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Kiwi Fruit Dominate NZ Freeskiing Open Big Mountain

J Dogg — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:28:50 -0400

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New Zealanders Alastair Eason and Janina Kuzma made good on their home turf, taking out the men’s and women’s Big Mountain titles of the Volkl NZ Freeski Open by the Royal NZ Air Force today at Treble Cone.

Eason, who breezed through qualifying round in first place at The Remarkables yesterday, secured his victory today by edging out freestyle skier Dane Tudor (USA/Aust) and third-place finisher Luke Potts (UK).

Full Results >>>

Eason’s gutsy line choice brought a roar of applause from the crowd as he put down the smoothest run of the day, highlighted by a series of stomped landings off 15-metre cliffs inTreble Cone’s Mototapu Chutes.

“I’m really happy to have finally nailed it,” said Eason. “I’ve placed second once, and third twice over the past few years, so I’m stoked!’

Kuzma’s run, in which she scored 80 out of a possible100 points, featured spectacular cliff drops that most of the other women weren’t attempting. Fifteen year-old Mikayla Austin skied beyond her years into second place, and Lorraine Huber (Aust) took out third.

“So stoked to win again," Kuzma said. "In the morning the snow was super firm, but the sun was shining and the weather was fantastic.”

The Big Mountain competition brought together some of the world’s top competitors, including Canadian IFSA World Tour Champion Brett Crabtree and former world champion and Wanaka local Geoff Small, who bowed out during qualifying after falling during his run in difficult conditions at The Remarkables on Tuesday.

Head competition judge and current president of the International Freeski Association, Jim Jack, made the trip to the South Island of New Zealand to be a part of one of the sport’s leading events.

“I have a huge amount of respect for the competitors,” said Jack. “They shied away from nothing, kept their composure and showed fantastic technical skiing. I’d sure hate to be one of the girls on the tour right now, competing against the female athletes you have coming out of NZ.”

The Volkl NZ Freeski Open was organised and hosted by Snow Sports New Zealand and the Freeski Association New Zealand, with support from the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Event footage from the Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Mountain competitions will be screened at the final event party on Friday, 29 August at Mint Bar in Wanaka.

To visit the event promotion and full results, go to www.freeskiopennz.com.

New Zealand Breaking Snowfall Records

J Dogg — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:05:01 -0400

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Damn. Good season to be chillin' in New Zealand. It just keeps snowing, and snowing, and snowing. Far better than when we were there a few years back, but hey, we won't hold a grudge.

Turoa just officially announced they have the largest snowbase ever recorded on a commercial snowfield in New Zealand.

Not too shabby. It sounds like there is plenty more on the way, and it's wide-spread throughout both islands. It's a good winter to be in New Zealand.

Armadageddon at Snow Park NZ

J Dogg — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:05:27 -0400

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Southern Hemisphere snow sports athletes will descend to Snow Park NZ on Friday and Saturday (14/15 September) for Armadageddon, the ski slopestyle extravaganza.

Now in its fourth year, the competition has been recognised as one of the top ski events in New Zealand with a diverse mix of seriousness, competition, fun, frolics, and world movie premieres.

Snow Park NZ’s terrain park crew designed the slopestyle courses, unique to the Armadageddon competition with a different course set for the Groms (under 16) and the Open sections.

Event organiser Jason Woolf encourages all skiers and age groups to join in the fun, “There is a great atmosphere on the mountain throughout the two days, heaps of camaraderie amongst the competitors and everyone is rewarded for their efforts” he said.

Chris O’Connell on the C-Box at Snow Park NZ. Photo: Armada

Skiers will be judged on style and difficulty of the tricks they pull off on the rails and jumps, it guarantees to be an entertaining spectacle for the crowds. Athletes will be vying for a great pool of prizes including a DVD Player, telescope, radio controlled car, MP3 Players, Armada clothing and heaps more.

