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
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Having Fun (and a lot of screaming)
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Swimming with Dolphins
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A hot shower
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Sam Carne
Intro
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Wakeboarding without a board
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Wakeboarding
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Wake vs Kite Games
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How to enter
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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

Sorry I haven’t done a blog in a while, I was in Morzine over Christmas but I had an exam in January, so I was skiing then working, and didn’t really have the time to fit in blogging. Plus where I was staying had no internet.

But now my exam is over and the fact I’ve worked fairly hard this past few weeks, I don’t have to do any work this week which I am really happy with.

Anyway, I arrived in Morzine yesterday and it was dumping, I was pretty stoked as everyone said the conditions were good and so I was set for a good day shredding tomorrow. We didn’t really do much yesterday, as the others had been out the night before and I was really tired, yet we all ended up staying up late watching movies and playing the xbox.

Today, was my first day up the hill, it was blue bird and the conditions were perfect. Today we spent the day going from park to park. We started in the small park, then went across to the big park, where me and Webbo had a pretty sick session, both doing some cab 9’s, then finally going over to the Swiss Park. All park’s were pretty good and I am really looking forward to having a proper session on them, I would also like to get some filming done too, as I don’t get much of that done.

Sorry for the lack of photo’s, didn’t bring my camera up the hill but will hopefully get some tomorrow.

Laura Berry is perhaps one of the most naturally talented female snowboarders that the UK has produced the recent years, but a series of unfortunate events has seen her body battered and brooked and left her wondering how she’ll be able to bounce back.

Laura competing in the Burton Am Tour SeriesBizarrely, not many people know the full extent of Laura’s injuries as she has had rare spells of fitness where she has competed and won events. The publications of Laura’s triumphs have somewhat blurred the focus of Laura’s battle with injuries, so here’s the real deal about Laura Berry.

Laura first broke her collarbone years ago, before she even started to snowboard, while playing football with Arsenal Ladies FC. The bone healed fine and there were no complications.

Then in 2004, whilst on a magazine trip, Laura has an ungodly slam and smashed her collarbone in two places. After her treatment and rest period the NHS said that the bone had healed fine and she was okay to shred again. After that Laura broke her collarbone a further seven times, each break becoming more and more ridiculous, until in March 2008 she broke her collar bone after she fell on her ass- your collarbone shouldn’t break when you fall on your ass!

After each occasion Laura broke her collarbone the NHS treated her and gave her the classic line; ‘Just stop snowboarding’.

Fortunately, after the ass-falling breakage, Laura decided to just pay to go and see a private consultant. After prodding and probing the consultant told Laura that the break from 2004, where her collarbone was broken in two places had not healed properly. Only one break had healed, so she’d spent four years with a broken collarbone. If you take into consideration that in those four years Laura won The Burton Am Tour Series, The Slopestyle Europa Cup series, The Burton Black Metal, placed 5th and 11th in the Roxy Chicken Jam and won many Brits contests, then that is pretty impressive.

Luckily for Laura the private consultant took pity on her having little money, realising that he would probably put a lot of effort in for her to just run off into the sunset all fixed up without paying, and referred her to another consultant who did both NHS and private work. So, in theory, she got a private doctor for free!

At the end of the 2008 season Laura had a bone graft and a plate inserted via screws into her collarbone to make it heal properly. This was done on the NHS, but with this good private doctor, so there was every chance she would heal 100%.

After eight months off, Laura was allowed to ride again, she bounced back by winning The Brits 2009 Big Air and getting 2nd in the Slopestyle event, as well as winning the Red Bull Home Run for the 2nd year running and placing 2nd in two smaller contests during the season.

Laura’s collarbone with the plate and screws in

In September 2009 she had her plate taken out and things got complicated. A couple of weeks after the removal, a lump had formed where her plate had been. Milton Keynes General Hospital X-rayed her and said it was ‘probably ok’!

