ARD
SNOWBOARD
Army Championship 2009
Attendance at the event was slightly down from last year owing to last minute withdrawals of teams being surged out to Operations as well as some of the regular ‘stars’ of previous years also being deployed. Neither of these detracted from the event but it presented an exciting opportunity for newcomers to rise to the top. The events at the Championship follow the same profile as the Inter Services and Olympics: Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS), Snowboard X and a Freestyle event (in our case Slopestyle). The weather was particularly kind to us this year, with only two days being affected. This coupled with a strong hill team and a professional field of competitors meant the Championship ran without a hitch and strong performances were witnessed all round. The success of this year’s event could not have been achieved without the generous support of Nissan Export, Dare2B, Bern Helmets and BLOC Eyewear. Their generous provision of vehicles, clothing and equipment for the competitors helped add the finishing touches to the championships. Open Mens Competition The Open Mens Competition should have been a runaway victory for Capt Si Nicholson ATR(P): his selection for the GB development squad in the summer meant that, on paper, he was the hot favourite to win the overall individual title. However, after winning the PGS he came a cropper in the semi-finals of the Snowboard X (anyone remember the USA girl at the 2006 Winter Olympics?). The best he could manage was 5th and this meant the competition was wide open again. Especially as relative newcomer Spr Paul Crawshaw 35 Engr Regt, and SSgt John ‘the old sweat’ Craig 3 AAC were both competing well. The Slopestyle ultimately decided the outcome and the above three fought it out with some outstanding tricks, but Capt Si Nicholson proved too strong. Open Ladies Competition The Open Ladies Competition was a different affair all together. The absence of nearly all of the previous year’s Army team due to deployments meant that there were barely enough competitors to create a meaningful competition. This, coupled with some of those registered being unable to compete in all three events, created varied results and left the overall competition wide open.
Capt Naomi Ledger AGC(SPS) took victory in the PGS in a close run final against Pte Fiona Ross 225 Med Regt. However, Maj Pip Tattersall AGC (ETS) took the next two events, beating Cpl Denise Swift 228 Sig Sqn into 2nd place in both Snowboard X and Slopestyle. Fittingly, the overall champion went to Cpl Denise Swift, who managed to put in three solid performances across all three events. Novice Mens Competition The Novice Mens Competition was an exciting affair: no one individual being able to dominate. All the events were nailbitingly fought out and each event produced a different victor. This year was certainly the highest quality of novice competition seen to date, which bodes well for the future of Army Snowboarding. The nature of the Novice competition is such that the competitors improve exponentially with each event and Spr Cameron Baldry 38 Engr Regt set the pace with a convincing win in the Giant Slalom. Pte Michael Heffernan 1 LSR won the PGS, having finished 6th previously, and LCpl Doug Arnull won the Snowboard X having finished 20th on his 1st event. However, Spr Cameron Baldry managed to hold it together throughout the competition and took the overall champion position. Novice Ladies Competition The Novice Ladies Competition was stymied by a shortage of competitors. However, the standard of the top two riders ensured that despite lacking depth, the finals between Pte Kayleigh Preston 1 LSR and Gnr Gema Quinn 19 Regt RA were compelling. Pte Kayleigh Preston won the first two events, which was enough to take the overall champion, but it was hard fought all the way.
Inter Service Championships The Army Snowboarding Team travelled to Meribel in late January to compete in the Inter Service Championships (ISSSC 10). Last year, both the mens and the ladies teams had been hugely successful, winning a clean sweep in both competitions. With the absence of some of last year’s winning team members, the pressure was definitely on to be able to replicate this success. Fortunately the mens team was bolstered by the inclusion of Cpl Kev Clarke REME, who was using his R&R from Afghanistan to participate, and the ladies team saw the return of Maj Chrissie Elesmore Int Corps. However, after the PGS it was apparent the competition was not going to be a walkover event for either team. Parallel Giant Slalom The Mens PGS was dominated by the Army and RAF; unfortunately, despite Capt Si Nicholson and Cpl Kev Clarke coming 2nd and 3rd respectively, the RAF team’s faster qualification runs ensured they had the edge in the overall result. The same occurred in the Ladies PGS: Capt Rachel Beszant RE and Maj Chrissie Elesmore Int Corps finished 2nd and 3rd, but the RAF again won the event with their faster qualification times.