Cam

I would like to attend. I just booked the day off work and can finally make it. Please let me know what i have to do to get a spot thanks Cam

Uhhh i am gonna have to work extra hard this winter to help out my gear budget. Put me down for 1 pair. Might have an interesting BX application. Now i have to go hunting for what parts i already have. Finn Can you let us know when they appear in the Bomber store and what the price might be. Thanks

I tried Magna Traction last November and was not impressed. You can get the same quality edge hold by sharpening your edges when needed. The theory is to apply the same force (body weight etc) over a smaller area (the 5 points along the edge where it bows out). This is great in theory but there are some trade offs. When carving the increasing pressure (force over an area) results in digging deeper ruts; therefore, you displaces more snow (create more drag). I also found that any location of dramatic change in side cut creates a stress concentration where the board will flex more than at other locations along the board’s length. The result is inconsistent flex along the board’s length while carving. On a couple occasions one of bowed sections of the board lost contact with the snow. The board immediately became very unstable. When that section of the board regained grip with the snow the board would over-flex at that location. When it happened at the nose I ended going over the handle bars a few times. When it happened at the tail that board tended to overturn (fishhook carves). When it happened in the middle of the board the radius of the cave shortened dramatically (happened in moguls of drastically varied terrain). I found that Magna Traction did not work as well as a regular side cut radius with sharp edges. However for park riders who need dull edges for boxes or rails the increased pressure at five locations allows them to still carve between park features. For my riding style, where I tune my board often and spend a lot of my time carving on groomed runs, there are better boards out there.

I am Hard at Work Building my quiver back up after a fire which i got out with what i was wearing. Currently Ride-able: - 161 Nitro Misfit Wide for Teaching and park - 169 Never Summer Raptor X for freeriding - 170 Donek Saber Custom for BX - 172 Never Summer Summit for Powder (If anyone is looking for a pow board this is amazing, better then the Winterstick Tom Burnt I had, and every Burton and Mervin i tried, even works on Ontario Ice if you sharpen the edges) Alpine Boards (makes me nervous i dont have backups if i break something) - 166 Coiler NSR Custom Slalom - 189 Coiler NSR Custom GS I have about 10 other boards at my house that belong to other people that i am working on or moving Non-ridable melted - 2 x 189 Coiler Custom GS - 2 x 190 Coiler Custom GS - 2 x 166 Coiler Custom GS - 172 Winterstick Tom Burnt - 161 Nitro Misfit Wide - 3 x 169 Sims T Sims I hope to be adding a few more Alpine boards so i have back-ups.

Beaver Valley Snowboard Race Team Coaches: Cam Farrell, Nolan Tipping, Norm Weigert, Chris McQuillan, Maddy Lang, & Cam Wilson Location: Beaver Valley Ski Club, Markdale Ontario (just outside Collingwood), program in existence since the late 90’s. Riders have the chance to: freecarve, train in gates, and on a permanent Boardercross Course. Interclub Program: 5 day Christmas Camp, Weekends Jan through Mar 6. Race in Interclub Escarpment Series in Collingwood area. Target riders are seven years old and up. Development Program: Opportunity for Pre-season camps (Nov Colorado, Dec Stoneham), 5 day Christmas Camp, Fri – Sun Training Jan through Mar 13. Riders compete in AOS events in Ontario High Performance Program: Pre-season camps (Nov Colorado, Dec Stoneham), 5 day Christmas Camp. Riders can coordinate training with coaches any time between Dec 22 and Apr 10. Target Rider: FIS and NorAm athletes. Adult Race Team: 1 day Christmas camp and 8 weekend (Jan and Feb). Beaver Valley is a great place to train for riders of all ages and abilities. We offer a wide variety of training and completion opportunities in Alpine and Boardercross. We also have a lot of fun tearing a small Ontario hill to shreds. Cam Farrell Beaver Valley Ski Club Head Snowboard Race Coach E-mail: camfarrell at gmail.com Phone (Race Dept Office): (519) 986-2520 Ex 238

I have signed onto GigaTribe, and tried to add people, i am new to it so any help would be much appreciated. feel free to add me, user name: camfarrell What are their Up and download limitations? I have 40 gigs + of Footage i may post if people want it: 2010 Olympic Mens PGS Qualifying and Finals 2010 Olympic Womens PGS Qualifying and Finals 2010 Olympic Mens BX Finals 2010 Olympic Womens BX qualifying and finals 2010 Stoneham World Cup PGS, BX, and HP Some episodes of over the Bolt and other random stuff Let me know if you would like this shared Seb, i would really like to get some of your footage of the Canadian National team.

