New Athletes Emerge for 2018 Paralympic Games in South Korea

Andrew and Jay at USASA Regional Race - Copper Mountain

As four AAS athletes moved up to the National Team and will attend the Paralympics this year, AAS is developing new talent in its Pipeline.  Two credible prospects for the 2018 US Paralympic Snowboard Team have begun training.  They are 16 year old Jay Gaines, and 21 year old Andrew Hale.

This year is Jay’s second year with AAS.  To get him on-snow as much as possible, his family has relocated from Kentucky to Copper Mountain.  Recently, in USASA Rocky Mountain’s regional races 1 and 2, Jay took first in the Adaptive BoarderX competition and third in the Able-bodied Adaptive Boarder X.

Andrew, having only been on a snowboard 15 times since his limb loss, competed in and won a Bronze and Gold Medal at the USASA Rocky Mountain Series 3 and 4.

His high-skill potential was identified in December at the Hartford Ski Spec. Both Andrew and Jay will be attending the USASA Nationals this spring at Copper Mountain.

AAS invites you to contribute to help pay costs associated with Jay and Andrew’s training.  We are hoping to cover expenses with small contributions from a large number of people.