PARK CITY, UT (June 23, 2015) - After nine months of construction, athletes took their first jumps into the new Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) on Monday, June 22. A grand opening celebration for the newly renovated facility will be held on Saturday, June 27. The event will include a special evening performance by the Flying Ace All-Stars, who will preform choreographed acrobatics on the jumps.
Originally built in 1992, the water ramps at the UOP are one of the most heavily utilized training facilities of Utah's Olympic Legacy Foundation venues. The new pool features seven ramps designed specifically for aerials, moguls, freeskiing, snowboarding and big air. The pool itself was also expanded from 750,000 gallons to just over a million to accommodate the new jumps.
The Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool includes seven sport-specific jumps for athletes. (USSA)
“I don’t even know how to describe how awesome this is,” said U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerialist and World Cup champion Mac Bohonnon after taking the inaugural first jump. “We’ve been anticipating this since October 1 when they started tearing all the old jumps down. To take the first jumps with our whole team here is so much fun. The jumps are awesome. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
In partnership with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (UOLF) launched its “Project Big Air” campaign in 2014 to fund the expansion and renovation. U.S. Ski Team alum and philanthropist Spencer F. Eccles also contributed a $1 million challenge grant that jump-started the project’s successful campaign.
“With over 200 donors, making this project a reality was truly a team effort,” said UOLF President and CEO Colin Hilton. “This renovation really exemplifies the community support for winter athletics and our organization’s mission to ensure long term viability and relevance of Utah’s Olympic Legacy efforts.”
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