PARK CITY, Utah (Sept. 17, 2024) - U.S. Ski & Snowboard is thrilled to announce the nine athletes who have accepted their nominations to the 2024-25 U.S. Para Snowboard Team across all classifications and disciplines. 

The 2024-25 U.S. Para Snowboard Team is highlighted by 2024 overall, banked slalom and snowboard cross Crystal Globe winner and 2024 “Best Athlete with a Disability” ESPY Award winner Brenna Huckaby and 2024 banked slalom and overall Crystal Globe winner Noah Elliott. Also headlining the team is two-time world champion and ESPY Award winner Zach Miller. Courtney Godfrey is new to the team this season after finishing the 2023-24 season ranked seventh in the world across banked slalom and snowboard cross events. 

“This is going to be a really exciting season for this team,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Para Sport Director Erik Leirfallom. “We had an extremely successful season last year, bringing home six Crystal Globes and the Nations Cup. Heading into a World Championship year, I’m confident that the team will build on that momentum and continue growing.” 

The 2024-25 FIS Para Snowboard World Cup season will kick off in late November in Landgraaf, Netherlands with two banked slalom races. The team will bounce between competitions in Europe and training in the states before finishing their season at the World Championships in Big White, Canada in March. 

Find the finalized FIS World Cup schedule here. 

2024-25 U.S. Para Snowboard Team

(Hometown; Club; College; Birthdate)

Women

• Courtney Godfrey (Mill Valley, CA; Team Utah Snowboarding; University of Arizona/Arizona State University; 12/3/1986)
• Darian Haynes (Muncie, IN; Adaptive Action Sports; 1/3/2000)
• Brenna Huckaby (Baton Rouge, LA; Team Utah Snowboarding; 1/22/1996)

Men

• Noah Elliott (St. Charles, MO; DeVry University; 7/12/1997)
• Keith Gabel (Ogden, UT; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; 7/20/1984)
• Zach Miller (Silverthorne, CO; Adaptive Action Sports; DeVry University; 3/10/1999)
• Joe Pleban (Fredericksburg, VA; Adaptive Action Sports; Christopher Newport University; 8/7/1990)
• Mike Schultz (Kimball, MN; 8/27/1981)
• Evan Strong (Haiku, HI; Adaptive Action Sports; 11/13/1986)

2024-25 U.S. PARA SNOWBOARD COACHES AND STAFF

Anouk Patty - Chief of Sport
Erik Leirfallom - Para Sport Director
Graham Watanabe - Para Snowboard Coach
Lane Clegg - Para Snowboard Coach
Brian Neff - Athletic Development Coach, Para Alpine & Para Snowboard
Ryan Odeja - Para Press Officer

FOLLOW THE U.S. PARA SNOWBOARD TEAM

Instagram: @usparaskisnowboard 
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter/X: @usskiteam
Threads: @usskiteam 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Ryan Odeja - U.S. Para Snowboard Team Press Officer
[email protected] 

Last weekend, Noah Elliott of the U.S. Para Snowboard Team was named the Colorado Snowsports Museum Adaptive Athlete of the Year at their annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Elliott is originally from St. Charles, Missouri but has spent most of his life living and training in Colorado, now calling Colorado Springs home. 

Elliott is coming off of one of his most successful seasons yet. He finished on the podium at almost every World Cup, earning the overall and banked slalom Crystal Globes. Throughout his competitive career, Elliott has become a two-time Paralympian and a Paralympic Champion, bringing home the banked slalom gold in 2018. At the same games, he also took bronze in snowboard cross. He is a four-time World Champion and has seven World Championship medals to his name.

“This is an organization that is truly for adaptive sports,” said Elliott during his acceptance speech. “It’s something that is changing the way we view disability; it's giving kids out there that have cancer like myself an opportunity to continue to strive for something, so I’m extremely honored to be here tonight.

At the same event, Lindsey Vonn and John McBride were named to the Colorado Snowsports Museum Hall of Fame, joining hundreds of other snowsports legends.  

Three-time Paralympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion and one of the most decorated Para snowboard athletes of all time, Brenna Huckaby has won the 2024 “Best Athlete with a Disability” ESPY at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, California. This is her second ESPY win and third nomination. 

The U.S. Para Snowboard Team athlete is coming off of one of the best seasons of her career, and one that she says she is “most proud of.” Huckaby’s impressive 2023-24 season included seven World Cup wins and 10 podiums across snowboard cross and banked slalom disciplines, which led to her taking home all three FIS Crystal Globes, marking her the best woman Para snowboarder of the season. 

Brenna was first nominated to the U.S. Para Snowboard Team in 2015, an opportunity that she took and ran with. By 2017, she had already been crowned World Champion three times, and was on the way to her first Winter Paralympic Games in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She brought home two gold medals in snowboard cross and banked slalom from her first games before taking a break from the sport to give birth to her second daughter in 2020. Less than a year later, she was back on the World Cup circuit and earned two more World Championships medals (one gold, one silver) in 2021. Since then, she has earned another gold and a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Paralympics all while continuing to fight for opportunities for Para athletes. Vying for the win in every event she start, Huckaby’s accolades are a testament to her strength and consistency as an athlete.

“We are thrilled to see Brenna win her second ESPY,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Brenna is a champion of Para sport and a role model for so many on and off the snow. We are lucky to have athletes like her in our organization and I’m excited to see what is to come for her heading into a World Championship season.” 

Brenna was nominated alongside Para cycling/Para nordic skier Oksana Masters and Para track and field athletes Ezra Frech and Haydin Blackwell. 

Congratulations, Brenna!

The 2024 ESPY nominations are in and Brenna Huckaby of the U.S. Para Snowboard Team is headed to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to celebrate her successes among some of the world's best athletes after her nomination in the ‘Best Athlete with a Disability’ category. The ESPY Awards, known as the "Oscars of Sports," celebrate the best of the best in athletics and will be hosted in downtown LA on July 11, 2024. 

Among the nominees are some of the most celebrated athletes in their respective sports, including Olympic champion Simone Biles, WNBA star Caitlin Clark, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and more. Last year, we saw Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin claim the title of “Best Athlete in Women’s Sports,” becoming only the second skier to win an ESPY. Zach Miller of the U.S. Para Snowboard Team also made his mark, walking away with his first ESPY for 'Best Athlete with a Disability.' 

Huckaby is a standout nominee, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist and a five-time World Champion. Introduced to the sport of para snowboarding after losing her right leg to cancer at age 14, Huckaby has reached the top of the sport and has become a leading voice in disability advocacy. 

Looking back at the start of her career, Huckaby became competitive quickly, landing her first World title only two years later. In her Paralympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, she came home with the hardware, winning two gold medals, including the first-ever gold in the banked slalom discipline. 

Outside of sport, Huckaby orchestrated a multi-faceted inclusivity campaign in the leadup to the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which resulted in her earning the right to compete in medal events initially limited to less impaired athletes—she ended up winning a gold and bronze medal. She is a mother of two young daughters and is outspoken about overcoming cancer, her mental health journey, and body positivity. 

Your vote is crucial in determining the winners! Remember to mark your calendars for the live event featured on ABC on July 11, 2024, at  8 p.m. ET/PT. 

VOTE FOR BRENNA HERE.