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Shannon Branthoover training in December in Breckenridge, Colo. (Submitted photo / January 30, 2013) |
Big sacrifices are paying off in a huge way for 15-year-old Indian Head snowboarder Shannon Branthoover, who is competing in a national competition at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
The Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Qualifiers and U.S. Revolution Tour are scheduled for Feb. 1 - 7. Branthoover will compete in slopestyle and halfpipe contests Feb. 2 and 3.
“It’s another step on the path to get to the next level of snowboarding,” her father, Jeff Branthoover said. “Whatever her goals are, this is a step in the right direction.”
The competition will give snowboarders national media exposure and could be a stepping stone toward competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, according to Seven Springs communications manager Anna Weltz.
Top athletes at the Seven Springs competition will move on to the Burton U.S. Open in Vail, Colo.
Shannon Branthoover left home to further her snowboarding career earlier this year, moving to Maine to attend The Maine Winter Sports Center and Carrabassett Valley Academy.
She said being away from her parents is usually not hard.
“It probably is for them,” she said. “They call me a lot.”
Her father said winter sports were a family activity from early in Shannon’s life.
“From the time Shannon was 3 years old, we spent time on the mountain together,” he said.
