Well guess what, if you don’t speak up or provide feedback things never improve, if the organisers don’t know that there’s a problem then how can they fix it?

Which brings me on to the point of this post. After my last blog post and some comments I’d littered around on Facebook the team at Soul Sports approached me to hear my side of the story, subsequently I have put myself forward as a self-appointed unofficial rider rep/agony aunt/bitching post and if at all possible, positive feedback provider on behalf of the snowboarders and free-skiers that compete in the UK.

I know from experience and conversations that I have had with a lot of the riders/parents/overseas outcasts that are involved in the UK scene that not everyone is happy, that many of us have issues and a range of things we think could be done better or differently, but do accept that we are not aware of all the considerations that affect the organisers decision-making. I also know that a lot of you don’t want to say anything to the event organisers/powers-that-be because you are concerned that it might affect your competition placings or the potential for you to gain sponsorship.

So what I want to do is give you the opportunity to vent your respective spleens and contact me with your feedback. I can then act as the middle-man and pass this feedback on to Spencer Claridge in a way that if you wish to remain anonymous you can, but also giving them the opportunity to get some constructive feedback from you. They will then respond by way of an FAQ so that they can a) clarify the reasons behind the decisions made, b) inform us about the issues organisers and staff face, and the work put in, c) share with us ideas that they have for the future, and d) ultimately, improve the events for all concerned.

This is your opportunity to speak your mind and hopefully get something done about it. I have warned them that I won’t be censoring the emails but please do try to be constructive and not abusive. I’m not doing this on behalf of Soul Sports I’m doing this because I think it’s about time we quit bitching and actually set about informing those in charge of the things that annoy us. I’d like to add that this is not solely about the British Snow Tour but the wider UK snowboarding & free-skiing scene, so if you have things you want to say about other competitions, events etc. then I’m more than happy to pass that on as well. If you would rather go direct to Spencer then I know he’d be more than happy to hear from you.

Please use the form below as a starting point, I’ve included fields for contact info in case you want me to contact you for a more detailed chat/email conversation but I won’t pass on any name or contact info unless you expressly give me permission

I spent last night pondering it with Jools and we’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll get more out of doing the Snowflex Series than I will the Snow Tour.  I may still be able to do the MK Big Air leg of the Snow Tour but based on the last 2 years, the kickers won’t be to my liking and I’ll either kill myself on the large kicker again or feel like a complete wuss for stepping down to the mini-size, so we’re leaving that pencilled in as a maybe and we’ll go if we have the spare cash at the time.

It’s such a shame that with such a great scene in the UK that the comp organisers can’t work together to get comps on seperate weekends, I can understand smaller local comps clashing with those at slopes at the other end of the country but when there are two main, established tours in existence and two out of 3 legs clash with each other it does make the conspiracy theorist in you conasider whether it’s been done on purpose.

So what’s made me choose the Westbeach Snowflex Series over the indoor legs  of the British Snow Tour?  Well I realised that despite the TTR ranking points I would get from the Snow Tour there’s very little else about the competition that will benefit me.  With minimal practice time and 2 competition runs I just won’t get the riding time to progress as much as I will do in the Snowflex Series which is a jam format with a 2 run final.  Add into that the consistent nature of Snowflex kickers and I’ll at least be able to use them as day-long practice sessions even if I don’t manage to beat the kids to the finals. Of course there’s also the issue of prizes!   Thankfully the Snow Tour is doing a dry slope weekender with all 3 disciplines at the Norfolk Snowsports centre in Norwich so I’ll be able to shred some plastic and pick up some ranking points at that instead.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Brits this season as well.  With people already talking about not returning if it goes back to Laax (it’s quite costly) and others wondering whether they’ll go no matter where it’s held (for a range of personal & political reasons) it will be interesting to see whether the dates are announced quickly in a bid to get people signed up and committed or whether they’ll wait to see what other camps, competitions and gatherings are advertised before they make their move.

If you want to register for the Westbeach Snowflex Series you can do so here.  I’d post a link for the Snow Tour as well but their site’s not sorted yet.

