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westcountry sports personality of the year (Posted Tuesday, December 5, 2006 by danwakeham)

last night i was nominated to be the westcountry sports person of the year. i didnt win but they told us that we were all winners, stoked!
i think things like this are great for our sport and it is good to see snowboarders up against some of the mainstream athletes such as footballers.

Plymouth's sporting heroes gathered at the Pavilions last night for the glittering Herald Sports Personalities of the Year awards ceremony.

Weightlifting champion Michaela Breeze, PE teacher at Ivybridge Community College, was crowned this year's overall Sports Personality with six other local heroes scooping awards.

Around 450 guests attended the star-studded gala dinner, which was compered by Herald columnist and South Hams radio presenter David Fitzgerald.

The occasion, sponsored by Close Wealth Management Ltd, is one of the highlights of the city's sporting calendar as it brings together the area's top team talent for one night only.

Guest of honour was Queens Park Rangers manager John Gregory, former England and Plymouth Argyle midfielder, who presented the awards to the seven category winners.

He said: "To be here for this is an honour and I feel very privileged. The depth of sporting talent in this area is deeper than people are probably aware.

"It's a very thriving part of the country for sport and tonight shows how seriously people in this part of the world take their commitment to a variety of sports."

Winner Michaela Breeze pipped to the post six other nominees for the coveted top title: Plymouth Argyle's David 'Chuck' Norris, Plymouth Devils speedway team skipper Seemond Stephens, Kularoos Raiders Drew Lasker, winter Olympic Games snowboarder Dan Wakeham, Plymouth Albion captain Danny Thomas and last year's winner, middleweight boxing champion, Scott 'Dynamite' Dann.

She said: "It's been a fantastic evening and I've had a great year, the best of my career.

"Everyone who was shortlisted has done something in their own right for their sport and that's a great thing for the local area."

The winners were chosen by a panel of judges. They were picked from a huge range of sporting talent after being nominated by thousands of Herald readers by post and on line.

Herald Editor Bill Martin said: "These awards are a fantastic way of supporting the wealth of talent in Plymouth. That we have so many world-class atheletes in the city is a credit to the area and it's important to recognise that."

saas fee world cup (Posted Monday, November 27, 2006 by danwakeham)

i competed in the world cups in saas fee switzerland. there were two compitions back to back.
in the first event i didnt do to well, the weather was bad, -20 and really windy, i was cold and i wasnt really in the mood.
i fell on both runs and i finished in 37th place.
the next event i was on top form and i was riding really well. i qualified 3rd in my heat and i went in to the finals which was to be held the following day.
we awoke to high winds and the lift was closed, so the event was called off.
some times they go off the qualifying results and come up with a final result (which i would have finished in 11th place) but in this case they decided that they would write off the whole event off.
so i gained no points and no result but it was a good start for the compition season for me and it has filled me with confidence as i go in to my next event which is the world championships in january.

i have signed for head (Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 by danwakeham)

i have been riding for santa cruz for about nine years and they were my first ever sponsor. they signed me up when i was 16 years old and i had only been on snow for two weeks. i was touring the country to all of the dryslope contests in my friends beat up camper van
when i was offered the chance to get free snowboards and that's where my life direction changed. i had no pressures or commitments, no one told me what to do or where to go, i was just loving the life. Chris Allen from santa cruz in the UK was one of the key people
who where responsible for putting me where i am today and i can never repay him for the amount of times he has bailed me out. but nine years on and times have changed, i am still loving the life but now i am touring the globe and the bills keep coming in and
they need to be payed.there were some changes with the European importer for Santa Cruz and all the team were dropped and we all had to re apply direct to the USA head quarters. i took this opportunity to have a look a round to see what else was available to me and i
found head snowboards. they were very keen to put me on their team and push and promote me. i have now signed for head and look forward to the future. it was quite scary to make the decision to leave Santa Cruz but in the long run i think it will be quite refreshing to ride for a new brand. before i signed on the dotted line i scrupulously tested the head boards to make sure that they work for me and i was very impressed to find how good they are. they are a little more aggressive than i am used to but i think i will be able to use that to my advantage to go bigger and spin faster.

for the last few seasons i have been working so hard to raise my standard of riding to world cup and then to olympic standard, this has involved a lot of travel and it has been a long and tiring experience. with so much traveling between time zones it is easy
to get burned out and small niggling injury's never seem to go away.
this summer i had a few snowboard trips to the USA and Europe to keep my legs in tune but generally took a good amount of time away from snowboarding and spent some time at home skateboarding, surfing and relaxing. now i feel refreshed charged and itching to get in to
the new season.
i am heading out to France (after riding at the metro ski show in Olympia, London) where i am competing at the mondial ski and snowboard event in Les deux alps, from there i will drive across to saas fee Switzerland to compete in my first world cup halfpipe event of the season, then home for Christmas.

my achievements from the last few seasons have now been recognised by the British Olympic federation and i have been awarded with funding to help cover my season plan expenses, with an aim of working towards the Vancouver Olympics in four years time. our achievements as a team (British national snowboard team) have drawn attention from zoom airlines, who are now sponsoring us and giving us free flights to the USA and Canada. this is really great opportunity for us. in the USA they put so much money in to their snowboard programs and facility's witch can only aid the progression of the riders who train there, and their results show when you see how the podium was dominated by us riders in the Olympics.
we as a team plan to spend more time in the USA this season and not only follow the world cup circuit but also follow the USA snowboard competition tours as that's is where they are breeding the best snowboarders in the world!




PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

DAN WAKEHAM RIDES HEAD SNOWBOARD

Head is very pleased to announce that as from the beginning of October 2006, Dan Wakeham – Britain’s leading snowboard rider, has agreed to ride Head boards and bindings and will be using Head Protection Gear.

Over the last 5 years Head has slowly been building a very credible presence within the global snowboard community for not only the excellent craftsmanship in its boards but also for its ground breaking Intelligence technology and PX bindings. Head is today most probably a top 5 brand supplier in most key snowboard markets and is now turning its attention to the UK market where slowly but surely it has been building a presence.

Dan commented:’’before I signed with Head, I scrupulously tested the boards throughout the summer to make sure they worked for me and I was very surprised to find out how good they are. Overall they are a little more aggressive than I am used to but I think I will be able to use that to my advantage to go bigger and spin faster – and I can’t believe that more people aren’t enjoying the boards - so here’s to the future’’

Dan will ride the Crown snowboard with the PX5 bindings and will also wear the Pro S helmet. He will also be wearing the TH1 Unit and Crash Pants from Head’s protection range.

Andy Nicholls – Head’s UK snowboard manager said ‘’ we are absolutely delighted that someone of Dan’s calibre has decided to join to our global team of riders and we are looking forward to working with him in order to get Head firmly established as a snowboard brand in the UK. This is very exciting news for us, the quality and performance of Head snowboard products has never been an issue but now with Dan onboard we can really build some momentum and create a very exciting business.’’

For further information about Dan Wakeham please visit:

http://www.blogger.com/profile/23074237

http://www.myspace.com/backflipper

http://www.soulsports.co.uk/danwakeham

press... (Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2006 by danwakeham)

I have had a lot of press coverage in the last few weeks. Now that i am home i have been going through it all and keeping all logged and safe.
While i was at the Olympics people interviewed me by both phone and email for various papers or magazines.
It never ceases to amaze me at how they manipulate quotes from me, some make me angry but this one here just made me laugh out loud!


"snowboarding is a sport with a lexicon all of its own and its a language that wakeham, last year's europa cup champion speaks fluently. "i really barged that three and i'm going for a bingo next time. lets just hope i dont beef, that would be so beige."
which roughly translates as: "i was very pleased with that 360 degree jump, i'm going for three in a row next time. i just hope i don't mess-up or that would be bad."

how funny is that!

(Posted Saturday, February 11, 2006 by danwakeham)

dorset (Posted Friday, September 23, 2005 by danwakeham)

last night i went to dorset dryslope. i havent rode dryslope for about 2 years, but i was very inpressed. the kicker is good, then after that there is a quater, which was fun!
its a little hard to get high out of, but real good for hand plants! also you can go over the side like a hip.
then there is a rail line looks ok but i didnt ride them because i didnt have a helmet.
i am hoping to go to the aim series there but not yet sure if i can make it.
i would like to show some of you new school dry slope kids some of the original wakeham dryslope huckery! lol

(Posted Friday, August 12, 2005 by danwakeham)

a fair amount of snow has fallen in the last few days in saas fee!
fresh tracks this morning!!!

saas fee (Posted Monday, August 8, 2005 by danwakeham)

i have been in saas fee for a few days now and i was surprised at how good it is here. before here i was in 2alps and the conditions there were getting bad.
on the mountain in saas fee, it feels like winter, there is alot of snow and it stays cold all day, it doesnt really get slushey. the pipe is average, the kicker line is good! there is a transfer jump and a big kicker with 3 different sized take offs. the rails look good some high rails, c rail and flat bars.
i hear that newzeland isnt to great, so saas fee seems like the place to be....

mt hood (Posted Friday, June 24, 2005 by danwakeham)

the british team and myself are in mt hood.
yesterday we competed in the chevy truck evolution halfpipe contest.
dom took the first place with back to back 900s, i got 5th, angus got 14th, ben kilner got 21st and kate foster got 7th..
so a good show from the brits in hood
the snow and the pipe have been good, we also bumped in to sarah phillips who is here to.
in the afternoons we have been skating crazy skateparks, big bowls and pools.
i like it here and i dont want to come home....................

(Posted Saturday, June 4, 2005 by danwakeham)

any one want to be my friend on my space.com?
i got a serious lack of mates....

