The Brits 2007

With 7 days of event including boardercross, big air, slope style and big air competition, the Brits were a big success. Follow the full story with the best rider in each discipline.

Sunshine and the Snowboardcross Kick-Started the BRITS 2007
****The Trespass British Snowboardcross Championships****

Monday 12th March 2007 – Keeping with the BRITS tradition and crossed fingers from the organisers over the past couple of weeks, blue skies welcomed over 98 snowboarders to the start gates to compete in the Tresspass British Snowboardcross Championships, which set the pace for the week’s competition.

A record number of competitors donned helmets and body armour to go head to head down the challenging course of banked turns and jumps until only the fastest remained to battle it out in the adrenalin fuelled finals.

In the women’s final, it was tight out of the start gates, making it hard to call who would take the lead first. All neck and neck, until the first banked turn, when Jo Chastney took the inside line to lead the pack, but with the other finalists, Lucy Passmore, Posy Dixon and Ivy Taylor, hot on her tail and ready to steal the lead at any opportunity. Despite their persistence, Jo’s solid riding kept her in the lead and won her the gold, with Posy coming in a close second, Lucy third and Ivy in fourth.

The men’s final was a lot more competitive with all guys eager to be first out of the gates to get an advantageous lead. Opting to gap the rollers, Nick Dudar took an early lead, but failed to hold onto it as Robert Emmanuel picked up the pace to finish first over the line, closely followed by Nick Dudar, Michael Arrowsmith and Simon Parfitt respectively.

A definite crowd pleaser from the day’s competition was the return of some of the UK’s finest snowboarding masters and British Champions from throughout the years, including Chris Moran, James Stentiford, Matt Burt and Spencer Claridge, who had dusted off their helmets and put on their back supports for one of the most entertaining finals of the day.

Trespass British Snowboardcross Championships Results:
Men:
1st – Robert Owain Emmanuel, Edinburgh
2nd – Nick Dudar, Invenesshire
3rd – Michael Arrowsmith, Dorset
4th – Simon Parfitt, Glasgow

Women:
1st – Jo Chastney, Bournemouth
2nd – Posy Dixon, London
3rd – Lucy Passmore, Milton Keynes
4th – Ivy Taylor, Cheshire

Simon Brass and Jo Chastney Take the Big Air Titles
****The Quiksilver British Snowboard Big Air Championships****

Tuesday 13th March 2007 – The Quiksilver British Big Air Championships brought the sun out again for day two of the BRITS. Set amongst a backdrop of Laax’s snow capped mountains and the DJ’s rock steady rhythms, the UK’s big hitters attacked the big air jumps with serious style, skill and tenacity.

In the women’s competition, Posy Dixon was the only girl to brave the largest jump to secure her a spot in the final, with Jo Chastney qualifying through in top spot after landing a stylish backside 180 Japan. In the women’s final, it was Chastney again, fresh from gaining gold in the previous days Snowboardcross Championships and was eager to add another medal to her growing collection, pulling out a super stylish backside 180 double shifty to take the women’s title. Second place went to Lesley McKenna who landed a big and smooth backside 360 with third place going to Posy Dixon who stomped a backside 360.

In the men’s final the trick of choice was the corked 720, with Simon Brass landing a huge corked 720 melon, which he stomped effortlessly to take top spot and the men’s Quiksliver British Big Air title. Second place went to Gary Greensheilds with a 720 melon and third place went to Tom West, who also opted for a corked 720 melon. In the kids category 14 year old Jamie Nicholls and 13 year old Sparrow Knox proved that the future of British snowboarding was a bright one, both choosing to spin off the largest jump, Jamie landed a backside 720 indy and narrowly missed out on a place in the senior men’s final and finished a respectable ninth overall.

The Quiksilver British Big Air Championships Results:
Women
1st – Jo Chastney, Bournemouth
2nd – Lesley McKenna, Aviemore
3rd – Posy Dixon, London

Men:
1st – Simon Brass, Lancashire
2nd – Gary Greenshields, Edinburgh
3rd – Tom West, Buckingham

The Scots Scoop Gold in SNO!zone Halfpipe Championships
****The SNO!zone British Snowboard Halfpipe Championships****

Wednesday 14th March 2007 – Day three of the BRITS 2007 saw the UK’s leading male and female snowboarders take on Laax’s 6m high super pipe with contenders to the crown including, Olympian and reigning female British Halfpipe Champion Lesley McKenna, and GB team members Sam Cullum, Ben Kilner and Angus Leith, who were all out on top form and eager to grab hold of the gold.

After several hours of hard fought qualifications, which saw the best of British snowboarders battling to make it into the top 12 men’s and top 6 women’s, it was time to start the much anticipated finals.

