Norfolk 12th & 13th September 2009

It was a glorious start to the 2009 British Snow Tour at the weekend as blue skies welcomed over 100 of the UK’s best riders from across the land to Norfolk for the Mini BRITS weekender. The BBQ, MC and music got rocking as riders hit the slope and showcased their big bag of tricks in the British Big Air, Trespass Snowboardcross and Animal Slopestyle Championships!

Snowboard Action from Norwich

Trespass Snowboardcross Championships
The Trespass Snowboardcross Championships kicked off the snowboard action on Saturday morning with possibly one of the closest UK snowboardcross events ever! In the men’s final all four riders charged out of the start gates and over the rollers at the same time with Edward Castle-Henry feeling the squeeze. With lightning quick reactions, Castle-Henry who had been forced into an awkward 90 position in mid-air continued the rotation and amazingly landed a clean 360 to continue down the course. Wayne Taylor, maintained his dominating form from the quarterfinals to cross the line in first, followed by a very pleased Edward Castle-Henry, with Jordan Southgate and Tom Moriarty finishing in third and fourth respectively.

In the women’s final Gemma Marshall was first out of the start gates with Vicky Pullin and Alice Blake hot on her heels. Gemma held onto her lead with the gap closing quickly behind her as she crossed the line in first place with Vicky and Alice finishing in second and third.

Trespass Snowboardcross Championship Results
Men
1st – Wayne Taylor – Halifax
2nd – Edward Castle-Henry - Hertfordshire
3rd - Jordan Southgate - Norwich
4th – Tom Moriarty - Norfolk

Women
1st – Gemma Marshall – Sheffield
2nd – Vicky Pullin – Gloucestershire
3rd – Alice Blake - Hertfordshire

British Snowboard Big Air Championships
The sun continued to shine as the Big Air Championships got underway on Saturday afternoon. The top four women and eight men from the qualification round went through to the final with the more experienced riders stepping it up and setting the standard. Wayne Taylor, fresh from his Snowboardcross victory made it a double win for the day taking the overall men’s title with a very stylish corked backside 720. Second place went to Chatham local Cody Hierons who stomped a smooth backside 540, whilst Ben Knox finished in third place with a huge backside 540.

In the women’s final it was also experienced rider Liz Osbourn who showed the younger riders how it was done with a big stylish backside 360 tail grab, which secured her the gold. Second place went to Katie Ormerod, who landed another big backside 360 with Lynsey Ashdown taking third with a frontside 360.

British Snowboard Big Air Championship Results
Men
1st - Wayne Taylor – Halifax
2nd – Cody Hierons – Chatham
3rd – Ben Knox – London

Women
1st – Liz Osbourn - Cambridge
2nd – Katie Ormerod – Halifax
3rd – Lynsey Ashdown - Manchester

Animal British Slopestyle Championships
After an eventful Saturday night when team ‘Ben’s Bandits’ downed 10 pickled onions in under a minute to win the ‘Big Ride Quiz’, Sunday afternoon welcomed in the final event of the weekend, The Animal Slopestyle Championships. Local Halifax rider, Andy Nudds, who had travelled down to Norfolk just for this event, soon set the standard and qualified in first place through to the final.

Nudds maintained his top form throughout both runs during the final to take the 2009 Animal British Slopestyle Championship Title. His textbook run included a switch backside 180 to boardslide and fakie off on the top rail followed by a very controlled and stylish half cab nose press on the middle box and a 270 on 270 off on the flat up and along box. Winning his second silver medal over the weekend was Cody Hierons, with a smooth cab 270 on the top box, to 180 on, 270 off on the middle box and the judge’s favourite trick of the day, a gap 270 to boardslide on the bottom shark fin rail. Ben Knox finished in third place after throwing down a 270 on 270 off on the top box and a 180 boardslide on the shark fin.

In the women’s final 12 year old Katie Ormerod won the overall Animal British Slopestyle Championship title, cementing the fact that the future of British snowboarding looks very strong. Katie’s technical and faultless run included a cab 180 to regular on the top box, a boardslide to fakie over the double box and a switch-up 50-50 over the bottom shark fin rail. Sophie Nicholls who had been riding very strong all day and qualified into the finals in top spot, demonstrated that it’s not just the boy’s in the Nicholls family with all the talent by finishing in second place overall. Sophie’s run included a cab boardslide to tail tap on the top box and an impressive 270 on 270 off on the double box. Third place went to Lynsey Ashdown with a combination of tidy boardslides over the shark fin rail.