Hi Guys i just got gigatribe. Would you guys mind if i added you i would really like to get more world cup and training footage. Feel free to add me i will be posting some helmet cam footage soon. My user name is camfarrell thanks a lot

As a coach i plan to go out to Colorado for about a month this October and November to test the new equipment in alpine, boardercross, and freeride applications.. I am looking forward to trying the Bomber and Donek Plate systems and compare them to what i have been riding. I have been a convert to the Vist system for 2 or 3 years now and am intersted to see the evolution. My initial feeling is new riders to plates will have to get used to a lot less feedback and almost a dead feeling (for those of us in Ontario used to bone chattering ice). Riders i have put on Vist plates took a few days of freeriding to get used to the feel and weight, but once they were comfortable with them loved the system in gates, and I have to get my plates back from my riders (they wont give them back). I absolutely agree with Neil that riders must first get comfy with any change to their set up before jumping into gates. As far as techniques and drills i found just allowing my riders to explore the new equipment and discover what is possible on their own has been pretty successful. Most of the time in am encouraging them to trust in the gear more and not be as tentative.

I find it interesting they exclude a lot of accidents "After excluding injuries from jumps, half-pipe and collisions<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="3" class="inlineimg"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->" I would like to know what the numbers of accidents related to those crashes are in comparison to what was counted. I do agree that taking a lesson to start off helps get rid of bad habits before they start. However there are no detailed numbers of riders who took lessons versus riders who did not. As a coach and Instructor get a bit nervous telling people how to fall. I wonder if I am opening myself to any liability. Main observation i can make is sliding is better then a direct impact. A lot of injury prevention comes down to training yourself to reduce the number of crashes you take. But realizing that crashes and injuries happen and try to lessen their severity. The biggest issue i have seen to cause injury is just poor decision making. And i have been guilt of this on many occasions, and have the X-rays, hospital records and body hardware to prove it. Cam