The Chatham crew had filled their large slope with almost all of the toys they own, although luckily they’d only put half of their long box out meaning they were able to do a quick swap for the other half when someone fell on it and went through the top. It was the usual chaotic mix of kickers and rails with a good mix of lines, some feeling quite natural to ride, others requiring a more random approach line but everyone was having a great time. The day saw an improved turnout amongst the snowboarders with 27 hitting the slope, and the day saw a good mix of seasoned locals used to the Permasnow surface and those who were new to dryslope or who were used to the (IMHO) more ride-able Snowflex surface of Warmwell. Some stuck it out and got the hang of it while others decided to enjoy spectating rather than struggling to ride but the day was fun for everyone.

Once again the competition ran as a jam session, fun throw-down hour and a 2 run final and it kept to time as well (something that’s a bit weird for a snowboarding comp) . There were too many good boys hitting the toys for any girls to make the overall final this time round but we put in a good showing nonetheless. I finished 4th in the over 14 women and 11th overall in the snowboarders so I was pretty pleased.

Unfortunately for me the edge was taken off my enjoyment by having to ride Permasnow in the hot weather, having had 1 board ruined by the stuff and seen friend’s boards and skis also die in a session I wasn’t really able to get into the flow. Thankfully Ryan at Humanity’s special base construction that he’s used on my board held up and my Plastictastic has survived and is now raring to get down to Warmwell for the series final on 12th June. I can’t wait to get back on their Snowflex kicker and if the final is half as organised as the first 2 legs then it’ll be a great day.

Once again a massive shout of thanks has to go to the Southern Freestyle Club for trying to spur on a dryslope revival….long may it continue. I had a great day and it was even better to see some new people getting hooked on plastic!

Here’s a slideshow of Jool’s shots from the day, if anyone wants a copy of the shots just drop him an email at JoolsSmithPhotos

He also managed to fit in some videoing and Branny from [shred]punk! got busy editing the footage yesterday and you can view it in the [shred]punk! 3 videocast

Ep 3 – Southern Freestyle Jam – Chatham from branny on Vimeo.

Episode 3 of the UK’s Grass Roots Podcast Series
Another short one capturing a load of the sun, fun and slams at Chatham for the second leg of the Southern Freestyle Jam Series.
Thanks to Jools Smith for the footage
Tunes used under creative commons licence
The Priscilla’s- Timing

Permasnow is like riding ice, it’s hard to get an edge on and almost impossible to stop or speed check without falling over and it took me about 5 runs before I could find the biting point (I find it much easier to get used to Snowflex & Dendix if I haven’t ridden them for a while).  It was quite funny seeing the non-local riders making their first runs as we were all falling over and looking like beginners.  We soon got the hang of it though, and the weather was pretty much perfect for dry slope, light drizzle meant it was running at a good speed and the cool temperature meant my board didn’t get melted and ruined (as happened to my brand new board a few years ago).  I’m really impressed with the base the guys at Humanity Snow have put on my Plastictastic, it rode well throughout the comp and I was really glad it’s sturdy base coped well with the surface.

The comp itself was quite quiet on the snowboarder front.  The Chatham crew were in Las Vegas so there were only 9 of us.  This was more than made up for by the skiers though so overall there were about 40 competitors, cheering each other on and laughing at the slams.  It was definitely the most fun comp I’ve been to in ages though, it was great to be back on dry slope where people are supportive, encouraging and welcoming to all (something I think can be lacking in the indoor snow scene).  It was also great to have a comp that ran to time, had riders briefings and a structured judging system.  For once it seemed that riders felt they shouldn’t have been placed as highly as they were rather than all the other competitors questioning the positions of the winners.

The comp was run as a 90 minute jam session giving us all a chance to ride the multiple lines of the course and try and get a good mix of tricks down.  It was great to be able to try some new stuff without worrying about falling over, just getting back up and trying again until you’d got it nailed and then moving on to the next bail.  Then it was the fun trick throw down with the judges handing out Haribo and other prizes in exchange for some good tricks on each of the sections.  I wasn’t sure that filling Jake Terry with sweets was a good idea but it seemed to have done the trick, not only did he win the under 14 men’s category but he made it through to the top six eventually finishing 2nd overall out of all the snowboarders.