Animal British Slopestyle Championship Results:
Men
1st – Andy Nudds - Halifax
2nd – Cody Hierons - Chatham
3rd – Ben Knox - London

Women
1st - Katie Ormerod - Halifax
2nd – Sophie Nicholls - Halifax
3rd – Lynsey Ashdown – Manchester

Over 200 local youngsters that the Schools Tour Team had visited came along to the event to take part in the FREE lessons, watch the UK’s best in action and cheer on local freeskier Tom Coe, who had proved to be a big hit at the schools. Let’s hope we see some of them continue to learn how to shred and hopefully competing next year.

The next event on the British Snow Tour calendar is the British Big Air Championships in Milton Keynes on Saturday 19th September. To check out the images and video footage from Norfolk’s Mini BRITS or to pre register for the Big Air next week go to: www.britishsnowtour.com

The British Snow Tour and Schools Tour programme would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors:Animal, Trespass, SNO!zone, Cushe, Snow+Rock Demo partners: DC, Ride, K2, Line, and Volkl skis. Media partners Whitelines,Dark Summer, Spiked, Extreme Sports Channel, Metrosnow.co.uk,Snowboardclub.co.uk, Skiclub.co.uk,and Natives.co.uk

Teams wanted for the UK’s first ever skiing and snowboarding 3-day fundraising road trip! Youth charity Snow-Camp today launched a brand new fundraising event to support its work with inner-city young people. Snow-Camp hopes that The Snowball Rally will capture the imagination of skiers and snowboarders across the country to enter teams and compete against each other to win masses of snowsports prizes and the Snowball Rally Cup!

The Rally challenges teams to plan their route around as many of the countries 43 dry and artificial slopes over a 3-day period between 19th and 21st November 2009. Setting off from the Milton Keynes SNO!zone, teams collect points for every slope they ride, with the points available increasing for slopes further from the starting point. At the finish on the 21st November, the team with the most points wins! Snow-Camp Director Dan Charlish said, ‘It’s like a cross between the Cannonball Run and the Gumball Rally only with skiing and snowboarding thrown in! Nobody has ever skied or boarded every slope in the country before…it’s going to be a fantastic challenge, great fun and accessible to anyone with a vehicle, some skis and a sense of adventure!’

The idea for the Snowball Rally was dreamt up by two Snow-Camp volunteers, Rich Brown and Steve Marsh, who worked as volunteers on Snow-Camp’s programmes in the French Alps this winter. After their experience in the Alps they wanted to launch a competitive event that would bring together teams of snowsports enthusiasts to raise funds for Snow-Camp’s ongoing work, and have a great time in the process! Rich Brown said, ‘After seeing first hand the positive effect Snow-Camp had on all the young people involved, I wanted to help raise money so more and more young people can benefit from this unique charity. I hope that through the Snowball Rally this will be achieved while simultaneously providing a fun and challenging experience. I’ll be doing my best to do all 43 slopes!’ The charity hopes up to 20 teams will enter this first Snowball Rally, with all the information required to register and plan your route on the web pages www.snow-camp.co.uk/snowballrally. Team members pledge to raise a minimum of £250 for Snow-Camp’s work by participating, with Just Giving sites set up to support each team’s sponsorship efforts.

Snow-Camp are seeking corporate sponsorship from companies who would like to be involved with the event from the outset. Dominic de Terville, Snow-Camp’s Chairman and Head of Sponsorship, said, ‘We are hoping to attract companies who share Snow-Camp’s ethos and are keen to both reach and reach out to young people. Sponsorship of the Snowball Rally offers the benefit of being associated with an innovative and original event alongside great visibility through publicity - with the added bonus of knowing all sponsorship funds support Snow-Camp’s future work’. Interested companies can download the sponsorship pack from the Snow-Camp website.

The Snowball Rally will conclude with a huge party held at the Milton Keynes SNO!zone, where the slope will be open late just for Snowball Rally competitors to complete the final slope of their challenge. The Avalanche Suite will then host the after party where everyone can share their road trip stories over a well earned drink!

