Author: Sarah

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Features News

10 tips for snowboarders in a quarantine

It’s been already few weeks since the word “quarantine” made its way into our lives. As we all try to keep our normal life going, it can happen that boredom finds us and hits hard. All of you snowboarders trapped in the quarantine might get to that point when you think of what to do. We know that the season was shortened by the Coronavirus and your minds are still full of snowboarding. That’s why we put together this list of activities that could help you ease the lack of snowboarding…

1. Fix your board!

We’re sure you hit some rocks and stones while riding this season. Your board deserves to be taken care of, so give it some love. The holes in the base are easy to fix, see for yourself:

2. Wax your board for late spring or early pre-season shred!

Depending on the level of optimism, you might see yourself shreding the re-opened spring or autumn glacier parks. You will be glad that your board is ready once the mountain starts calling you.

3. Watch an epic snowboarding documentary!

If you haven’t seen ‘The Eternal Beauty of Snowboarding’ yet… you need to watch it now!

4. Read a quality book about the culture of snowboarding!

Have you heard of Curator – culture of snowboarding? The second edition was published not long ago and we recommend reading both as these are true masterpieces.

5. Edit your snowboarding shots from this season!

Your hard drive or GoPro are sure full of shots you filmed throughout the season. Now is the perfect time to put them together, create your own season edit and share it with the world! When you post, don’t forget to tag @world.snowboarding #worldsnowboarding

Here is a nice inspiration by Tyler Nicholson from 2016:

6. Educate yourself in avalanche safety!

The world is spinning faster these days than Dusty Henricken’s Quadruple Cork at Burton US Open 2020. You finally have the time to educate yourself in avalanche safety. This is something that takes time and you need to kind of focus on what you’re reading or watching. However, you might find this extremely helpful one day. You can simply start by googling “avalanche safety” and look for relevant articles, videos, etc.

7. Work on your Tailblocks!

Something you can really do in your living room. Just make sure there is a carpet or something on the ground. The challenge was kicked-off by Seb Toots few days ago, check it out!

8. Have a look at job / internship offers within the snowboarding industry!

Whether you currently have a job or not, it’s not a bad idea to have a look at what job offers are there on the market. You might run into something interesting. Check out actionsportsjob.com.

9. Get yourself some movement!

You can move yourself in your home as well. Did you know that? You can for example follow the tips of snowboarders like Aimee Fuller, who created a mellow handstand tutorial.

10. Think of what your abilities are besides snowboarding and join the volunteers out there!

The above mentioned 9 tips are the ones you can do for yourself. If there is something that you can do, and there is always something, to help the society make this current situation better – go for it!

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook.

If you have more tips or feedback, send us an e-mail to communication@worldsnowboardfederation.org.

This article was also posted on Worldsnowboarding.org.

Categories
Events Features News World Snowboarding

4th stop of the Zillertal Välley Rälley Tour 2019-20 at Hintertux postponed to 17th & 18th of October

Due to the actual situation, the great tour finals of the 7. Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY hosted by Blue Tomato and Ride Snowboards will be postponed to October 17th and 18th, 2020. In the beginning of the new winter season 2020/2021, Europe’s best up-and-coming snowboard talents will be gathering at Betterpark Hintertux on Hintertux Glacier to earn last points at the 4th and final tour stop of Zillertal’s most poplular snowboard amateur series. Beside the day podiums, the overall tour winners 2019/2020 will be crowned new Kings and Queens of the VÄLLEY in Tux-Finkenberg.

In the end of September 2020, Betterpark Hintertux will be starting into the new season with its infamous XXL setup. The 4th and final Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tour stop will now go down on October 17th and 18th, 2020. With their participation in the open slopestyle contest in Tux-Finkenberg, snowboarders will be collecting valuable points for the international World Snowboard Point List (WSPL). Beside the competition, the Ästhetiker will be on hand as coaches for freebie freestyle workshops in the park on the coaching dÄy. Ride Snowboards will be displaying 2020/2021 boards and bindings for free demo/testing on both days and throw out tons of goodies to everyone joining the Limbo RIDE Fun session. The event host Blue Tomato and outerwear partner Horsefeathers will be scouting for young talents and on top of all this, Horsefeathers will be handing out a special price for the best trick Award.