A week later Laura had a letter from MK General asking her to pop back in because at a second glance her x-ray didn’t look quite right. Fearing the worst from the NHS, Laura decided to return to her private surgeon rather than leave herself in the hands of the NHS Emergency department treatment lottery. A good job too, because her surgeon found that Laura had a massive aneurysm measuring 2cm by 2cm. An aneurysm is different to a blood clot as it’s a bubble which the blood continues to flow through and can swell and burst killing you! It turned out that Laura ironically developed the aneurysm when the surgeon drilled the plate to her collarbone, because he also drilled into her artery a bit too meaning when it was removed it left a hole in the artery!

The plate and screws once removed from Laura’s collarbone

Unknown to Laura at this time her sponsors were becoming restless with her constant stream of injuries and subsequent ‘healing time’ leaving her unable to snowboard or compete. In October 2009 Red Bull informed Laura that she was coming to the end of her contract and they were dropping her. Not the best thing to hear when you’re suffering all of the above already!

The surgeon treating Laura wanted to inject her with a clotting agent to stop the aneurysm, there was a slight risk that it wouldn’t work and the injection could worsen then situation, the odds were one in a million.

Defying the odds the injection didn’t work, the clotting agent started to block Laura’s artery and they had to stop because they would leave a blood clot in her arm. After the procedure there was a small clot which she was told would sort itself out in time.

After being transferred to Oxford, where the Vascular team is much better, the doctors again tried to closed the aneurysm, this time by passing a tube from her groin to her aneurysm to close off the entrance and then injecting the clotting agent again. Laura describes it as ‘the single most painful thing I have ever had in my life. The pain was so bad I passed out’… but again there were complications.

Laura came round to doctors everywhere and was rushed into surgery and told that there was a strong possibility that she would not come back out with her HAND! Where they had tried the second procedure they had created another blockage meaning there was literally no blood going to her hand. Luckily that operation went well, meaning that Laura won’t be grabbing stalefish with a hook. The doctors put her on a 12 week programme of aspirin to thin her blood, hoping that when she would come off the medication her blood would thicken and the aneurysm will heal itself.

The aftermath of the emergency operation

After the operation, Laura left the UK and incredibly went away for the winter to Morzine! Laura returned to the UK earlier this month to see both the surgeon about her collarbone and the surgeon about her arteries.

Laura says that, ‘For 12 weeks my hand has been cold to the point of my fingers being white and I can’t warm them up. Apparently this is because of where I had the emergency operation, I now have a clot in my elbow. My shoulder aches and doesn’t move 100% properly. I still have an aneurysm which is the same size as before and my collarbone is still in two bits. The blockage in my elbow is restricting the blood flow to my hand by about 50%, which is in turn, creating the coldness.’

It turns out that Laura is in the ultimate catch 22, they can’t heal her aneurysm or her collarbone because if something goes wrong then she’ll probably LOSE HER ARM! But in the mean time she is stuck with a broken collarbone and an aneurysm!

The next step is to wait for the blockage to harden up before putting a tube in her arm to widen the artery. This won’t happen for another 12 weeks.

Laura is very strangely upbeat; ‘Even though I’m probably the most fecked I have ever been, the doctors won’t do anything for another 12 weeks, which I guess means that I can still do my season and shred. Hopefully after 12 weeks they can fix it and this drama will all be over, but who knows’.

Laura maintains that she is still not riding at 100%, but she’s stoked to be riding at all. ‘I don’t think anyone has ever been told that they are okay to still shred because they’re too battered to actually be fixed! I’m just stoked I can still be out riding and doing what I love’.

Laura enjoying her shredding © James North

So if you see Bezza out on the shred, just know, there’s a slim chance she might drop dead in front of you. But at least you’ll know the reason why!!!

Originally from Dorset, Sarah spent the majority of her life in Australia until moving back to England in 2009.  Since returning she now represents her home country and is hoping to be the first British girl to make it onto the World Championship Tour (WCT). Design-led brand Protest is delighted to sign Sarah to the team that includes international riders Yannick De Jager, Melvin Lipke, Lars Musschoot and Christian Boletta.  

Jereon Coppens, Protest European brand manager, said; “We have been searching for a girl who is world class in her sport and also has the drive and passion to get where she wants to be.  With her personality and enthusiasm, Sarah is an inspiration to others girls to want to surf more, just as Protest is trying to do.

“She is a fantastic addition to our team of riders and will really motivate her teammates to be as ambitious in their pursuit of success.  Sarah is also incredibly creative, which will be reflected in our designs for the riders inspired collection.”

