First ski slopestyle junior world champions crowned

History was made at the FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships in New Zealand on Monday: the first ski slopestyle world champions were crowned as Bobby Brown (19) and Jamie Crane-Mauzy (17) of the USA took the titles.

Bobby Brown led the day from the start, qualifying with a solid first run which featured a massive double cork 10 off the giant 70ft kicker. In the finals an almost flawless first run of a switch with 270 out into a cork 9 tail into a switch 900 mute grab, double cork 1080 finishing with a misty 450 out which put him nine points in the lead.

However, that lead was closed on the second run by Gus Kenworthy (USA) yet Brown held onto the title. Jonas Hunziker (16) of Switzerland skied up into third place, taking the final spot on the podium.

In the ladies' competition, Jamie Crane-Mauzy qualified over 11 points ahead of her nearest rival, Blake Peterson (17), also of the USA. In the finals a fall in her first run put her to the bottom of the table but her second run which featured a straight slide to back cross to 3 mute followed by a front flip truck finishing with a straight slide enabled her to just pip Keltie Hansen (18) of Canada to the post by 0.4 and take the world title. Fellow American, Devin Logan, rounded out the podium.

The on-snow action continues with the snowboard half-pipe qualifiers at Cardrona Alpine Resort.

FIS news
23/08/2010

Success for Russia and Czech Republic at Junior Worlds SBX

A technical snowboard cross course of significant magnitude greeted 66 of the worlds elite junior riders in day two of the FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships.

The courses two large hips and long fly-over table were particularly challenging for the young riders, as was the whoops section which caused many competitors to loose their rhythm while others used the feature to gain speed and propel them towards the finish line.

One such rider was Maximillian Stark (19) of Germany who recorded the fastest qualifying time in 1:07:26. However, it was Nikolay Olyunin (19) of Russia who took the world championship title having qualified with second fastest time. The final was a close run race and he narrowly missed being taken out by Joachim Havikhagen (18) of Norway on the second hip. However, he picked up speed through the lower berms and whoops to comfortably take the title ahead of Roger Carver (20) and Alex Tuttle (19), both of the USA.

Its fantastic being world champion, said Olyunin. I was very nervous and the visibility was bad but its an amazing feeling. I just wish I wasnt so far from home so I could celebrate with my parents.

Eva Samkova (17) from Czech Republic led the womens field into the elimination heats in 1:14:04 and it was sheer tenacity that saw her take victory and the world championship title. For most of the final run she was racing in second to the USAs Faye Gulini (18). However on the last bank Gulini made a mistake and Samkova saw her chance, overtaking and taking the win.

"This is fantastic," said Samkova. "I really didnt expect this, that I would be world champion. It was a very close race and Im just so happy!"

FISsnowboard.com
Monday 23 August 2010

Final Countdown for first FIS World Championships in New Zealand

Marking the first time a FIS World Championship has taken place in New Zealand and the first time the disciplines of Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding have combined at FIS World Championship level, the event has attracted a high caliber field.

A Parade of Nations through Wanaka town center will launch the Championships at 5.00pm on Friday 20th August, followed by a powhiri and official welcome by FIS Council Member Dean Gosper, as well as Championships Patron Juliane Bray, member of the FIS Athletes' Commission.

All the on-snow action will take place from 21st to 31st August at Cardrona Alpine Resort and Snow Park NZ, Lake Wanaka featuring the following nine events - snowboard slopestyle, snowboard cross, snowboard halfpipe, snowboard parallel slalom and giant slalom, snowboard big air, ski slopestyle, ski cross and ski halfpipe.

Live scoring available

Fans around the world can keep track of competitors when all the action kicks off next week using the latest live scoring technology. The event will feature real time scoring services that are accessible through any mobile phone or web browser.

For iPhone users, the native iPhone app, eFAN, will also feature real time scoring for the Junior World Championships and is available from the App Store free of charge. Users can also browse results and start lists from earlier rounds, look up athlete profiles and access results when the event is over.

Virtual spectators can also access the live scoring via the event web site at www.juniorworldsnz.co.nz or through the live scoring microsite at live.eim-solutions.com

FISsnowboard.com
Thursday 19 August 2010