Big at Bella

Carpet Burn Cup – Skier / Boarder X

Always a crowd pleaser and my favourite event of the series, last night saw Round 6 of the Carpet Burn Cup – the Skier / Boarder X.

With the course looking impressive with its official SAAB snow cross flags and its symmetrical set up, competitors weaved there way in and out, off the first wedge inevitably at the same time and often off the bottom wedge too – creating some neck and neck finishes.

The course is set

First up were the juniors went to battle, with a lot still to play for in the series leaderboard and with the competative nature of a dual course there was a great  atmosphere.  Everyone’s riding and skiing was on top form, recent practice having paid off.  Ally Rogers had some very close races and although he was beaten to the podium by Josh Watt in an extemely close call he did win most improved rider of the night winning himself a voucher for a free session. Emmets’ riding experience showed through winning him the gold with Nathan taking silver.

neck and neck at wedge no 1.

 

Neck and neck over wedge no 2

 

neck and neck into the finish gate

 

the crawl to the finish

Most Improved Snowboarder

Emmet carving his way to gold

Vaibhav ‘ speedy’ Chetty was killing it in practice but got pipped to the post by both Keilan Bremner and Fin Jacobs in the judged rounds which led again some exciting races for the crowds.

Taking the win over the last wedge, Keilan speeds to the finish line

Vaibhav taking bronze over Rory

Fin getting ready for the duck

The female skiers were once again on form, Abby Miller won all her races to take the Gold with Emma Swanson and Catherine Jackson battling for silver and bronze respectively.

Emma and Catherine battle for silver or bronze

In the Under 10′s Snowboarding all the boys were showing great style, carving well and showing no fear of the course ahead of them.  It was Andrew Budge who one again took the gold for the FIFTH! time, with Duncan crossing the line for silver and Fraser taking the Bronze, great riding from all.

Duncan taking silver beating Fraser over the wedge

Andy carving his way to victory

Finally in the junior skiers Angus became the second of the Jacobs to gain Gold, their Dad must have been giving them some top tips for skier cross.  It was a close finish in the race between Angus and Andrew Hadfield but not as close as that between Angus and Rory which almost resulted in a hair cut for the photographer…

Angus beats Andy to the finish after the wedge

A close battle for silver and gold

 

Rory - most improved skier

And the podium results: (minus the 11-15 boys due to the battery dying in the last minute)

Keilan, Fin, Viabhav (L-R)

Duncan, Andy, Fraser (L-R)

Nathan, Emmet, Josh (L-R)

Emma, Abby, Catherine (L-R)

 

Well done to all, great entertainment to watch, the next round will be the Airbag Final on the 29th June, practice for this will be on Friday 24th (not the wednesday before) this will be at the discounted rate of £10 – book your space now to make sure you get a spot.. See you there.

Carpet Burn Cup – Round Five – Big Air!! Results and Review

Round five of the Carpet Burn Cup, Big Air took place on Wednesday 18th May and again we had clear skies,  great Aberdeen sunshine and an even better turn out. Loads of people showed up ready to show off their well practiced (and some not so well practiced) tricks. The evening was lining up to be a belter ….. Let the games begin.

Competitors lining up for their shot at the Big Air title

With our resident MC, Nicol Paton unable to fulfill his duty it was time for new kid on the block Kris Bell to step up and try his skills on the mic before he took to the slopes to throw down for the Big Air snowboarders title later on. There was a good crowd of people and Kris did a great job of keeping the atmosphere lively.  

Right competitors...... impress us

"OK Guys............How do I turn this thing on?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crowd were not disappointed and were treated to some aerial acrobatics with all skiers and boarders pulling out the stops and going BIG and technical to impress the judges.

Before we get to the results of the competition I would just like to make special mention of Abby Miller and Andrew Budge  who were awarded a free open session each as their prize for being recognised as the most improved skier and snowboarder on the night.

 Well done guys – Keep up the good work!!