The final itself was run as a best of two run final, giving those that qualified the opportunity to show if they could perform under pressure as well as in a more relaxed jam format.  The top 6 skiers and top 6 snowboarders regardless of age or sex made it to the final and it was great that out of the 6 boarders there were 2 girls in the final.  Unfortunately I slammed on both my runs so despite finishing 2nd in the over 14 girls group I failed to beat the boys and finish in the top 3.  I’m not going to complain though, I think the right people ended up in the right positions and we all had a great deal of fun doing so.  A big shout out has to go to Sabrina, the girl I was up against, as it was her first dryslope comp and apart from a session at Calshot (which if you’ve been there will know it doesn’t really give you a chance to really get that dry slope feeling) her first time on dry slope.

The prizes were brilliant, ranging from boots to helmets & jackets and I came away with a helmet, shoulder bag and snowboard bag, so that combined with the fact that I got 5 hours riding for my £15 entry fee made it more than worthwhile!

I had a really great day so thanks to everyone involved in the organisation, sponsorship & judging.  I’m really looking forward to the next legs at Chatham (22nd May) and Warmwell (12th June).

I have just one request, please can we have less drum and bass and more hip hop in the decks?  Thankfully I was wired for sound via my iPod and i360 headband but I know that the majority of riders and spectators I spoke to didn’t really enjoy the tunes.

Thanks to Brian Miller (Dad) for capturing some of my slams…..as you can see I haven’t lost my touch!!

It’s also been great to give my 156 Plastictastic a really good test and I’ve been really impressed with how it performs. It’s been great on the kickers,which at 12-14m tables have been much bigger than I’ve been hitting indoors on my 150 but it’s also felt great in the pipe (much better than I’ve been feeling in it, that’s for sure!) and it’s been cutting through the slush and choppy snow as well.  So it’s certainly turned out to be my perfect all-mountain park board.

Tomorrow is the first day of competition, and so I’m hoping the super speedy base helps me get to the front of the pack in the boarder-cross, or at the very least lets me olly over anyone that falls in front of me.

I can’t wait to get back out to what is probably my favourite resort (followed closely by Mammoth) for a week of coaching followed by the British Snowboard Championships.  I’ll be competing in all 4 disciplines, boardercross, big air, half pipe and slopestyle and I’m looking forward to giving my Plastictastic 156 a proper testing as so far it’s only been used on a 135m slope and that’s really not enough distance to allow it to really get up to full speed!  I’m hoping it will help me quickly get used to the difference in speed required for the larger kickers I’ll be faced with (the Brits course is based on the course used for the Burton European Open).

I’ve had 3 excellent practice sessions recently, I’ve been lucky enough to have some more coaching from the crew at Maverix and it’s been good to get back on a board after a 12 week break.  I’m looking forward to trying to convert what I’ve learnt indoors to the bigger park in Laax.  If you want to read a bit more about the Maverix courses then take a look at this article from Cooler magazine.

I’ll do my best to keep you all updated on how I get on while I’m out there.

At this point I should admit that I hate being the first person to hit a toy, in previous years I’ve been able to rely on Jamie Nicholls or one of the other kids acting as a test rider and I can bow to their judgement with regards to speed, how the kicker’s riding etc, unfortunately though they were all riding in the 2nd qualification group so if I was going to step up and hit it I’d have to do it on my own. I looked again and after a bit of banter with Shiner the Technical Delegate for the day where we argued over the size (I said as far as I was concerned it was 9m as that’s what the plan said, he said 14.5m) I decided it was definitely doable, took a deep breath and dropped in. Straight off the drop in ramp, over the first lip, straight into the kicker (good girl, no speed checks) and up into the air……..oooooops! Yes the kicker was way whippier than it looked and the moment I was in the air it started to feel a bit wrong, my weight was too far back and I was tipping in the air. Anyone that’s been in this situation will know that at this point time slows down, I was a long way up and I realised that my best chance of surviving this was to tip my weight so I was going to fall on my front not my back, bring my arms in, relax and wait for the impact. It seemed like I had a long time to wait as I took up my “frog” position and started to plummet, then the ground hit, I bounced on my front, hitting my chin and then I must have bounced onto my back because I came to rest half way down the landing with my head pointing down and my feet back up towards the kickers. I wasn’t in pain, knew I wasn’t broken but I was totally winded so when I looked up to see people rush in to check on me I signalled I was ok and let them unstrap my board so I could roll over and get off the landing. A huge thanks to the First Aider, Col Mytton and Jools Smith who were all over to me pretty much the moment I’d landed. A pretty impressive feat for Jools considering he was on the run in side of the kicker capturing these shots…..

