The first competition of the
season is always a big deal and today at Coronet Peak,
Queenstown, was no exception.
The local crew
was out in force led by the team at B.O.A, ready to
impress. What more could you ask for, with the sun
shining, a great 1/2 pipe, fun snow, and a huge supportive
crowd all making for an excellent first event. Rocking
to the tunes of DJ Downtown Brown competitors and
spectators alike had a perfect afternoon in the mountains.
"Sunshine, a great 1/2 pipe, fun snow, and a huge
supportive crowd all making for an excellent first
event. Rocking to the tunes of DJ Downtown Brown...!"
Check
out the video using the links above. You'll need RealPlayer
-
but it's well worth downloading if you don't already
have it.
For the competitors the first
event of the season is always a chance to catch up
with old friends and arch rivals..to suss out the
riders to watch, and to gauge themselves against the
competition. For many of the top Kiwi riders it is
the first chance to compare their performance, and
show the results after many hard months training over
in the Northern Hemisphere. The standard of riding
was extremely high over all the categories...with
lots of tricks and huge amplitude out of the freshly
cut pipe.
Highlights of the
day had to be the performance of Deni Bevin and Aaron
Jamieson. Ranked as two of NZ's best pipe riders they
were throwing down huge McTwists on the first hit
in the finals. Other standout riders included local
Glenn Legget pulling off huge frontside 540's complete
with his flaming red wig for the day.
The judges call ended up with
Aaron taking first place ahead of Deni, and Glen Leggett
taking third place. Jah Harris and Jacob Barrou proving
that the gap between the younger riders and the older
men is narrowing. Both riding extremey smooth. The
women also proving themselves in the challenging pipe.
Suzy Parker from Cardrona showing her form to take
first place ahead of Karen Houson and Joanne Andress.
Report provided by Chris at BoarderZone