To enter your team, discuss sponsorship, find out more about the event or arrange an interview with Snow-Camp staff please check out the Snow-Camp website www.snow-camp.co.uk, contact Dan or Rich at snowballrally@snowcamp.co.uk or call 07930 695384.

Snow Rally Poster 2009

Check out the Snow-Camp Movie of the 2009 trips – watch online at http://www.snow-camp.co.uk/video.php?view=2009

Quotes from Snowball Rally 2009 sponsors:

Base Camp have followed and supported Snow-Camp since its conception in 2003. We share the values of Snow- Camp and are proud support what is a wonderful charity.

Snowsport england, A great opportunity for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enjoy mountain sports. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Snow-Camp.

SNO!zone are delighted to help give more young people in the UK the chance to get involved in snowsports at home and abroad.

We are passionate about snowboarding at SnowboardClub.co.uk, and love the opportunity which Snow-Camp provides to inner city young people, enabling them to share the sport we love.

Snow-Camp are bringing the fun and inspirationof snow-sports to those that really need it. FBBB are behind Snow-Camp all the way!

Quotes from young people who attended Snow-Camp:

‘The main thing I’ve learnt through attending Snow-Camp is that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind towards it.’ (Nathan, 15, Ladbroke Grove)
‘Learning to ski taught me perseverance and gave me a huge amount of confidence. I really do believe in myself now and I never give up.’ (Shakira, 16, Brixton)
‘My best achievement was going down the massive mountains with speed, control and stability. And through the life-skills sessions I learnt how to control my anger in positive ways.’ (Tony, 17, Westminster)

Hi all,

Just a quick update on the events at Norfolk Ski Club this past weekend for the Farmer’s Jam 2009. I was stoked to Qualify for the slopestyle in 1st place overall, however a mis-timed backflip on the dendex kicker got the better of me and I ended up taking a trip to hospital and had 5 stiches in my forehead, 6 or 7 inside my lower lip, a bruised jaw, nose, knee, and a rather scratched face! (see attached pic) Thankfully I was wearing a helmet which im sure helped to limit the damage!

Unfortunately I had to sit out the slopestyle final and big air on Sunday but I will hopefully be back in action in time for the BST (British Snowboard Tour) artificial champs in 2 weeks at Norwich.

I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the staff at Norfolk Ski Club for their help.

Webby

I'm sure that's a dendex shaped mark on my face!

This is for all you action sports enthusiasts that are  interested in what British snowboarders do abroad when it’s summer over in England.    I am here in New Zealand at the moment enjoying the fun southern hemisphere shred.

I recently participated in the annual Parklife Invitational Queenstown NZ. The venue was outside in Earnslaw park right next to the Lake Wakitipu. It was an amazing event with over 4ooo spectators watching the jibbers throw down.

The setup was epic! It was so fun. The Remarkables park crew did an excellent job setting the rails up and shaping the in run to the features.

All in all a great night.  The funky music supplied by the talented Kiwi group Sunshine Sound System complimented the tricks the riders were stomping.  In effect providing a cool soundtrack for the snowboarders to ride to.

The male winner was local NZ rider Adam ‘Midgey’ Shaw with his smooth and technical moves including a last minute cab one 50-50 back 3 out. So good & progressive. The female winner was Auckland rider Christy Prior with some solid riding.

As an English rider, it was an honour to be a part of such a big event within the NZ snowboarding event calender.  i’ll definitely be back! Until next year… Peace, Adam Bowcutt

image: Joss Thompson Photography

Tignes, France - ESPN, CANAL + Events and Tignes Ski & Snowboard Resort announced today that together they will launch the first Winter X Games Europe March 10-12, 2010. The event will be the first Winter X Games held outside the United States. A definitive list of the world’s top winter action sports athletes will be invited to France to compete for medals and prize money in eight different competitions over three days, including Ski and Snowboard SuperPipe and Slopestyle for men and women as well as a Snowmobile demonstration.

CANAL + Events CEO, Jean Louis Dutaret said, “We are delighted to work with ESPN and the X Games team to bring the Winter X Games to Europe. CANAL + Events and the ESPN events team will draw on all their experience to ensure this is the biggest and best winter sports event in Europe in 2010. As for soccer, rugby and many sports, CANAL + Group will consider X Games as a global project, including TV, Internet and mobile. In a Winter Olympic year, and only a few weeks after athletes have competed in Vancouver, fans in Europe will again be able to watch the top names in the world compete head to head.”