With the result from the 4th and last Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY competition 2019/2020, the overall tour winners will be determined in Tux-Finkenberg and the new Kings and Queens will be crowned Royal Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY family 2019/2020. Everyone is welcome to get involved. The online registration is obligatory for contest and coaching and will open up in early October at www.valleyralley.at.

Partners of the 4th tour stop are:
Zillertal Tourismus GmbH, Zillertaler Gletscherbahn and Betterpark Hintertux, Tux-Finkenberg Tourism, Blue Tomato, Ride Snowboards, Red Bull, Horsefeathers, Dana Beanies, World Snowboard Federation (WSF), Austrian Snowboard Federation (ASA)

Further updates are available at www.valleyralley.at oder www.zillertal.at/valleyralley

The event is a World Rookie Rank contest and can be found on the World Snowboarding Global Event Schedule.

Source: Die ÄSTHETIKER
Photos: Matt Mchatie

Categories
Features News

Check out & support The Snowboard Community Fund!

The current Coronavirus global pandemic has already shown its impact on the world of snowboarding with resorty closing down early in the season, some of the photographers, filmers, shapers and others practically losing their jobs and so on. Only time will show the level of the impact of the crisis, so let’s hope for the best as we’re sure we’ll get through this together!
We would like to share with you the initiative started by Nitro Snowboards named The Snowboard Community Fund. The authors explain the initiative below:
“Over the last few weeks, the world has been full of uncertainties and changing faster than it ever has before. It is clear now that the world we live in will continue to be full of challenges and the COVID-19 outbreak will continue to take a toll on people’s health and the global economy. This sudden economic change is something that everyone in the snowboard community has felt strongly, especially the people who inspire us to go out to snowboard, those who create, and those who build features to make snowboarding more fun. 

We are talking about the freelance photographers, videographers, media creators, and park shapers – people that get up earlier, stay out longer and create late into the night to provide the snowboard community with inspiration, documentation, and features.


At Nitro, we are usually spending our time and effort trying to motivate people to join the snowboard community and go outside, get offline and do something worth remembering with friends, but this has had to change during these times. Along with our message to go snowboarding, a few of our core values are giving back to the community, acting like a family, and appreciating those who have helped us get here. Now we have an opportunity to act on these values and create a platform to give back and support these photographers, filmers, creatives, and shapers who are affected by these difficult financial times with the Snowboard Community Fund. If you are one of these freelancers being significantly affected right now, this fund is an opportunity for you. We know that this initial goal of 60,000 EUR initiative is just a start, but we would like to help as many creators of the snowboard community as we can. 

The situation and longterm effects are changing every day, but we believe that the snowboarder community can help support those who have always given us amazing photos, videos, artwork, parks, and selfless passion over the years get through this together.”

SUPPORT THE PROJECT ON GOFUNDME.COM

If you feel like you could also do your part by spreading the word, you can download all the media assets on WeTransfer.
Categories
Features News Reports

U.S. Snowboard Team shares 2019-20 season report

Snowboard Slopestyle Finals 2020 Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, CA Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Andrew Gauthier from the U.S. Snowboard Team takes a look back at the 2019-20 season and shares a sum-up of the highlights. It has sure been a successful season for the U.S. riders. See for yourself below:

The 2019-20 season can’t be defined by one or two riders dominating the professional circuit. The star-studded line up of the U.S. Snowboard Team boasted 13 riders earning elite-level podiums. The men and women of the U.S. Snowboard Team continued to prove their status as a diverse and talented group of competitors across FIS World Cup and elite-level competition. The U.S. Snowboard Team earned 19 FIS World Cup podiums, as well as 12 podiums across X Games, Dew Tour, and the U.S. Open.

The first athlete to find success for the U.S. Snowboard Team was Chris Corning. His hard work during off-season training camps and in the gym put him in a position to kick off the season on a high note. He took to the big air circuit with a sense of drive and mental toughness that’s difficult to imitate by his fellow competitors. Chris wasted no time defending his title in August at the Winter Games NZ World Cup by landing his signature backside quad cork 1800 melon grab on his second run.

