If you guys want to have a quick read of my blog post “Does snowboarding make you happy?”   feel free to have a look  HERE

Zen is about being in the moment.  The word literally translates to ‘meditation’.   So what’s meditation got to do with snowboarding?

British Snow Tour organisers are proud to reveal a new era of Indoor Championships – The Rebellion. A competition course that boasts two distinct lines of rails and boxes running simultaneously, individual titles and a minimum of four hours slope time per rider promises to set the scene for the ultimate indoor rulers to emerge.

The Rebellion is set to revolutionize snowboard & freeski warfare: the ‘Rail Slayer’ title will be awarded to those that deploy Jedi-like skills on the metal. The ‘Jib Master’ will go to those who can blow the box-zone to pieces. Only those who can conquer both zones can mount a realistic attack on the coveted British Indoor Championship title.

The action takes place at SNO!zone Castleford on Saturday 24th September, this is set to be the biggest showdown on the event calendar with British Championship medals to be earned, TTR world-ranking points to be gained, prize purse to be won and reputations to be forged - Let the battle commence!

The British Snow Tour - The Rebellion Flyer

Snowboard Championships Schedule:
09.00 – 11.00 Box Line (All women plus KM, YM (unless seeded))
11.10 – 13.10 Rail Line (All women plus KM, YM (unless seeded))
13.20 – 15.20 Box Line (JM, OM, MM (plus all seeded men))
15.30 – 17.30 Rail Line (JM, OM, MM (plus all seeded men))
17.30 – 18.15 Box Line (Finalists – 15 riders (10 men / 5 women))
18.15 – 19.00 Rail Line (Finalists – 15 riders (10 men / 5 women))

Freeski Championships Schedule:
09.00 – 11.00 Rail Line (All women plus KM, YM (unless seeded))
11.10 – 13.10 Box Line (All women plus KM, YM (unless seeded))
13.20 – 15.20 Rail Line Line (JM, OM, MM (plus all seeded men))
15.30 – 17.30 Box Line (JM, OM, MM (plus all seeded men))
17.30 – 18.15 Rail Line (Finalists – 15 riders (10 men / 5 women))
18.15 – 19.00 Box Line (Finalists – 15 riders (10 men / 5 women))

The Seeded Riders from last year’s British Snow Tour Ranking list (making them Tour leaders) are: Jordan Gee (snb), Chris McCormick (ski), Katie Ormerod (snb) and Katie Summerhayes (ski). These riders will enjoy the added benefit of running in reverse order watching the rest of the field before they throw-down the gauntlet.

The British Snow Tour, which is part of the TTR World Snowboard Tour, would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Protest, Trespass, Cushe and Snow+Rock. Media partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, Skiclub.co.uk, In The Snow, Metrosnow.co.uk and Snowboardclub.co.uk.

More information visit: www.britishsnowtour.com

“It was a great experience to sit down and create my own signature goggle. I’m really pleased with the final design as the colours and graphics are very ‘me’. I’m genuinely proud to be wearing the ‘Jenny Jones Oakley’s!”.

Jenny Jones Signature Goggle with Oakley

Liesl Holtz, Oakley’s global Women’s Sports Marketing Manager said “Jenny has been a long term, valued ambassador for Oakley and in recent years she has proven through her determination and success that she is not only worthy but incredibly deserving of an Oakley Signature goggle. Jenny has great style and pizzazz both on and off the snow so partnering with Oakley design on this product resulted in a dynamic expression of who she is.”

Jenny chose a fresh and clean white base combined with a cool teal colour pop and to add a little softness a delicate feather design across the frame and strap. The launch of the signature goggle also brings about Jenny’s first major advertising campaign with Oakley.

Interview with Jenny Jones from gonzilla.tv on Vimeo.

