HOOD RIVER, OR- Professional skateboarder Adam Schwippert, of Stratton, leaves later this month for the Columbia River Valley to compete in the Slalom Skateboarding World Championships at Hood River, Oregon. Nearly 100 competitors from the United States, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand are expected to participate in three days of racing (July 17, 18, and 19) that include giant, hybrid, and tight slalom events. Athletes will compete in either the men’s or woman’s classes that are broken out by pro, amateur, or junior divisions.

Schwippert, a former amateur and junior world champion is also scheduled to compete at the US Nationals in Lafayette, CO the weekend prior to the Hood River event. Schwippert hopes that a podium finish in any of the three disciplines but especially the giant slalom (GS), which is his best event, will “kick start” him into the following weekend’s competitions.

Upon his return, Schwippert has several more contests planned. He will spend Labor Day weekend competing against the best riders from Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and France at the Amsterdam World Cup in the Netherlands. Later in September, Schwippert will race the top Canadian and U.S. skaters at the Can-Am Championships in Antrim, NH, and then finish the season at “The Farm” in Bethel, CT.

Schwippert is a graduate of the Stratton Mountain School, where he excelled in both freestyle and alpine snowboarding. He begins his sophomore year at the University of Vermont where he is majoring in economics and is a member of the UVM snowboard team. Schwippert competes in the Burton Global Open Series of snowboarding and will spend semester winter break at Laax, Switzerland for the Burton European Open.