Chris carried this momentum into November and the heart of the FIS Big Air World Cup circuit where he earned a pair of third-place finishes in Modena, Italy, and Beijing, China. Moving into the Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, the final World Cup big air of the season and the first-ever internationally sanctioned snowsports event in the southeast, Chris was the FIS Big Air Cup Standings leader, just ahead of Canada’s Nicolas Laframboise. In a perfect storybook ending Chris stepped up on his last run to deliver the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump and take the victory, just one position ahead of Laframboise in second place. Chris’s win secured him the big air Crystal Globe.

Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard also found early success at the Winter Games NZ big air earning second-place before linking together a series of impressive slopestyle results at all four of competitive snowboarding’s most prestigious events. Reminiscent of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Red won the Dew Tour on his last run. Red also earned second-place at the Laax Open in Switzerland, as well as third place at Colorado’s X Games Aspen 2020 and the U.S. Open at Vail. However, Red wasn’t the only U.S. Snowboard Team athlete to step onto the podium at the Open.

With the world watching and memories of the late Jake Burton Carpenter flowing through the minds of fans and athletes alike, U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Dusty Henricksen took to the slopestyle course at the U.S. Open and made snowboarding history. Coming into finals as the first-place qualifier, Dusty landed the first-ever backside quad cork 1800 in slopestyle competition to close out his run and take second-place. Dusty also claimed victories at the Youth Olympic Games (slopestyle) and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. (slopestyle) to solidify a breakthrough season for the 17-year-old. Dusty would finish third overall in the FIS Slopestyle Cup Standings and on top of the NorAm slopestyle and big air rankings.

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Judd Henkes also found the podium this season earning two third-place finishes at the Laax Open and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth. Judd calls Mammoth Mountain home, so it’s no surprise he found the podium there for the second consecutive year.

For the women of the U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle and Big Air Team, Jamie Anderson set the bar. Although Jamie struggled early in the season in big air competition, those performances were quickly forgotten as she reached the podium in every competition she entered for the remainder of the season until the final event at X Games Norway 2020. Having podiumed in every X Games slopestyle event she has ever participated in, Jamie remained podium-perfect at X Games Aspen 2020 with a gold medal in snowboard slopestyle. She went on to win the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix slopestyle at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. with her friends and family looking on in the finish corral. She then won her 11th Dew Tour Slopestyle Championship. Finally, Jamie earned her fourth consecutive contest victory with her eighth U.S. Open slopestyle title, dedicating her win to the late Jake Burton Carpenter.

In addition, in an industry that continues to place importance on film and aspects of snowboarding adjacent to the contest scene, Jamie was named Women’s Rider of the Year at the first annual SNOWBOARDER Awards. Jamie put her heart and soul into her film Unconditional and it paid dividends. Another film highlighted at the SNOWBOARDER Awards was JOY, starring Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard and U.S. Snowboard Team alumni Sage Kotsenburg and Ben Ferguson. Appearances included U.S. Snowboard Team member Hailey Langland and team alumni Danny Davis, Brock Crouch, Nik Baden, and Gabe Ferguson. JOY was named “Movie of the Year.” U.S. Snowboard Team member Luke Winkelmann was crowned “Men’s Fan Favorite.”

Back to competition, U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Julia Marino collected a marquee win at the 2020 Laax Open. After finishing fourth two years in a row, Julia put down a beautiful first run including a backside 900 that she only learned a week before at a team camp in Park City. Julia also earned bronze at X Games Norway 2019 in big air.

In halfpipe, Maddie Mastro led the way collecting podiums at both editions of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo. and Mammoth Mountain, Calif. However, at Mammoth, she had a special treat for her home resort crowd, stomping her double crippler for the first time in competition since her win at the 2019 U.S. Open. Maddie also earned third place at the Secret Garden, China World Cup and second at the Dew Tour modified superpipe, where her style and creativity set her apart from the rest of the field.

