Across the Board 30.01.08
Best ever weekend for British Snowboarding
The British World Cup Halfpipe and Snowboardcross Teams proved
they are World class this weekend (25th - 27th January) when
they competed and achieved top results at the Winter X Games,
Colorado, USA and the World Cup in Bardonecchia, Italy.
Jenny Jones - 4th Winter X-Games, Slopestyle
Lesley McKenna - 4th World Cup Bardonecchia, Half Pipe
Zoe Gillings - 6th Winter X-Games, Snowboard Cross
Kate Foster - 14th World Cup Bardonecchia, Half Pipe
Dan Wakeham - 16th World Cup Bardonecchia, Half Pipe
Zoe Gillings equalled her best result of the season so far
on Saturday when she finished in an impressive 6th place in
the Snowboardcross at the 2008 Winter X Games, Aspen, Colorado.
Gillings made an excellent start in the final but was wiped
out by another competitor at the first banked turn, effectively
ending her challenge for victory. Olympic silver medallist
and World ranked number one, Lindsay Jacobellis went on to
take the title. Zoe is consistently impressing this season,
she is currently ranked 6th in the world at only 22 years
of age. After the race, Zoe said: "Even though this is
one of my best results, I should have done better, I can't
wait to go to Leysin, on Wednesday for the next round of World
Cup competitions."
More Top Ten Placings for Gillings
Zoe Gillings had more success recently at the Nokia FIS World
Cup in Bad Gastein, Austria 9th-13th Janaury by finishing
in 9th. Zoe has been on great form recently with this result
being her third consecutive top ten placing this season.
Gillings has gained great confidence stating: "I am
riding well enough to challenge at the top".
She as now set her sights on a podium spot in the remaining
six races of the season between now and March.
Brits Aboard
If you've not noticed already, it's been a busy competition
schedule for the Snownboard teams.
The British World Cup Halfpipe, Freestyle and Junior Teams
headed out in force to compete in the Slopestyle and Halfpipe
disciplines at the Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland
between 11th and 18th January.
The Burton European Open is one of Europe's biggest freestyle
snowboarding events and Dom Harrington, Lesley McKenna and
16 year old newcomer, Aimee Fuller lead the way for the British
teams, riding super strong throughout the competition. In
the Halfpipe, Dom made it through to the qualifiers and finished
8th in his heat - just missing out on a place in the semi
finals. Lesley qualified first in her heat to go through to
the semi finals where she finished in 15th place, narrowly
missing out on a place in the final. Aimee finished in 5th
place and 13th place overall in the Junior Girls Slopestyle
and Halfpipe competition; an amazing start to her first competition
season.
 Sam
I Am. Sam Cullum Returns to Form
Back from a fractured femur (sustained in October) and a serious
dose of concusion from the Burton European Open, Sam Cullum
was raring to get back in to action at the Half Pipe World
Cup in Bardonecchia, Italy, which took place on 26th - 27th
January.
Sam has been boarding for almost six years now, and is sure
about what he wants, with his future very much set around
boarding. Making his comeback at the Bardonecchia World Cup
was the stepping stone he needed to get back on track to shine
and grow, with a receltly broken femur obviously no deterrent.
The 19 year old, who has set himself a target of representing
his country in the 2010 Winter Olympics, in Canada, is well
on his way, with youth, passion and desire on his side. Preferring
a 'goofy' stance doesn't reflect his ambition to succeed and
move up in the world standings, with a current placing of
52.
His parents of Warfield are right behind him and so are we.
Sam Cullum is definitely one to watch.
Changes on the Snowboarding Front
John O'Grady, Director of the Snowboard teams
Craig Smith, previously the coach for the British Snowboard
teams has chosen to return to his home nation of Canada with
his family, after managing the British Snowboard team athletes
from September 2002 until January of this year.
He worked predominantly as the Snowboard Cross (SBX) coach
but also managed and coached the Half Pipe team between 2002
and 2004 with little additional support.
During his tenure over 150 riders have benefited from his
experience and many have continued to have successful careers
in snowboarding either as competitors or as professionals
within the industry.
Craig has coached Zoe Gillings during his whole career with
Snowsport GB - she is now ranked 6th in the world in SBX.
Another star performer under his guidance, Dan Wakeham, finished
the season as Europa Cup Half Pipe Champion in 2006.
Aspen Has Been. Sungwoo Soon
The Nokia FIS World Cup takes us to Leysin, Switzerland on
the 1st February where Zoe Gillings and James Foster will
be in action in the Snowboard Cross event.
Following that, the next series of competitions take the
British Teams to the upcoming World Cup events in Sungwoo,
Korea which takes place between 15th - 17th February, and
Gujo City, Japan on the 22nd to 24th February. Both competitions
feature Snowboard Cross and Halfpipe riders.
As before, all the action will be on Channel 4, so stay tuned!
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