..he then had to pelt round to check I was alive! Thankfully I was and once I got my breath back I was back up the top grabbing a drink of water before getting back to it (all be it on the 5m kicker). I was quite gutted not to have landed it but I think I impressed (and scared) everyone by giving it a go. For a while I doubted myself and wondered if it was my mistake and whether I’d misjudged my ability, it turns out I hadn’t though as over the course of the 2nd qualification when the guys were hitting it, it became apparent that it was too whippy a kicker and a lot of people came a cropper much worse than I had. Numerous guys ended up visiting the local hospital and quite a few more admitted to being scared. These weren’t poor riders but the cream of the UK and it’s a shame that a quarter of all entrants took a bad fall on the main kicker! I count myself very lucky to have escaped with a slightly scraped chin and some aches from the impact.

All in all it was a fun session, even with the aches I was feeling and I was stoked to qualify for the final in 3rd place. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to hang on to it so finished 4th overall and 1st in Masters, still I figure I can live with being beaten by a 12 year old, a 14 year old and an under 30 year old!

To wrap up the day nicely I had a really nice message that put the icing on the cake and I’m pleased to announce I now have a new sponsor, Laurus. Laurus make handmade face wraps, and I’m looking forward to wearing them over the course of the Winter, not just on the slopes but on my commute to work if it gets cold enough!

The weekend kicked off on a scorching Saturday with the boardercross, which took place on the main Dendix slope, and we each took 2 timed runs. We then moved through to some races with 2-3 people battling it out at the same time. Don’t be fooled, Dendix is not easy stuff to ride and it’s diamond shaped sturcture means falls can get nasty, luckily though the slams I had in warm-up coincided nicely with where I’d placed my padding and I survived in 1 piece. I finished the morning session in 2nd place in the Masters (over 30) age group. The afternoon was spent sessioning the kicker for the (big) air competition. Unfortunately the slope was running quite slowly and so if you didn’t land in quite the right spot then your board stopped and you kept going….cue whiplash for me! I’d decided to try and step things up, with only 3 in my group I figured I might as well try the spins I’d been working on in practice. It didn’t work out though and although I did a really nice BS180 Method I sat down on my landing, my second run was even worse and I managed a big FS90 to slam. The way I see it though if I’d landed the tricks I’d have been in with a chance, both girls in my group are trying 540s so I had no option but to step things up.

Sunday was slopestyle day and it was a bit cooler, unfortunately the slope was still running really slowly, so much so that the judges had the toys swapped around as people weren’t able to get enough speed to hit the higher scoring line the way it was originally set up. After a few practice runs I managed to work out the line I needed to keep my speed and my first comp run was a smooth and clean frontside nose press, followed by a nose press and then a 50:50 to boardslide, switch out over the up-down shark’s fin. It all went wrong on my second run though, I did a nice tail press to switch over the first box, but slipped out on my switch frontside on the next box ending nicely in a perfect faceplant. Hopping up the slope to try and get enough speed for the shark’s fin, I tried but failed and made it half way up the up box before having to jump off. I just missed out on a place in the final by coming 5th overall but my first run was enough to get me 2nd in the Masters.

So I finished the weekend with 2 silvers and a bronze, not bad going considering the sticky conditions. The big air and slopestyle will both get me started in this season’s TTR ranking and hopefully my luck will hold for this Saturday when I head to Milton Keynes SNO!zone for the British Indoor Big Air championships.
Photos by Jools Smith

What a weekend, we left for Castleford at 6am on Friday morning and eventually made it to the hotel at lunchtime.  Torrential rain, a crash that closed the A1 and a project conference call (while I was parked in Asda car park) meant it took 6 hours rather than the normal 3 to get up there.