Country manager, Paul Wilkinson, believes she will be the face of the brand in the UK; “We’ve been following Sarah’s progress for a long time and we’re excited to welcome her onboard.  Sarah is not only a fantastic surfer but also an amazing role model for other British riders to look up to. “She has a remarkable track record in international tours and we want to support her in becoming the first British girl to make the WCT.

“There are a large number of talented riders in the UK and we want to support them to fulfil their potential.  We are rapidly growing our profile in the country and want to do the same with surfers who have the same ambition as us to be ambassadors of the sport.”

Protest previously joined forces with Sarah when the brand was the sponsor of the English Surfing Federation Team at the European Surfing Championships last year. Sarah finished an impressive fourth at the championships but is hoping to add more titles to her name with the help of Protest.    

“I’m honored and stoked to join the team and I’m excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead,” said Sarah.  Protest shares my passion for the sport and together we will be able to take women’s surfing in the UK to a whole new level.”

The young Animal team rider blew away an international field at this extraordinary winter slopestyle event and is due to be hitting the slopes once more come March at the Animal Slopestyle Champs at The BRITS 2010, Laax, Switzerland

Event Press Release:

More than 2,000 spectators made their way to the White Style course designed and built by Kona Clump team rider Grant “Chopper” Fielder. Grant received lots of props from the other riders for the set up consisting of different elements like: An igloo at the start with a small drop, a set of two doubles, followed by two massive fruit bowls combinations (with a 15ft drop) as well as a huge double at the finish (about 40ft. far). Riders jumped the last gap and reached up to 25ft. above the ground.

The most important point to remember: the whole course was built out of snow. So it was definitely a challenging set up. But some of the world’s best riders came to Leogang. They impressed the spectators and sometimes each other by pulling off the biggest tricks that were seen in a mountain bike contest.

The qualifications on Friday evening were dominated by Swedish rider Martin Soederstroem (technical and clean riding including double tailwhips), Yannick Granieri from France (by far the biggest backflips performed on a contest), U.S. American Cam McCaul (great style and big bag of tricks), Canadian Darren “The Claw” Berrecloth (360 look downs at its best). Linus Sjoeholm (SWE), Amir Kabbani (GER), Sam Pilgrim (GBR) and Jamie Goldman (USA) completed the Top 8 of the qualifyings.

The man on the day of the finals was Sam Pilgrim, no question: tailwhip at the start, frontflip at the first double, backflip no hander at the second, 360 x-up out of the fruit bowl, tuck nohander and backflip at the 2nd fruit bowl, as well as a backflip table at the last jump. Sam couldn’t stop joking after his success having 1,800 Euros in his pocket: “I will spend all the money on sweets, for real!” But he also stated pretty serious: “Crashing on snow is not that funny, because it’s much harder than you might think. It took me a bit to cope with it when I competed the first time at the White Style, but man, it was fun this year and Chopper did a really great job, big respect!”

Top 12 riders:
1 Sam Pilgrim Diamondback GBR
2 Linus Sjöholm Scott SWE
3 Yannick Granieri Commencal FRA
4 Amir Kabbani Mongoose GER
5 Darren Berrecloth Specialized CAN
6 Cameron McCaul Trek USA
7 Jamie Goldman Santa Cruz USA
8 Sam Reynolds DMR GBR
9 Grant Fielder Kona GBR
10 Niki Leitner YT Industries AUT
11 Martin Söderström NS Bikes SWE
12 Jakub Vencl AGang CZE

James was lucky enough to be given a wild card entry to this prestigous event held at his winter season home. The first of 4 legs during the season was postponed in Russia and is potentially going to be held this week in Chamonix which could give James another crack at the top spot.

James commented “Looks like I might have to put retirement off for another year!”

James at the Finishing line in Chamonix

Freeride World Tour Rankings:
www.freerideworldtour.com/en/rankings/

Soulsports Profile:
www.soulsports.co.uk/jamesstentiford

Ben had to say “Well this is it! the last World Cup before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. I managed to land my first run in semi’s and that put me in to the Finals. This has been the 2nd time i have ever got this far in the World Cups so i was just happy to make it this far. Once i landed my first run i got a score of 40.3 which put me into 2nd. On the second runs i was pushed into 3rd with an amazing run from French man Arthur Longo. My second run kept me in 3rd so i am super happy. This has put me in a very good frame of mind for going in to Vancouver and has been my best result so far in my Snowboarding Career!”

