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Show Freestyle Championship Gets Underway This Week The 1 980 professional ski season will get under way immediately following the new year beginning with the AMF Tyrolia World Cup Freestyle Championship in the Poconos. Lasting five full days, from Monday, January 7 through Friday, January 11, the competition will count as the first two events on the season's World Cup Tour. Competing for $40,000 in prizes in the famed picturesque pictures-que resort filled mountains US will rely on 3 veterans: 24 year old Jeff Chumas of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 23 year old Kevin Dunn of Denver, Colo., and 23 year old Jumpin' Jack Johnston of Gloversville, N.Y. The number num-ber one US women's aerialist is 1 9 year old Mary Beddor of Excelsior, Minn. This is her third year on the pro circuit. Returning also this year will be both the men's and women's US moguls champions cham-pions 22 year old Mark Archibald from Ogden, and 23 year old Hilary Engisch of Williston, Vermont. Mark placed 5th in the world last year, while Ms. Engisch placed 2nd. In the combined, the US champion is 21 year old Frank Beddor III of Excelsior, Excel-sior, Minn, and brother of Mary Beddor. He is ranked ' number two in the world behind Canadian skier John Eaves. The number one US , competitor in the women's combined is 19 vear old Katv Murphy of Minneapolis, Minn. She will be tested bv newcomer Linder Lazelle Weaver, who took first in the ballet, second in the aerial, third in?the .moguls andirst overall at the American Ingress. - v Cosponsors of this year W US World Cup competition f -are AMF Tyrolia. a leading manufacturer of quick release re-lease ski bindings and the Pocono Mountains Vacation' Bureau. Hosting the events this, year will b? the, Big VBo$lder -ki varea in. Lake Hafmony. Penn.. Jack Frost Mountain Ski area in White Haven. Penn.. the Camel-back Camel-back Ski area in Tannerville. Penn.. and the Shawnee Mountain Ski area in Shaw-neeron-Delaware. Penn. of northeastern Pennsylvania will be top ballet, mogul and aerial specialists from the U.S., Canada and Europe. The event will be televised later this month on NBC Sports World, The World Cup Tour is an international competition co-sanctioned co-sanctioned by the Freestyle Skiers of America, the Canadian Freestyle Skiers Association, and the European Euro-pean Freestyle Skiers Assn. Rankings and prizes are awarded in aerial, moguls, ballet and combined. , Seventeen American men and seven women have been preseeded on this year's tour ; based . on their last year's performances. Plus, an additional ad-ditional 40 U.S, skiers also : qualified at the American Ingress held this past Dec. 14, 15 and 16 at Nordic Valley, Utah.. Top U.S. hopefuls include .ballet -specialists Bob Howard, How-ard, 24, from Renp, Nev., and 22 year old Jan Bucher , from Salt Lake City. Both are ranked number one in the US and the world in the men's and women's competition respectively. Last year, in her first year on the tour, , Ms. Bucher. a former figure , skater, captured first place in an amazing 7 out of 8 events she entered. In addition to the ballet, Ms. Bucher will also be competing in the moguls this year for the first time. . , In the men's aerials, the. |