On the positive side I managed to get a couple of hours shredding in at CasVegas (Castleford SNO!zone) where I focused on their awesome 10m rail.  It really is the nicest rail I’ve ridden and I wish they had one like it at Milton Keynes.  I spent the evening working on some new tricks, including frontside nose presses and some switch stuff as well.  I still need to commit a bit more on the FS noses, I’m not quite pushing my foot out enough and tweaking the counter balance but I reckon with a bit more practice I’ll be looking as stylee as Sam Turnbull does here.

I wish I could say that Saturday dawned bright and sunny but when we arrived at Halifax just before 9am it was freezing cold, windy and looking like rain…..it didn’t get any better,

well I suppose it did, in that it didn’t pour with rain and it was actually warm enough to ditch my jacket for a shirt.  We were in Halifax for the first leg of the Westbeach Snowflex Freestyle Series and upon reflection it was my first comp as an officially sponsored rider (apologies for not letting Campbell at SNO!zone know how I got on!)  The first thing that became apparent was that for once the locals weren’t necessarily going to have the edge, the wind was making it difficult for everyone.  Halifax is quite a unique slope with what I refer to as the “drop in of doom” for the kicker, rather than dropping straight in you have a double bump to take into account between the teetering drop and the kicker itself.  It is one of the nicest kickers I’ve ever ridden but getting to it stresses me out, especially in gale force winds.  Standing at the top I got blown over before I’d even started but I soon settled into it and was hitting the kicker in a state of semi-fear….of course the kids were killing it, 9s and an attempted 10 (from Andy Nudds, Westbeach) were being thrown down and although a few stacks were had as the landing was a touch sticky there were plenty landed as well.

As ever I have to praise the format of the comp, Wayne (AKA SnowSkate) who organises it along with Sue (Westbeach) is really keen to get us as much riding as possible, so we had a 45 minute jam session, 30 minute rail jam for throw down prizes, a 45 minute final jam session and then a 2 run final as well, not forgetting the team event as well for those riders who hadn’t collapsed in an exhausted heat at the bottom of the slope!

It was a good turn out, with about 40 skiers and snowboarders all riding together, that’s another of the positive things about this comp series is that skiers and ‘boarders are together.  I know that historically there’s a bit of “hate” between the two factions but over the last few years I’ve got to know some of the freestyle skiers really well and it’s great to be able to shred with and support them the same as I do my fellow ‘boarders.  Plus all credit to them, when your legs go in different directions when you stack it you deserve some respect!  It’s just a shame that there weren’t more girls in the comp (with 1 skier & 5 snowboarders) but I was pleased that Leah Sill gave Snowflex a go and finished 3rd in her first dry slope comp.

The prizes as ever were excellent and I walked away with a pile of t-shirts, beanies, Skull Candy headphones and a pair of pants in exchange for my 2nd place!  Unfortunately my butt’s a touch on the large side for a women’s medium so if anyone wants to buy a pair of bright pink Westbeach pants let me know!

Slightly off course....it's the wind I tell you!

A mention also has to go to Jake Terry (11) for placing 3rd in the 16 & under male category, he’s been battling away for the last few years but on Saturday he laid down some nice 360s and gained a podium place.  In the men’s comp I felt quite sorry for the 17 & overs as both Jamie Nicholls (15) and Danny McCormick (16) stepped up an age group and finished first & second respectively, 3rd place was claimed by Andy Nudds.

Unfortunately I can’t make the second leg of the comp in Bearsden but rest assured I’ll be hitting Noeux Les Mines on October 10th for the final.

Results:

Team Event

3rd Rub a dub
2nd Sheffield
1st Stoke Skiers

Endeavor Best unsponsored (trip to the final leg in Noeux Les Mines, France)

Joni Fountain

Whitelines Subscriptions (most consistent riding throughout the day)

Liz Osbourne
Pete Meadows

Fall-Line Ski Best Unsponsored (profile column in the magazine)

Sissy Herrant

Document Snowboard Best Unsponsored (profile column in the magazine)

Joni Fountain

Under 16 Girls Ski

1st Sissy Herrant

Under 16 Girls Snowboard

2nd Sophie Nicholls
1st Katie Ormerod

Womens Snowboard

3rd Leah Sill
2nd Kat Miller
1st Liz Osbourne

Under 16 Boys Ski

3rd Chris Wadsworth
2nd Josh Herrant
1st Tyler Harding

Under 16 Boys Snowboard

3rd Jake Terry
2nd Pete Meadows
1st Matt McCormick

Mens Ski

3rd Robert Machon
2nd Charlie Smith
1st James Machon

Mens Snowboard

3rd Andy Nudds
2nd Danny McCormick
1st Jamie Nicholls

Oh and I hope you like the background of the poster because it’s from me (well Jools snapped it, but it’s from my Flickr stream!)

