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Jibbers jibe at World Snowboarding Championship

After four crazy days and nights, the World Snowboarding Championship wrapped up in Mountain Square with more than 15,000 spectators and an annual Big Air contest that gets bigger every year.

After four crazy days and nights, the World Snowboarding Championship wrapped up in Mountain Square with more than 15,000 spectators and an annual Big Air contest that gets bigger every year.

Big cardboard cheques worth more than US$250,000 were handed out to champions in four snowboard disciplines – slopestyle, snowboard park "Jib Jam", superpipe and big air.

All the biggest names were in town – guys like Ross Powers, Jussi Oksanen and Kevin Jones, and girls like Tara Dakides and Kim Bohnsack.

With so much on the line, and only the top three male and females getting a share of the prize money, the competitors went big – a shirtless Keir Dillon’s 15-footer over the lip of the halfpipe was good for a big $10,000 in the athlete-judged superhit competition.

Tom Sims – a founding father of snowboarding, the founder of Sims Snowboards, and a major sponsor of the event – summed it up nicely: "The Worlds is all about supporting the essence of the sport, which is to push the limits of snowboarding to new levels – it’s not just about who comes first or second.

"It’s not necessarily just the competitive top dogs who are invited here. Some athletes may never compete but are among the world’s best, so they must be here through wildcard invitations."

Dakides, Richards have the most style

Although the landings were rock-hard and the weather changed every 15 minutes, the athletes held nothing back on the Slopestyle course on April 19, spinning onto rails, getting inverted and twisting over the table tops, and charging the 24-foot high quarterpipe at the bottom of the run at break neck speeds.

Sims rider Tara Dakides repeated as champion, leading off the finals with a 50-50 slide over the first rail. She followed with a backflip over the first table, a backside 360 with an indy grab over the second, a frontside 720 with an indy grab off the hip, a frontside boardslide over the next 40 foot rail, a rodeo 540 over the last table (with a slight revert), and ended with a 180 on the quarter. The run earned her a score of 35.6 and US$20,000.

Kim Bohnsack, another Sims rider, finished second by less than two points, and walked away with US$7,500.

Quebec’s Annie Boulanger finished third overall, less than two points back of Bohnsack, to earn US$2,500.

The men’s superfinal was neck and neck the whole way, and the US$30,000 prize for first place was in reach of all five riders who made the cut. At the end of two solid runs, however, the contest belonged to Morrow rider Todd Richards. His second run, which garnered a score of 55.3, started strong heading switch into the first rail, doing a frontside boardslide for the first 20 feet and spinning back to a regular 50-50. He followed with an inverted 540 with an indy grab over the first jump, a switch frontside 720 over the second jump, a 360 with an indy grab off the hip, a backside boardslide over the next rail, a wet cat 900 off the last jump, and a huge McTwist 540 on the quarterpipe.

Kevin Jones finished second, less than two points back after an amazing second run, to take home US$10,000. Jussi Oksanen, the defending champion from Finland, had a few problems with landings, but still came away with third place and US$5,000.

In addition, on the day of the Slopestyle, Sims and the other sponsors kicked in an additional US$10,000 in the qualifier for the best hit on the quarterpipe. Roberta Rodger of Vancouver took $5,000 of the money with about 10 feet of air. "I can’t believe it, that’s so much money," an ecstatic Rodger told the announcer. "I screwed up my run early so just I went for it on the quarter."

In the men’s superhit competition, 17 year old James Beach of Ontario took the other half of the purse with a huge Michalchuk that broke the 12-foot barrier.

Jones gels in Jib Jam

Kevin Jones, wasn’t finished after the Slopestyle, hiking up to a rail park within the park to take some more of Tom Sims money – there was $15,000 up for grabs at this event, where the winner was voted on by the other riders. Jones’ was a shoe-in for the top spot with a 450 (one and one quarter spins) onto the rails and impossible nose presses.

Chris Engelsman was second with big spins and a switch 50-50 grind on the big rail. Bobby Meeks aired it out onto the rails to take third.

Dakides, the only female to enter the Jib Jam, was solidly in the running with a few rail tricks of her own.

Canucks close in superpipe

Although just two Canadian men got byes into the superfinals, by the time the qualifiers wrapped up and the event kicked off on April 21, 12 out of 20 spots belonged to hosers. While none of these riders made the podium, it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

It was an open jam format, and riders were allowed to take as many runs as they could in an hour – with only their best run counting.

When it was all over, there were seven Canadians in the top-10 but none in the top three – all the American money stayed American.

Ross Powers won the day with a run that started with a switch McTwist and ended with a switch 720. Danny Kass went big all day, landing 900’s and spinning inverted 720’s and 540’s almost at will. Third place and another sizeable chunk of prize money went to Todd Richards.

Guy Deschenes, Gullaume Morisset, David Melancon, James Beach, Andrew Hardingham, Trevor Andrew and David Carrier-Porcheron finished fourth through 10th for Canada. Daniel Migneault was 12 th , Brett Carpentier was 13 th , Justin Lamoueux was 15 th , and Mike Rencz was 18 th .

The top three in the women’s competition was a little more international, with Dorianne Vidal of France taking the top spot by three-tenths of a point. Kelly Clark and Tricia Byrnes of the U.S. finished second and third.

Whistler’s Lori Glazier, the only Canadian woman to make the superfinals, finished fourth by one-tenth of a point after eight solid runs.

Following the jam, there was a half-hour superhit contest, where the athletes got to vote on the best air of the session. The undisputed winner was Pennsylvania-born Keir Dillon, who launched and landed a 15-foot "KD Roll" over the crowd at the top of the pipe. He mixed it up a little on other runs, throwing in a McTwist and spin moves to rile up the crowd.

"They kept wanting me to go up and do it again and again," said Dillon. "I was tired, but the crowd kept yelling so I kept hiking and hiking the pipe. It almost killed me."

Dillon was at the rave the night before, and didn’t make it to bed until 9 a.m. – only two hours before he was due at the contest. "It’s been a weird day."

Finland reasserts air supremacy

With a crowd of 15,000 and MC Supernatural egging them on, the competitors went bigger and bigger as the evening progressed. It looked like Norway’s Roger Hjelmstadstuen was going to win the title after landing a huge frontside 1080, but there was one rider left on the ramp who wasn’t going to settle for sixth. Reigning champion Jussi Oksanen hit the eight-foot jump riding switch, popped more than 20 feet in the air, spun around two-and-a half times with an indy grab and landed perfectly halfway down the transition to take the title for the second year in a row.

Kevin Jones, who spun 1080’s all day, landed a nice one to take third place and his third big cheque of the contest.

Dionne Delesalle, the lone Canadian in the superfinal, finished in fourth place with a huge cab 900.

The women’s competition was wide open this year with competitors swapping spots in the standings after every jump. Tara Dakides, the reigning champion, went for backside rodeo 540’s and backflips, but had trouble with her landings.

The top spot went to Dresden Howell, who landed a clean backside 360. Marnie Yamada landed the same trick, but without as much air, to finish second. Kim Bohnsack finished third.

Amelie Verret, first after the semi-finals and the only Canadian to make the finals, finished fourth.

Other highlights included a poacher in a cape and a turban, a hip-hop stage show with freestyle rapping to fill the gaps, the return rodeo of the Pink Panther with a rocket strapped to his board, and an end-of-show fireworks display that was strapped to the backs of two individuals in orange jumpsuits and safety helmets.