Together with Toyota and Nike, USA Skateboarding – the U.S. governing body for skateboarding – announced 16 members would join the first-ever skateboarding national team. Men’s and Women’s Skateboard Park and Street events will make their Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The 16 skaters named to the national team qualified based on performance in international level events during the year before their selection. In June of 2018, USA Skateboarding became the 50th National Governing Body (NGB) recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and responsible for the selection, training, and fielding of U.S. national teams that compete in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and other sanctioned team events.
“We couldn’t be more excited to finally take the wraps off the first-ever USA Skateboarding National Team,” said Josh Friedberg, CEO of USA Skateboarding. “We’re honored to have partners like Toyota and Nike that understand the intrinsic value of the sport we love and appreciate all they’ve done to get USA Skateboarding up and running. It’s a historic moment in the history of skateboarding, and we’re looking forward to doing all we can to support these amazing skateboarders on their Road to Tokyo.”
Skateboarders will have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics based on their three best results in World Skate sanctioned events during the 2019 qualifying season (now through September 15, 2019) combined with their six best results during the 2020 qualifying season (September 16, 2019 – May 31, 2020). The 2020 World Championships will also be a direct qualifier for the games for the top 3 podium spots at each event.
“Toyota is proud to be involved with this historic moment as a proud sponsor of USA Skateboarding and the first-ever National Team announcement,” said Dedra DeLilli, group manager, Olympic and Paralympic Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. “This event marks the official start of a great journey for these incredible skateboarders. We are dedicated to helping the inaugural USA Skateboarding National Team, and look forward to the road ahead with them.”
The skaters named to the 2019 USA Skateboarding National Team include:
Women’s Park Men’s Park
Brighton Zeuner (Encinitas, CA) Alex Sorgente (Lake Worth, FL)
Bryce Wettstein (Encinitas, CA) Tom Schaar (Malibu, CA)
Jordyn Barratt (Haleiwa, HI) Tristan Rennie (Rialto, CA)
Nicole Hause (Stillwater, MN) Zion Wright (Jupiter, FL)
Women’s Street Men’s Street
Alexis Sablone (Old Saybrook, CT) Chris Joslin (Hawaiian Gardens, CA)
Jenn Soto (Jersey City, NJ) Jagger Eaton (Mesa, AZ)
Lacey Baker (Covina, CA) Louie Lopez (Hawthorne, CA)
Mariah Duran (Albuquerque, NM) Nyjah Huston (Laguna Beach, CA)
For more information on events, qualifying and athletes log on to www.usaskateboarding.net or follow on social media to stay in the loop for all announcements.
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About USA Skateboarding
As the recognized governing body for skateboarding in the United States, USA Skateboarding (USAS) is responsible for the selection, training, and fielding of national teams that compete in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and other sanctioned team events. USAS is also responsible for the development of youth skateboarding initiatives that support grassroots programs, education, licensing, and safety while respecting and enhancing the existing culture of skateboarding in the United States. USAS is dedicated to promoting and supporting the sport of Skateboarding while striving to guarantee that Skateboarding continues to provide the unique characteristics relevant to the sport’s participants, and maintaining the integrity and authenticity of Skateboarding as a sport, a passion, and a lifestyle. For more information, visit USASkateboarding.net.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we’ve built more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 16 years are still on the road today.