Here’s a shot Jools took of my second run in the Big Air at the Brits. After landing a clean Roast Beef for my first run I went for the nose grab on my second. As you can see I didn’t quite get the grab but I still cleared the knuckle and rode away clean!

Considering I’ve previously bounced nicely off the knuckle and fallen I was stoked to get two clean runs in qualification. I was even happier (and a bit sad as well) when I discovered I’d missed qualifying for the final by one place.

So here’s a quick summary of how I got on:

All of my scores have been added in to the TTR comps to take place this month so the following positions might change slightly but at the present time my world ranking is 150 ranking list, there are still a couple of TTRth and I’m 8th in Great Britain. Fingers crossed if the TTR rankings don’t change an improvement of 5 places in my overall ranking.

It’s been a tough year as well, I injured my foot at the Castleford leg of the Snow Tour which meant that I rode through the pain barrier there and was still riding injured the following week at Milton Keynes. This injury, which effectively put me out for 8 weeks after I’d also ridden in the Burton Black Metal at MK (where I discovered it wasn’t quite fixed) combined with a change of job meant that we didn’t take our planned month long trip to Laax over Christmas so that I could get some coaching and enter the Burton European Open. It’s such a shame, as I learnt so much out there the week before the Brits and the coaching really helped my confidence, however, we’re already working out how we can get more time away next season so hopefully I’ll get some more coaching and if everything goes to plan give the BEO a go as well.

Oh, and on to the exciting news…..I’m now officially a SNO!zone Sponsored Rider! Yes, following the Brits I’ve found out that they’d like me on the team because “you embody everything that SNO!zone is about….energy and enthusiasm! So I’d love you to join the team”. So finally my bubbly nature and determination to progress and succeed has impressed someone enough to get some proper, official sponsorship!

I have to say a huge thank you to Lisa Allan and SNO!zone for giving me this opportunity because it’ll be a huge help, the more riding I can get in the easier it’ll be to progress and improve my tricks (and the less I have to spend on slope-time the more I can spend on coaching!). It really is brilliant to find someone who hasn’t been put off by the fact that I’m over 30 as well. I may not be able to beat all the kids on the comp scene but I’ll keep giving it my best shot!

Anyway, I just wanted to round out Brits week with an update on the slopestyle (3rd in Masters, 19th overall). I’ll admit to being a bit gutted with my overall position, I’d hoped to finish a couple of places higher but it wasn’t to be. On a positive note though, it was the biggest, cleanest slopetyle comp I’ve done in 4 years at the Brits, with my second run being completely clean with all kicked knuckles cleared. It really does go to show what some lessons and hard work can do! If anyone is in Laax and wants some freestyle tuition then Marc Pfander comes highly recommended.

Rebecca Cullum also got her rightful Big Air prize, no public apology though as she decided against having a presentation with just her on the podium (it’s not much fun, especially when it’s not your fault) but she appears in the right place on the results list so it’s all good.

Hopefully I’ll slowly ease in to work this week, luckily with Easter I have two, 4 day weeks, and a trip to Castleford & Halifax to look forward to. I’m going to do everything I can to keep the riding momentum going and get myself to a good enough standard that this time next year I’m blogging about the spins I’ve thrown down on the big kickers!

For a collection of Brits photos by Jools Smith, check out his Flickr set

As I said I didn’t place in the top 3, my gut instinct tells me I placed 5th out of 5 Masters but as I’m happy with how I rode I don’t mind not winning another medal.

Tomorrow’s comp is the slope style, it’s a 9am start at the top of the mountain so no partying for me tonight. Also because of the large number of entrants and the fact it takes 20 minutes to lap the comp park and the run to the lift and back we only get one run, so I have to make it count. I’ve got my run all planned out and if it all comes off OK I’ll be happy. My main aims are to do decent grabs on all three kickers and keep my bum out of the snow (last year I managed the kickers pretty much but not the butt part as I fell on the rails).