For the men, it was Taylor Gold who carried the spark throughout the season. Taylor joined Mastro on the podium at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, landing a signature trick of his own, a double Michalchuk 1080, dubbed the “Chuck Taylor” by teammate Chase Josey. Taylor landed the Chuck Taylor for the first time ever in halfpipe competition at the Laax Open earlier in the season, where he finished in third place and his huge amplitude, unmatched style, and textbook execution lit up the crowd. Taylor finished seventh in the FIS Cup Standings. For the past five years, he has been battling back from a shattered knee cap, but Taylor is back on top and the field is on notice.

Even with a collection of top-three finishes from Maddie and Taylor, the highlight of the season for the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team had to be the American sweep of the inaugural men’s superpipe session at X Games Aspen. Any snowboarder will tell you, the sport is not only about winning, but the pure joy of riding with style and having fun, and that’s just what this event was about. Taylor and teammates Toby Miller and Jake Pates took to the superpipe and laid down a sequence of hand plants, lip tricks, gator rolls, and tricks that were mesmerizing to watch. It resulted in Taylor earning the gold, Jake Pates the silver, and Toby taking home the bronze, proving not only can U.S. riders reach the podium, but also put on a show.

When looking back on a season, performances on the World Cup level are important, but not the whole picture. In a sport that progresses at a rapid pace, the athlete pipeline is critical to developing the future. The future of the U.S. Snowboard Team looks to be a bright one, highlighted by rookie team riders taking to the NorAm circuit and finding success across each discipline. U.S. Rookie Team members Dusty Henricksen and Ty Schnorrbusch claimed the slopestyle and big air titles. U.S. Rookie Team member Tessa Maud claimed the halfpipe title for the women, while teammates Jack Coyne, Lucas Foster, and Jason Wolle, all finished in the top-10.

The 2019-20 season brought a level of success across all disciplines, for both men and women, and pro and rookie team athletes. Just as personal style and diversity are respected within the snowboard industry, the U.S. Snowboard Team also fosters a culture in which everyone’s differences create an environment that leads to collective team success. From Red Gerard to Faye Gulini, the skill sets and qualities that make up the U.S. Snowboard Team are unique, but necessary to foster an environment of progression and winning. This culture is in place at U.S. Ski & Snowboard as we take one step closer to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Source: Andrew Gauthier / U.S. Snowboard Team
Cover photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard – Sarah Brunson

Categories
Banked Slalom Features News report Reports

Report: Burning Boots Banked Slalom 2020 was epic!

The third edition of Burning Boots Banked Slalom had it all – sunshine, fresh snow & banked turns. The event went down in March, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and having fun in the snow was still on every snowboarder’s mind. On Saturday, which was reserved for training runs and qualification, the winter even came to Brauneck with 20cm of fresh snow!

The course was handshaped by Snowboard Germany & Bayern and made the 170 registered riders absolutely happy. On Sunday the weather cleared up and the contest went down in the best possible conditions. Especially the kids in the categories U9, U12 and U15 were unstoppable and it was no surprise that the U15 riders placed also at TOP spots in the Open category.

Big thanks to the sponsors: K2 Snowboards, Burton, Nitro, Blue Tomato, Shred Kids, Stie Alm, Brauneck Bergbahn und die Snowboardschule Schneesturm

The 4th edition of the Burning Boots Banked Slalom will go down 27.-28.02.2021!

Open Men:


  1. Maximilian Thalhammer (SC Aising-Pang)
  2. Korbinian Blaschek (SC Miesbach)
  3. Markus Schwab

Open Ladies:


  1. Viktoria Egler
  2. Joana Attenberger (SC Dingoldfing)
  3. Tamara Schmidt (SC Dingoldfing)

U15 Boys:


  1. Julius Reichle (SC Konstanz)
  2. Elias Hamalainen
  3. Kenta Kirchwehm (SC Altglashütten)

U15 Girls:

  1. Florina Pohl (SC Bissingen)
  2. Loreley Pigmans
  3. Salome Jansing (SC Schellenberg)

U12 Boys:

  1. Benedikt Werner (SC Miesbach)
  2. Luka Kamissek (TSV 1860 München)
  3. Felix Babilon (SC Miesbach)

U12 Girls:

