With the start of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Eden Prairie's Alicia Tong will be watching for she has hopes of a future Olympics herself.
The talented and versatile 16-year-old rider is in Pennsylvania this week for the U.S. Revolution Tour, a progressive venue for today’s top junior riders to take the competitive stage in halfpipe and slopestyle. The tour serves as a stepping-stone for athletes making the transition from competing at the grassroots level to the elite level.
As a competitive snowboarder, Tong has competed in all six disciplines: Slalom, Grand Slalom, Halfpipe, Slopestyle, BoarderCross and Rail Jam. In the 2012 USASA Snowboard National Championships, Tong finished sixth overall. She has competed in 29 competitions, bringing home a total of six gold medals, 11 silver medals and seven bronze medals. She has now decided to focus solely on one discipline, the slopestyle, which is making its debut at the Sochi Olympics.
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Tong is as dedicated to her studies as she is to riding. How does she travel and get a high-quality, highly-accountable education? The 11th grader attends MTS Minnesota Connections Academy, a K-12 online public school that students across the state attend from home. Education comes first for this straight A student and her parents, who decided in 2013 to enroll in the full-time virtual school because of its rigorous academic program. They also value its flexible schedule, which help Tong juggle getting a first-class education while making possible the extensive training required to make her Olympic dreams come true.
To test your knowledge of Olympic trivia, visit CA's free, online Quiz Bowl Challenge at www.connectionsacademy.com/quizbowl.