9:30pm N.Z.
The Montana Winter Carnival in Christchurch was set to rock for the Quarterpipe demonstration and competition in the square. Truckloads of snow were brought in (presumably from Mt. Hutt because nowhere else had any) for the comp, which consisted of a huge field of riders, each vying for the magnum of champagne and $500 at the end of it. 53 guys and 4 girls entered, making it the largest boarding comp of its kind ever to be run in the square.

The colourful compares for the night were Porter Heights star player Dave Mollard (making some beaut calls), and C93 and TV personality Chuck E. Shearer. With the crowd anxious for excitement the competition started around 7:30. It consisted of two jumps in the qualifying and semi finals, with knocking out to leave the best four in the finals. Early on, it was realised that the competition between the top few would be strong.
Kickin' beats were provided for the crowd members, ear splitting and bassy from a couple of RDU dj's. This accompanied the moderately high standard of boarding for the night. The jump, which has been touring the South Island a wee bit, consisted of a 20m run up into a ten foot quarter pipe.
Move of the night went to the winner Simon Raess (not a native of our land) for his crowd pleasing McTwist-to-disaster-to-crowdwave-to-olly. He pulled it off with definite style, and used that and his superior performance to win the competition. The winner of the womens event was Julianne Bray, pulling off smooth backside indy 180's and exhibiting some precision riding. The competition was tight in the womens section, and it must have been a hell event to judge.
All in all, an entertaining night, especially those that managed to get into the Montana tent and get a decent close up at the action. It'll be good to see it again next year.