Jenny started snowboarding at 18 years old during her first season while she worked as a chalet host in Tignes, France. A natural flare for the sport saw her enter the British Championships after just one winter; she won and the rest is history. In her career as a professional snowboarder Jenny has amassed countless podium places across both hemispheres, including British Champion titles, TTR events and most recently three gold medals and one silver at the X Games in Aspen and Tignes. In 2011 she was one of sixteen female athletes invited to take part in The Oakley Arctic Challenge where she once again stood on the podium.

Over the last ten years Jenny has become a global ambassador for the sport and the perfect role model for female athletes who want to progress their skills either for fun or with a view to being a professional. In September 2010 Jenny also embarked on a personal challenge, to cycle from London to Paris, with a team of Oakley athletes, to raise money for the Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care.

Jenny Jones - Oakley Goggle

The Jenny Jones Signature Goggle will be available in October 2011.
Please visit http://www.oakley.com/women/products/6767/25421 to purchase or to find our dealer locator.

Follow Jenny here:
Soulsports Profile: www.soulsports.co.uk/jennyjones
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennyjonessnowboarder

About Oakley, Inc.
Established in 1975 and headquartered in Southern California, Oakley is one of the leading sports brands in the world. The holder of more than 600 patents, Oakley is continually seeking problems, solving them with inventions and wrapping those inventions in art. This philosophy has made Oakley one of the most iconic and inimitable brands on the market, with innovations that world-class athletes around the globe depend on to compete at the highest level possible. Oakley is famed for its insuperable lens technologies such as High Definition Optics® (HDO®) which is incorporated into all Oakley sun and prescription eyewear, and goggles. Oakley has extended its leadership position as the world’s leading sports eyewear brand into apparel, footwear and accessories collections. Laser focused on the consumer, Oakley has both men’s and women’s product lines that target Sports Performance, Active and Lifestyle consumers. Oakley is a subsidiary of Luxottica Group. Additional information is available at www.oakley.com.

Mildon, 24, stomped the three rotations perfectly during the free-to-the-public BMX show in his home-town.

A representative of the Guinness Book Of World Records was on hand to witness and approve the ground-breaking trick that is sure to send shockwaves through the two-wheeled action-sports industry.

“This is the perfect result to three intensive months of practising and training for this moment,” said a thrilled Mildon.

“The impact and implications hasn’t sunken in yet, but I’m so pumped to have aimed for something once deemed impossible and made my dream a reality.”

“Landing with both wheels on the downramp was the most amazing feeling in the world!”

The Unit T3 Mindtricks BMX Jam in Taupo was held at a public recreational park, with Mildon carving an 20m (66ft) high super-ramp into a hillside that flowed through a 3.6m (11ft) high super-kicker to Jed’s purpose-built Mega-Megabox landing.

Unit founder Paul Everest congratulated Mildon on his amazing feat.

“Jed has proven himself to be one of the world’s best BMX riders and we salute him for having both the drive and ability to change the face of action-sports.

“He has shown the world what is possible if you take your dream and single-mindedly chase your goals without being distracted or listen to the critics and naysayers.”

The Unit T3 Mindtricks BMX Jam was made possible with the help of Unit, Bikefest and Taupo District Council, MB Century, McDonald’s Taupo, theairbag.co.nz, foampit.co.nz and Pilgrim Bike Co.

The story behind it:Click here to view the embedded video.

Filming by Allan Hardy and Ryan McCrae

http://www.unitriders.com

Freewaters is a unique sandal brand that integrates patented technical features and progressive green materials whilst also bringing safe drinking water around the world.

For every pair sold, Freewaters will provide clean drinking water for one individual for one year via grass roots community projects. Freewaters’ founders have recently returned from Kenya, where they created a series of freshwater wells to provide safe and reliable drinking water to rural communities in the western region of the country, as well as training a team of Kenyans who will now be able to replicate the process moving forward.

“We believe access to clean water is a basic human right. With over 3,300,000 people dying every year from dirty water and a lack of proper hygiene, we felt compelled to get involved - and what better way than through creating great sandals,” says Brand Director Eli Marmar.