<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="3" class="inlineimg"></o:smarttagtype>Sidewinder Review: This may get a little long-winded, sorry, but this is what happens when you give something new to a snowboard coach who studied engineering in university. <o></o> My info: Height: 5’11” Weight” 285 lbs Boards: Coiler Custom GS Metal 189 cm with waist of 22.5 cm (very stiff), Coiler Custom SL Metal 166 cm with waist of 23.5 cm (scary stiff). Riser: Vist Plates on both Boots: Technica Diablo Pro Ski Race Boots - modified (tried snowboard boots and broke a pair every couple weeks – ski boots will almost last a season) Binding Set-Up: Front: Flat, 62 degrees - Back: 3 degrees of heel lift, 57 degree, stiff red base E-Ring. Riding history: Since mid 90’s, balance between plates and softies while coaching, try to get at least 100 days on snow each year. Historically I have spent my plate riding on TD1’s, then TD2’s, then TD3’s with trying F2’s here and there. Sidewinder set-up: Blue/Purple Elastomers in the sole blocks (mid stiffness). Days on sidewinders: 30+ <o></o> First impressions: With the SW’s I definitely notice more lateral movement, and this is very new to me. Riding one-footed is a little tougher especially on my heelside (I do a lot of one-foot riding while coaching and setting courses.) <o></o> Once both feet are clipped in I noticed the lateral movement allowed me to get my center of mass into the turn at initiation before the edge really grabs. This means that once the edge did grab I could build pressure very quickly. Leading to the ability to build pressure quickly in the top half of the turn, and accelerate better above the fall line. Also as mentioned many times before the vibration-dampening is great and felt smooth. <o></o> Comparing the SW’s to regular TD3’s: I find the SW’s more dense than the TD3’s, and less twitchy at turn initiation and completion. I also found that the Elastomers in the sole blocks allow the pressure on the edge to build progressively. Regular TD3’s would grab instantly; F2’s had a bit of a dead feeling when the rider’s center of mass is over the board as if they were loose then grabbed once they got into the turn. I much prefer the progressive edge pressure build of the SW’s. <o></o> I am a big fan of the ability to change Elastomers and alter the flex of the binding without tempting ejection. I think if a young rider starts with the softest Elastomers they can grow with the bindings and change to stiffer Elastomers as they gain muscle. I had a 12 year old 90 lb aggressive rider on the SW’s and a 160 cm metal board and he took to the setup like a fish to water. We just had to switch to all the softest Elastomers we could get. The ability to dial in the lateral stiffness is a big plus. I am experimenting with using different sole block Elastomers on the arch versus the outside of the foot. I would like to mess with it more before I comment on it, but having the option to do this is cool. As far as reliability this is the first year I have not broken a pair of bindings, ever. Great work Finn & Co. The design of relying on an elastomer that should be compressed versus relying on metal or plastic fatigue to create lateral flex is brilliant. I was initially concerned with having moving parts within the binding creating locations where concentrated fatigue may occur. But no problems yet. <o></o> As far as height off the snow and weight I did not notice a difference between TD3’s and SW’s. I think this is due to my use of the Vist plates. Adding a few grams when my set-up weighs numerous kilo’s, or 2 mm of height when I am already jacked off the snow 5 cm are not significantly different. <o></o> Issues:<o></o> Larger sole blocks covered the angle adjustment screws (as mentioned before). This is a little issue that took a couple more minutes to set-up; but became annoying when I am trying to let lots of people try them out. <o></o> The screws for mounting the sole blocks to the base plate are obscured a little by the upper part of the blocks. This just takes more care in set-up to make sure they are seated correctly in the screw-head cut-outs on the blocks. <o></o> On two occasions the sole block Elastomers slid out of position. All of a sudden I had way more lateral movement then I wanted. I am not sure if this can be fixed with a slight redesign of the how the Elastomers are seated in the sole blocks. Keep an eye on them, and if there is any movement break out the C-Clamp to fix it. <o></o> Price: $449 USD for the SW’s or $349 USD (Bomberonline Price), versus $292 USD for F2 Titanium or $254 USD for the Ibex Speed TC from another website (prices are approximations using currency conversions – I am not trying to advertise or break any posting rules, I am just trying to show pricing differences. Please let me know if this violates anything and I will be happy to edit it). The price difference has been raised as a concern to me from thrifty parents (I am not going to say cheap). My feeling on this concern is - you get what you pay for. Given the wear and tear I put gear through, I would fully expect Sidewinders to last the average rider years and years, while other bindings tend to break or fatigue. <o></o> Final Recommendations:<o></o> I would strongly recommend the SW’s for anyone still using Ski boots (if there is anyone out there besides me). With the variability in the design a rider can grow with the bindings. The Bomber durability and manufacturing quality keep me coming back year after year. If someone is looking for bindings to last the next 3+ season that still has lateral movement SW’s are your best choice. They are also great for aggressive riders, looking to accelerate above the fall line. I have made the switch to the Sidewinder’s (at least until Finn’s next breakthrough). They are the best pair of bindings I have ridden yet. I have two pair now, and the set that aren’t clipped into my boots have the tendency to magically appear on one of my riders boards. All the feedback I have gotten from people who have ridden them has been positive, and they want them, now we just have to see if they will spend the money. <o></o> <st1>Cam</st1><o></o>

Yeah i know Dave. I had a chance to ride with him years ago at Whistler, and when i am out west i try to meet up with him for a BEvERage or a few runs when we can. I am going through some of my old pictures and might post a couple of us in the pictures thread.

I can remember watching Darren Gardener at 7 on a Burton Factory Primes 135 cm ripping it like that. He is doing OK now (Team CSC, Canadian Development team, on his way to NZ for Youth Champs), and 3rd at Canadian Nationals. The biggest issue now is to make sure he doesn't burn out and still loves to be on the hill in a decade.

I Agree with Banning speed suits, and not just because i look so fantastic in one (note the sarcasm) For younger riders, in Ontario, Quebec, the Yukon, and other Northern (Cold) locations, frostbite and hypothermia are a very serious concern. Also when it used to be 2 runs you could bring a spare jacket, have it at the bottom of the hill and get warm as soon as you were done your run. Now with PGS and up to 10 runs the jacket hide and seak becomes tough. Another issue could be: when people crash do they slide further in a speed suit or in a jacket or pants? And now that we are racing side by side will this decrease the chance of a rider crashing and sliding into the course of their competitor? I do think that using the reason of keeping to the spirit of snowboarding is disingenuous. This is a race, so riders should want to go as fast as they can against their competitors. If all aren't wearing speed suits i am cool with it. But i want to avoid having someone standing at the top of the course with a ruler pinching peoples pants and shirts saying that they have 5 cm of bag, when they need 8 and are disqualified. This can be done as long as we are all reasonable about it.