Prize Giving will be held at the end of each day of competition in the Woolshed, followed by the screening of two world movie premiers on the Saturday afternoon. Believe and Yeah Dude both display amazing ski footage from around the world, with Tanner Hall starring in Believe.

The after-party kicks off on Saturday evening with Jagermeister creating an ice sculpture and ice luge to get the party underway. DJ’s will be spinning the tunes into the night.

The Groms Slopestyle is on Friday 14th September and the Open on Saturday 15th September. Early registration is available at Canteen in Lake Wanaka on Thursday evening (6pm-9pm) and on the morning of the events from 8.00-9.00am. The action will get underway at 10.30am on Friday and 10.00am on Saturday.

Armadaggeddon is supported by Armada, Joystick, Leedom, Jagermeister, McGregor’s Bakery, V, and 42 Below. For further information, snow reports and web cams, visit www.snowparknz.com

Competition Season at Snow Park NZ

J Dogg — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:09:23 -0400

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Snow Park NZ is gearing up to host the first event of the season inviting all ski and snowboard freestylers to participate in the Electric Quarterpipe Battle on Saturday 14 July.

The free-to-enter jam style competition is a relaxed, fun event for all ages and skill levels. Riders will be judged on style and amplitude and will be vying for a $2,000 cash prize pool and $6,000 of Electric, DC and Snow Park NZ products.

Snow Park’s world-class terrain park will test the riders’ early season ability and performances, guaranteed to entertain the crowds. Some of the country’s best freestylers have already confirmed their entry, including snowboarders Abby Lockhart, Will Jackways, Louis Prucker and Jake Koia as well as freeskiers Amy and Lyndon Sheehan, and are sure to pull off huge air and tricks from the start.

Snow Park is also encouraging participation from younger athletes aged 7 to 12. The Groms have their own competition within all categories, with heaps of prizes up for grabs for this age group.

Sam Lee Snow Park NZ manager said he is keen to be able to stage a competition for all levels. “We want to be able to give all skiers and boarders the opportunity to get involved and have some fun on the quarterpipe, it will build their confidence and help them progress to the next level,” he said.

Following the jam top skiers and snowboarders will go through to the final where they will need to pull off a succession of tricks, selected by the riders. The finalists will be eliminated one by one as the tricks get harder and more creative.

Djs will be spinning the tunes throughout the day to entertain the crowds and a BBQ will be sizzling on the deck of the Woolshed Bar and Restaurant. Prize giving will follow the competition and the after party will get underway in the Woolshed Bar.

Pre-registration starts Saturday, July 7 and also from 9am on the day, the competition is free to enter. The Electric Quarterpipe Battle starts at 11am.

The Electric Quarterpipe Battle is powered by the generous support of Electric Eyewear and DC. For further information, snow reports and web cams, visit www.snowparknz.com

Good Times at Marmot Extreme Comp in NZ

J Dogg — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:09:05 -0400

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While we're sitting here watchin' ski flicks and praying for snow, shredders in NZ still have shredding to be done. Here's the news release from the recent Marmot Extreme comp that just wrapped up...

Geoff Small (NZ) and Janina Kuzma (Australia) won the second Marmot Extreme Skiing and Snowboarding Competition at Mt Ruapehu this weekend, adding yet another top-of-the-podium showing to their already impressive resumes. Robbie Walsh (USA) and Maria Kuzma (Australia) were the winners in the snowboard category.

The Comp, in it’s second year, kicked off on Saturday in the 'Pinnacles' at Whakapapa on Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand. The competition finished with 37 of the best freeriders from around the world in both ski and snowboard disciplines.

Day One action took place on ‘Policeman’s’ in front of a large crowd of spectators. Conditions on the venue where very firm in the morning due to some rain the day before and a subsequent freeze overnight. Fortunately the sunshine was out all day and conditions on the course and all over the mountain softened into some excellent spring corn.

