Snowboarding News - March 2006

Wednesday, 29 March 2006

Surf Rodz (SZ) extends its gratitude to everyone who has helped in the development of its products. In his e-mail to the MaxLifestyle news desk, Wayne Gallipoli, president of Surf Rodz thanks, “all the open-m inded riders who tested and contacted SZ this season and offered us such spirited and targeted feedback.”

In line with that statement, Gallipoli said that SZ will continue focusing on the research and development of their products. He is shown in the picture on the left trying out one of their products, the 185 powder deck.

Also in the e-mail was news of SZ's new product called the SZ powder/elite. The powder/elite has what is called a 'parabolic-pintail shape' which gives snowboarders a carving deck and a powder ski at the same time. Aside from that, the e-mail stated that SZ is also currently, “testing a new snowboard deck shape to be used with soft or hard-boot bindings. For fans of SZ's products, it's probably about time to get excited.

To see more of their exciting products, you may check out their website at www.surf-rodz.com.

Spring is Here!

Wednesday, 29 March 2006

Wrightwood, California's Mountain High Resort will be the venue of this weekend's Spring Break activities.

Dubbed as “Spring Jam 06”, the Spring Break event will be held on March 31. The event will fea ture different activities such as snowboarding and skiing competitions. Aside from that, prizes and giveaways will be overflowing during the entire event. There will also be live music and guest DJs to liven up the activities. The event is open to the general public and is free.

Below is a list of the activities this weekend:

11am Big Air Jump Competition
Watch as skiers and snowboarders go big on a brand new, base-area kicker specially designed for Spring Jam. Height, style and landing are what it is all about in this juicy jump-off and awards are based on the judge's results and audience participation.

12pm Frozen T-Shirt Contest
Got a warm personality? You will need it in this furiously frozen competition. Contestants must break apart a frozen Mountain High T-Shirt and put it on before their competitors do.

1pm Dash For Swag
Think you are a fast runner? Try running at 7,000ft...in your ski or snowboard boots. Those with truly snappy speed will take home a grip of prizes. Separate divisions for skiers and snowboarders.

2pm Polar Bear Pond Skimming
In this quintessential Spring Break activity, skiers and snowboarders must cross a 40 foot pond of freezing cold water or take the Polar Bear plunge. Anything goes in this hair raising, toe curling competition.

All descriptions are courtesy of Mountain High's event website at this link.

What are you waiting for? Head on to Mountain High this weekend and have some Spring Break fun!

Free Skiing and Snowboarding in NM!

Thursday, 23 March 2006

Do you live in New Mexico (NM) and have some time to have fun in the snow? Then head on to the Angel Fire Resort, NM. They are offering free skiing and snowboarding to NM residents for one day only on March 2 4.

This move is their way of saying thanks to the NM residents including the schools, government and other organizations, according to their site, www.angelfireresort.com.

To avail of this one-day offer, New Mexicans must present their state-issued New Mexico ID or a copy of their recent utility bill to the resort's ticket office. For that, they will get free lift tickets for the entire family.

For more information, please visit their site at www.angelfireresort.com.

NorAm Snowboarding Finals Kicks Off March 22

Friday, 17 March 2006

After the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, all eyes are now on the 2006 North American Snowboarding Finals that will be held from March 25 to 26 at Washington State, the United States.

A hundre d American and Canadian participants are expected to compete in this year's event, including some of the athletes who competed in the recently-concluded Winter Olympics. They include Olympians Rosey Fletcher,Tyler Jewell and Chris Klug of the United States, and Jasey Jay Anderson, Alexa Loo and Philippe Berube of the Canadian national team.

The competition, whose opening ceremonies will be held at Seattle's Key Arena on March 22, is the American and Canadian athletes' key to earning a slot in 2007 World Cup national teams. Aside from that, 12,000 USD will be distributed among the winners of the men and women's parallel slalom (PSL) and parallel giant slalom (PSG) events.

The two-day competition, otherwise known as the NorAm Finals will showcase both PSG and PSL events. Both events will have a qualifying phase which will set up the 16-person elimination round which will in turn determine the final ranking.

Here is the schedule of this year's NorAm Finals:

Wednesday, March 22

5:30 p.m. 2006 NorAm Finals Opening Ceremonies Press Conference at KeyArena prior to Sonics – Bucks NBA game

7:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies during Sonics – Bucks NBA Game at KeyArena

Saturday, March 25

9:00 a.m. Qualifying - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom

12 noon Finals - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom

4:00 p.m. - Awards Presentation at BullWheel Restaurant in the Crystal Day Lodge

Sunday, March 26

9:00 a.m. Qualifying - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Slalom

12 noon Finals - Men’s / Women’s Parallel Slalom

4:00 p.m. - Awards Presentation at BullWheel Restaurant in the Crystal Day Lodge

www.fivetwoten.org/2006NorAmFinals/

Vegetate XI to be Held Apr. 1 and 2

Thursday, 16 March 2006

The Vegetate XI that will be held in Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort has been postponed to April 1 and 2. Participants can expect a Superpipe Jam on Saturday and a Big Air X on Sunday. Over $7,000 in cash and cool p rizes will be at stake.

Both competitions will have a category for skiers and snowboarders. The Superpipe Jam will be held at the resort's 500 foot long in-ground Superpipe. In this competition, scores will be determined by participants themselves and technical judges. Half of the score will come from ballots where competitors select the top three in their division while the other half of the score will come from a judging team.

Meanwhile, the Big Air Competition will be held in City Park and consists of a 60 foot table leading into a 30 foot tall x 40 foot wide Quarterpipe. Participants will be judged according to crowd response and by technical judges. Also, as a bonus, each of the four judges will award a set of skis or snowboard to the competitor of their choice. Registration for the competition will be the morning of each event. There will also be $30 competitor lift tickets available upon registration.

The event is sponsored by Full Sail Brewing, Clif Bar and Tims Cascade Chips. For more details, visit www.skihood.com.