run. “Tyler is a strong rider and very strong willed – he’s a great competitor.” Eric Warren (Bennington, VT) finished third among American men. Junior rider Matt Morison surpassed Michael Lambert and 2006 Olympian Phillipe Berube to capture both the Canadian and Canadian Junior National Championship.

In women’s competition, Canadian Olympian Alexa Loo defeated Kimiko Zakreski to cap a Canadian sweep of the top three PGS spots winning both NorAm and Canadian national titles. Following Mueller, Lynn Ott (Bend, OR) was second among U.S. women while Lindsay Lloyd (Centerville, UT) was third. “This is so rad,” said Loo, after her winning run. “I’ve had cake all year and this is the icing. It’s a great finish.” Canadian Caroline Cave finished third. Lynn Ott (Bend, OR) and Lindsay Lloyd (Centerville, UT) finished second and third among American women.

In NorAm junior competition, Vic Wild (White Salmon, WA) and Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (Girdwood, AK) won men’s and women’s junior U.S. titles while Marianne Leeson joined Morison as the Canadian champions.

Racing continues on Sunday with men’s and women’s NorAm competition in the parallel giant slalom. For complete results please visit http://www.noramfinals.com/

2006 North American Snowboarding Finals

Crystal Mountain, Washington (USA)

Men’s Competition

Overall

1. Justin Reiter – USA (Steamboat Springs, CO)
2. Tyler Jewell – USA (Sudbury, MA)
3. Matthew Morison – Canada

United States

1. Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO)
2. Tyler Jewell (Sudbury, MA)
3. Eric Warren (Bennington, VT)

Canada

1. Matthew Morison
2. Michael Lambert
3. Philippe Berube

Women’s Competition

Overall

1. Alexa Loo - Canada
2. Kimiko Zakreski - Canada
3. Caroline Cave - Canada

United States

1. Erica Mueller (Chester, VT)
2. Lynn Ott (Bend, OR)
3. Lindsay Lloyd (Centerville, UT)

Canada

1. Alexa Loo
2. Kimiko Zakreski
3. Caroline Cave

Junior Competition

United States

Men
1. Vic Wild (White Salmon, WA)

Women
1. Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (Girdwood, AK)

Canada

Men

1. Matthew Morison

Women

1. Marianne Leeson

2006 North American Snowboarding Finals Schedule

Sunday, March 26
- 9:00 a.m. Qualifying - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Slalom
- 12 noon Finals - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Slalom
- 4:00 p.m. - Awards Presentation at BullWheel Restaurant in the Crystal Day Lodge

About Crystal Mountain

In March of 1997, Boyne USA purchased Crystal Mountain http://www.skicrystal.com/). This family owned corporation had been interested in the area for more than a decade, and made a commitment to invest significantly in the area. Under the terms of the sale, Boyne USA has already spent over $15 million, the required amount, on capital improvements.

Under the ownership of John Kircher, Seattle based family member, Crystal Mountain has added two new high-speed six-passenger chairlifts, one high-speed quad, a 12,500 square foot mid-mountain lodge, expanded the rental shop, paved the parking lots, added five new grooming machines and upgraded many of the facilities.

Crystal Mountain is now working on implementing its Master Development Plan (MDP), which includes the addition of five chairlifts, an aerial tram, a hotel and parking, housing and facility upgrades. The MDP is a 10 year plan with the first phase slated to begin the spring of 2006. The Tram construction is projected to begin the spring of 2007.

About the North American Snowboarding Finals

The North American Snowboarding Finals http://www.noramfinals.com/) is the alpine snowboarding championship of US Snowboarding and the Canadian Snowboard Federation. The 2006 NorAm Finals, March 25 and 26 at Crystal Mountain, Washington will crown an American and Canadian National Champion in men’s and women’s parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom boarding competition. The Crystal Mountain event is made possible by Five Two Ten, Crystal Mountain, Seattle SuperSonics, Pierce County, Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Snowboarding, Canadian Snowboarding Federation and the Canadian Snowsports Association.

About Five Two Ten

Five Two Ten http://www.fivetwoten.org/) is a non-profit catalyst of economic development, community improvement, world class athletic competition, and educational and cultural opportunity in the Pacific Northwest leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. The spirit of Five Two Ten is built around these five pillars of initiative that will take place within the five states and provinces near the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Five Two Ten will ignite the Olympic spirit in the Northwest at the 2006 North American Snowboarding Finals, March 25 and 26 at Crystal Mountain, Washington. The 2006 NorAm Finals is the first world-class winter sports competition in Washington State leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Games.

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