Abby Miller - Most improved girl of the night

Andrew Budge - most improved boy of the night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 First up the Snowboarders;

In the under 10′s it was all pretty close with Andrew Budge taking 1st, Fraser Jack taking second and Duncan Trilk grabbing 3rd spot. All three guys threw down big straight airs and it was only the style that seperated them on points.

Andrew Budge, with his eyes on the prize

Andrew, Fraser and Duncan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 11 – 15′s Nathan Sim stepped it up Big and pulled a 720 outta the bag to beat Emmet Strachan and Ally Rodgers to 1st place, with Emmet taking 2nd place and Ally pinching 3rd spot.

Nathan on his way to a Gold Snowflex medal

Emmet Strachan's 360 for 2nd place

Ally Rodgers

In the ladies over 16′s it was all a closely fought battle between Sophie Addison, Laura Montecristi and Lara Wood. With all the girls pulling off a mixture of straight airs and straight air grabs on the first run and scoring almost identically it was all to play for in the second round. It was Laura Montecristi that showed off a solid Front Side 180 with grab to take first place with Sophie Addison taking second place and Lara Wood completing the line-up in 3rd place.

In the guys over 16′s – 9 guys battled it out for the top prize which resulted in some big tricks and some big scores. It was only 0.1 mark that seperated Matt Gibson and Kris Bell after their first run and the others were not far behind. All to play for in the second round. Unfortunately for Kris Bell and the others, Matt Gibson came up with a Huge Switch 720 scoring an equally huge 8.1 from the judges and taking the top spot with ease. Kris Bell secured 2nd place with his first run underflip 720. Mark Watson took 3rd spot with a heelside rodeo, Andy Duthie took 4th spot with a switch 540 and Neil Cruickshank finished in 5th place with a good solid backside 540 with a grab.

Matt Gibson took 1st place over Kris Bell and Mark Watson

Kris Bell relaxing his way to 2nd place

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Watson - Enjoying the view and taking 3rd place

 

  And now onto the Skiing!!!

In the under 10′s it was Finlay Jacobs that took first place for the third time this Carpet Burn Series holding off the competition with a sweet 360 grab off the kicker. Rory Cameron held off Keilan Bremner with a solid 180 off the table, while Keilan’s straight air off the kicker saw him take 3rd place.

Fin, Rory and Keilan on the podium

In the female 11 – 15′s it was 4 girls who shared the top 3 spots, showing just how closely they were all matched. Abby Miller came out on top though with a big Spread Eagle, just beating Erin Sharp who also took on the spread eagle trick. But there was no seperating Alice Brown and Catherine Jackson that took equal 3rd place as the judges could not seperate the quality of their straight airs.

Erin Sharp over the table top

Alice's big Spread Eagle of the Table Top for joint 3rd

In the male 11 – 15′s Angus Jacobs took 3rd place with a 360 grab off the kicker, Cameron Wood took 2nd place with a gutsy front flip off the kicker and Grant Donald securing 1st place with a Rodeo 720. It is now only 2 points that seperate Grant and Angus at the top of the leaderboard and so it is still definitely all to play for. No pressure guys.

The boys done good

Angus's 360 grabbing him 3rd spot

Grant flying towards 1st place

In the female over 16′s it was just Katie Boyd and Eloise Croy taking part and so it was a battle to see who would snag that 1st spot and who would have to settle for 2nd. Both of the girls decided to go with straight airs for their first jumps and scored fairly evenly with Katie just ahead. On the second run Katie went with a 360 to try and push for that 1st spot and Eloise rocked up with a second straight air. After the dust of battle had cleared it was Katie who had pipped Eloise to 1st place with her first straight air. Katie looks pretty safe at the top of the leaderboard, but you never know. Has anyone seen Beth Woodall? She used to compete didnt she?

