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C0ck of the North
 Two jam sessions with a three man final. Two finals: one on the big air and one slope style.
This Halifax competition was different, not just because there was a giant feathery chicken walking around, for once the sunshine disappeared and it chucked it down on several occasions throughout the day, anyone who has been to one in the last few years will know Fax comps are renowned for their baking sunshine. And anyone who knows a Snowflex slope knows how quick it gets with a healthy dose of monsoon weather!! What was not different was the fantastic riding that went down, the friendly vibe, mellow tunes, and chilled MCing. The Fax slope was about to see some 5s, 7s, and 9s get thrown down with a healthy dose of Jibbin on the metal. The Cock O’ The North was on. Turning up early the local crew were bleary-eyed but willing to get stuck into getting the slope ready, the rails in place, the banners flying, and the sounds pumping. As the morning drew on the sense of excitement became tangible, more and more riders were turning up with a strong contingent from nearby Sheffield (including a fair few skiers who were determined to show what they could do even if they could only enter the team event). The practice went well, then the music kicked in, the bibs were put on and the jam session got underway. One of the things that really made the day was the decision to hold a jam session as a qualifier for the finals leading to the super final. This meant that everyone irrespective of ability could get involved and have their chance to impress, but at the same time there was no real pressure on people preventing them from trying a few more off the wall tricks, literally! Mark Hartley deserves special mention for his continued attempts to get himself as upside down as possible off the quarter pipe (for which he also deservedly took home the title of best slam after putting his face straight into the top of the quarter). The crowd kept it going as well despite the odd downpour of torrential rain, and having to run for cover. Very thoughtful of the Rome guys to bring their tents along, although I am not sure that keeping everyone dry is exactly what they had in mind. With the Finals underway the level of riding from those who had qualified simply got higher, more spins, more inverts, more rail slides, more fun to watch. Fax has a great kicker, its well known. But with a C-rail, a Flat Down, a Gas Pipe and the permanent Quarter there was plenty going off for people to watch. Then it was all over, and the judges went off to make their decision as to who was going to the superfinal. But before that time for some light hearted fun in the team event, and a proper crowd pleaser it was to. However at the end of the day the skiers laughed longest and loudest. No one could take it away from the ski team from Sheffield; it was obvious they ride every day together. No one else was going as close to each other off the kicker and certainly no other team managed to have virtually three or four people in the air at the same time inverted. They got the win they deserved. Not that the boarders were not doing some fancy stuff of their own, the human rail consisting of three Halifax groms lying on their fronts with the bases of their boards lined up above their backs (still attached to their feet) parallel to the floor gave competition organiser Wayne Taylor a chance to get out on the slope himself and make the crowd cheer, sliding across all three groms boards off the mini kicker. The AKA crew is born…just in time for Wayne to try and kill them in front of everyone! If he is not careful no one will come to his shop, AKA, when it opens in August in fear of their safety. Superfinal time. Team event over the crowd were all excited for the big one, only for the heavens to open up. However when it eased off a bit we were left with a super fast slope and some damn fine riders ready to put it down. Following on from the chilled jam session this was the tense nailbiter that gets the crowd going and a great comp demands. The guys and gals were stomping just about every trick with three runs each to prove their mettle. Mollie Percival, although it may not be a surprise, took the women’s title with some solid 3’s. Alexia Batt and Deborah Yeadon tying for joint second. Highlights in the junior section were Jamie Nicholls bs9, which even he seemed super stoked about, never mind the crowd, when he stuck it clean earning him second, and Richard Campbells super corked and pretty damn technical bs7 tail grab which took him the junior title. And although he came third on the day everyone can see Matt McWirter (david bennedick look alike) is catching them up. Onto the senior men, and the level was high, both Col Mytton and Richard Tyas stuck some fine corked 7’s to earn themselves joint second. It was Matt Gibson from Sheffield though who took the title with some of the most stylish corked madness seen all day, amp’ing up the difficulty of grab, and getting more inverted than anyone else with his bs7 nose grab’s. Even more pleasing was the fact that everyone had seen Matt arrive earlier in the day, and go progressively bigger and cleaner every run, and whisper to each other that he might pull it off and take the title. Come the final he didn’t disappoint going off the scale and sticking two sick runs together. Well won Matt. But a big shout out to all the riders and all the crowd for making it a great day, and a mention for Katie Ormarod taking the junior girls title, 3-foot something of snowboardings smallest ripper, and little Will Smith for pint sized determination and skill, two more Halifax groms charging their way through. Oh and the guy who was brave enough to wear the chicken costume and make a fool out of themselves [Ed - that was our own Matt-Wildrness], well done to him as well. And to round up, congratulations to Jamie Nicholls for taking home the Cock O’ The North trophy for being the overall champion and most impressive rider throughout the day. Going huge, throwing 9’s and he is still just eleven! [Words by Matt Shannon] Despite the rain, this was another fine day on Halifax's SnowFlex; a venue that has never failed to impress me for the quality of the slope, riding, spectators and general vibe. To see the riders going bigger and bigger throughout the day was really great and this sort of event can't but fail to push UK boarding onwards and upwards. One of the biggest smiles was from Rik Tyas when he stomped his 7 on his second ever attempt during the super final. Talk about claiming it! Seeing Jamie Nicholls grabbing and spinning to win is always awe inspiring. He stomps every single one and I can never be quite sure whether I'm missing something. Is snowboarding really as easy as he makes it look? Also seeing people like Richard Campbell, who only started boarding a few years ago as part of the AIM Series Schools Tour, killing it for the under 16s was great and I'm sure there's a huge crowd of riders on the day who are stoked on having such a great slope and scene at Halifax and having the opportunity to impress. Well played to everybody who rocked up and enjoyed the show. The four hours it took me along a hellish M1 out of London was more than worth it. A big fist of nuff respec-t to the Wayne and his team of helpers, all the sponsors (which included SCUK of course) and especially the riders and spectators who made it another great day at Halifax. Expect another event later in the year. [More words by Dunx] The C0ck of the North event page can be administered by dunx (Dunx), stu (Stu Brass), spencer (Spencer Claridge) and office (Office). 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