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Whistler athletes compete for TWSSF honours, cash

Skiers and snowboarders compete togethe

Only the best of the best get invites to take part in the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival’s pro contests, and luckily for Whistler that usually includes a strong group of local riders and skiers to cheer on.

There are four main events at this year’s festival; the Stompede, the Salomon Superpipe, the McDonald’s Rail Session and the Playstation Big Air.

This year, for the first time, skiers and snowboarders will compete alongside each other in all of the contests, although they’ll be judged and awarded separately.

Stompede – April 14-16

The Stompede is a new event, designed to take the best of slopestyle events and present them in a way that’s easy for spectators and television cameras to appreciate. Staged outside of the Roundhouse Lodge in a small arena next to the Emerald Chair, skiers and riders will face a series of optional terrain features, from airs to rails, which they will be judged on.

There was no invitational component for the Stompede; it was left open to the public, and response has been overwhelming. At press time there were 62 men and 15 women on the snowboard qualifier list, and 65 men and 10 women in the skier qualifier, not including athletes on the standby list.

The snowboard qualifier is on Friday and the skier qualifier on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days. The finals are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Whistler-Blackcomb and W1, the organizers of the festival, are offering a special $10 spectator ticket with a coupon available at www.whistler2006.com/stompede

There were too many athletes to print, but some names did stick out:

Snowboarders

Dennis Bannock – A big, fearless rider from Squamish, Bannock is not afraid to go big or hit the stunts that give other riders second thoughts. He currently rides for Ripzone, Atomic, Nixon, Technine, Grenade, 32, Etnies, O’Gio, and Cashle$$ Inc.

Neil Connolly – Connolly was Canada’s top big air athlete in the 2004-2005 season, and finished off his year with a win in the World Snowboard Invitational slopestyle. This year he has competed less, but finished third in the Showcase Showdown’s inaugural Pipestyle event. Sponsored by Elan Snowboards, Billabong, Smith. Also in the Playstation Big Air.

Dustin Craven – From Calgary, 17-year-old Craven is the one rider that everyone is talking about. This season he won a slopestyle in the Calgary Olympic Park, then came to Whistler where he won $10,000 by placing first in the Showcase Showdown. He’s supported by Oakley, Capita, 32, Life Time, Etnies, Wild Flour, and like all Alberta riders, Rude Boys.

Matt Dano – Dano hails from Quebec, and has earned a reputation as being one of the top slopestyle competitors in the world, even stacked against Finns, Americans, and other Quebeckers. He rides for Oakley.

Mikka Hast – Speaking of Finnish riders, Mikka is one of the best. He rides a little of everything, from World Cup halfpipes to pro big air and slopestyle events, and is always in the running for medals. Sponsors are Flow International, Gotcha, Dragon, Demon and Giro.

Justin Lamoureux – A member of the Canadian Olympic halfpipe team, Lamoureux is known for entering any and every contest out there and killing it. There are too many career highlights to mention, suffice it to say he won the silver medal in halfpipe at the 2005 World Championship, and finished third in the last World Snowboard Invitational superpipe. Funders/equippers include Ripzone, Whistler-Blackcomb, Spy, Reef, Cheetah, Bataleon, Rude Boys and Surefoot.

Brad Martin – Also a member of the national halfpipe team, Brad will be moving to Whistler at the end of the season to be closer to the terrain park and superpipe. He also had a stellar WSSF last year, finishing second in slopestyle and winning the superpipe. Sponsors are Ripzone, McDonald’s, Rossignol, Spy, Kuu and DC boots.

Eero Niemela – Another strong Finnish rider, Eero Niemela spends a lot of time in Whistler and is a strong contender with both jumps and jibs in his trick bag. Sponsors include K2, Volcom, Anon, Wildcats and Trulli Clan.

Todd Richards – Anyone who has followed snowboarding at all in the last decade will know the name Todd Richards. At age 36 the "TR" is still considered one of the best in the game, and he has the recent results to prove it. Supported by DC Shoes.

