By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

NORWAY – Andrew Kahkonen has some dollars in his pocket, a snowboard under his feet and a dream in his heart.

The 19-year-old Norway native and Fryeburg Academy graduate leaves for California next weekend to compete in the 2006 National Championships of the United States of America Snowboard Association in Truckee, Calif., at the Northstar-at-Tahoe ski resort.

As the enthusiastic teen said Friday, he’ll be riding with “the bigger guys.”

“This is the first entry to the pros,” Kahkonen said.

If he does well in the week-long competition, it could lead to bigger stages for him to show off his snowboarding skills, including the grand prize, the Olympic Games. Other snowboarders who have competed for the United States in the Olympics began their national ascension in the USASA.

Kahkonen has one word for the chance to someday compete on the international stage: “Awesome.”

Kahkonen began skiing at age 9 but was on a snowboard by 10. “I like going fast and being in the air,” he said. “Once you get the hang of it, you can have so much fun with it.”

He racked up enough points in local competitions at places like Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry to qualify for the national championships, where about 1,300 other snowboarders will compete in categories including slopestyle, boardercross, and halfpipe.

Kahkonen, who ranks first in Maine in the Open Class category, landed a wild-card slot in the halfpipe competition but will vie for first place in slopestyle, where snowboarders fly down a hill, hitting jumps and sailing over boxes and rails along the way.

Doing some back flips too would be good. The more technical your performance, the higher your score, Kahkonen explained. “You have to do everything clean, without falling or touching a hand to the ground,” he said.

His trip will cost about $1,500 including airfare, hotel and other expenses, and friends have stepped in to help him with the cost.

They set up a fund at Androscoggin Bank in Paris where people can make donations. The Fryeburg Academy Alumni Association board paid Kahkonen’s entry fee of $250, and he also received some money from his employer, River Builders, a log home manufacturer in Harrison.

So far, Kahkonen has about $500 to $600 of his expenses covered. And Sunny Breeze, a snowboard shop with locations in Newry and Portland, donated a snowboard to him for the event. But he isn’t overly concerned about the money. His focus is on the competition and testing himself among the best. “I just want to see how far I can take it,” he said.