The day’s highlights included World Freeski Tour #5 Hamish Acland's fast smooth triple-drop-straightline through a large choke in the middle of the course. Geoff Small and Janina Kuzma also stepped up with impressive lines through the same area but it was Acland who ended up in first place by a very slim margin. The event’s jam format let competitors compete side by side with skiers and riders, taking two runs each at they're own pace.

Sunday’s venue was moved up to the 'Door', a steep line with lots of features for competitors to work. With tight races in all the categories it was anyone’s Comp to win. Turoa Doctor and ex Scottish World Cup racer Tess Pirie laid down a very impressive run on Day 2 but it wasn't quite enough to catch Janina Kuzma, who's difficult line choices paid off, winning her the women’s ski title.

Robbie Walsh stepped up in the snowboard competition coming out the clear winner of the day with his smooth line. Maria Kuzma followed her twin sisters’ lead and rode a solid and difficult line to come out almost 10 points ahead on the women’s snowboard side.

On the men’s skiers side it was a battle for first between Kiwi superstars Geoff Small and Hamish Acland both of whom have won many North American freeskiing titles and world tour rankings. Small found his way into an exposed section of the course that no one thought possible, stomping at least 3 big airs and making it look easy. Acland linked together 4 huge airs but took an awkward tumble before taking another huge air with an injured arm. Two Canadians, Kyle Armstrong and Tim Haggerty, took third and forth respectively, skiing strong smooth lines with plenty of air. Whakapapa legend Lyall Crump was a crowd favourite when he went huge, showing everyone he wasn't about to be out done on his home turf.

The whole event was a huge hit amongst the participants, almost all of whom got a little something from headline sponsor Marmot and the other sponsors like 4FRNT Skis, Options Snowboards, Nokia, Giro, the World Snowboard Guide, Nalgene and BigLines.com.

Event organiser and Mt Ruapehu Marketing Coordinator Tim Wilkinson said “This year’s Comp exceeded expectations. Not only did the prizepool increase, but so did the number and quality of athletes which is the most important thing. We had local and international film crews here to capture the action which will further increase the popularity and notoriety of the Marmot Extreme Comp. The Team here at Mt Ruapehu are already looking forward to next year’s Comp as many competitors have pledge they’ll be returning, in addition to many pro-skiers and top ranked World Tour athletes already indicating their interest in next year’s event!”

For photos and video action check out www.mtruapehu.com/extremecomp.

Cardrona Resort Morphs Into Snow Sports Arena

J Dogg — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:23:23 -0400

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Cardrona Alpine Resort is this week being transformed into a snow sports arena as final preparations take place before the inaugural Coca-Cola Cardrona Games kick off on Thursday.

FMX and snowmobile jumps are being constructed, the scaffolding for the TV towers is going up, sound systems are being installed and athletes are hurrying in to register for the competition, which carries a $45,000 cash prize pool, Cardrona sales and marketing manager Bruce McGechan said.

“Most people think of pipes, berms and rails when they think of freestyle snow sports competitions, but there is so much more to the Coca Cola Cardrona Games. It’s a party or celebration of snow sports that marks this competition from other competitions in New Zealand. The music, FMX, and snowmobile big air all near our iconic archway is what helps make this so exciting for the audience,” McGechan said.

The most-watched head-to-head competition will be X-Games gold medallist Tanner Hall versus New Zealand’s own Jossi Wells in the double halfpipe competition. At the age of 16, Wells is New Zealand’s number one freestyle skier, and this could be the event where he beats the X-Games superstar.

The double halfpipe event on Friday, September 8 is tipped to outshine all other halfpipe competitions in the country, with competitors expecting to boost more than 7m out of the superpipe and perform tricks such as complete 1080s (3 full rotations).

The slopestyle event on Saturday September 9 will have some surprises to really test the competitors, including a 16m-long, 3m-high “rainbow” rail near the top of the course. More aspects of the course will be revealed on the day.

