Rob Smith

We do have 5 riders (averaging 13) in a race program. Gord M & Brian D are still there, mostly inside. We have 7 or 8 regular hard booters and that many again, occasional riders.

is looking good! Given how many of our Ontario Team riders have retired or moved up I was concerned about filling the gap. No fear, Mike Towers and Dave have a full team (14 or so); average age, about 15. I was riding at Mansfield today and checking in with "the team"; I was thoroughly impressed with the caliber of talent. I'm curious as to how many clubs have "in house" race programs?

"it's better to burn out than fade away" - N.Y. (you can option the " ' ")

What are we doing up at this hour? I'm 53!

I met Jeff Cooper (crave2carve) at Blue yesterday, he expressed an interest in training. As a CASI member he may be interested. He is inspiring to ride with, great skill level and brings the spark and agility of an 18 yr old to the hill. I'm interested as long as the timing fits a 5x7 pass.

for the info on Graham, I'm encouraged to see "the little one" dispatch my misguided weight requirement for SBX riding. My ski background sometimes warps my opinions. I should know better, I was talking to Matt Morrison last spring, offering up "I guess Fawcett wants you to gain weight" (he's about 160 lbs) - no...

Just watched the course clip. Looks like there were a lot of slalom gate turns? Safety is important, however... This course would appear to favour (cdn) "first out" and makes passing extra challenging. A rider weight of 185 lbs + may have been the ticket. I know its hard to build a good course early in the year. Good sbx design tries to avoid turning gates - with out a bank because the riders tend to end up single file.

Italy; World Cup GS A junior last year. Already 4 WC podiums!

in Calgary, we should get together here too... - run gates? - carve and have a beer, for sure. They are getting a training lane at COP wkly under the lights. How many of us have 5x7's? My guess is we would need at least 10 or 12 riders to set gates. We could also enquire with local race teams to see if they are training week nights & join in. Derek N. used to train his team Tues. nights. at Blue. However carvin in a pack works for me.

"what looks like the lead rider throws his arm out hitting the #2 rider, (who's trying a pass on the hole shot)" If the thrashing arm is just that... no foul. Rider #1 &4 go through. Phil got that option. However, - the gate judge did see an infraction. An intentional push. - the protest was from rider #2

really hurt my knees. The higher angles on a board require more knee angulation, like skiing. The pressure developed on a board (on my knees) is much greater than on skiis. For me, a wider board & lower angles = no knee pain & bettter riding!

Ok, there's no snow, (in Ontario) the count down is on, we think about... An sbx heat, you are a gate judge; 4 riders on course. You hear on the radio they have cleared the station above you,you are excited. The riders come into site, they are tight, you can't make out individual riders,they're rippin through the berm... what looks like the lead rider throws his arm out hitting the #2 rider, (who's trying a pass on the hole shot) #2 sketches out taking rider #3 off his line just enough for rider #4 to pass. The heat continues to completion with ( at the time of the possible infraction) Rider # 1 in First place, rider #4 in Second place, #3 in Third place & #2 in Forth. There is a protest. Only 2 riders can go through. The next heat is in the gate waiting to go. What happens now? This senario is not unusual; maybe it happened at a NorAm race... I'll let you know how it might have been called... lets hear some feed back.

It's great to see a thread en Francais

06 - broken arm (Caledon GS) 07 - out of town sbx race (not me, our son) 08 - good to go!

"Duck" sucked

We in Canada have converted the last (3 or 4) hard booters who have achieved advanced (NorAm) status to "not so soft" gear. I'm strictly a hard boot rider (my son was too), however I've seen the results. These athletes are riding forward forward stance and carving like us... The WC course features are not favouring the hard boot set up. The NorAm circuit (last year) still had some "banked slalom" courses. I believe we will see fewer of those in the future. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm. Go fast, have fun.

Sbx courses vary widley. This season saw high speed banked GS to wootang after wootang. For an olympic event, the cource construction is bush league. There is very little to no help on cource construction. The legal threat of liability destroys any atempt of colaberation. Many elite sbx riders in Canada are hard boot trained. Our national coaching team are leaning strongly to soft gear. My thoughts of Apollo on hard gear; the banked GS format would favour him. His ability to read the field, see the opportunity and instantly take advantage are real, if he aquires the required skills. The big disadvatage on this cource is his lack of wieght. I believe these carving cources favour 180 lb.+ riders. The highly technical cources (perhaps the future) require amazing flexability, flight balance & carving skill. I believe a hybrid gear set up of soft & hard gear will soon rule the sbx circuit.

Coming east will share the fun /info with a lot of us who for various reasons can't make it west for this event. In Ontario, the first w/e in March includes club races & our Provintials. Usually the second week is "spring break", a week to avoid many / most resorts. Perhaps late Feb?

OK I'm bias. I'm going on record two weeks early. There is one powerfull Canadian Team, both GS & SBX going to Austria. I wish all our North American Athletes the best.

This w/e is the Canadian SBX Championship / NorAm. The best; and up and coming are there, to earn pionts to get to the Olympics... Going head to head with other events is counter productive. I believe promoting all snowboarding events is ultimately good for us. We have a history of going in multiple directions. Part of our appeal & challenge.

Our son Pierce just won the Canadian Junior SBX Championship. No doubt the fact he started his race career on plates in gates contributed to his success today.

Hey Pat, you are having fun on that pitch. Thats what its all about. We younger riders need the proof, that we to can aspire to riding for years to come.

I was racing a 185, 15m Klug board up till last Jan. (breaking my arm on course) Fast foreword to this winters race season. Lost my mojo. Borrowed my son's 178, 14m Prior, peace of cake. Mojo back. At 53 (192 lbs) I feel young again! Oh Ya, Races in Ontario approx. $60 / race, including lift ticket. These are serious races (FIS spec.) including, pgs w/professional start gates, CSF TD & averaging about 40 racers. We also have a recreational race series (rookies & younger racers) that average about 35 racers

on this thread. Knowing your board is pristene, is very motivational. I've also seen riders on soggy, rusty, pitted, scarred boards make love to a ride, even a race course...

Hey Guys, I'm guessing you have all the "inside" dope on Cypress Mtn. I'm with the Association of Ontario Snowboarders. My son rides with the Ontario SBX team. We have 2 NorAms there late March (postponed from Feb.) These races are the required "break in" races in prep. for 2010. I've seen summer footage of the (earth work) construction on the course. Have they built a course yet? Are you impressed? Last years Grouse mtn. races where cancelled, lack of snow. Is Cypress more dependable? The NorAm coures this year (Tremblant, Copper & Big White) have been marginal at best... I hope Jeff Ihaksis is at his best for this project. I look foreword to your imput.