Billabong Banked Slalom

At just 18 years of age, Australian World Cup snowboarder Alex “Chumpy” Pullin proved too quick for his opponents after claiming 1^st place in the Billabong Banked Slalom presented by Panasonic on Sunday, April 20^th 2008. The event took place on Mt. Hotham and is based on snowboarding events that took place in the 80’s and 90’s where all that mattered was who reached the bottom of the mountain first.

Pullin took strong control over the International field which consisted of over 100 snowboarders, all the way from the opening ride to the final event. He won the final ten man decider with a time of 51.80 seconds, earning him $2,000 USD and a Panasonic VDR D150 Digital video camera. The second and third place winners, Taan Robrhan (United States) and Clint Allan (Australia), followed close behind with times of 52.48 seconds and 52.58 seconds respectively.

Despite crashing in the first round and suffering from a grazed and bloodied face, Pullin managed to maintain his form throughout the competition. In a recent interview Pullin said, “I took a hit in qualifying when I caught an edge on one of the banks and fell flat on my chin. I tried not to let that affect my confidence and luckily I kept the momentum going right through to the final.” Pullin also added, “There were a few Olympic team members in this field so I respect a lot of these riders and acknowledge the history behind this event.”

In the women’s division, 21-year-old Stephanie Hickey (Australia) bagged first place with a time of 57.75 on Mt. Buller. Laura Williams (Australia) finished second with 57.77 seconds and Abi Bright (Australia) calimed third with 1:00.77 seconds. A very elated Hickey said, “The course was quite technical in parts and a bit slow in others but overall a wicked event. I love the whole concept of this format and I’ll be back next year for sure.”

So Australia shines once again after bringing to light an age-old snowboarding tradition of reaching the bottom of the mountain fastest!

North Face Ski Challenge

The North Face Ski Challenge Tour is an event open to all residents of Europe between the ages of 12 and 18 years. This youth-dedicated event is the only one which mixes free ride and freestyle. The event concluded just last weekend in Val Thorens, with the winner of the final walking away with a two-year sponsorship contract with the North Face.

Throughout winter, 350 hopefuls from Europe gave it their all, hoping to qualify for the tour finals. Over the weeks, the number of participants started increasing rapidly. Finally, 73 young skiers from 11 nations across Europe were selected to take part in the tour finals held on April 12^th and April 13^th. These 11 nations included the UK, Finland, Italy and Switzerland.

Director of the Club des Sports in Val Thorens, Vincent Hudry said, “We believe that the North Face Ski Challenge has the potential to reach a young, new public and demonstrate to the snow sports world how big hidden talents can be. This is, in fact, totally coherent with what we’ve been doing for years during the Boarder Week. This is why this will be our only ski event.”

Sweden’s Tom-Oliver Hedvall was the top finisher in the ‘king’s’ category (16-18 years), and walked away with the sponsorship contract. After hearing the final result, a partly fazed Hedvall said, “I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is like the most magical dream come true. I’m very excited to see what this is going to bring me over the next few years…!” Apart from a kit, the North Face contract also involves helping develop Hedvall’s potential to the fullest, exposing him to the international pro rider scene and gathering support to help him enter other relevant free ski events in the coming winter seasons.

So congratulations Europe, you have once again discovered your skiing ‘king’.