Competitor numbers are rising every day for the Gravity X competition on Thursday September 7, with a number of Winter Olympians entering, including Wanaka’s Juliane Bray, UK’s Lesley McKenna, as well as X-Games gold medallist Nate Holland (USA).

Snowmobiling legend Chris Brown arrives in Queenstown from Colorado today to start practicing for his snowmobile big air demonstrations, which take place at the end of each day’s competition, along with the Moto FMX demonstrations. Salmonella Dub DJ Sound System will be playing live each day of the competition.

See www.cardronagames.co.nz for more details.

Huge Crowd for NZ Free Ski Open

J Dogg — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 01:36:25 -0400

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NZ Free Ski Open wrap up.The NZ Free Ski Open concluded a few nights ago with a huge crowd turning up to watch skiers and snowboarders show off their skills at the BASE Down-town Rail Jam. Some 2500 people packed out the Bullock Bar car park to see the rail jam, where 30 riders slid down the BASE rail that was part of a 3m-high, 6m-long structure, performing their tricks, slides and rotations. One snowboarder, who had not officially entered the competition, was brave enough to take on the challenge by MCs to do a back-flip off the kicker, which he successfully achieved on his second attempt.

Kiwi Pip Simmonds, who last week won the Open’s K2 Superpipe event at Snow Park NZ, took first place in the women’s ski event last night after hitting the rail back-side on, switch out. Maia Stier (NZ) won the women’s snowboarding prize after hitting the rail switch to board slide, coming out 180 (half a rotation).

Patrick Goodnough (USA), won the men’s ski title with a 630-on (hitting the rail after one-and-three-quarter rotations). James Hamilton (NZ) took first place in the men’s snowboarding field with clean spins on to and off the rail.

Judges were impressed with the standard of tricks the riders were performing off the rail. “We finished the NZ Free Ski Open with a great night. Everyone rode to a super-high level, and we couldn’t have asked for a better rail set up,” head judge Jake McCleary said.

The NZ Free Ski Open is the southern hemisphere’s largest event of its kind. It began with the K2 Halfpipe on Tuesday August 15, followed by the Slopestyle on August 16, both held at Snow Park NZ. The Volkl Big Mountain finals were held at Treble Cone on Wednesday August 23.

Marmot Extreme Comp is Back + $40,000

J Dogg — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:07:45 -0400

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A $40,000 Prize Pool is what entrants competing in the Marmot Extreme Skiing & Snowboarding Competition are vying for when they hurl themselves down the dangerous double black diamond terrain known as The Pinnacles at Whakapapa Ski Area, the largest area in New Zealand.

Last year the inaugural Marmot Extreme Comp exceeded all expectations! This event is the only type of its kind on the North Island. It is also one of a very small number of Big Mountain competitions in the world that includes skiing and snowboarding (and telemarkers!). The Prize Pool is only second in the country to the NZ Burton Open and is bigger than many of the same type of events overseas.

The Comp is open to anyone 18yrs old and older and will be held at Whakapapa Ski Area on Mt. Ruapehu from September 23rd to 26th 2006 (with extra contingency days if needed).

Already there have been some big names within the freeskiing scene who will be coming to Mt Ruapehu for the event. Ex Mt Ruapehu Pro Patroller and sponsored Marmot skier Geoff Small will be competing. This is a huge boost for the event as Geoff was seven times New Zealand Big Mountain Freeskiing Champion, 3 times North American Freeski Champion and the list goes on! Geoff will also be running a Freeskiing Clinic during the week before the Comp (spaces are limited!). Nigel McKissock, who has competed in the North American Freeskiing Circuit and has also judged for the International Freeskiers Association, will yet again be involved in the event.

Last year there were competitors from NZ, England, Australia, France, Canada, the US and Switzerland. No doubt there will be more this year. We are already receiving reports several big named overseas skiers will be competing. Athletes must pre-register online as spots are limited. Registration opens Friday, Sept 25^th.