  1. Rosalie Bauer (SC Miesbach)
  2. Ida Bauer (SC Miesbach)page2image1536 page2image1728 page2image1920 page2image2112 page2image2304
  3. 3. Joana Fuchs (Shreddogs Munich)

U9 Boys:

  1. Leo Schwab
  2. David Babilon (SC Miesbach)
  3. Aris Kyriazis (Shreddogs Munich)

U9 Girls:

  1. Sita Heiny (SC Altglashütten)
  2. Isabella Wörner (TSV Uhlbach)
  3. Milja Bizenberger (Wsg Feldberg)

Stay in touch with the event on Instagram.

#burningboots

Photos: Coo.Productions

Categories
Features News Reports

Report: Afghan snowboard team at Pakistan Free Cup Games 2020

Earlier this season, the Afghan snowboarding team participated in Pakistan Free Cup Games 2020. The team shares a short report of their participation by the General Secretary Najibullah Ayoubi:
“The Afghan snowboarding team participated in Pakistan Free Cup Fames achieved success by gaining 5 medals (one silver and four bronze) in the games. The silver was achieved by teamwork and four bronze were given honorary to the team. It was our first visit to a snowbarding competition abroad. In these games there were athletes from Netherlands, Afghanistan and from 6 Pakistan clubs.”
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Features News Uncategorized

World Snowboard Federation: Coronavirus statement

It’s times like these that make us realise what truly matters. The governments around the world have taken actions to stop the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). These actions have direct influence on all of you and all of us in the world of snowboarding. Events were cancelled, resorts, training facilities, factories and shops were closed down and these are just few examples. The World Snowboard Federation believes that any action taken against the spread of the virus is reasonable and we fully support it. The snowboarding community needs to understand that the sooner we all manage to stop the virus from spreading, the sooner we can try to build our way back to normal life, where snowboarding plays an important role.

At this point, we would like to encourage all of you not to go outside and play, as we usually do. On the contrary, please stay inside and try to get isolated from others who might be more vulnerable. Watch snowboarding videos, read books, take care of your snowboard base, make a trick list for the next season, think of the places you would like to go snowboarding – but do it inside. There will be time to go out there again. You just have to wait, which is in the end not so bad.

The WSF team does just that. We’re in our homes, staying active by doing our jobs. We would like to express our respect and gratitude to all the doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen and others working on our behalf against the pandemic. We wish you all to stay healthy and safe in these difficult times. We believe that we will soon defeat the virus and will be able to get back to our normal life & snowboarding.

WSF President Satu Järvelä stated:
“This have been a tough couple of weeks as Coronavirus has taken fast turns around the world. We at WSF have taken action to cancel all our events this spring. It is our top priority to keep our snowboard community safe. We all need to adapt our lives and work for at least the next coming months. As our community is strong, we can do this together with the support of each other and working from home offices. Support your local businesses and let’s take care of each other!”

Your WSF.

Notes:
– All remaining events on the WSF Banked Slalom Tour 2019/20 were cancelled.
– The WSF General Assembly 2020 that was supposed to take place in May in Innsbruck, Austria was postponed to September/October 2020 – more information will follow.
– The list of cancelled events on the World Snowboarding Global Event Schedule can be found here.

The cover photo was taken at the WSF General Assembly in Belgrade, Serbia in May 2019.

Categories
Banked Slalom Events Features News report

Report: The Greek Banked Slalom 2020 presented by The Thing About Greece

The Banked Slalom, one of the most historical and established snowboard races went down on 29th February in Greece for the second year in a row under the mindful umbrella of the World Snowboard Federation. A short report from the organisers with photos & video follows:

What a Weekend! We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout and lively energy… especially considering the lack of snow this season. Huge thanks to everyone who came down to Kalavrita snow resort to ride the snake, fly off the big booter or simply just to shake their booty!

Saturday 29th of January – Banked Slalom

After the snowstorm a bluebird day had started! The Banked slalom run was ready around 13:00 and looked like a giant snake getting into the snowpark! 34 riders were standing in the line up, including snowboarders, skiers and one snowskater!