On another note it looks like Rebecca Cullum actually won her age group in yesterday’s Big Air comp and placed 4th overall, unfortunately as yet there has been no announcement of this to the masses nor has there been a re-run of the podium presentation so that she (and her sponsors) get a moment of glory. This really disappoints me because it’s one thing to make a mistake by not presenting someone with their prize but quite another not to fix it publically and fast! So at present it’s really only those people with access to the press office or who’ve spoken to Becca that are aware that she actually won. I do hope that Soulsports do fix this before the end of the week.

Once the competition kickers were actually open I headed over and sized up where I thought I needed to drop in from. I set off, put in a mini-speed check and landed just past the knuckle, definitely more speed required. By the time the comp was due to start I’d had a further 2 practice runs and got my drop in point and speed sorted….bring it on!

By the time it was my turn to compete the nerves were starting to kick in a bit but I dropped in and went for it….up the kicker into the air, and a good solid Roast Beef grab, over the knuckle and down on to the landing, clean ride out. Definitely a good jump. I was the first of the two Masters to jump and I couldn’t see what Lynsey Ashdown had done off the kicker but unfortunately she fell on landing.

My second run I decided to go all out and go for the nose grab, this is pushing it for me, I’m really not keen on any grab that means I have to shift out of my nice, safe, centered stance. Unfortunately I didn’t quite reach my nose but I was pleased that I still managed to get some good air and landed cleanly. I was disappointed not to get the grab but more than pleased that this year I managed to get two clean jumps past the knuckle, cleanly ridden out. Lynsey slammed on her second jump too but until prize giving I wasn’t sure if I’d won or not as I wasn’t sure if a fallen spin would have scored higher than a clean straight air or not. Thankfully it did!

The one downer on the day has to be a major admin error that occurred at prize giving. Rebecca Cullum had been riding really well all day and had landed a really nice FS360 over the medium kicker. This has been a bit of a bogey jump for her since she knocked herself out cold and landed herself in hospital doing this trick, so I was really pleased that she not only landed it but made the final by qualifying in 5th place (6 went through). Unfortunately when it came to the prize giving for her age group they had missed her off the list somehow (she’d certainly placed 2nd if not 1st as both she & Sam Rogers had qualified for the final) and she didn’t get given a medal….as yet we don’t know if she placed 1st or 2nd in her group, or even if she should have made the overall top 3 as well. As you can imagine this was both a shock and an upset, no one likes to be missed off the prize winners list, especially when you want to show your sponsors how well you’ve ridden and what you’ve achieved. I really hope that this is made good tomorrow by having a new presentation with the right people on the podium, but whatever happens, not only has this upset Rebecca, but it will also upset the girl who was on the podium but unfortunately shouldn’t have been.

I really feel for Becca because I similar thing happened to me at Warmwell the year before last when I made the final and placed 4th overall behind 3 sponsored riders. I should have won the Best Unsponsored Female prize but it was given to someone else because they thought I’d won it already. When I pointed this out I was simply told I’d just have to win again another time! I really do hope that Becca gets better treatment and this gets fixed tomorrow because after her hard work she deserves her moment of glory!

My first run: Roast Beef

I decided to drop in quite slowly for my first practice run, not slowly enough though as I sailed over the first kicker and saw the landing vanish way behind me and I landed on the flat half way to the first roller….speed checks and pre-ollies were definitely called for as you came out of the gate that was for sure. After a second warm-up run where I timed the first kicker a little better we started our timed qualification runs. We each had two of these to determine seeding and gate choices for the races themselves.

My first run was OK, but I was a bit unsettled on the triple rollers so was actually quite pleased when I arrived back at the start to find that the timer system had failed and I needed to do a further timed run. After catching my breath I dropped in for my first official timed run and the sun came out, this time I rode much better, rode smoothly over the rollers and then felt I’d done a good time. My second timed run wasn’t so good, I caught a heel edge as I went up the third roller and landed on my hip & back half way to the first corner…OUCH! Not only had I half lost my goggles but totally winded myself as well, I wasn’t going to let this stop me though so up I got and started riding to the next 2 bends, straightening my goggles as I went and frantically waiting for my lungs to refill with air. I have to say it’s quite a scary experience but I figured that my riding with my mouth open enough air would find its way in to me before I suffocated. Luckily I caught my breath before I hit the kicker line but it wasn’t enough and it turned out that I qualified in 2nd place, 0.7 of a second behind the first place qualifier. Suddenly my doing boardercross for fun did an about turn and I wanted to win.

