Snowboard Cross new Pro Tour - 1st round at Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf/USA to Host World's Best Snowboard Cross Riders Mar. 24
Seth Wescott launches Champion's Cross pro tour

CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine - Sugarloaf/USA welcomes the world's best snowboard cross riders for the inaugural running of the Champion's Cross Sugarloaf Open hosted by Olympic Gold Medalist Seth Wescott . On Saturday, Mar. 24 the top 24 SBX athletes currently on the FIS World Cup tour along with other qualifying American riders will compete at Wescott's home resort for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

"Our goal is to create the premiere boardercross tour in North America," Wescott said, because there has not been a professional tour of this kind since 2002. "As a result, we haven't seen progress in course design and evolution of the sport. Putting an alternative to the World Cup out there gives a lot more riders a chance to stay in the sport professionally."

The Sugarloaf event will be the only stop this year in the United States and a spring date in British Columbia is currently under consideration. Next winter, Wescott envisions the tour making multiple stops across the US and Canada.

To kick off the series, these elite athletes will converge at Sugarloaf to compete on a course designed by Wescott with the winner taking home at least $10,000 in cash plus a Suzuki Motocross motorcycle. The course will begin on Lower Competition Hill and cut over to Lower Narrow Gauge and will feature jumps, hips and rollers. The event is designed to be spectator-friendly and the course will include viewing areas across the length of the course.

"There is no better representative of the sport of snowboarding than Seth or a better place to take snowboard cross to the next level," said Sugarloaf President John Diller. "Seth built his dream of winning Olympic gold on Sugarloaf's slopes. Events like this will inspire the next generation of Sugarloafers to follow in his footsteps."

The weekend-long event will include a time trial on Friday, racing on Saturday and Parade of Athletes and Award Presentations Saturday evening.

About Sugarloaf/USA Ski Resort ? Located in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, Sugarloaf/USA is recognized as one of the top ski and golf resorts in the world. Sugarloaf/USA is part of the American Skiing Company family of resorts which includes Killington and Mount Snow in Vermont; Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine; Attitash in New Hampshire; and The Canyons in Utah.

Mountain Creek - Sunday - TransAM and Concert

Montain Creek, Vernon NJ is hosting 2 too cool events this Sunday!

The Transworld TransAm Contest Series presented by High Cascade Snowboard Camp will go down on Sunday March 11. Comp starts at 11:30 a.m. Pre-registration necessary.

At noon come out and watch 25 members of Paul Green's SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL-STARS - 10 to 18 year olds play the greatest hits of Rock and Roll, just like in the movie starring Jack Black. Vernon Base.

Details on both events at
http://www.mountaincreek.com/todo/events/index.htm

Boardercross at Plattekill - want to try it?

Everybody wants to try Boardercross since the Olympics,but the race course set-ups are few and far between on the mountains.

Plattekill - now - is the answer!
The Catskill Mountain Series of USASA (grassroots snowboard competition league) is holding their Boardercross and Skiercross at Plattekill Mountain, in the Catskills of NY state, this Saturday, March 10. If you want to compete, you'll have to register for the day http://www.usasa.org/

But, will the boardercross course still be open inthe days after the event? Check with the mountain. http://www.plattekill.com/winter/index.html

Never visited Plattekill? Plattekill has big mountain terrain, with small mountain charm.

Plattekill Mountain
469 Plattekill Mountain Road
Roxbury, NY 12474

Info & Lodging: (607) 326-3500

Snowphone/Conditions: 800-NEED-2-SK

Grenade Strikes Back at NJ Mountain Creek This Weekend

Olympic Medalist Danny Kass and Grenade Gloves Team head to Mountain Creek

Grenade Strikes Back Rail Jam February 16-17

Danny Kass returns to Jersey with his Grenade Strikes Back tour. This event will be held over the weekend of Feb. 16-17 with a slopestyle competition, rail jam, and live music at Mountain Creek.

Vernon, NJ (February 7, 2007) – Two-time Olympic Silver Medalist and Vernon’s hometown hero, Danny Kass will return to Mountain Creek to launch the Grenade Strikes Back rail jam and shred his original terrain February 16-17.

Kass and his Grenade Gloves Team will tear through Mountain Creek for the second of only two East Coast stops during the industry renowned Grenade Strikes Back tour.

