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BURTON JAM 2002 |  |
2001 Jam |  |
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| Cardrona
. NZ. |
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Brought together by Burton NZ, this event
showcases the talent that oozes from the top level of Kiwi riding,
including Male and Females, Junior and Senior alike. Held for the
first time last year at Cardrona, this years Jam was looked at as
an opportunity to raise the bar on what has been seen in NZ freestyle
snowboarding until now ..... and so it did! With Cardrona pulling together the most impressive and easily the biggest halfpipe to date in NZ, mother nature kindly providing a perfect bluesky day without a breath of wind, DJ's on the mountain serving up pumping vibes and the full complement of the country's rippers amping to take it apart, the stage was set for a no holds barred expression session that proved to be epic. Due to the events non-competitive format, all of the riders are able to let their minds run free and ride uninhibited by the restrictions of judges, stiff riding formats or 'average' riding facilities. In this riding environment, it was easy to see the riders were relaxed, excited and simply stoked to be able to ride together, and feed off each others energy run after run. With the pressure to 'perform' lifted from their shoulders, they boosted higher and ripped harder. Some of the riders who have not experienced a 'super-pipe' before consistantly stepped-up as each run went by and they began to feel the larger transitions out, while those who have had the priviledge of riding super-pipes overseas lead by example. As the DJ pumped up the volume on the beats pulsing up the pipe, so to did the riders crank up the level as the session really gathered momentum. With the Burton NZ Team providing the backbone of riding talent, there were plenty of other invited rulers from all over the country rounding out a who's who of current Kiwi stompers. With the girls and juniors riding with the big boys, and all of the riders supporting each other, the progression curve was a steep one for many of the riders over the course of The Jam. A real healthy vibe was running through the scene, and the freedom to try new moves and get more air had many of the riders learning new tricks (or doing ones they already have in the bag twice as big!) right in front of your eyes. This ability to create a progressive scene is unique to The Jam, and gives everyone a taste of the amazing power of getting together with your friends, and pushing the riding limits together, just for the love of it! With the action rolling constantly for over 2 full hours, and often having 3 or more riders in the superpipe at once, highlights almost all melted into one continuum of impressive riding. That said, we should mention a few shining moments like: - junior rider Mitchell Brown consistantly boosting well over head high, smooth and styling all day - the Jackways brothers drifting solid and sizable airs all afternoon, hit after hit - Quentin Robbins first hit switch 720's that simply got bigger every time he dropped in - Dylan Butt showing the style that took him to the podium at the last US Open quarterpipe competition - All of the girls, who stepped up and rode hard and went higher with each run - The juniors (grommet power!!) letting us see that the future is looking bright for NZ riding - Jacob Koia's Crippler which left everyone slack-jawed when he finally re-entered legal airspace - Aaron Jamieson getting super tech and inverted between mondo straight airs - Reon Morland dropping into (and sticking it) the superpipe on a snowskate - the riders all hooting as one everytime another mind bending move was stomped home...... Aside from the Jam, there was a snowskate demo held in the morning, with NZ'd first snowskate park being constructed with jumps, quarterpipe, rails and funbox to show the possibilities on the skateboard inspired snowskates. Then after the Jam, all of the crew gathered at Da Funk in Wanaka to celebrate the amazing day that was had by all....and the party that followed was almost as epic as the event itself! So, The Jam is here to stay as the best look at the world class riders we have here in NZ, and with another one scheduled for early October at Turoa in the North Island, all we can say is.........Bring It On! Big thanks to the sponsors that made The Jam such a success, including Vodafone, Cardrona Alpine Resort, Gravis Footwear, Nixon Watches, Anon Optics, Da Funk in Wanaka and of course the Burton NZ crew. |
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| REACTION |
| RECENT EVENTS |
The Jam 2001 Cardrona Website HigherGround Website Winterfest BigAir |
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