We lined up for the final, and the start gates dropped, I got away in second behind Philippa Tattersall, the girl who’d beaten me in the timed runs, I had a feeling that she’d beat me away but I bided my time and hit the kicker a few feet behind her. Just as I thought, she’d taken it too fast and on overshooting the landing she fell, I landed, curved to the right and passed her as she lay in the snow. From this point on I focused on my technique and keeping as much speed as I could, I had no idea how close behind me she was so I hit the rollers, making sure I sucked my knees up to avoid getting air, rode the banks pumping to get faster and then just ploughed on to the finish. It worked and I won!

So that’s one comp down and 3 more to go, tomorrow is the Big Air and I’ll be aiming to hit the 13m kicker as well as I did last week. Hopefully the weather will be good and my legs will be good to me, I really want to land two good clean grabs and ride away without stacking this year, I believe I can do it; I just need to make sure my body believes it too.

A special mention has to go to Hayley Sutherland for competing alongside me, at 46 and only having been snowboarding for a year she overcame fear and panic to complete both timed runs and the race…a well deserved and earnt third place!

Now I am a prepared person, I’ve preregistered and prepaid online, I’ve also sorted out my year’s licence and have my passport & bib deposit with me….so it would be nice to think that there’d be an express line for pre-registered competitors to whizz through. It seems that that’s too easy, no, I had to queue in a hot, windowless room for 90 minutes! Trying to keep your place and avoid queue jumpers and help out the kids who need a parent or guardian to sign their entry form but whose parents haven’t come down with them. When I finally made it to the front of the line it became apparent that the 3 girls handling the registration/collection were not processing a person each, no, one was handing out the wrist band, one took the bib deposit and gave you the bib and then one entered your info on the spreadsheet (or checked your details if you were pre-registered). The whole process took me 30 seconds, yes I waited 90 minutes to spend 30 seconds proving my nationality & getting my bib…..and there certainly weren’t 180 people in front of me.

So please pretty please can we have a bit more organisation next year Mr Brass? Perhaps a sign or someone outside to remind people that they need a passport, that you only accept CHFs for bib deposits but CHFs or GBPs for competition entry and that you won’t take Euros at all and can we also have a pre-registration collection point for those of us that try and make your life a bit easier by paying for everything online and ahead of time.

Oh and it would be a bonus if your staff were able to tell people where the Rider’s Meeting is (or even perhaps say to people as they gave them their bib “Don’t forget it’s Rider’s Meeting at 7pm in Location X”. I asked where it was and was told they didn’t know but probably in the Rider’s Palace. Since your programme has bad weather meetings in the Rocks then I’m guessing that it’s actually outside at the Après Arena, but I shouldn’t have to guess, I should be able to politely ask and informed member of the team and get a correct answer.

I know you all do this for the love of the sport, and that the people doing registrations etc are effectively volunteers and I appreciate they you all have to put up with a lot of unnecessary hassle, but it’s an experience like this that starts the week off in a frustrated manner and makes you wonder if anything is going to run to plan. I’m hoping that this is the bad dress rehearsal before the main event….fingers crossed!

UPDATE:

Since heading back to the apartment and typing my post queue mini-rant, we headed back out into the snow (yes it’s still snowing!) to hunt down the location for the Rider’s Meeting, after a bit of wandering and bumoing in to people it transpired that the Rider’s Meeting was cancelled, becuase they’d not put the location in the programme and because they were over running with registration (at least I heard that was the reason). Unfortunately they hadn’t told everyone, or put a note on the wall outside the registration room so there were plenty of lost looking people wandering from the Rider’s Palace, where the meeting used to be held in previous years, the Rocks, where it said bad weather meetings would be (it’s snowing, seems bad to me) and the Crap Bar.

I’m counting this as the same day, same problems, so hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit smoother.