Freewaters’ Founders Martin Kim and Eli Marmar are two industrial designers who previously designed snowboard boots (Burton, DC) and wetsuits (O’Neill) respectively, based out of Santa Cruz, California. Sharing an addiction to wearing flip flops & a love of surfing, Eli & Martin set out to create two integrated missions – 1. To design the best sandals ever seen, and 2. Help find solutions to the global drinking water pandemic.

Freewaters SS11 Men's Collection, in Snow & Rock stores March.

Freewaters will be on sale via Snow & Rock from early March onwards.

All enquiries to jojo@soulsports.co.uk

I’ve just launched my own website - www.andywebbsite.co.uk

Please check it out!

cheers,

Webby

I’m happy to announce our new web-site is live and the 2010 launch of our new Chamonix based ski school ‘Tinderbox ski school‘ is official. After 18 winters in Chamonix including a few more in NZ I realised there was a place in Chamonix for the type of ski school I’d like to go to. Our focus is on delivering fun and safe sessions with lots of time for skiing and practice. Skiing is all about freedom and a freedom to express yourself though your own style. Tinderbox Ski School is about helping you achieve that, and not by making you ski like a robot. Go check out the website www.tinderboxskischool.com

“We’ve chosen Soulsports for their stand-out expertise in the winter sports market. We’re challenged with telling the story to as many people as possible that Garmin’s award winning GPS products aren’t solely for the elite runner, cyclist or triathlete but for every outdoor activity you can think of. The team at Soulsports help to deliver this and then some in the Snow market.” Chris Merrell Head of EMEA Marketing Communications

Both navigators will be available to trial at the official Garmin Test Centres® – ten specialist ski chalets located throughout the Alps, giving guests the opportunity to test the devices, complete with the Mountain Dynamics SnowRanger Ski resort maps. Additionally, Garmin will be once again running the Garmin Downhill Challenge at the British Snow and Freeski championships held in Laax, March 2011. BBC Ski Sunday Presenters Graham Bell and Ed Leigh are the ambassadors for Garmin Winter Sports.

Not only do the navigators help you find your way around easily, they tell you how far, how fast, and how high you go. The maps give you turn-by-turn directions telling you which lifts and slopes to take to get to your destination; ticket offices, parking, snow parks, restaurants and ski schools are all marked on the map. When you’re finished on the slopes you can review, relive and replay your runs at the free worldwide online community, http://www.garminsnowclub.co.uk/

For more information please contact Jojo Cook, PR Director at Soulsports
Tel: + 44 (0)1273 687788 email jojo@soulsports.co.uk www.soulsports.co.uk

My sponsor BSA Snowboarding arranged for me to interview Peter Line for their website.

To say I was stoked is a huge understatement.  Peter Line.  Yes…That’s right!

Peter Line is one of the most influential riders in the modern history of snowboarding…

Check it out HERE

The link is http://player.vimeo.com/video/14475813

Warren Smith Ski Academy & Snow-Camp from The Progress Film Company on Vimeo.

SOPHIE HELLYER (view profile)
Intro
Click here to view the embedded video.
Having Fun (and a lot of screaming)
Click here to view the embedded video.
Swimming with Dolphins
Click here to view the embedded video.
A hot shower
Click here to view the embedded video.

Sam Carne
Intro
Click here to view the embedded video.
Wakeboarding without a board
Click here to view the embedded video.
Wakeboarding
Click here to view the embedded video.
Wake vs Kite Games
Click here to view the embedded video.

How to enter
View as many videos as you want
Decide on your favourite
Complete the simple voting form and click submit vote

Prizes
1st prize: Round Hill, Montego Bay, Jamaica
A most beautiful and elegant boutique resort. Luxuriant gardens surround a calm, private cove with golden sand beaches.

The resort offers, not only swimming pools, bars, tennis courts but theme nights at – Beach Party, Jamaica Night, Caribbean Curry Night are popular with guests all year.

