{"id":2453576,"date":"2020-01-22T22:32:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T05:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners\/"},"modified":"2020-01-23T07:54:08","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T14:54:08","slug":"young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners\/","title":{"rendered":"Young AVSC athletes given opportunity to be X Games forerunners"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7663671373556\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-319562-77\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-1024x680.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Hunter Maytin, 12, practices in the superpipe on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Maytin is in the AVSC Freestyle Team 1 program and lives in Aspen. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Hunter Maytin, 12, practices in the superpipe on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Maytin is in the AVSC Freestyle Team 1 program and lives in Aspen. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-1024x680.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Hunter Maytin, 12, practices in the superpipe on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Maytin is in the AVSC Freestyle Team 1 program and lives in Aspen. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-1-658x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Tabatha Galicia, 14, left, and Hunter Maytin, 12, pose for a portrait at the bottom of the X Games superpipe during practice on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Both AVSC athletes are forerunning the superpipe for this year\u2019s X Games. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"16\">\n<p><strong>Tabatha Galicia, 14, left, and Hunter Maytin, 12, pose for a portrait at the bottom of the X Games superpipe during practice on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Both AVSC athletes are forerunning the superpipe for this year\u2019s X Games. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-1-658x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Tabatha Galicia, 14, left, and Hunter Maytin, 12, pose for a portrait at the bottom of the X Games superpipe during practice on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Both AVSC athletes are forerunning the superpipe for this year\u2019s X Games. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-2-1024x664.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Tabatha Galicia, 14, snowboards in the X Games superpipe while practicing to be a forerunner on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Galicia is in the Devo 2 Snowboard program at AVSC and lives in New Castle. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Tabatha Galicia, 14, snowboards in the X Games superpipe while practicing to be a forerunner on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Galicia is in the Devo 2 Snowboard program at AVSC and lives in New Castle. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/xforerunners-atd-012220-2-2-1024x664.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Tabatha Galicia, 14, snowboards in the X Games superpipe while practicing to be a forerunner on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Galicia is in the Devo 2 Snowboard program at AVSC and lives in New Castle. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Tabatha Galicia is afraid to fall. It\u2019s probably something the 14-year-old snowboarder from New Castle isn\u2019t overly accustomed to, but considering the stage, it\u2019s a valid fear. After all, it is X Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s kind of stressful, because if you fall you know everyone is watching,\u201d Galicia said before training Tuesday at Buttermilk. \u201cI saw some fall yesterday. I\u2019m still stressed out a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She\u2019s also incredibly excited for the opportunity. Galicia is one of the few forerunners at X Games Aspen this week, meaning she gets the opportunity to train with the women\u2019s halfpipe snowboarding competitors when they do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club athlete also will be the first to drop into the pipe before Saturday\u2019s finals as part of her forerunning duties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cShe is helping get the crowd stoked. She makes sure the cameramen and camerawomen know what they are doing and gets all the competitors super amped on her awesome snowboarding,\u201d said Josh Ganz, Galicia\u2019s AVSC coach. \u201cShe absolutely loves the halfpipe \u2014 that\u2019s one of her favorite disciplines in snowboarding and she works really hard at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There are a handful of young skiers and snowboarders at X Games this week who get to slip the courses \u2014 an effort to remove any of the small bumps and ruts that may impede the competitors \u2014 but only a small few get to be forerunners. Along with Galicia, 11-year-old Aspen freeskier Hunter Maytin will get to be a forerunner for the men\u2019s halfpipe skiing competition, which includes local star and reigning X Games Aspen gold medalist Alex Ferreira.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m a little nervous,\u201d Maytin said. \u201cIt was great hanging out with everybody, getting to meet a bunch of new people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">AVSC handpicked Maytin and Galicia for the honors this week as they demonstrated certain attributes, such as a passion for the sport, that it felt made them deserving of the role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWith AVSC, we decide our forerunners based on age, ability and, even more importantly, if they demonstrate our core values: teamwork, integrity and commitment,\u201d Ganz said, saying Galicia showed just that. \u201cShe is always trying to help out her teammates and stoke them up and offer suggestions when she can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Being a forerunner is a great opportunity for the young athletes. On top of it all, the extra practice sessions under the lights are a chance for them to experience all the glory of something like X Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s extra training time, hanging out with the big guys and seeing how they approach it,\u201d said Maytin\u2019s AVSC coach, Greg Ruppel. \u201cHe is here to psyche up the crowd. Sometimes at the World Cup they use forerunners to kind of set a baseline, but here it\u2019s just more to give a young kid an opportunity to come out and ski this venue and stoke up the crowd before the main guys get up there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The women\u2019s snowboarding superpipe final with Galicia is scheduled for 8:45 p.m. Saturday, while the men\u2019s skiing superpipe final is schedule for 7 p.m. Sunday with Maytin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/young-avsc-athletes-given-opportunity-to-be-x-games-forerunners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hunter Maytin, 12, practices in the superpipe on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Maytin is in the AVSC Freestyle Team 1 program and lives in Aspen. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Tabatha Galicia, 14, left, and Hunter Maytin, 12, pose for a portrait at the bottom of the X Games superpipe during practice on [&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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 19:28:13","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":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2453600,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453576\/revisions\/2453600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}