Logan Short – Logan lives in North Vancouver, and is probably one of the top rail jibbers in the world. His airs aren’t bad either. Rides for Endeavor, Oakley, Union, Grenade, 32, Etnies, O’gio, Neff and Ruins.

Travis Williams – In the recent Pipestyle event, Williams launched about 20 feet over the halfpipe on the top air, about 15 feet on the first wall, and a series of 10 footers all the way to the bottom – not bad for a guy who rides halfpipe a couple of times a year. Slopestyle is his milieu, so expect him to go big. Rides for O’gio.

Molly Aguirre – Mammoth Mountain’s Aguirre is one of the best young American riders on the scene, and that’s saying a lot. She mostly focuses on halfpipe, but has been known to ride a 50 foot rail or two. Rides for Burton, Smith, Windells, and like a sensible pro, Barnett Chiropractic.

Leanne Pelosi – Despite a rough Pipestyle, Whistler’s Pelosi is always a threat when there are man-made obstacles on the course. Rides for K2, Dragon, 32/Etnies, Red Bull, Solo Mobile, Vestal and Dakine.

Pilar Peterson – Peterson, another Whistler rider, won the Pipestyle event hands down. While her airs were solid, her rails really stood out for the judges. Rides for Burton and Smith.

Skiers

Josh Bibby – One of the Vernon crew, Bibby is part of a group of former freestyle athletes blowing minds around the world these days. He has a lot of results to his credit, but probably his biggest from last season was a first at the Jon Olsson Invitational in Sweden. Sponsored by K2, Anon, Red and Whistler-Blackcomb.

Justin Dorey – Almost an unknown last year, Vernon’s Dorey blew everyone away in the World Skiing Invitational superpipe at the age of 16, surpassing some of the top names in the sport.

Simon Dumont – Maine’s Dumont is a serial medallist at WSSF events, and is constantly pushing his own limits. He nearly died once when he cleared a 100-foot gap by about 100 feet. Skis for Salomon, Oakley, Red Bull, Dakine and Giro.

Charles Gagnier – This Quebec skier has won or placed at every pro event on the circuit – in slopestyle, big air and halfpipe – in the last few years, making it all look too easy. Sponsored by Salomon.

Tanner Hall – From Kalispell, Montana there’s no question that Tanner Hall is the most dominant skier on the pro circuit. If he’s not centre podium, he’s not far from it. He goes big, has style, and no fear. Sponsored by Armada, Red Bull, Giro and Grenade.

Andreas Hatveit – One of a new group of Euro freeskiers, Norway’s Hatveit placed second in the 2005 WSI superpipe with his switch corked 720’s. Skis for Rossignol, Nike ACG, Djuice and Smith.

TJ Schiller – Next to Hall, Vernon’s T.J. Schiller is probably one of the winningest skiers on the pro tour. He has a switch mute 1080 in his trick bag and is not afraid to use it. He won the slopestyle at last year’s WSI and placed first in the U.S. Open big air just a few months ago. He skis for Armada and Orage.

Candide Thovex – The pride of France, Thovex has won and placed in his share of contests with some of the nicest spins and grabs in the business. Represents Rossignol and Quicksilver.

Corey Vanular – Out of Ontario, Vanular has been blowing the competition away at pro contests in the last two years. This year he was first in the U.S. Open slopestyle and third in halfpipe. Skis for Dynastar, Spy, Orage, Monster and Grandoe.

Sarah Burke – Midland, Ontario’s Burke has been the top female freeskier for about four years now and shows no sign of relinquishing her crown even as her competition gets better and better.

McDonald’s Rail Session – April 15 at 9 p.m.

Back for a third year, the McDonald’s Rail Session is a spectator-friendly event with a run-in from the side of the GLC patio. Entry is by invite only, with 12 snowboarders and 12 skiers. Unless the organizers dig into the standby list, the snowboard invites are Dennis Bannock, Geoff Brown, Simon Chamberlain, Dustin Craven, Jesse Fox, Mikee HK, Max Legend, Leanne Pelosi, Marie-France Roy, T.J. Schneider, Aaron Shapiro and Logan Short.

