{"id":795345,"date":"2019-04-30T17:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T23:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete\/"},"modified":"2019-04-30T17:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T23:28:00","slug":"olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic skateboarding qualifiers start soon, Shaun White wants to compete"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.8055555555556\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-365249-113\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | A screen grab from Shaun White's new Biofreeze commercial, where he is described as a\" kid phenom beating kids half his a three-time olympic gold medalist is now process of trying to qualify for the olympics in class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"8.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4.jpg\" alt=\"A screen grab from Shaun White's new Biofreeze commercial, where he is described as a \" kid phenom beating kids half his a three-time olympic gold medalist is now process of trying to qualify for the olympics in><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>A screen grab from Shaun White&#8217;s new Biofreeze commercial, where he is described as a &#8220;kid phenom now beating kids half his age.&#8221; White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder, is now in the process of trying to qualify for the Olympics in skateboarding.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Townsend Bessent \/ Vail Daily File Photo | Shaun White boosts out of the halfpipe during the 2016 Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vail.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-1.jpg\" alt=\"Shaun White boosts out of the halfpipe during the 2016 Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vail.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Shaun White boosts out of the halfpipe during the 2016 Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vail.<\/strong><br \/>Townsend Bessent \/ Vail Daily File Photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Dominique Taylor \/ Vail Daily file photo | Shaun White flies out of the halfpipe during his victory run during the 2013 Burton U.S. Open men's halfpipe finals in Vail.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-2.jpg\" alt=\"Shaun White flies out of the halfpipe during his victory run during the 2013 Burton U.S. Open men's halfpipe finals in Vail.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Shaun White flies out of the halfpipe during his victory run during the 2013 Burton U.S. Open men&#8217;s halfpipe finals in Vail.<\/strong><br \/>Dominique Taylor \/ Vail Daily file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | An incorrect headline from Transworld Skateboarding suggests the U.S. Olympic skateboarding team has already been decided, when qualifiers have yet to begin.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-3.jpg\" alt=\"An incorrect headline from Transworld Skateboarding suggests the U.S. Olympic skateboarding team has already been decided, when qualifiers have yet to begin.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>An incorrect headline from Transworld Skateboarding suggests the U.S. Olympic skateboarding team has already been decided, when qualifiers have yet to begin.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | An incorrect headline from a popular skateboarding vlogger\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-4.jpg\" alt=\"An incorrect headline from a popular skateboarding vlogger\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>An incorrect headline from a popular skateboarding vlogger<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"| An incorrect headline from legendary California skatepark The Berrics\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/ShaunWhite-VDN-043019-4-5.jpg\" alt=\"An incorrect headline from legendary California skatepark The Berrics\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>An incorrect headline from legendary California skatepark The Berrics<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">When USA Skateboarding launched a national skateboarding team in March, the announcement came with some confusion in the industry. A major point of clarification was needed \u2014 the national skateboarding team was not the U.S. Olympic skateboarding team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Fans of competitive snowboarding spotted the misinformation right away, as they well knew that the Olympic team selection would be based on results in a series of qualifiers, much like snowboarding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Also, there was no mention of Shaun White.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">White has made it clear that he intends to make every effort to qualify for the skateboarding team \u2014 in fact he\u2019s viewing skateboarding\u2019s Olympic debut as exactly what he needs to stay motivated for snowboarding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Appearing on the \u201cTony Robbins Podcast\u201d recently, White said Olympic skateboarding might be the compliment in his life which brings him back to the next Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAfter I\u2019m done skating, I\u2019m gonna hate skating, I\u2019m gonna wanna go snowboarding,\u201d White told Robbins. \u201cAnd sitting here right now, you couldn\u2019t drag me to the mountain. But after two whole years of skateboarding, I\u2019m gonna be ready to go back, and I\u2019m gonna have this fire that those other competitors won\u2019t, because they\u2019ve been in the same thing every day trying to find that passion to keep them going, and it\u2019s tough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">White told Robbins he was in the car on his way to pick up his gold medal from the 2018 Olympics when he decided he would try to get a spot in the skateboarding qualifiers, whenever they may be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On April 18, the qualifying schedule was made official, with the first U.S. event a competition with which White is quite familiar, the summer Dew Tour, taking place June 13-16 in Long Beach, California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis is truly a historic time for skateboarding as we embark on the first-ever Olympics, and to have Dew Tour leading the qualifying charge is an honor,\u201d said Adam Cozens, vice president and general manager of Dew Tour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">\u2018IT WAS BAD\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">White has notched multiple wins on the summer Dew Tour, where he won several contests in halfpipe skateboarding, a discipline known as \u201cvert,\u201d from 2006 to 2011.