Winners:
Best snowboard – Nikolas Plytas 0,39’

2nd place snowboard – George Stavrakis 0,41’

3rd place snowboarders – Antonis David, Lazaros Kotakidis 0,42

Best ski – Ilias Aletras 0,44’

Best bail – George Katsaros, Andreas Barelos

Best costume – Vasilis Amilis

Best Snowskater – Athanasios Perrakis

Big thanks to the sponsors and supporters!

Shakka Custom Boards​ |​ ​Yes Snowboards​ |​ ​Skibill.gr​ |​ ​RBPD Fashion culture​ ​MicroXtreme Nitro snowboards​ |​ ​Fifty Fifty boardshop​ |​ ​21StOre​ |​ ​Lasercrafters​ | ​​Hedonism Rides​ |​ ​Jackals Tattoo​ |​ ​Kalavrita snowpark​ |​ ​World Snowboard Federation​ |​ ​The Thing About Greece Snowboard.gr​ |​ ​Manic side​ | ​Xιονοδρομικό Κέντρο Καλαβρύτων

VIDEO:

Categories
Events Features News

Penken Knuckle Huckle is goin’ down from 20 to 21 March

From March 20 to 21 2020 the snowboarding community will gather at the legendary Penken Park in Mayrhofen. For the first time on alpine soil, a contest will go down that solely concentrates on sending it big over a massive knuckle – 12.000 USD prize cash and massive parties included! We’re stoked to share the full story directly from Penken Park Mayrhofen with you guys:

We believe that snowboarding is not just about the biggest kickers or the longest rails. It’s about expressing yourself, being creative, showing style and having a good time with your friends. That’s why the Penken Knuckle Huckle boils freestyle snowboarding down to the essentials on the most reduced setup possible – a simple knuckle.

During the weekend, both, amateurs as well as pros get to send it for cash, goodies and the simple fun of shredding together. The amateurs will go big on Friday and can win wildcards for the pro contest which will go down on Saturday. While the contest on Friday will be judged by two selected pros, the session on Saturday will be riders-judged.

But wait a minute, what’s a weekend full of snowboarding without a party? That’s right, it’s still awesome! But with all that stoke in your veins you’re probably not going to bed at 9, are you? No, of course not. That’s why we’ll host not one but two massive parties after both contest days.

So, mark the weekend from March 20 to 21, 2020 blue and yellow in your calendars, ‘cause you don’t wanna miss this and we don’t wanna miss you!

AMATEUR:

INFO & REGISTRATION KNUCKLE HUCKLE CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Everyone can register for the Amateur Contest of the Penken Knuckle Huckle.

The winners of our 3 awards win 1.000 $ cash in total and one wildcard each for the Pro Contest on Saturday.

Best Trick – 250 $ and Wildcard

Best Drag – 250 $ and Wildcard

Knuckle King – 250 $ and Wildcard

In the evening we’re hosting a sweet meet & greet party at Scotland Yard together with the pros.

PRO:

INFO & REGISTRATION KNUCKLE HUCKLE CAN BE FOUND HERE.

At the Pro Contest we’re giving away 4 awards with a total worth of 12.000 $.

Best Bail – 2.000 $

Best Trick – 2.000 $

Best Drag – 2.000 $

Knuckle King – 6.000 $

In the evening, a massive party goes down at Scotland Yard Pub with DJ Fu from the Wax Wreckaz.

 

SCHEDULE:

Thursday, 19.03.2020

10.00 a.m. – 02.00 p.m. Open Training Pro und Amateur Pro Line

 

Friday, 20.03.2020

08.00 – 10.30 a.m. Open Training Pro & Amateur Contest Riders Registration Amateur Contest Pro Line Chill-out-Area
11.00 a.m. Riders Meeting Amateur Contest Chill-out-Area
11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. Session Heat 1 Pro Line
12.30 – 01.30 p.m. Break & Pro Training Chill-out-Area
01.30 p.m. Riders Meeting Chill-out-Area
01.45 – 03.00 p.m. Session Heat 2 Pro Line
03.00 – 04.00 p.m. Open Training Pro Contest
03.30 p.m. Prize Giving Chill-out-Area
04.00 – 07.00 p.m. Registration Pro Contest Event Hotel Mayrhofen
07.00 – 07.30 p.m. Riders Meeting Pro Contest Event Hotel Mayrhofen
09.00 p.m. Knuckle Huckle Party Party Location