Each day, one rider will win a free ticket to compete in the grand finale to be held April 20 at a resort to be determined in CA. All contestants will compete for prizes from tour sponsors in this two-day contest. Sponsors include Boost Mobile, Vans, Zumiez, Vestal, Libtech, Gnu, Monster Energy Drink and Transworld Snowboarding.

The weekend will get underway Friday afternoon with an autograph signing with Danny Kass and the Grenade Team. Riders may register for the contest Friday afternoon in the Tubing room at Vernon base from 3-4pm. Practice will be held from 4-4:30pm at the bottom of half pipe at Vernon followed by a riders meeting at 4:30pm as riders prepare to take to the superpipe. The competition will start at 4:45pm and kick off with live music from Retard Riot.

The competition will continue on Saturday, February 17^th as contestants demonstrate their versatility in a slopestyle jam contest. Registration will once again be held in the Tubing room from 8:30-9:30am and practice will run from 9:30-10:30am. The event will kick off at 11am on Independence at Vernon base.

Top riders from the Men and Women’s division will end each day riding with their favorite pros and one person will also be chosen as that day’s overall winner. Danny Kass and the Grenade crew will head up judging for the contest throughout both competitions.

Gearing up to the event, Danny Kass will be signing autographs at Zumiez in the Rockaway Mall on Tuesday, February 13 from 6-8pm.

DETAILS: Schedule

Friday 2/16 – Rail Jam at the bottom of the halfpipe

3:00pm Athlete Registration

4:00-4:30pm Practice

4:45-7:50pm Competition

8:00pm Awards

8:30-10:30pm Live Music

Saturday 2/17 – Slopestyle competition on Independence

8:30-9:30am Athlete Registration

9:30-10:15am Practice

10:45 Competition Begins

Log onto the event page at www.mountaincreek.com for more details.

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Find 223 other fun snowboard events at http://www.sbeventscalendar.com/

The biggest snowboard events calendar in the world!

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Windham Hosts Jeep Terrain Park Challenge Sat.

Windham Mountain will host a regional qualifier for the Jeep Terrain Park Challenge, Saturday, Feb. 3 at 11 am.

The Jeep Terrain Park Challenge offers amateur skiers and snowboarders a chance to showcase their best moves in the nation's best terrain parks. Proceeds will benefit the Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis.

Windham Mountain is hosting one of 75 qualifiers for thousands of eager participants. This group will be whittled down to the top 24 athletes through six regional qualifiers spanning from the East and West Coasts to the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions.

Top finishers will be invited to the National Championship, which will be held in Lake Tahoe, California, in March of 2007.

Windham's course will consist of a combined Big Air and Half Pipe run. Registration is from 8-10am. The cost to participate is a $10 donation to The Heuga Center.

Personally speaking, I rode Windham this weekend, and they are ready to ROCK!! The snow is thick and excellent. The halpipe is sweet. The terrain parks are ready and waiting. The new "G Lift" is fast and takes you to uncrowded parts of the mountain that I never found before. And the trail "Why Not" was like nothing I've ever seen with huge 20 foot mogul rollers that made you feel like an ant cavorting in a bag of giant marshmallows!

Snowboard Rail Jam Spectacle in New York City

2 Rail Jams in NY, Feb 8 and Feb 10

NEW YORK CITY HOSTS FIRST MAJOR PRO SNOWBOARDING COMPETITION

on Thursday February 8,
World’s Top Riders Meet for the Union Square Street Sessions, Presented by Jeep®

Amateur Rail Jam in Central Park Saturday February 10 by NY Parks Dept.

Aura360 in partnership with NYC Parks & Recreation announces New York City’s first major pro snowboarding rail jam competition, The Union Square Street Sessions, presented by Jeep®. Thursday, February 8, the world’s top pro riders including Marc Frank Montoya, Danny Kass and Eddie Wall will compete head-to-head for a prize purse of $30,000.

"The Union Square Street Sessions will expose residents to the thrill of a professional snowboarding rail jam set in Union Square Park, the gateway to downtown Manhattan," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

Twenty-four men and eight women will participate in Union Square Street Sessions and will show off their skills on a customized urban rail fabricated at Mountain Creek Resort’s Jib Lab. This will be the largest such structure ever produced for an event of this kind in New York City.