European Champion!! (Posted Tuesday, April 12, 2005 by jennyahnell)

My competition season has now finished.
After two Europa cup wins and a 7th place I finished as the overall winner, leading by 100 points. I am the first Brit out of both ski and snowboard to ever win the European Champion's title. The European Cup series is the series of competitions
just below the World Cup series. For our country we only have two places for male competitors to start in any World Cup event, so
until now I have had to share those starts with my team mates meaning that I have only been able to compete in two World Cups this season. By winning the European Cup I have won a quota
spot so that I can have a start in every World Cup event in the new season. There are seven World Cups before the Olympics and I just have to place in the top 25 two times and I am in..
I am getting closer.
See you all soon,
Dan

(Posted Saturday, October 30, 2004 by danwakeham)

just a follow up to my last post.
they have opened the saas fee park again.
the kickers are good! the big one is about 20m and there are more that are smaller.
the pipe has been rebuilt and they have made the walls alot higher and its real good.
there are no rails.
there has been quite alot of snow on the glacier but none in the town yet.

(Posted Thursday, October 21, 2004 by danwakeham)

the team and myself have been touring around the swiss alps the last few days trying to find a good pipe to train in as saas fee has shut its park for a rebuild.
so i thought i would do a bit of an early seaon resort guide just in case any one is thinking of getting out for a bit of pre season riding.
saas fee is gonna be good as they have had alot of fresh snow and they are working hard to get it ready for the world cup, good pipe, big kickers and not many good rails.
les diablerets is bad, wet snow, oververt shit pipe, tiny kickers and a few not so bad rails, good c box.
zermatt is real good, good snow, realy good pipe, ok kickers and a selection of good rails and a wall ride.

i personally i think zermatt is the best place to go but i will have to wait an see how saas fee looks after it rebuild.

(Posted Saturday, October 9, 2004 by danwakeham)

i am in saas fee training with the team for our first world cup of the season.
the last few days have been the first days of riding hard since my broken elbow.
craig has some good training techniques, he tells us that we are gay and that we dont go high enough and suprisingly it works, reverse psycoligy.
we have been having daily compitions, dom harington, james foster and myself do two runs, we film them then judge them when we get home.
dom is in the lead but i am gonna kick his ass tomorrow!
i will see you all at the ski show.

zoe (Posted Friday, September 17, 2004 by danwakeham)

yea zoe
good to hear.

dom harington, james foster and myself were ment to go to chilie for the halfpipe worldcup but it was called off because of bad snow conditions and a lack of a halfpipe.
so dom and myself are in saas fee where we have had some fresh snow and a good park to enjoy.

(Posted Sunday, March 7, 2004 by danwakeham)

just been to japan for 2 weeks with orlando, mcnight,pratt, nat, camera man mat and tamsin, it was cool we got to ride a good park in nagano then we rode powder in the north. we finished up japan in sapporo where i did my biggist kinked hand rail ever, nelly went down head first off the kink cutting his face, beating his body and left himself with a concusion.
we flew to china the next day to meet up with ryan davis and traveled 20 hours in a bus to the north to a resort in the middle of nowhere where people looked at us funny being the only english people to ever ride here, we rode the chinese teams personal mountain.
we got some powder and rode the pipe.
i am flying home on wednesday to eat normal food and get myself ready for the brits.
see ya all there!

Wakeham.. and Page 3 (Posted Monday, February 9, 2004 by stu)

Dan sent this shot of him and Ton Ton holland with page 3 girl Lucy Pinner in last Sundays Daily Star. It was taken whilst shooting Pretty Fly to Snowboard in Grindelwald, Switzerland.. not sure where this fits into the film but DVD's always have extra scenes...

James Thorne in Top 10 (Posted Monday, May 12, 2003 by stu)

James Thorne competed in the Volcom Peanut Butter and Rail Jam in Mammoth today.
He qualified 1st place in his heat with a cab 630' on to the big pink box 450 out = cab 1080 with a box in the middle!
He finished up in the top 10, stoked!! there was some real good riders there.
England reprazent!!!!!!!!!!!!

Document trip (Posted Thursday, March 27, 2003 by stu)

i met up with the document trip in mammouth.
we have got some good tricks down on film for both document and for chilly factor for the extreme channel.
but unfortionatly yesterday both john weaver and chris sothwell have broken ther collar bones.
chris being in a bad state also smashed his face and had to deal with a bad concusion.
nelson prat broke a board and he has got a fat eye and a bad neck.
today i crashed bad and was out cold for two minutes, i got rushed to hospital in an ambulance for a cat scan, i am ok just got a bad headache.
tommorow we move on to LA then to big bear

Snow in Mammoth (Posted Monday, December 16, 2002 by stu)

i am in mammoth and as you can see it is dumping!
there are two good parks, alot of rails mostly small jumps, 2 big kickers
and a medium sized super pipe.
the are halfway through building two more pipes, one of the pipes is said to
be 22 ft walls.
dan......