“Nothing could be more justified than Tignes as the host resort of the first Winter X Games Europe. Tignes, the sportiest European ski resort, is always at the forefront of action and freestyle winter sports,” said Tignes Ski & Snowboard Resort Manager, Sebastien Merignargues.

Rick Alessandri, ESPN Senior Vice President and Managing Director, X Games Franchise said, “Working with CANAL + and Tignes, and drawing on more than 10 years experience of running the Winter X Games in the United States, we are excited to bring winter action sports fans in Europe the best action sports event they will see in 2010. This first event outside the U.S. reflects the continued global growth of the X Games franchise as well as the progression of action sports in Europe.”

CANAL + Networks (CANAL +, CANAL + SPORT, Sport +) will show the Winter X Games in France and French-speaking territories (Caribbean, French speaking Africa) live or on delay so that those unable to come to Tignes will be able to see the event. ESPN will be responsible for all distribution outside of France.

Oberhofen (SUI), 20th July, 2009

The International Ski Federation (FIS) and LG Electronics are pleased to announce an extension of their cooperation whereby LG Electronics will continue to serve as the title sponsor of the FIS Snowboard World Cup for the 2009/10 season.

“FIS is delighted to further build this partnership with LG Electronics in support of the FIS Snowboard World Cup,” commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “Based on the significant success during the first season of our cooperation, we look forward to helping LG reach an even larger audience among its target group, both on-site especially at the city events around the world and through the media of their choice.”

“LG is excited to announce that we are extending our sponsorship of the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup for a second season,“ said Andrew Barrett, Vice President, Global Sponsorship for LG Electronics. “In our first year we saw great returns for our investment with FIS, and our markets around the world saw our association with Snowboarding as an ideal platform to engage with stylish and technologically advanced consumers. We are particularly excited about the 2009/10 season and the opportunities that exist with Snowboarding – and winter sports in general – in Korea.”

“As winter sports continue to gain in popularity in Asia, LG and Korea are in very good positions to benefit from this trend,” added Mr. Barrett. “That’s why we are especially excited and proud that Korea, after it hosted the first-ever FIS Snowboard Championships in Asia last season, has been selected by FIS to be a host country for one of their five big air events in the 2009/10 season. Hosting a big air event will certainly help solidify Korea’s position on the world map as a winter sport destination, and some day that might just come in handy for our winter sports federations.”

Snowboarding is the youngest of the FIS disciplines, having been introduced into FIS’s international competition calendar in 1994. The discipline debuted in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. In Vancouver 2010, six Olympic titles will be awarded in Snowboarding events.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup is about to enter its 16th season on 25th-26th August in Cardrona, New Zealand. The series covers competitions ranging from breath-taking freestyle performances in half-pipe and big air to thrilling rider-on-rider fights within snowboard cross and head-to-head duels in the parallel slalom and giant slalom competitions. The World Cup titles are awarded in four categories - big air, half-pipe, snowboard cross and parallel - as well as in the overall standings. The FIS Snowboard World Cup is carried out in around 20 cities in 15 countries and broadcast in more than 80
countries.

BRITAIN’S FOUR ALL FINISH IN TOP 20 IN SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP FINALS
Britain’s top ranked male snowboarder Ben Kilner finished ninth to lead a superb performance by the Team GB quartet in the Halfpipe discipline at the FIS Snowboard World Cup Finals earlier today (Saturday) in Valmalenco, Italy.

The 20-year-old athlete from Banchory in Scotland recorded his highest-ever World Cup placing by finishing ninth in the men’s Halfpipe. Dom Harington, 24, from Leeds finished 20th in the same event. In the women’s event, Kate Foster, 23, from Painswick, and Lesley McKenna, 34, from Aviemore, finished 15th and 16th respectively.

British team Halfpipe coach Leo Addington said: “The World Cup finals ended with a great finish to the World Cup tour for the British team.

“Ben Kilner qualified for the finals for the first time and achieved a personal best result. Dom Harington and Kate Foster both pulled out top finishes in an Olympic qualifying event, and Lesley McKenna’s result has placed her inside the top 20 in the World Cup ranking list.

