Kate FosterDay two of The BRITS saw the best of British pipe riders go head to head in the Dare2b Snowboard Halfpipe Championships. Blazing sunshine, a perfect pipe and MC James Thorne’s banter created a party atmosphere for spectators who were treated to some outstanding riding with Henry Shackleton and Kate Foster taking home the gold. It was good to see an increase in the number of kids competing, the youngest being seven year-old Lewis Hopkinson, showing that British halfpipe riding has a very bright future ahead.

The women were first up and competition was fierce with the ladies going big and riding consistently all day. Following a strong competition year Becky Menday showed how much she has progressed as an all-round rider by taking third place with a flawless run of back to back 360s. Katie Ormerod synched second place by boosting out of the pipe and stomping a front 360 to cab 360. For the third consecutive year Kate Foster walked away with gold with a run that included a huge method, mute and a big styled out frontside 360.

In the men’s category, Olympian Dan Wakeham became the first person in British halfpipe history to podium in both disciplines, following his third place yesterday in the master’s category of the ski pipe competition. Today his amplitude and huge frontside crippler were enough to secure him another third place finish. Pipe veteran James Foster showed the younger riders the standard they need to get to, combining old school style with new school tricks to take second place. First place went to Henry Shackleton, who showed how much his riding has matured and progressed over the last couple of years with a clean run that included back to back 5s, a frontside 7 and a massive frontside 9. The 18-year-old has been on the scene for a few years now and with this gold medal he has now had his first major competition win.


Dan Wakeham - his 42nd Silver in the halfpipe at Brits

A special mention goes to all the young riders who entered, undaunted by the size of the pipe which dwarfed some of them - Tomski Robinson regularly cleared the lip on some smooth airs and Nathan McGrath showed he is one for the future by landing an alley oop mctwist in his final run. It was a great day’s riding and everyone had a good time, quickly descending on the mountain bar for the après reggae barbeque party as soon as the competition was over for a well-earned beer (or squash)!

British Dare2b Snowboard Halfpipe Championships Results

Men
1st – Henry Shackleton
2nd – James Foster
3rd – Dan Wakeham

Women
1st – Kate Foster
2nd – Katie Ormerod
3rd – Becky Menday

Don’t forget to check out the BRITS 2012 daily webcasts and picture galleries at www.the-brits.com, where you will be able to check out the Snowboard and Freeski action from the previous day’s competition.

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Protest, Trespass, Dare2b, Snow+Rock and Nooka. Media partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, Ski Club of Great Britain, Metrosnow.co.uk, In The Snow and Snowboardclub.co.uk. Destination partners: Switzerland Tourism and LAAX. Governing Bodies: TTR, AFP, WSF and BSS.

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