Although the snow is gone in Iowa, three members of the Iowa State Ski and Snowboard Club are gearing up for a national competition.

Joe Miller, senior in marketing, Anastasia Sprowl, sophomore in pre-advertising, and Zach Christensen, junior in graphic design, recently qualified to participate in the United States of America Snowboard Association National Competition.

The event will be held in Waterville, N.H., March 26 through April 2.

The trio have qualified for the boardercross, a snowboarding contest. The downhill race is a timed event where racers go over jumps, and there’s no way around the jumps because they are gated off.

“The event is comparable to a BMX race. There are no tricks, just time,” said Miller, president of the club.

The members qualified by obtaining points at the Alt Series Regional Tournament in Minnesota on Jan. 30 and at Afton Alps Ski Resort on Feb. 19.

Each contestant in a snowboarding race is allotted a point value. In order to qualify, a person has to have an average point value equal to the top-three finish in two of the three events. A person has to have a total that beats someone else, Miller said.

This is the first year anyone from the club has attempted to compete on the national level, he said.

“At the beginning of the year, I really didn’t think of the possibility of qualifying for nationals,” Miller said.

He said if the club had more money, more of the members probably would have been able to participate in the regional competitions.

The group members receive financing from the Government of the Student Body, but this is the first year they received money for racing. Much of the money for the competition came out of the members’ pockets.

Currently, the group is planning a fund-raiser to help pay for the competition, Christensen said.

“We’re selling raffle tickets for a dollar to a concert at the [Maintenance Shop], and if you win, you get to pick the concert you attend,” Christensen said.

Due to the lack of snow, practicing in Iowa has become difficult. Miller and Sprowl recently traveled to Colorado to snowboard.

“We’re probably going to do a lot of training in Utah over spring break,” Miller said. He said he is curious about how the Midwestern snowboarders compare to athletes from the coasts.

Christensen said he is excited about the trip to New Hampshire.

“I’ve never really competed before, plus I get to ride out in the East Coast,” he said.

Christensen also said he hopes the trip will boost the club’s profile on campus.