Video highlight:
MPORA:

More Snowboarding >>

ESPN:

Facebook Quote:
“WWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY!!! i cant believe it. so stoked to have won. This time all the top girls were in it, the weather was great and even my folks came over from the UK to watch. I landed the run i was after, 540, 540 & 720 stoked and grabbed all my spins in a contest for once woohoo!!”

Results:
1st Jenny Jones
2nd Jamie Anderson
3rd Janna Meyen-Weatherby

Slopestyle Women results

Jenny’s Fan page: www.facebook.com/jennyjonessnowboarder

Jenny’s Official Profile: www.soulsports.co.uk/jennyjones

Jenny’s Sponsors:
Relentless Energy Drinks, Oakley Eyewear, Nixon Watches, MetroSnow.co.uk, les ettes Perfume, Giro Helmets, Billabong Clothing, Salomon Snowboards

Demonstrating that it is not solely the performance-driven that benefit from the value Garmin adds to sport, the wrist-worn Foretrex® 401 is set to provide millions of recreational skiers and snowboarders with the fundamental statistics that they have long craved; how high, how far and how fast did we go today? Of course, this sophisticated, waterproof device is packed with extensive capabilities for the more inquisitive, but its simplicity makes it possible for everybody to get more from their time on the slopes.

Foretrex 401

To put the Foretrex 401 onto the wrists of typical enthusiasts, Garmin has joined forces with 10 specialist chalet operators around the Alps to form official Garmin Test Centres, offering guests the opportunity to test-drive the latest GPS technology. At the end of the day, guests simply upload the day’s data, or ‘tracklog’, at Garmin Connect to review their movements and statistics including highest speed, total descent, total ascent, maximum elevation, total distance and much, much more.

To foster the competitive spirit that will no doubt arise, Garmin has created a season’s league table at Garmin Snow Club to champion the persons that travel the fastest, the furthest, and the greatest descent. The victorious not only secure bragging rights for the year, but are then in with a chance of winning a week’s winter holiday at one of the Garmin Test Centres.

In addition, the Garmin Downhill Challenge will be making its presence felt at The BRITS Snow & Music Festival, which hosts the British Snowboard & Freeski Championships in Switzerland from 21st – 28th March. Throughout the week revellers will charge the slopes to register a fastest time to be displayed upon the Garmin Leader board positioned centre stage of the Apres Arena. The Garmin Downhill Challenge is destined to spark post-slope boasting and debate and perfectly complements the en-masse downhill at the end of the week, Red Bull Homerun, which witnesses 300+ competitors racing simultaneously from the top of the mountain to the bottom… organized chaos. The winner of the Garmin Downhill Challenge will naturally win a trip to The BRITS 2011 to defend their crown.

Finally, spearheading the snowsports campaign are two guys that uphold Garmin’s pursuit of innovation and adventure in BBC Ski Sunday presenters and Garmin ambassadors Ed Leigh and Graham Bell. Regular Ski Sunday viewers will have noticed a recent product review of the Foretrex 401 on the show. Follow Ed’s and Graham’s travels around the world at Garmin Snow Club including fly-through visuals of Graham’s World Cup Downhill runs and both of their exploits at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“Snow sports offered up an exciting proposition for Garmin, which required a shift in our approach for a sport that’s mass focus is recreational,” said Chris Merrell, Garmin’s Marketing Communications Manager. “And we are strong in the belief that Garmin can, and will, add value to every snow enthusiast, both in their on-piste activities and off-piste discussions. GPS adds fun as well as safety to your snow activities.”

Both Garmin devices are available at all Snow + Rock and Ellis Brigham stores nationwide, where a purchase in-store or online holds the added benefit of entry into the prize draw for an all expenses paid trip for 2 to The BRITS 2010 Festival and the opportunity to take on the Garmin Downhill Challenge.

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

www.garminsnowclub.co.uk