Members of the Snowboarding Club mingled with Olympians while volunteering at the Burton U.S. Snowboarding Open in Colorado recently.
Junior Sarah Pinsky, along with Caroline Pinsky and Adriano Polimeni, worked 12-hour shifts at the slopes from March 5 to March 8, promoting the event and helping to ensure that the trials were running smoothly.
When she wasn't on the slopes, Pinsky stayed with a volunteer host in C.O., who provided the students with meals and lodging.
Pinsky had previously volunteered at the Burton U.S. Open a few years ago when it was held in Stratton, Vt.
She said for the most part, the students worked behind the scenes with the events and interviews.
Pinsky added that the students also helped set up information booths and assisted guests of the event.
Among their other responsibilities, the students had to check the courses and be sure that no one wandered onto an active course, according to Pinsky.
She said because they worked so close to the courses, the students got the opportunity to see many of the big-name snowboarders.
Pinsky recalled one occasion when Sal Masekela, a popular sports commentator, interviewed Olympians fresh from Sochi. She said the trio even got the opportunity to meet Kevin Pearce, a well-known snowboarder and potential Olympian who was injured a year before the 2010 games.
As an avid snowboarder of 10 years, she said that seeing the inner workings of the competitive snowboarding world only helped to motivate her in pursuing the sport.
Pinsky said she hopes that the recently formed Snowboarding Club will do the same for students on campus who share her passion for snowboarding.
She said that being able to see the development of the sport, as well as the growing opportunities that are being presented to female snowboarders, "really encourages me to go out and snowboard hard and have fun."
Elena Vitullo can be reached at elena.vitullo@student.shu.edu.