A wide variety of recreational activities on and around the property include:

Water sports, Sandy Beach, Double infinity edge pool, Snorkelling in our coral reefs, Tubing, Water skiing, Glass-Bottom boats, Windsurfing, Hobie Cats, Pedal Boats, Sea Kayaks, Deep sea fishing, Yacht charters can be arranged, Native sport fish, Private sailing tours, Sunset cruises, Great Houses, Mountain Valley Rafting, Mayfield Falls & Mineral Springs, Negril Tours, Ocho Rios / Dunns River Falls, Rainforest Bobsled in Jamaica.

Runners up: Xacti CA100 Dual Camera
1 of 15 waterproof Xacti’s to be won. SANYO’s new Xacti CA100 is waterproof up to a depth of 3 metres, high quality 14 megapixel photo or as brilliant Full HD video with 1080i. Thanks to the 12x double-range zoom, the user can easily choose between a wide angle- or tele-orientated zoom range. Vertical design and ergonomic form allow it to be operated easily with one hand.

Find out more about the new Xacti CA100 dual camera.

Ben Kilner @ Vancover Olympics 2010

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
Boardwear brand Protest has signed seven times British Champion Ben Kilner to its growing team.

Ben, 21, has joined Protest as their first male UK snowboarder following a highly successful year. He took part in the recent Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver as part of Team GB and has also twice been named Young Sportsman of the Year.

Ben lives in Banchory, Scotland, and has amassed seven consecutive British Championship titles.

Protest country manager, Paul Wilkinson, said; “We are serious about supporting the Protest brand in the UK and Ben is the perfect ambassador to do this. We identified him as a British athlete with huge potential and hope that we can help Ben develop further as a rider in the coming years,” he said.

“Ben will become integral to UK marketing campaigns in 2010/11 on the winter side of the business - Protest is looking at further winter marketing opportunities which will support the brand and its retailers. Further sponsorship deals are expected in the coming weeks.”

Ben is delighted to have signed on outerwear with Protest: “I can’t wait to be part of the new team and work with them on the development of the brand.”

www.protest.eu

Kye Forte, current World Champion Dirt Jumper for the third year running, will open the track with a skills demo from 2pm. He will also be helping out with competitions and races throughout the day.

The track was designed and built by Kye’s father, Rick Forte, who also built the Red Bull Empire of Dirt track.
Cllr John Connor, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Chichester District Council, says: “The area has been improved with a brand new track that should appeal to all kinds of riders, from those having a go for the first time to accomplished experts looking to hone their skills.

Red Bull Empire of Dirt

Garmin® the global leader in satellite navigation celebrates its first and successful winter season in snowsports by announcing the 3 champion skiers and snowboarders from the Alpine Garmin Test Centres that travelled the fastest, highest and furthest.

Throughout the Winter 09/10 season, over 5,000 guests swooshed through the doors of the Garmin Test Centre Chalets and snapped at the opportunity to trial the Foretrex 401 GPS devices, as sported last season by BBC Ski Sunday’s Graham Bell.

The practical wrist-worn device provided thousands of trialists with immediate speed, height and distance feedback, as well as extensive navigational capacity. More than simply enhancing the users’ slope-time, at the end of the day trialists uploaded their daily tracklogs to Garmin Snow Club for automatic entry into the season’s league table and chance to win a week’s winter holiday and Garmin devices. After 5 months, and well over 10,000 tracked miles, Garmin can reveal the Test Centre Champions for Winter 09/10:

How Fast? – Jonathon Brothers, 75.1mph – More Mountain Chalets, Morzine
*A week’s winter holiday for two at More Mountain, plus a Foretrex 401 device*

How High? – Andy Fisher, 10,585m (vertical descent) – Pleisure Holidays, Courchevel
*A Foretrex 401 and Dakota 20 device*

How Far? – Ben Lakin, 45.07miles – More Mountain Chalets, Morzine
*A Foretrex 401 device*

“In our first year of presenting the brand to the snowsports market, we have been overwhelmed with the response” said Chris Merrell, Garmin’s Marketing Manager. “We knew that the Foretrex 401 filled a gap in the market, but for demand to increase 10-fold on last year has taken even us by surprise. We now intend to push on into Winter 10/11 taking the learning’s gained from our excellent Test Centres and ambassadors Graham Bell and Ed Leigh to further increase the benefits that Garmin brings to snowsports.”