In the women’s snowboard halfpipe final, the three ladies through were Lesley McKenna, Maria Cork and Laura Hill making for a very exciting showdown. Taking bronze was Maria Cork, with a smooth run packed full of hits, including a frontside indie, backside air, frontside stalefish, and an impressive frontside 360 to finish. Laura Hill came through, keeping everything clean and consistent with a frontside lean, to backside air, to frontside 360, to cab 360 all tricks a good 3ft above the top of the coping ensuring she took the silver medal. Thus meaning that Leslie McKenna had to be at the top of her game and she sure was after completing a perfect run, which would have tipped most of the men from their podium spots. Going huge, McKenna’s winning run included a big backside air, frontside 540 and a smooth 360 on her final hit, meaning she retained her title for the third consecutive year.

With 2006 British Halfpipe Champion, Dom Harrington, out of the picture in the men’s final, due to an ankle injury sustained in Tuesday’s Big Air Championships, the field was left open for one of the youngsters to take the top spot, and so the fight for the coveted 2007 title commenced. Three snowboarders from the kid’s age category Jamie Nicholls, Cody Herons and Sparrow Knox made it through to the final along with all three Knox brothers. With consistent riding all through the BRITS 2007, Gary Greenshields deservedly took bronze, with a smooth and fluid run consisting of a big backside melon to frontside nosegrab, huge air to fakie and a cab 540 to finish. Second spot went to GB team member, Sam Cullum, whose successful run consisted of a huge corked frontside 720 on his first hit, cab 360 to Mctwist and frontside 540 on his last hit, looking like it was going to clinch the top spot. But Sam’s GB teammate, Angus Leith, who was launching out of the pipe, much to the love of the crowd, threw down a solid and technical run including a frontside 540, followed by a big Japan air, to frontside 720 and cab 540 to finish. The super stylish run had done enough to take the extra points and to take first place and the SNO!zone British Halfpipe Championship title.

Results:
Women’s
1st – Lesley McKenna, Aviemore
2nd – Laura Hill, Gloucestershire
3rd – Maria Cork, London

Men’s
1st – Angus Leith, Aviemore
2nd – Sam Cullum, Bracknell
3rd – Gary Greenshields, Edinburgh

Records Set and Serious Style Showcased in the Animal Slopestyle
****The Animal British Snowboard Slopestyle Championships****

Thursday 15th March – With the sun still shinning for the fourth consecutive day, the hugely anticipated Animal British Slopestyle Championships got underway with a record number of 101 competitors. An amazing standard of rail and kicker riding combinations were displayed, with the younger generation of shredders impressing all and raising the level of British snowboarding, with the crowd anticipated as to what run combinations were going to be pulled out of the bag for the final day of competition.

In the women’s final, Posy Dixon utilised the slopestyle course to the full and threw down a stylish and technical run which consisted of a 50-50 to nose slide on the kinked box, on to boardslide to fakie on the picnic benches, on to a frontside 50-50 on the down rail, backside 3 indy on the first medium kicker then clean ollie over the last medium kicker to secure her the gold and the glory. Second place went to Lucy Passmore after she threw down a switch boardslide to frontside fakie on the kinked box, switch frontside 180 to 50-50 to backside 180 off the picnic benches, on to backside boardslide to frontside shifty off the last box, and finished off with a method and nose grab over the kickers. With a super stylish rail run, Laura Hill bagged the bronze with a 50-50 boardslide over the kink box, onto noseslide over the picnic benches, and then onto a nose press on the box, finished off with a pair of smooth straight airs on the medium kicker line.

In the men’s competition a new BRITS record was set when 13 year old Jamie Nicholls, qualified in top spot into the senior men’s final, being the youngest competitor to do so in the history of the BRITS after he threw down a cab 540 and backside 720 indy over the kickers. Also standing out amongst the younger competitors was James Carr, Jack Shackleton and Chris Kightley who demonstrated some tech rail riding combinations. In the final, riding with a broken board after he snapped the tail in the qualifiers, Ryan Davis didn’t let that stop him and took first and the Animal Slopestyle Championship title after he gapped to switch frontside 270 on the flat-down kinked rail, front flipped out of the transition of the banana rail and stomped a steezy frontside boardslide on the down rail and over the kickers he landed a smooth cab 540 and frontside 540. In second position, narrowly missing out on the gold, was wonder kid Jamie Nicholls who threw down a sweet run which included a switch boardslide to frontside boardslide to fakie over the kinked box, followed by a switch frontside 270 onto the picnic benches and 270 spin off, then onto another sick switch boardslide to frontside boardslide to fakie on the flat box. Over the kickers he stomped a cab 540 and backside 720. With a super big and solid gap to frontside noseslide on the kinked rail, followed by a 360 over the transition of the banana rail, then finished off the rails with a sick and solid backside lipside on the down rail was Nelson Pratt. To clinch the bronze, Nelson finished his run with a massive backside 720 to massive frontside 720 on the big kicker line.

Results:
Women
1st – Posy Dixon, Cambridgeshire
2nd – Lucy Passmore, Milton Keynes
3rd – Laura Hill, Leeds

Men
1st – Ryan Davis, High Wycombe
2nd – Jamie Nicholls, Bradford
3rd – Nelson Pratt, Salisbury