 

Saturday, 21.03.2020

08.00 – 10.30 a.m. Event Office (Riders / Industry / Media) Training & Warm Up Runs Valley Station Pro Line
11.00 a.m. Riders Meeting Chill-out-Area
11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. Session Heat 1 Pro Line
12.30 – 01.30 p.m. Break Chill-out-Area
01.30 p.m. Riders Meeting Chill-out-Area
01.45 – 03.00 p.m. Session Heat 2 Pro Line
03.00 – 04.00 p.m. Show DJ Chill-out-Area
08.30 p.m. Prize Giving Party Location
09.00 p.m. Winners Party Party Location

Videoinvite:

Categories
Banked Slalom Events Features News report

SuddenRush Banked Slalom LAAX 2020: Rollercoaster for all snowboarders!

The sixth edition of the SuddenRush Banked Slalom LAAX 2020 hosted by Terje Haakonsen and Nicolas Müller, which is part of the WSF Banked Slalom tour 2019/20 took place successfully on 5-8 March 2020. Olympic champions, legends, former world champions, professional riders, amateurs and aspiring talents – everybody came together in LAAX this weekend to celebrate their passion for snowboarding.

BANKED SLALOM EXCITEMENT – Terje Haakonsen and Laax local Nicolas Müller have now been hosting the SuddenRush Banked Slalom event in Laax for six years. In the event, the participants have to complete the 400-metre course featuring 20 banked turns as quickly as possible. The Banked Slalom dates back to the origins of the sport and has been celebrating a revival in recent years. The fascination with the event shows no signs of slowing down. Terje says: “Banked Slaloms are suitable for every rider, it’s kind of like riding a rollercoaster on time. It’s an honor hosting this event together with Nicolas at his home resort.” The age difference between the oldest (56) and youngest (6) participants is almost five decades. And this is exactly what makes the Banked Slalom so special. It feels rather like a meeting of generations. A coming together of the snowboard family, with riders from the early days through to the stars of today and the shredders of tomorrow.

The Banked Slalom competitions are arranged in a wide range of categories (17 in total). The riders line up at the start divided into numerous different age classes. Each participant performs two runs. Their best time is counted as their final result.

TOP STARS AND LEGENDS – On Friday, riders over 40 years of age, including a number of legends, lined up at the start alongside the top riders of today. In the Pro Women’s event, LAAX local Sina Candrian secured victory for the first time ahead of Karleen Jeffery-Barlia, who has a wealth of banked slalom experience, although primarily in the Mount Baker Legendary Banked Slalom event. The previous year’s champion, Chloe Sillieres from France, took the final spot on the podium. In the Pro Men’s competition, 45-year-old Reto Neiger from Switzerland claimed the title ahead of Christian ‘Hitsch’ Haller and snowboarding icon Travis Rice (USA), who was taking part in his first SuddenRush Banked Slalom. “I was aware of this event for many years, I’m psyched to finally be here.”

In the Super Masters Men (50+), Peter Bauer (53), who was one of Europe’s first snowboarding professionals in the 90s, showed his class once again. The Bavarian was well ahead of the rest of the field in his category. Thomas Scherrer (47) claimed victory in the Grand Masters Men (45-49), while Grindelwald native Pascal Imhof took top spot on the podium for the second year in a row in the Masters Men (40-44). His wife Murielle Imhof was victorious once again in the Masters Women (40+) ahead of Austrian Nici Pederzolli and Olympic champion 2006 Tanja Frieden.

OPEN TOP SPEED – On Saturday, the action continued with the Open class for amateurs aged 18-39. This is traditionally the category with the most participants. Svenja Schallner (25) came out on top in the Women’s event, while Alex Rufibach (35) reclaimed the title he won in 2018 in the Men’s. He also caused a sensation in the coming together at the end of the day when the top three to five riders from each category went up against one another again to determine the fastest riders across all categories in the ‘Fastest Run’ race. Rufibach unexpectedly overcame the top pros and master riders to take his place on the top of the podium for the second time of the day, with Reto Neiger, Pascal Imhof and Travis Rice coming in just behind him.

