November 18, 2005 – With the 2006 Winter Olympics nearing, a common question is “How does one make the U.S. Olympic Ski or Snowboard Team?”

NOTE: This information is designed to provide general background on Olympic selection. It is not designed as a comprehensive outline of selection criteria. Complete details of official selection criteria, which will be used for Olympic selection, are available at www.ussa.org. Choose the desired sport and then click on “Eligibility/Criteria” for specific criteria in that sport.

Full details of the selection criteria are available from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the century-old organization that serves as the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, on its membership Web site at www.ussa.org. USSA, together with the U.S. Olympic Committee, will name teams for six different Olympic sports accounting for nearly 50 percent of the events Feb. 10-26 at the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Primary selection of most teams will come from results at World Cup events where athletes are tested against comparable Olympic-like fields of competitors. “Our general philosophy is to select as many athletes as possible against a competitive field that is similar to what they will face during the Olympics,” said Alan Ashley, USSA vice president of athletics.

“Our goal is to be best in the world, which translates into winning more medals than any other nation at the Olympics in skiing and snowboarding. We reached our goal of 10 medals in 2002 at Salt Lake City and we’re confident – the coaches, the athletes, our staff – that we’ll have the most skiing and snowboarding medals next February,” he said.

“Historically, we’ve found the best way to select athletes who will have the best opportunity for Olympic success is from head-to-head competition against essentially the same field they will face in the Olympics, at Torino. It’s a very objective process, based on results; coaches have a bit of discretion if they need it in rare cases.”

U.S. ski and snowboard athletes will account for the largest single contingent on the U.S. Olympic Team, as many as 78 athletes. USSA and USOC will jointly name the teams starting Jan. 8, 2006. Following is the tentative listing of announcements and Olympic Team sizes:

-Jan. 8 – Ski jumping (up to six athletes)
-Jan. 12 – Cross country (up to 16, no more than eight of one gender)
-Jan. 16 – Nordic combined (up to six)
-Jan. 21 – Snowboard (up to 16, no more than 10 of one gender)
-Jan. 25 – Alpine (up to 22, maximum of 14 of one gender)
-Jan. 25 – Freestyle (up to 14, maximum of eight of one gender)

For more details, go to: www.ussa.org, click on specific sport, and then “Eligibility/Criteria.”

U.S. SKI TEAM OLYMPIC SELECTION OVERVIEW

NOTE: This information is designed solely as an overview of – not an in-depth look at – the Olympic Team selection criteria by sport. More detailed information is available by sport at www.ussa.org, then click up-top on Eligibility/Criteria. Up to four athletes may start in each event; results are from the 2006 season.

CROSS COUNTRY
Team Size: TBD (up to 16*)
Criteria:
1. Best World Cup ranking
2. Lowest FIS points
3. Best single World Cup
Announce: Jan. 12, Park City

*Total team size in nordic sports is 28 between nordic combined, jumping and cross country.