Utah Winter Games host Olymic-type sports
The Winterfest celebration on Dec. 15 will open the Utah Winter Games’ 16th season.
The Winterfest will feature a snowboard clinic for beginners, ice sport demonstrations for figure skating, curling and ice hockey, free food, a disc jockey, prizes, and a torch-light parade and lighting ceremony.
Since it started in 1986, the Utah Winter Games hosts competitions throughout the state in every Olympic winter sport with the ultimate hope a Utah athlete would someday be represented on an Olympic podium.
The Utah Winter Games acted as a springboard from which the bid for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympics was secured.
This year, the games will host many competitions and clinics at official Olympic sites. They include the Utah Olympic Park, the Utah Olympic Oval, the Soldier Hollow, Park City Mountain Resort and the Ogden Ice Sheet.
The clinics, offered in 17 winter sports, are free and taught by professional instructors. To register go to www.utahwintergames.
org. All levels of experience are encouraged to participate.
Two new clinics will be added to the Utah Winter Games this year. On Jan. 5, “Snowdeck” clinic, a combination of skateboarding and snowboarding, will be presented.
A Slopestyle clinic will be on Dec. 15. This clinic is for the more advanced skiers and riders who are looking to beef-up their tricks on kickers and hits. It also prepares athletes for the Utah Winter Games slopestyle competition.
Utah Winter Games clinics begin in November and run through December, and competitions take place Jan. 2 through 20.
The Utah Winter Games is offering thousands of dollars to promising young athletes who need supplemental funds in the pursuit of their athletic dreams. The Utah Winter Games annually allocates scholarship funds to those who have demonstrated a need for help with training and competition costs.
Scholarship applicants must meet specific qualifications including participation in past Utah Winter Games clinics and/or events, a demonstrated need for financial assistance, and past athletic achievement and future goals. Applicants are also encouraged to detail their accomplishments or recognition in school, church and/or community service.
“This grant will help me to succeed in my goals in ski jumping. I will use this money for the excellent coaching I receive and for equipment,” said Chris Francis, 13-year-old Nordic Ski Jumper.
Information compiled from www.utahwintergam-
es.org and press releases from the Utah Winter Games