Freestyle Weekend Program

Waterville Valley Black & Blue Trail Smashers (WVBBTS) Snowsports Education Foundation, Waterville Valley, NH

What "Freestyle" means here

• Freeski and snowboard (USASA): slopestyle is our main focus; rail jams are optional.
• Freestyle skiing (U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Eastern Freestyle): moguls (single and dual) and aerials.

Schedule and meeting spot

• Holiday and vacation-week dates go out by email a few weeks ahead.
• When the team travels to a competition, we send several coaches, and athletes who aren't competing train at Waterville as usual.
• Families can't make every session, and that's fine. Progress in freestyle comes from time on the hill, so come as often as you can.

How we coach

Our approach is progression-based. We teach and practice the fundamentals first, then move to more advanced skills when coaches see an athlete is ready.

• Ski technique: a lot of freestyle is really good skiing. We spend time on groomers and in varied terrain working on stance, carving, edging and angulation, rotation and counter-rotation, and full laps.
• Jumping fundamentals: inspecting a feature and picking the right speed, a proper straight air (body position and pop) before tricks, 180s before 360s, grabs and style, and landing in an athletic stance.
• Park: boxes before rails, smaller jumps before bigger ones, speed control to clear knuckles and land in the sweet spot, and switch skiing.
• Moguls: easier terrain first, with a focus on form: legs together, hips and hands forward, absorbing with the legs, and holding a line.
• Flips: no flips on snow until an athlete has progressed on the trampoline and airbag and passed our 5-jump qualification test. After that, athletes flip only with a Level 200 aerials-certified coach present.

Coaches and athletes are supportive and applaud effort at every level. We are one team: Groms through A's, moguls, freeski, and snowboard.

Groups and disciplines

Competitions and championships

Like all WVBBTS programs, Freestyle is a competition program, so we expect everyone to compete at least a few times a season. Competitions are a great learning experience and show us what to work on. It's about improving, not winning, and coaches help each athlete plan runs that fit their skills.

Moguls: Eastern Freestyle (U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

• Groms and Devos compete in the Eastern Qualifier Series (EQS, "B" events). Mogul A athletes compete in the Eastern Championship Series (ECS, "A" events).
• Scoring: each B event awards Eastern Points List points: 100 for 1st, 98 for 2nd, 96.5 for 3rd, and everyone else in proportion to the 3rd-place score.
• Tri-State Championships (NH, ME, MA): invitations use the average of your best two mogul events, ranked against all ages.
• East Coast Young Gun and Junior Championships: invitations use the average of your best three events, and Tri-States can count. Young Guns (about 10 and under) and Juniors compete separately, so Groms have a real chance. East Champs also has dual moguls, aerials, a team competition, and evening activities.
• Do at least two mogul events before Tri-States, and consider a third. Mogul age groups go by birth year.
• Athletes need a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Competitor membership for mogul events.

How to register:

1. Go to services.easternfreestyle.org/schedule and pick the current season.
2. When registration opens, a green Register button appears next to the event. Under the current Eastern rules, B events open Monday at 8 PM, three weeks before the event, and close at noon two days before.
3. Sign up for the Eastern Freestyle email newsletter at easternfreestyle.org (Monday evenings) to see openings.
4. Read each event's Event Info sheet for the schedule, waiver, and discounted athlete tickets.

Slopestyle: USASA

• We focus on the USASA New Hampshire Series, with slopestyle events at resorts such as Loon, Ragged, Sunapee, and Waterville.
• Age groups go by age on December 31 of the season: Ruggie 7–8, Grom 9–10, Menehune 11–12, Breaker 13–14, Youth 15–16.
• Points: 1000 for 1st, 900 for 2nd, 800 for 3rd, and so on, plus a bonus point for each competitor you beat.
• USASA Nationals (early April): the series winner in each age group gets an automatic spot. Everyone else qualifies through the national ranking, your best three results from any USASA series. So plan on three to four slopestyle events.
• To go to Nationals you register for the waitlist during a short window in March, and you're only charged if you get in. WVBBTS brings coaches and a crew of athletes every year.
• Rail jams are optional and fun, but don't count toward qualifying.

How to register:

1. Buy a USASA competitor membership on LiveHeats and choose New Hampshire Series as your home series. Athletes 13 and under must be set up under a free parent/guardian LiveHeats account.
2. Registration for the whole season opens at once, around November 1. Events at Loon and Waterville sell out within minutes.
3. Go to liveheats.com/usasanhs → Events. For each event, click Register, log in with the account that holds the membership, add your athlete, choose the Freeski division for their age and gender, and pay.
4. Register for every event you might do, right away. There's no day-of registration.

Tentative 2026–27 B mogul schedule

Eastern Freestyle's draft. Dates may change; check the official schedule.

Get-ready checklist

• U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership (Competitor if doing moguls)
• USASA competitor membership on LiveHeats (parent account for 13 and under; home series New Hampshire)
• Stack Team App (phone app or teamapp.com): join the "USASA New Hampshire Series" and "Eastern Freestyle" groups for registration openings, event info, start lists, and results
• Eastern Freestyle email newsletter
• Our team WhatsApp groups (links are in the team emails)
• Skis, boots, poles, and helmet ready. Try boots on before the first day.

Equipment recommendations

1. Skis: length around eyebrow to head height. Twin tips are great for park and all-around skiing, and mogul skis are great for moguls. We encourage Devo and A athletes to have a pair of each. Groms can use one pair (preferably twin tips) for everything. "A" athletes should have twin tips or mogul skis depending on their specialization.
2. Bindings: mount with the mid-boot mark 1 to 2 cm behind true center. Younger athletes with smaller boots usually do best around 2 cm back; older athletes with larger boots might prefer 1 to 1.5 cm back. Match the binding to the boot: no adult boots in junior bindings, or junior boots in adult bindings.
3. Boots: sized properly and flexible enough for the athlete's weight. Toes should touch the front of the liner until you flex forward. Booster straps are recommended, especially if you're prone to shin splints.
4. Poles: upper-thigh height, or an arm angle a little steeper than 45 degrees. Poles that are too long can be cut down easily.
5. Helmet: required for all training and competition.

Snowboarders: check with our head snowboard coach.

Contacts

Competition registration problems and refunds are handled by the organization running the registration site: Eastern Freestyle for moguls, USASA for slopestyle.