“The in-bounds extreme terrain here at Mt Ruapehu is insane. No other commercial ski area in NZ comes close to it for sheer challenging terrain, except maybe the Chutes at Treble Cone. We encourage skiers and boarders from NZ and around the world to come and try their luck at winning part of the $40,000 prize pool, thanks to our sponsors Marmot, 4FRNT Skis, Option Snowboards, Giro Helmets and Nokia”! Mt. Ruapehu Marketing Coordinator Tim Wilkinson said. More details on www.mtruapehu.com/extremecomp.

Located in the central North Island of New Zealand, Mt Ruapehu operates Whakapapa and Turoa Ski Areas, the two largest in the country (550ha/1360 acres and 500ha/1236 acres respectively). Turoa also has Australasia’s biggest vertical drop of 722m. Conveniently located between Auckland and Wellington, it is an easy 4-5hr drive on sealed roads. Mt Ruapehu recently announced $30 million on on-mountain investments including three new high speed chairs. This is the biggest investment in the NZ ski industry. For more information visit www.mtruapehu.com.

Jossi Wells Wins NZ Slopestyle

J Dogg — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 02:53:22 -0400

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Wanaka teenager and rising ski star Jossi Wells proved he is up there with the world’s best after taking first place in the slopestyle event at the NZ Free Ski Open today at Snow Park NZ.

Canadian Kaya Turski, who is also a pro rollerblader, picked up the winning title for the women’s slopestyle event.

Wells (16), who is now New Zealand’s top freestyle skier, displayed an outstanding performance at today’s event, including a switch 720 double nose grab (rotating twice and holding onto the front tips of his skis before landing), a switch 630 (rotating one-and-three-quarter times) before landing successfully on the rail, as well as a switch 1080 (three rotations).

“Everything he did was so smooth and so easy. Jossi’s improved so much this year. Last year, he was good, but he didn’t quite have the tricks to take out the big guns. But now, he’s proved he’s one of the world’s best,” Open head judge Jake McCleary said.

Wells said his winning run was one of the best he’d ever had. “I’m aiming for the world scene, and this definitely a great competition with lots of international riders. Every little step counts.”

Turski (18), has been freestyle skiing for a year-and-a-half. Her winning run included a cork 540 mute grab (spinning one-and-a-half times off axis, grabbing the front of one ski with the opposite hand). She also successfully pulled off a switch 900 (rotating two-and-a-half times) and attempted a switch 1080 - a world-first in women’s free skiing, but unfortunately her ski came off on landing.

“The standard of competition was unbelievable – we were blown away with today’s event. Competitors were all throwing down as hard as they could,” McCleary said.

The slopestyle course, designed by Snow Park NZ slopes manager Frank Wells, began with a quarterpipe-style drop-in, down to a custom Snow Park NZ stair feature. Skiers then approached a gap-to-snow box, before moving to a 14m jump, followed by an 18m jump. They completed the course by hitting a flat-down rail and a jump-to-down box, which is the latest craze in free skiing slopestyle and makes for spectacular tricks, such as 900 and 1080 rotations.

The NZ Free Ski Open is the southern hemisphere’s largest event of its kind. With park and pipe events now completed, the next stage of the competition the Volkl Big Mountain prelims, which take place at Treble Cone on Friday August 18. The finals will be held at Treble Cone on the first following fine weather day.

Results:

Womens

Kaya Turski (CAN)
Tori Beattie (AUST)
Anna Segal (AUST)

Mens

Jossi Wells (NZ)
Russ Henshaw (AUST)
Alexis Godbout (CAN)

World-Class Park At Cardrona

J Dogg — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:21:34 -0400

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Cardrona Alpine Resort’s new terrain park is now complete with the last big features put into place, and the world-class facility is expected to more than meet the demands of the growing professional ski and snowboard industry. At almost 1km long, the park is the longest terrain park in Australasia. It includes 21 rails, six jumps and two halfpipes, which cater for beginners to the most advanced riders.