KIDS & FAKIE RACE – On Sunday, as is tradition, the spotlight was on the up-and-coming talent, and the young participants enjoyed a day of bright sunshine on the course. Every year, the young stars astonish the spectators with their skills on their boards, showing they are every bit the match of their older counterparts. They fearlessly mastered the banked turns with a smile on their face. Paula Bauer and Lura Wick came out on top in the Girls’ events. In the Boys’ events, defending champions in their age classes Nico Bondi and Jonas Hasler made it to the top of the podium, having also done so the week before at the Burton US OPEN Juniors. The teenager class (14-17 years) was won by Leonie Hasler and Julian Furrer.

The fakie race then brought the event to a close. This is a prestigious title for the riders, where they have to navigate the course backwards. David Hablützel showed his class here, finishing several seconds ahead of the rest of the field. “I’m fit. And I’m fast. Very fast,” he said at the start.

At the end of the day, all of the riders celebrated their passion for the sport and cruised through the course together. Simply sensational! As Reto Poltera says: “The Banked in LAAX is like a surf session at the sea!” This was SuddenRush Banked Slalom 2020 in LAAX. See you next year!

Check out also the video playlist on the LAAX YouTube channel.

Super Masters Men (50+)

  1. Peter Bauer
  2. Andy Meyenberg
  3. Thomas Hinterseer

Grand Masters Men (45-49)

  1. Thomas Scherrer
  2. Oliver Brunschwiler
  3. Didi Haab

Masters Women (from 40)

  1. Murielle Imhof
  2. Nici Pederzolli
  3. Tanja Frieden

Masters Men (40-44)

  1. Pascal Imhof
  2. Arild Brun Kjeldaas
  3. Ingemar Backman

Pro Women (from 18)

  1. Sina Candrian
  2. Karleen Jeffery-Barlia
  3. Chloe Sillieres

Pro Men (from 18)

  1. Reto Neiger
  2. Christian Haller
  3. Travis Rice

Open Women (18-39)

  1. Svenja Schallner
  2. Lia Langenegger
  3. Tiziana Casutt

Open Men (18-39)

  1. Alex Rufibach
  2. Renato Nadig
  3. Thomas Wolf

Fastest Race Women

  1. Chloe Sillieres
  2. Murielle Imhof
  3. Svenja Schallner

Fastest Race Men

  1. Alex Rufibach
  2. Reto Neiger
  3. Pascal Imhof

Fakie Race

  1. David Hablützel
  2. Reto Neiger
  3. Alex Rufibach

Young Kids Girls (up to 10)

  1. Paula Bauer
  2. Samira Sprenger
  3. Raquel Süssmeier

Young Kids Boys (up to 10)

  1. Nico Bondi
  2. Leo Thoresen
  3. Laurin Derungs

Old Kids Girls (11-13)

  1. Lura Wick
  2. Kona Ettel
  3. Rosie Rothney

Old Kids Boys (11-13)

  1. Jonas Hasler
  2. Mischa Zürcher
  3. Luis Marchesi

Juniors Girls (14-17)

  1. Leonie Hasler
  2. Samuela Mondani
  3. Alexandra Eckhardt

Junior Boys (14-17)

  1. Julian Furrer
  2. Rafael Burri
  3. Elash Ndiaye

About the event:

The annual SuddenRush Banked Slalom LAAX 2020 hosted by Terje Haakonsen and Nicolas Müller is taking place since 2015 in the beginning of March. With this event, LAAX brings the roots of snowboarding into the present day. Aged between four and sixty-four or more the riders’ field is made up of park shapers, pro riders, former world champions, boardercross specialists, alpine legends, leisure boarders, Olympics and, of course, host legends Terje Haakonsen and Nicolas Müller are personally on-site.

Photos:LAAX/Ruggli

#SuddenRushLaax #WSFBankedSlalomTour