“We have been working on the concept for a major pro snowboarding competition in New York City for several years,” said Dan Gacetta, partner of Aura360. “We wanted to produce a breakthrough event in a world class venue that would demonstrate the long standing involvement of urban communities in the sport of snowboarding.”

The Union Square Street Sessions will begin with athlete training at 3:00 p.m. leading up to the rail jam competition commencing at 5:30 p.m. During the contest, the neighborhood of Union Square will be transformed into an action sports block party with celebrity judges, live music provided by Fuse TV and a sponsor village comprised of action sports retailers.

The invitational pro field of top riders will be augmented by up-and-coming athletes selected at three Street Session qualifiers. Winners at The Block Party in Tahoe and Rails to Riches and Shop Wars events at Killington receive automatic qualifications.

Union Square Street Sessions partners include Jeep as the presenting sponsor and supporting sponsors Burton, Fuse TV, Snowboarder Magazine, Lat34.com, Boost Mobile, Plantronics, Mountain Creek Resort and Killington Resort.

“Freedom and adventure are among the core values of the Jeep brand, so we’re excited to sponsor The Union Square Street Sessions,” said John Plecha, Jeep Marketing and Global Communications. “Snowboarding is one of the many outdoor activities Jeep owners enjoy. Snowboarding in New York City fits naturally with the ‘go anywhere-do anything’ versatility of the Jeep brand and its vehicles.”

The winter sports celebrations will continue in New York City on Saturday, February 10 with NYC Parks & Recreation’s Winter Jam, a pro/am rail jam and winter carnival with snowshoeing and cross country skiing held in Central Park.

UNION SQUARE STREET SESSIONS SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8

Street Sessions Pre Event Demo For Media – 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m..

o Athlete Demo

o Athlete Interviews

o Fashion & Gear Demo

Street Sessions Pro Rail Jam – 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. – Demo & festival area opens

3:00 to 5:00 p.m. - Athlete autograph signing and demos

3:30 to 5:00 p.m. - Athlete warm-up

5:00 to 5:30 p.m. - Music act 1

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. - Rail competition preliminaries

6:30 to 7:15 p.m. - Music act 2

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Rail competition finals

8:30 to 9:00 p.m. - Awards

9:30 p.m. - VIP Rail Jam Party

WEBSITE: www.lat34.com/streetsessionsnyc

DIRECTIONS: Subway: N,R,Q,W, 4,5,6, or L to 14^th Street/Union Square

NYC PARKS & RECREATION’S WINTER JAM IN CENTRAL PARK

Saturday, February 10 - 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

o Winter Sports Gear & Product Demos

o Amateur Rail Jam

o Music & awards

WEBSITE: www.nyc.gov/parks

DIRECTIONS: Subway: 6 to 68^th Street; B or C to 72^nd Street

Halfpipe at Windham Opens!

Windham debuts their new Halfpipe Sat. January 27, 2007

Halfpipe Update for Northeastern US

A lot of halfpipes this season are late or non-existent in the Northeast due to the lack of natural snow.

But the mountains have been pumping away, making snow like crazy, and we're excited that we're going to ride Windham's brand new pipe tomorrow. The pipe is being cut now by a former Stratton superpipe cutter, with Windham's new Zaugg pipecutter, just in time for the Catskills Region USASA Halfpipe Competition Saturday.

Btw, Windham had plenty of water and even extra air on hand so they could make as much snow as possible this season as soon as the temperatures cooperated. They rented air compressors to be on the ready.

What's USASA? It's the largest grassroots snowboard competition group in the world, and one of the only ways you'll ever get to try Boardercross or Slopestyle as an amateur. Read more here
http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/QandA/qascross.htm
and here
in "How to Go Pro" http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/QandA/howgopro.htm

And check out USASA's page here:
http://usasa.org/series/series.lasso?-token=browse&SeriesCode=catskill&-maxRecords=1&-database=regions.fp3&-layout=region_info&-search

Speaking of halpipes, Okemo's SoBe Superpipe is ready to ride now, and Whiteface will have their pipe open soon. Killington is working toward Feb. 1 opening of their superpipe.

Next blog is about the 2 rail jams in NYC next week.