In the male over 16′s the competition is definitely hotting up with a good few guys still in contention for the overall Carpet Burn Cup title. It was Adam Hunter who led the pack after the first run with a solid 540. Adam kept 1st place with his first run 540 but it was Finlay Langan who stormed up the placings into 2nd with a well executed backflip on his second run. Lewis Wilson took 3rd place with his 360 nose grab from the first run, Alex Isidoris took 4th with his Big 360 with mute grab on his first run. Andy Begg took 5th place with 540′s in his 1st and 2nd runs.

Two more rounds to go everyone and lost of points up for grabs and so make sure you are here for the skier/boarder X on Wednesday 8th June, AIR BAG practice session on Friday 24th June and then the AIR BAG Finale on Wednesday 29th June.

We wanna see all of you here, so make sure you get those dates in your diaries.

Also – REMEMBER – Every competitor that has 45 points or more will get into the AIRG BAG Final free of charge.

Thanks again to our sponsor Cotswold Outdoor, you can find them in Union Square and if you flash your membership card they’ll give you 10% off.

Clean Sweep From Fin!

Huge congratulations to Fin for his clean Sweep at the Brits, 4 events, 4 medals, two silver and two gold!! Looking at the results it seems that Fin and Jake Terry had a head to head battle throught the whole comp.

Kids – Boardercross

1st -  Jake Terry

2nd – Fin Bremner

3rd -  Tomski Robinson

 

Kids – Big Air

1st – Fin Bremner

2nd – Jake Terry

3rd -  Tomski Robinson

 

Kids – Halfpipe

1st -  Jake Terry

2nd – Fin Bremner

3rd -  Brandon Bow

 

Kids - Slopestyle

1st -  Fin Bremner

2nd – Jake Terry

3rd -  Brandon Bow

Looking forward to hearing all about it from the man himself.  Good work Fin.

 

The Medals Keep Coming…

Our latest on the news desk from The Brits 2011 being held in Laax.
Yesterday saw the Halfpipe action take place in glorious sunshine, with Fin bagging another Silver medal for his skills.

Fin with his Silver Bling

That’s his 3rd medal in three comps which is amazing, we are super proud of you Fin.  We are also super stoked for Ben Kilner our local hero for getting Gold in the Mens Halfpipe.  Ben has been recovering from various injuries this year and it is looking like he is back on form, fending off some tough competition from Dom Harrington and Dan Wakeham to take the Gold.

 

Ben Kilner with a supersized backside air

Ben is a great guy who kindly popped down the slope last summer to recount the inspiring story of his snowboarding career to our young rippers, you can read about it and see more of the photos here.

 

Story time with Ben Kilner last summer at the slope

 

Fin is, understandably a huge fan and I’m sure he’s stoked that he not only got to ride the same pipe as Ben but pose with their medals together.

 

Ben Kilner and Fin proudly wearing their halfpipe medals.

Next up it the Protest Slopestyle happening today as I write this.  Fingers crossed for a clean sweep for Fin.

Sno!Zone Scottish Freestyle Indoor Championships

Check out the footage from the Scottish Indoor Champs held at Sno!Zone.

 

Team Aberdeen Results

With some hot competition to contend with the Team did well and most importantly had a great time,  the Nike 6.0 stair set went down a treat.  Nice one guys.  Next up will be the Highlander rounds of the Freestyle Series so better get some snow time in…

Snowboard

Lara Wood – 3rd in the Womens combined

Emmet Strachan 3rd in the Jr Category

Fin Bremner 4th in the Jr Category

Ski

Grant Donald 3rd – Youth Category

Keilan Bremner 4th – Jr Category

Full listing of results can be found here.

A new welcome to the newcomers

This weekend is the start of the new block of lessons here at Aberdeen Snowsports Centre and with that means the end of the old block and some new red level graduates ready to join in to our Club programme.

The club programme follows a 6 weekly cycle to allow for the influx of newcomers and we’re here to say a big “welcome”.  As part of your training at club level we always want to know what your goals are for that session, this season, this year or next year!! We want to hear about what you like and what you would like.  Duncan Trilk, one of our regulars has drawn up a rad picture of the things he likes and the things he would like.