Both Garmin devices are available at all Snow + Rock and Ellis Brigham stores nationwide.

Foretrex® 401 – SRP £199.99
DakotaTM 20 – SRP £279.99

For a chance to win next season, book your stay at any of the Garmin Test Centres which can be viewed at www.garminsnowclub.co.uk. Good luck.

Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk and the Birdhouse team will be heading to Europe this
summer for a skateboarding tour that include stops in the cities of Berlin (Ger), Rome/Ostia
(Ita), Barcelona (Spa) and Brighton (UK).

Tony’s recent European appearances, at the Quiksilver Pro France in Hossegor in 2008 and
for the Quiksilver Tony Hawk Show in the majestic surroundings of the Grand Palais in Paris
last November, have whipped up a storm in all of Europe and even across the Atlantic.
This time, Tony will be headlining four performances on the biggest vert ramps in Europe
alongside his Birdhouse team. “I’m very excited to skate in other cities after the
overwhelming response we received from our Paris show. The European crowds are amazing
so it will be fun to see how they react in different countries. I’ve skated in all of these cities
but never done demos of this size in them. They are in for a treat” explained Tony.

Tony Hawk will be performing with some of the best ramp riders on earth and their
choreographed shows are always spectacular. Athletes include Sandro Dias, X-Games gold
medallist and multiple world champion and vert stars Kevin Staab, Jessie Fritsch and Jean
Postec. “I love skating with all of them, and it’s like we are a travelling family. They are also
amazing athletes and each show is unique because they come up with different tricks and
routines each time” Tony said.

Every single stop of the tour will come with amazing live concerts and DJ sets.
In Berlin, N
E
R
D will be making a rare appearance. The band founded by producers par
excellence, Pharrell Willams and Chad Hugo, will be performing live to kick off the Quiksilver
presents Tony Hawk & Friends European Skateboarding Tour in style. In Rome/Ostia, there
will be a selection of the best DJs around while Barcelona will be playing host to punk rock
icons Tony Sly (No Use For a Name) and Joey Cape (Lagwagon), who’ll be supporting Tony
and Friends… And last, but not least, in Brighton, Brit band Maxïmo Park, with their
distinctive post-punk style, will have the honour of closing the European Tour of the greatest
skater of all time.

“I’m excited to travel Europe with such a great crew. Thanks to Quiksilver, we can do demos
on a scale much bigger than previous tours. The crowds will be amazed at what we have in
store.” –Tony Hawk

• July 8 Berlin / Germany
• July 15 th Rome / Italy
• July 18 th Barcelona / Spain
• July 21 th Brighton / England

Brighton, England’s most famous and visited seaside city, will host Quiksilver presents Tony
Hawk and Friends last European show to end the tour. In order to give Tony Hawk and
crew the best set-up possible, Quiksilver has the help of one of the UK’s most popular
skateboarders, Pete King, who owns the biggest vert ramp in the country measuring in at
huge 4.5m high and 15m wide. The show will be opened by a collection of the UK’s top vert
skaters, including Quiksilver skater Sam Bosworth, winner of the X Games Ams (US).
The event will take place at the Old Paddling Pool, located at the old (west) Pier on
seafront. Brighton seafront is infamous for the night time views of the pier and atmospheric
vibes which will come to life with a spectacular display of some of the world’s best skating
and UK’s top music acts.

On the music side, the British deck star, Christian Stevenson, whose passion skateboarding is no longer a secret, mix during the show. Awarded with British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the eclectic Christian Stevenson both a TV and radio presenter. Alongside Christian will be original UK Skater Bob Sanderson on the mic hosting the show with Dave Duncan. A night of skate frenzy will be followed up with the headlining music act, Maxïmo Park. The Newcastle five-piece is amongst the UK’s most popular British Indie rock bands. They’ve got two albums that are just about to go platinum. A Mercury nomination for the first one, 2005’s A Certain Trigger. An impassioned fanbase that tunes to Paul Smith’s idea-packed lyrics, the songs’ intense pop explosion, and the band’s incendiary live shows.