“The team will now head to Laax in Switzerland for the British National Championships, and after some well deserved downtime, will begin summer training to gear back up for the next World Cup event, the first of the 2009-2010 season in Cardrona, New Zealand.”

Jenny Jones has become the first Brit to win a gold medal in the slopestyle at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado

28-year-old Jones claimed victory in her final run when she landed a huge frontside 720 over the 80ft kicker.

She said: “My first run was sketchy, my second run I cleaned it up, so it looked better and I felt happy with the run.

“It wasn’t enough, as I was still in second by about three points. So I just had to go for it on the last run and did a 720 over the last jump.

“I was so pleased to win and suddenly the emotions went crazy and I had to try hard not to cry. It means so much to me to win an X Games medal and to win gold is the icing on the cake.”

To check out Jenny’s winning run go to: www.xgames.com

Or view it here:

More jenny-jones Snowboarding >>

Well done Jenny!

To celebrate the eagerly awaited launch of DC Snowboards in the UK, we laid down the red carpet to welcome pro freestylers and DC Global Snow Team members, Devun Walsh, Lauri Heiskari, Iikka Backstrom and Aaron Biittner, who came across the Atlantic to London for one of the biggest weeks in the UK snowsports calendar, the Metro Ski & Snowboard Show.

Soulsports worked with DC to organise for the team to head down to the Snow+Rock stand at the Metro Ski & Snowboard Show, where they were giving away DC product and signing posters, t-shirts and no doubt a host of inappropriate items along the way!

Check out the madness below:  

Snowsport GB will launch their new talent identifying initiative ‘Talent Trail’ at this year’s Metro Ski and Snowboard Show, being held at London’s Olympia from Wednesday 22 until Sunday 26 October. The scheme aims to identify potential skiing stars of the future by working with the British Ski Schools, Clubs & Academies to identify the up and coming talent which will then be fed into Britain’s elite training programmes.
The goal of the scheme is for the highly qualified coaches and instructors working in the Ski Schools and Clubs to talent-spot on behalf of British Ski Team Coaches, encourage talented youngsters to start ski racing and to progress onto training programmes run by either British Ski Academies in the Alps or their Home Nation Governing Body – Snowsport England, Snowsport Scotland or Snowsport Wales. The ultimate aim is to create a pool of talented racers to feed into the British Alpine Ski Teams.

The Talent Trail stand at the Metro Ski and Snowboard show will be staffed by Duncan Freshwater, Performance Director of Snowsport GB and Gareth Trayner, Head Coach of the British Children’s Team and member of Team GB at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Joining them will be current British Alpine Ski Team members Alain Baxter and Andy Noble, as well as representatives from British Ski Schools, Clubs and Academies.
To help Snowsport GB in their search for the next skiing champion, the Ski Club of Great Britain will be calling on members and recreational skiers alike to let themselves be known if they feel they think they have the talent to be the next big thing in snowsports - or indeed if they think they have children with potential. The Ski Club will play a key role alongside coaches and British ski schools in trying to help Britain identify its future champions using its website www.skiclub.co.uk to communicate with the wider snowsport community.

The Metro Ski and Snowboard Show attracts over 35,000 visitors annually, making it one of the largest shows of its kind in the world and the ideal venue to launch the Talent Trail initiative - Snowsport GB are hoping to find future ski champions in the crowd this year!

Between them, the Clubs, Ski Schools and Academies have helped thousands of young British skiers get started racing – so they know talent when they see it! Everyone involved in Talent Trail is excited to be involved on the Performance Pathway – taking kids from their first lessons on their first ski holiday right through to competing at the level of number one British female skier Chemmy Alcott.
Duncan Freshwater, Performance Director for Snowsport GB said “the show is a fantastic opportunity for any budding skiers to find out more about the sport .This is the first year that all the groups involved in the Talent Trail initiative will be together at the show – from the grassroots level of the excellent British Ski Schools through to the professional athletes and coaches”

This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who thinks that they might have the next Bode Miller on their hands to discuss how best to help their kids progress in this amazing sport. The Talent Trail stand will be on the gallery level at Olympia this year at stand G172 alongside Snowsport GB Sponsor Citizen Watch UK Ltd who will be offering the opportunity to win one of their watches every day of the show to visitors to the Talent Trail

For more information on Talent Trail see www.snowsportgb.com.talenttrail

For more information on the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show see www.metrosnow.co.uk