Check it out, click to make bigger…

We’d like to build a collection of these so get busy and hand them into reception, your coaches or to Beth.  We’ll display all pictures in the large cabin at the bottom of the tubing slope.

 

Carpet Burn Cup QP Round 1

Last Wednesday saw the first round of the Annual Carpet Burn Cup Series, a series of events that cover all aspects of skiing and snowboarding from freestyle to race.  This year has the new addition of a Airbag round which will double up as the all important final round.  With entry to each round competitors gain points depending on the position they place, as the series continues these points rak up on the leaderboard.

Round 1 was the quarterpipe round.  It was good to see some new faces trying out their skills on the QP, everyone is encouraged to enter and there are age catagories for all.

You can see the results here on the leaderboard.

Here are some photos from the night taken by Fraz Rennie but more can be found on our facebook page.

 

 

Retro Slalom at Cairngorm

Let's get retro

A fun event event open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages.

It’s time to rummage through your closet or in the loft and find that old ski suit your mum, dad or grand parents used to wear and track down where that old set of skis went or snowboard.  The older and more rad the gear the more time will be deducted from your runs.

Register on the day at the top of the course from 12.00. (look for the guys dressed in one piece suits!) Get 2 timed runs which will be tabulated and results will be available at 4pm in the Tbar cafe.

Prizes for the best time in each Catergory!

See you there and bring a mate who has camera.

 

Scottish Freestyle Series – Round 3 Review and Photos

Saturday the 15th of January saw the 3rd leg of the SNO!zone Scottish Freestyle Series visit the West of Scotland Snowsports Centre.  For this Scottish Artificial Championships event, organisers Snowsport Scotland made the most of the epic kicker and quarter pipe set up at Bearsden.

Glasgow’s weather did not disappoint (the riders anyway) as it lashed down rain all day.  The mat was running fast and the wind even faster – so the 40 athletes taking part really had to prepare for take-off!  Some riders had practiced and had a clear plan of what they were going to throw down – others like Emilia Vanni just rocked up having never hit the jump and started busting it out.  There was a strong contingent of Bearsden locals there defending their patch from Team Aberdeen, Bellahouston and other facilities throughout Scotland.  Props to our English friends the Robinson’s who also made the long journey up to take part.

The two local MC’s – Mitch and Lewis kept the crowd entertained with their witty banter and tune selection.  They were even busting out some of their own moves in an effort to shake off the Glasgow rain.

The organisers got the comp started following the usual 3 run, best run counts format.   Hector Barbour impressed everyone by consistently nailing rodeo 9′s to take top spot in the open skiing category.  Another local boy who has been dominating the series was Danny McCormick – he pipped Marc McClement to take top spot again this time.  It was a good day out for the Bremner duo, who as part of Team Aberdeen secured a first and second place – with Sam Gardner denying little Keilen a first place like his big bro.   The McCormick trio just about got a clean sweep but Alex Cameron pipped Chris to first place with a 1080.  Shout out to the younger riders (you know who you are) for whom it was their first ever comp – good skills guys we were all really impressed.  The comp finished with Mitch and Lewis throwing out some spot prizes for biggest straight air and some of the riders went HUGE.  There was also a sporty display from the Bearsden train team hitting the jump in quick succession. For the full results check out the link, http://snowsportscotland.org/uploaded/Steven%20/Bearsden%20Results%20for%20Web.pdf

One thing for sure is that the next round of the SNO!zone Scottish Freestyle Series will be a lot drier, as its the Scottish Indoor Championships at SNO!zone Scotland.  We are all really excited about this and looking forward to seeing the set up the park crew cook up for it. This should tee things up nicely for the Highlander events in March & April – with all the Scottish resorts having relatively good cover for January.    Big thanks to all our sponsors, SNO!zone Scotland, Armada Skis, Freeze Pro Shop, Synergy Snowsports & Boax Headwear and to West of Scotland Snowsports Centre for hosting the comp – we will see you on Saturday 19th of February for the next round.

All Photos : Derrick J Photography