Tickets cost £15 (available online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk). Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

PROGRAM
WEDNESDAY 21th JULY
6pm Doors open - DJ Christian Stevenson
6:30 – 7:30pm European Skate Demo
7:30 – 8:30pm Tony Hawk & Friends Show
8:30 – 9:30pm Maximo Park concert

When Mick Hannah (GT) crossed the line in 4:37.75, setting a new course record, it looked like the chances of a British win were slim. But the dry and dusty conditions meant the track was super-fast and Hannah’s record was short lived.

An astonishing four riders went on to set faster times – Aaron Gwin (Yeti - Fox Shox), Cameron Cole (Maxxis - Rocky Mountain), Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Atherton. Sam Hill (Monster Energy - Specialized) had chosen not to compete after a bad crash during qualifying.

When Atherton crossed the line in 4:36.18, after clocking 62km/h at the speed trap, the victory looked to be his and the partisan crowd went wild, in scenes reminscent of Steve Peat’s win on the same course in 2005. But last-man-down Minnaar can never be counted out, so Atherton’s fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when he finished 1.21 seconds down.

Atherton said winning at Fort William was a “dream come true” and he was “the most excited I’ve ever been about winning a race”. Asked how he got down the hill so quickly, he said: “It was all the crowd. I could hear them as soon as I came out of the woods. They were just so noisy, so good.”

Greg minnaar was the fastest qualifier but couldn’t beat gee atherton’s scorching time come the main event: greg minnaar was the fastest qualifier but couldn’t beat gee atherton’s scorching time come the main event

Greg Minnaar put in a scorching time but it wasn’t enough to unseat Gee Atherton
MEN’S DOWNHILL #2 RESULTS
1 Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal 0:04:35.70
2 Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain 0:00:00.48
3 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:00:01.21
4 Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 0:00:02.01
5 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT 0:00:02.05
6 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International 0:00:02.11
7 Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles - Intense 0:00:05.23
8 Shaun O’Connor (Aus) 0:00:05.84
9 Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 0:00:06.27
10 Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles - Intense 0:00:06.38

World Cup individual rankings after round 2

1 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 420 pts
2 Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal 405
3 Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain 282
4 Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 240
5 Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy - Specialized 239
6 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International 219
7 Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 199
8 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT 173
9 Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing 171
10 Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles - Intense 163

More news about Gee’s win on Dirt

In the Women’s event, Gee’s sister Rachel Atherton came in second place behind Sabrina Jonnier. More news on Dirt

Protest English Championships

Jojo Cook, who joined Soulsports as PR Director in February this year, will be the Account Manager, handling all press enquiries regarding products, events and athletes.
Soulsports is a leading UK action sports agency, specialising in PR, athlete management and events.

Sophie Paget, Marketing Manager O’Neill UK said: “Last year was a big year for the brand with O’Neill UK being setup as a direct subsidiary company to O’Neill Europe. This is a new era for us all and now is a great opportunity for us to communicate all that O’Neill stands for and offers – from our athletes and core events, to our product developments, such as new Eyewear and Toddler ranges being added to our 2010 collections. Soulsports, with combined experience and expertise in both extreme sports and fashion, were an obvious choice for us to appoint to take on this task, and we’re looking forward to working with them this year!”

Soulsports will also be promoting The O’Neill Cold Water Classic surf series, one of the most groundbreaking event series in world surfing, which is now in its second year. The CWC stops at Thurso, Scotland on April 13-19th, where 144 of the world’s best surfers will battle it out at one of the coldest and wildest surf spots in the world. Press places available.

For all PR enquiries contact Jojo Cook
jojo@soulsports.co.uk
Tel: 01273 687788

www.oneill.com
www.soulsports.co.uk