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 Burton Black Metal Rail Jam
Promising to be a biggy. Castleford hosts its first Black Metal Rail Jam.
By Kat Miller Saturday 20th November saw the second leg of the Burton Black Metal Jam hitting Castleford. Upon finishing the trek up from "the South" We were unsure whether it was actually colder inside or outside the slope but the 20 minutes it took to get back into the car after the locks froze proved that it was definitely colder outside! The slope was well set out with a mix of toys provided by Castleford and by the Black Metal Team, at the top there was a jump on straight rail, then the Black Metal modular beast was set up mid-slope in a mild looking down-flat-down formation. I say mild looking because at MK the rail was about 6 foot high whereas this was much closer to slope level...a lucky move from my point of view as I had more than one slam during the evening as did many of the better riders. Also on the slope were the Magic fun-box, the Black Metal c-rails in a back to back set-up and Cas's 40 straight rail! The evening started with people warming up and sessioning the range of toys, with people slowly starting to give the monster kink a go. Despite it's mild looking exterior people were crashing off it left, right and centre as they struggled to cope with the fact that you couldn't see the initial down section as you rode up the kicker so you had to trust you'd lined up correctly and hope for the best. I was taught early on that not keeping straight on the first section leads to a world of pain, one boardslide to edge catch to somersault later and I was facing back up the slope in a slightly dazed condition! Luckily by the time the competition proper kicked off at about 9pm most people were starting to get the hang of it and were mostly staying upright. The way the rail was set up for the event meant that most people were sticking to boardslides, nose/tail presses and on rail spins although Steve Owen was trying to gap 270 to the bottom section, unfortunately he couldn't quite manage to stick the landing. The highlight of the evening had to be when a skier taking a lesson came right up to the side of the rail oblivious to the fact that it was there and that there was a rail comp going on and almost got sliced in two by the rider who was boardsliding it at the time. Luckily the boarder didn't get hurt and the skier ambled off without any thought to the chaos they'd almost caused. There was a good mix of riders and both men and women were ripping it up so it was a shame that the girls weren't given the opportunity to showcase their skills in the final, after the trial run at MK is was decided to make the final 10 up of the best riders overall rather than the top 10 men and then the best girls. So well done to Kat Hall, Kat Miller and all the other girls who were giving it their best shot. The ten finalists were as follows: Johnny Kurkham, Ed Gun, Ben Boston, Charlie Clark, Dan Breen, Steve O, Johnny Mosley, Ben McHugh, Colum Mitre & Lee Birkinshaw After a 15 minute break to give the guys a chance to get their breath back they started hitting the rail again for a further 20 minute jam session, more spinning and gapping ensued with more than a few slams occurring but luckily no one was seriously injured. The eventual winner of the 2nd trip to the Burton European Open was the 2nd placed rider from the MK leg Ed Gunn. So well done to Ed for consistent, impressive riding and shouts out to all the other finalists and anyone else who hit the rail throughout the evening. Cas & the Burton guys did a good job of setting up the slope and unlike MK the poma worked for the entire session so at least no one had to hike! It was just a shame that the music was the normal slope music rather than the Black Metal style stuff that had been played at MK, this meant that more than a few slope users weren't really aware of the comp and had a tendency to cut close to the riders on run-ins & exits. Apparently, the reason there wasn't any metal music was because MK's ATV crew's car, who were carrying the music, lost a wheel or something round about Junc 22 of the M1 and didn't get there. Next Saturday (27th) sees the final leg occurring at Tamworth Snowdome and although the configuration of the main rail has yet to be decided a little bird tells me that the c-rails re going to be come a long, sick, s-rail! Bring it on! From Burton The Burton Black Metal rail jam came to Castleford Xscape on Saturday eve. Progression was the word of the evening, lots of kids learning to boardslide through a kink, a lot of fun and way too much style. The Burton Demo crew were on hand with all the new shit shivering in the corner and everyone got their jib on and had a go. The Black metal rail was set up as a down flat down, as well as the introduction of the new C-rails split as a 'y' and the usual features at the Xscape including the flat down, and 10 metre flat , Hamish also had the idea for a gargantuan wall ride with the box standing vertically and a transition up to it but unfortunately this was nipped in the bud by the powers that be. Another time... The jam session lasted an hour and utilised all the features in the park, 10 riders were selected to progress into the final which focused on the down flat down and saw antics from Charlie Clarke and Johnny Russell frontsiding through the kink, Steve O gapping 270 to the down (over 7 metres gap), and Ed Gun who went on to claim his spot to the Burton European Open with amongst other tricks a clean 270 to front side through kink, he'd been trying all night and got it on his last hit. Ed will be joining the winner from the first of the Black Metal events Sam Cullum at the Burton European Open. They both have a place in the rookie slopestyle qualification with Burton hooking up their accommodation, lift pass and tickets for the final concert. European Open will be held in Laax, Switzerland from the 15th-22nd January. Check out www.burtoneuropeanopen.com The final Black Metal event will take place at Tamworth Snowdome on Saturday 27th November, from 27th November Tamworth 10pm-1.30am 08705 000011, one more spot for the European Open is up for the taking. Same deal, jam format event, register on the night. Listen to black metal. Thanks to Jez and TSA for hauling the rails across Britain, the Burton crew for enduring the bitter cold that is standing inside xscape for the best part of an evening and as ever Olly and Hamish for their blood sweat and tears building the course. Big thanks to all the riders and everyone that came and supported Burton Black Metal. See you at Tamworth. The Burton Black Metal Rail Jam event page can be administered by dunx (Dunx), stu (Stu Brass), spencer (Spencer Claridge) and office (Office). Page views: 7963 |
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