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AIM Series, Best of British
UK’s snowboard and freestyle ski elite will compete in the Orange AIM Series Big Air Invitational, “Best of British”.
[Press Release from Soul Sports Events] Over 1500 people watched as UK’s top snowboarders and freestyle skiers showcased the high standard of British talent in the Orange AIM Series, in association with O’Neill, “Best of British” Big Air Invitational at the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show, 15th October 2004. The invited 12 snowboarders and eight skiers were called in for an early start on the Friday morning for their practice run on the show’s 7 metre Vert-table jump. For some of the riders and skiers it did take a few jumps to get used to the set up but soon they were all showing just why they had been invited. The competition then kicked off with the afternoon qualifiers. All competitors had two runs to impress the judges. Based on their best jump only six snowboarders and four skiers would then go on to the evening’s best-of-two-jump final, followed by a one-jump super final between the top two riders and skiers. First up were the skiers who were pulling 3’s and 5’s with a variation of grabs and tweaks. It was to no surprise that 12 yr old Murray Buchan brought down one of the biggest cheers as he landed his 360 with total ease proving that even small men do great things! Other strong skiers were Mike Wakefield, Paddy Graham and Eddie Thelwell, who all together with Murray made it in to the evenings final. In the snowboard qualifiers it was soon clear that the trick of choice was the backside 7. Some of the riders found the narrow run-in a little too narrow and caught their board at take off which provided for a few scary moments as Sam Cullum almost cleared the side of the landing, spraying the audience below with snow and Dom Harington ending up in the Vert ramp! With so many good riders under one roof the competition was tight and the judges had a tuff job selecting the finalists who in the end were; Stu Edwards, Dom Harington, Scott McMorris, Ryan Davis, Dan Wakeham and Sam Cullum. For the finals the 1500 seats in the live action arena quickly filled up and many spectators took over the gangways around the jump, cheering on the competitors as the level of riding was nothing short of incredible. Again the skiers started the show. Mike Wakefield, the king of the inverts, was pulling d-spins, while Murray Buchan nailed a 7and Paddy Graham a switch 5. After the two jumps it was pretty clear that Mike and Paddy were in the one-run super final. In the snowboard heat Scott McMorris and Dom Harington stood out with both their clean and stylish backside 7’s but met stiff competition from Ryan Davis who stomped a confident 5 nosegrab. With all three ending on equal points they were head to head in the super final. With the title depending on just the one jump the super finalists got ready at the top as all the other finalists displayed a rapid fire of tricks to the delight of the public. This time the snowboarders went first and Dom Harington set the pace with his backside 7, followed by a super clean cab 5 nosegrab from Scott McMorris and a frontside 5 nosegrab from Ryan Davis. Then it was straight on to the skiers. Paddy Graham stomped another 7 and Mike Wakefield rounded off the Best of British event with the first ever D-spin 9 performed in the UK, which earned him the loudest cheer from the crowd and total respect from both skiers and snowboarders alike. After confirming the scores with the organisers the judges handed over the results to compeer duo extraordinaire Ed Leigh and Christian Stevenson, who then announced that the winners of the Orange AIM Best of British competition 2004, taking home a trip for two to the Orange Brits, were Scott McMorris and Mike Wakefield. The Orange AIM Series, in association with O’Neill, Best of British competition was only possible with the support of our sponsors; Orange, O’Neill, Vans, ThirtyTwo, Trespass, Helly Hansen, Whitestuff, Xscape and Snowlife.org.uk. The AIM Series, Best of British event page can be administered by dunx (Dunx), stu (Stu Brass), spencer (Spencer Claridge) and office (Office). Page views: 8841 |
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