Across the Board 30-01-2008
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Best ever weekend for British Snowboarding More Top Ten Placings for Gillings Sam I Am. Sam Cullum Returns to Form Changes on the Snowboarding Front |
Welcome to the latest edition of Across the Board from SnowsportGB which will keep you updated on all the latest from the British Snowboard team. Along with results, we'll be featuring profiles of the athletes and teams, will hear from the coaches and sponsors and will keep you informed about the main news and events throughout the season.
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.”
The X-Games also brought success for Britain’s Jenny Jones in the Slope Style competition where she finished 4th and for Emma Lonsdale who was competing in the Ski Super Pipe competition and finished 9th.
Meanwhile over in Bardonecchia, Italy the British Halfpipe Team was on top form and achieving great results in the World Cup Halfpipe event. Aviemore’s Lesley McKenna finished an excellent 4th in the Women’s World Cup Halfpipe, behind winner Anne Sophie Pellissier of France. Kate Foster also competed and finished in an impressive 14th place overall. In the men’s World Cup Halfpipe event, Dan Wakeham, finished 16th behind winner Manuel Petropoli of Italy, whilst Ben Kilner came 27th and Sam Cullum 31st out of the 46 competitors.
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.
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.
Ivy Taylor, Matt Higgins and Tim McGregor also headed out to Europe that weekend to compete in the Snowboardcross event at the Europa Cup, in Puy St Vincent, France. Matt and Tim made it through to the qualifying rounds, whilst Ivy stormed through to the final and finished in 3rd place overall, her best result of the season so far.
Ivy said: “My races went really well - I had the fastest qualifying time and won the semi-finals by a good distance. In the finals though everyone fell as one girl speed checked which knocked us out of the way but I still managed to finish in 3rd place”.
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.
Craig has also provided vital input to the GBR forward plan for snowboarding, used by the national Olympic Association and government funding agencies as justification for continued investment in the sport. He also directly managed the relationship between Snowsport GB and the various sporting institutes that provide support to Britain's athletes.
Craig leaves as testament to his dedication, commitment and character, a highly promising pool of British talent for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. We wish him the very best for the future.
Halliwells lends a helping hand
Halliwells, one of the UK's fastest growing law firms has been supporting Snowsport GB since x. Not only does it contribute valuable funds but also provides specialist legal expertise in all areas of sports law. Alec Craig, senior partner is also on the Board of Directors for Snowsport GB with the position of Financial Director.
Halliwells has offices in Manchester, London, Liverpool and Sheffield. If you would like further information, please contact Alec Craig onalec.craig@halliwells.com
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!