A staircase feature completes the course with different rails and stairs. The huge 150m-long, 6m high Johnny Superpipe has been cut to perfection by the Cardrona Cutter, a revolutionary new halfpipe shaper that provides a smoother transition for riders, thanks to its 5.7m elliptical blade. The halfpipe is FIS standard-approved.

The terrain park was designed by Park and Pipe Manager, John Melville, who also developed the Cardrona Cutter. Melville has recently returned from building the terrain and pipe park for the FIS Junior World Snowboarding Championships in South Korea.

“We are thrilled to have a terrain park of such a high standard at Cardrona,” sales and marketing manager Bruce McGechan said. “Riders can now enjoy using a facility that is a stand-alone training ground for high-level international skiers and snowboarders.”

NZ Free Ski Open - Streamed Live

J Dogg — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:12:06 -0400

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Snow sports enthusiasts will be able to catch this week’s extreme action of the NZ Free Ski Open live, without even having to be on the mountain. New Zealand’s leading ski and snowboard website, www.snow.co.nz, will be streaming coverage from the Open live via satellite to several websites, including www.snow.co.nz, www.freeskier.com, www.freeskier.co.nz, www.snowparknz.com, www.tv3.co.nz and to Vodafone 3G cellphones.

It is the second time that this cutting-edge technology has reached thousands of people all over the world from the slopes. Snow.co piloted the live streaming at the Burton NZ Open, held at Snow Park NZ, on August 3 to 5, where the website received more than 4500 page impressions each day. “Given that this was our first winter-based event that we streamed which happened during a working week, we are very happy with it, but obviously it’s something we are keen to grow and make people more aware of. We are hopeful for similar successes at the NZ Free Ski Open,”

Snow.co content manager Martyn Davies said. Snow.co hoped the live streaming would become a routine way of providing information. “The web lends itself to these sorts of events. We can deliver content to a niche audience in a far quicker way than mainstream media can,” Davies said.

Two cameras will shoot live footage at Snow Park NZ, which hosts the K2 Halfpipe event on Tuesday August 15, and the Slopestyle event on August 16. Because access to the Volkl Big Mountain event at Treble Cone’s Motatapu Chutes would be more difficult to stream live from, Snow.co will be creating a highlights package at the end of each day’s competition. The big mountain prelims run on Friday August 18, with the finals on the first following fine weather day.

NZ Free Ski Open - Rail Jam

J Dogg — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 16:53:24 -0400

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TOP-LEVEL SKIERS AND SNOWBOARDERS TO COMPETE AT NZ FREE SKI OPEN’S DOWN-TOWN RAIL JAM

A selection of national and international snowsports superstars will display the art of street rail riding at this month’s inaugural NZ Free Ski Open Base Down-town Rail Jam on Friday August 25. The invitational competition will feature 10 elite free skiers and snowboarders, who will take on the massive BASE rail and perform their slides, rotations and big air in front of a panel of judges, all vying for the $2000 cash prize. Several truck loads of snow will be brought down into Wanaka courtesy of Snow Park NZ, who will ensure this impressive rail meets the exacting standards of the international competitors.

The event is a first for Free Ski Association of New Zealand, and provides an ideal opportunity to highlight the sports of free skiing and snowboarding at the highest level off the mountain, FSANZ CEO, Fraser Grieve said. “It’s huge for FSANZ to have a down-town rail jam. It celebrates the end of the Free Ski Open, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest free ski event involving the world’s best free skiers. By opening it up to snowboarders as well gives it even more depth as an event to promote snow sports.”

The free rail jam will take place in the Bullock Bar car park, on Ardmore St, from 7pm. Live music and MCs will also be there to keep the public entertained. The Free Ski Open prize giving will take place after the rail jam, followed by the Base Final Stand Party, at Canteen (tickets $10), featuring award-winning hip-hop artist DJ Shan.