The skier list includes Iannick B. (out of retirement), Sammy Carlson, Charles Gagnier, Andreas Hatveit, JF Houle, Kim Lemar, Tim Russell, Steele Spence, Credric Tremblay-Fournier, Kaya Turski, Corey Vanular and Whistler’s David Weale.

Salomon Superpipe – April 17-22

Some of the top skiers and snowboarders in the world will be facing off in the Salomon Superpipe contest, which features two days of training, a ski qualifier on Wednesday, and snowboard qualifier on Thursday, a semi-final match-up on Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (snowboarders at 11 a.m., skiers and 12:30 p.m.) and the finals on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by a one hour SuperHit Contest open to all finalists.

The list of invited athletes is similar to the Stompede with a few notable additions:

Snowboard

Crispin Lipscomb – Crispin Lipscomb is on a roll, wrapping up his World Cup season with a gold medal. He has also been a top contender in Whistler for the past two years, finishing first and second the superpipe respectively. He rides for Salomon, McDonald’s, Spy, POW, Ipath and Dakine.

Jan Michaelis – This German rider pulled out a double Michalchuk (double flip) in the world championships in 2005, and has a scary bag of tricks at his disposal. Rides for Head Snowboards, Oakley, Ratiopharm and Toyota.

Elijah Teter – A gifted rider from snowboarding’s version of the Osmond family, Elijah finished fourth in the 2005 WSSF superpipe and went on to win the SuperHit contest with the biggest air time of the day. Rides for Bolle, Swix and Globe.

Tricia Byrnes – Tricia has every snowboarding accolade to her credit in halfpipe, and is a hero for all of the young riders coming up. Rides for Bolle and Stratton Mountain.

Torah Bright – Australia’s biggest contribution to snowboarding likes to go big with spins and grabs, and never plays it safe. Rides for Salomon.

Sarah Conrad – Nova Scotia’s very driven member of the national snowboard team is getting better and better with every contest. She finished third in the nationals less than a month ago. Rides for Ride, Nikita, Anon, Nixon, Dakine and Proskates.

Mercedes Nicoll – Whistler girl, and always happy to be out riding with her national teammates. She’s going bigger every year, and is on the verge of adding some more difficult tricks to her run. With a jam format and soft landings, she’ll be fearless. Rides for Mammoth Mountain, 32, Etnies, IS Design, Drake and Power Room.

Maëlle Ricker – She’s only 25 and she’s already been on the national team for about eight years. Ricker’s best event is snowboardcross, but she has her share of World Cup medals in the pipe as well. Rides for Burton, Whistler-Blackcomb, Utopia, Showcase and Gauge.

Playstation Big Air – April 22 at 7 p.m.

The village Big Air is back this year, with 11 skiers and 11 snowboarders squaring off on a huge tabletop jump at the base of Whistler Mountain. Upwards of 10,000 spectators are expected to watch, so get there a little early to stake out a good spot.

Again, most of the top skiers and snowboarders have already been mentioned, but a few are deserving of attention.

Snowboarders

Mike Page – Page recently moved back to Quebec from Whistler, but has everything to gain by coming back for a visit – in the last four years he has won this event and finished second. Rides for Foursquare, Forum and Drop.

Marc-Andre Tartre – Tartre finished second in the 2005 slopestyle, and made the podium in the three previous big air events, winning once. Loves the spotlight and the microphone. He rides for Volkl, Adidas, SP, Zamst, and Stuntwax.

Paavo Tikkanen – Another top Finnish rider living in Whistler, Paavo Tikkanen flies higher, spins faster, and risks everything for a chance to win. Rides for Endeavour, Westbeach, Utopia, SP, DVS, Drop and Active.

For more information and a complete list of athletes visit www.whistler2006.com.