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Vert, however, is not among the disciplines chosen for the Olympics, so White has had to adapt to the discipline known as \u201cpark,\u201d where a skateboarder catches air onto transitions similar to vert. The venue is a combination of several quarter pipe and halfpipe-like features joined together in a large bowl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In December, White told Karen Rosen with Team USA about the steep learning curve he\u2019s had to adjust to in his journey from vert skating to park skating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe formats are different, the athletes are different, the judging\u2019s different,\u201d White told Rosen. \u201cI was falling during my runs and the thing I didn\u2019t realize is that it\u2019s called the \u2018jam\u2019 format. So it\u2019s not like you go, then I go, then you go. No, everyone goes at the same time and I\u2019m worried about crashing into people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">White competed in September in a competition in Marseille, France, and didn\u2019t make the 15-man semifinal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was bad,\u201d White told Rosen. \u201cI had really a poor performance and I\u2019m very happy that happened because now I know where to be, where the level of the young skateboarders is at and I\u2019m hoping to take that loss as a motivator to now get to that place and hopefully start winning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of learning the lay of the land,\u201d White added. \u201cSo going to those things and doing terribly is exactly what I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">ONLY 20 PER DISCIPLINE<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In addition to the absence of a halfpipe, skateboarding will also differ from snowboarding in the fact that only 20 athletes will compete in each discipline. Halfpipe snowboarding allowed a total of 30, with a max of four from a single country. Skateboarding will allow a country a maximum of six total from both disciplines, park and street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The best chance for any athlete to qualify will come at the World Skateboarding Championships in 2020, which will be an opportunity for three male and three female skateboarders to qualify outright as the top three male and female World Championships finishers. The host country, Japan, will get an automatic entry to the Olympics, as well, and the remaining spots will be decided based on the top-16 rankings over the 2019\u201320 qualifying period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That period begins May 26 in London at the season opener of the 2019 World Skate\/SLS World Tour. The June 13-16 Dew Tour will serve as the first Olympic qualifier taking place in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Currently, White is not on the list of invited athletes to the Dew Tour in June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With invites hard to come by, fewer skateboarders, overall, competing than snowboarders and park being a new discipline for White, his chances at competing in Tokyo are indeed slim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But if his media hits are any indication, White has been practicing park skating quite a bit. And to that end, White is also already bringing something to skateboarding which he was known for in snowboarding \u2014 out-of-industry sponsors. A commercial for Biofreeze that\u2019s currently getting hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram shows White getting big air on park features before crashing and applying the product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The commercial describes White, 32, as a \u201ckid phenom now beating kids half his age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Josh Friedberg, the CEO of USA Skateboarding, describes White as an interesting case in skateboarding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI know he\u2019s been practicing and skating a lot more on that mission right now,\u201d Friedberg told The Associated Press. \u201cThe park discipline doesn\u2019t necessarily line up with his strength in skateboarding, which is vert skating, but you never count a person like Shaun White out. He is the ultimate competitor. So if there\u2019s anybody who could get it together and qualify for the Olympics, Shaun could potentially do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/olympic-skateboarding-qualifiers-start-soon-shaun-white-wants-to-compete\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A screen grab from Shaun White&#8217;s new Biofreeze commercial, where he is described as a &#8220;kid phenom now beating kids half his age.&#8221; White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder, is now in the process of trying to qualify for the Olympics in skateboarding.Courtesy photo Shaun White boosts out of the halfpipe during the 2016 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-795345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 03:38:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}