Ruka, Finland – A stacked field of 19 athletes, including World Cup winner K.C. Oakley, national champions Troy Murphy, Nessa Dziemian and Tom Rowley , and Olympians Heidi Kloser, Patrick Deneen, Brad Wilson and Bryon Wilson, will represent the U.S. Freestyle Moguls Ski Team for the 2015-16 season. The team was officially named ahead of the 2016 FIS Freestyle World Cup opener, scheduled for Saturday in Ruka.

“I see the start of each new season as a new challenge. We have a great team to work with, filled with very talented rookies and veterans, each of which will bring a different set of strengths and skills into competitions,” said head coach Matt Gnoza. “With all of our recent retirements (including star Hannah Kearney) we will need to come together and work as team. With over 1,000 water ramp jumps and 60 days on snow behind us this prep season, I am starting to see this group become a stronger team. Everyone has worked hard in their preparations and I fully expect that work to pay off this season.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Freestyle Mogul Team will open the 2015-16 season with experience on its side. Last year the Canadian team found success in difficult snow conditions at Ruka with Philippe Marquis grabbing first place on the men’s side and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe finishing second for the women.

The Canadian team has been in Finland for the last two weeks training and is ready to start the season strong.

“With the season starting soon, I’ve been raising my intensity level in training to match how I would compete the day of an event,” said Marquis. “I feel prepared. I’m in a good mental state of mind and feel great physically. I’m hoping to improve on my performances from last season. I want to build momentum from my success and become more consistent.”

Eyes will be on defending Crystal Globe champion Mikaël Kingsbury as he looks to break the all-time FIS World Cup wins record for mogul skiers. Currently, the native of Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, is tied at 28 victories with legendary French skier Edgar Grospiron.

“I feel like I’ve had one of my best off-seasons so far in my career,” said Kingsbury “I was able to fine-tune my tricks on the water ramps. The entire team is looking strong and I believe we have the capability to be on the podium every single World Cup. We’re all pushing each other to be better. I’m excited to also potentially break Edgar Grospiron’s record. It’s a big honour to surpass a legend like him. I hope I can do it early in the season so that I can focus on new goals throughout the year.”

The Canadian team is also coming off a season where five women placed in the top-six overall in the FIS World Cup standings. Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who finished in second place for the fourth consecutive season to the now-retired American, Hannah Kearney, led the team. Sister Chloé came in third and was followed in order by Audrey Robichaud, Andi Naude, and finally Maxime Dufour-Lapointe.

“There will be new challenges for us this year and a new Crystal Globe winner without Hannah Kearney being on tour anymore,” said Justine Dufour-Lapointe. “So now we have to challenge and push each other to be the best that we can be. I want to put myself in a position each competition to be on the podium and to hopefully win my first Crystal Globe, too. We had a great off-season and we feel stronger than we ever have before.”

Qualification for the Ruka World Cup starts at 12 p.m. local time or 5 a.m. EST / 2 a.m. PST on Saturday. The finals are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. local time or 11 a.m. EST / 8 a.m. PST.

2016 U.S. Freestyle Ski Team

Name (hometown; home club) (skis, boots, bindings, poles, helmet, goggles, glasses, protection) birthdate
*Indicates Olympian

A Team
Jeremy Cota (Carabassett Valley, ME; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club) (Bomber, Full Tilt, Marker, Swix, Oakley, Oakley) 10/24/1988
Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) (Ascent, Full Tilt, Zipline, Shred, Shred) 12/25/1987 *
Heidi Kloser (Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) (Hart, Dalbello, Oakley, Oakley) 9/18/1992 *
K.C. Oakley (Piedmont, CA; Park City Freestyle Team) (Bomber, Tecnica, Zipline, Oakley, Oakley) 5/5/1988
Morgan Schild (Pittsford, NY; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) (ID One USA, Full Tilt, ID One USA) 8/25/1997
Bradley Wilson (Butte, MT; Wasatch Freestyle, Deer Valley Resort) (ID One USA, Tecnica, Oakley, Oakley) 6/5/1992 *

B Team
Keaton McCargo (Telluride, CO; Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club) (Bomber, Tecnica, ID One USA, Oakley, Oakley) 10/7/1995
Troy Murphy (Bethel, ME; Planet Ski International) (ID One USA, Dalbello, ID One USA, Oakley, Oakley) 6/13/1992
Thomas Rowley (Long Beach, NY; Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club) (ID One USA, Tecnica, ID One USA, POC, Oakley) 7/2/1994
Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, NY; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) (ID One, Full Tilt, ID One) 6/21/1993
Bryon Wilson (Butte, MT; Wasatch Freestyle, Deer Valley Resort) (ID One USA, Tecnica, ID One USA, Oakley, Oakley) 4/7/1988 *

C Team
Ryan Dyer (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club) (Hart, Full Tilt, Zipline, POC) 6/29/1991
Nessa Dziemian (East Hampstead, NH; Carrabassett Valley Academy) (ID One USA, ID One, POC, POC, POC) 4/13/1994
Tess Johnson (Vail, CO; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) (ID One USA, Lange, Oakley) 6/19/2000
Ali Kariotis (Tiburon, CA; Squaw Valley Freestyle Team) (ID One, Tecnica, ID One USA, Uvex, Uvex) 4/29/1995
Mikaela Matthews (Frisco, CO; Team Summit) (Dalbello, Uvex, Uvex, Uvex) 12/24/1991
Bruce Perry Jr. (Winter Park, CO; Winter Park Competition Center) (ID One USA, Dalbello, ID One USA, Oakley, Oakley) 10/9/1995
Sophia Schwartz (Sun Valley, ID; Steamboat Spring Winter Sports Club) (Ascente, Fischer, Zipline) 11/24/1990
Lane Stoltzner (Park Ridge, IL; Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club) (Hart, Lange, Marker) 12/21/1990

2016 U.S. Freestyle Staff
Todd Schirman, Program Director
Katie Fieguth, Program Manager
Dr. David Goltz, U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Physician
Mike Bahn, Strength and Conditioning Coach
Chuck Williams, PT/ATC
Pam Lemons, Sport Psychologist
Caitlin Furin, Press Officer

Coaching Staff
Matt Gnoza, Head Moguls Coach
Lance Field, Moguls Coach
Caleb Martin, Moguls Coach
Glenn Eddy, Moguls Coach

Canadians expected to compete in Ruka:

Men:
P.-O. Gagné (Montreal, QC)
Marc-Antoine Gagnon (Terrebonne, QC)
Mikaël Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, QC)
Philippe Marquis (Quebec City, QC)
Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh (Quebec City, QC)
Jordan Kober (Penticton, BC)
Laurent Dumais (Quebec City, QC)

Women:
Chloé Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC)
Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC)
Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC)
Alex-Anne Gagnon (Terrebonne, QC)
Andi Naude (Penticton, BC)
Audrey Robichaud (Quebec City, QC)