2014 SNOWBOARDER MARQUEE EVENT PORTFOLIO
SUPERPARK 18: From the 7th to the 11th of May, 2014, Mt. Hood Meadows, Oregon provided the setting for Superpark 18, an annual event gathering that is renowned as being the most progressive showcase of next-level snowboarding talent and terrain in the world. According to SNOWBOARDER Magazine Creative Director, Pat Bridges, “There is nothing stock about Superpark. The terrain is more challenging, tricks more innovative, and depth of talent significantly deeper than you will see at any other contest or photo shoot on Earth.” Sage Kotsenburg, Frank April, Sebastien Toutant, Louif Paradis, Bryan Fox, Jamie Lynn, Peetu Piiroinen, Desiree Melancon, Jake Welch, Hana Beaman, and Red Gerard were a few of the notables who made their way to Mt. Hood for the eighteenth iteration of this legendary session. Joining Mt. Hood Meadows in creating the the Superpark 18 venue were elite terrain park creators visiting from Keystone, Colorado; Seven Springs, Pennsylvania; and Boreal, California’s Woodward Tahoe. In addition to the full compliment of SNOWBOARDER Magazine video and photo staff members who were gathering material for daily online updates, a live webcast, social media updates, an international TV show, and a dedicated magazine issue, over one hundred media luminaries representing Videograss, Keep the Change, Yobeat, Onboard, Pleasure, MBM, Brothers Factory, ESPN, Deja Vu, and more were on-site to capture all of the action. With over thirty-five hours of riding occuring over five days, Superpark 18 was a resounding success, with everyone in attendance agreeing that this oneof-a-kind media event is an ideal way to end the season on the highest of notes.
MS SUPERPARK 2014: In 2005 SNOWBOARDER Magazine created MS SUPERPARK to provide the top slopestyle starlets in snowboarding with a progressive session that they could call their own. With features specifically designed and sculpted to the needs of the snowboarding worlds best women, MS Superpark accelerated the evolution of trickery while facilitating comradery amongst this valued community. MS SUPERPARK celebrated its 10th anniversary from April 15 -18, 2014 at Mammoth Mountain, California. With an ecclectic cross section of women’s snowboarding icons including Olympic Medalists and media centric standouts MS SUPERPARK 2014 featured the most esteemed turnout of talent in the sessions decade long history. For four days nearly 100 ladies from over a dozen countries strapped in to produce some of the most inspiring imagery ever captured on film and pixel. With attendees from Ireland, Denmark, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Norway, Canada, Estonia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Holland and France MS SUPERPARK broke down borders to push the bopundaries of women’s freestyle.
Hipwreckers: Less technical than quarterpipes but loftier than even the poppiest booters hips have emerged as snowboarding’s preeminant platform to showcase a riders style. Being able to send it sky high with a perfect tweak takes a certain skill set and when done right the action is all time. For the inagural Hipwreckers SNOWBOARDER is creating a challenge just for those loco icons who know that speed checks don’t earn you any oversize novelty checks. With a double sided setup allowing for both regular or goofy frontside and backside airs all contendors have a chance to reach deep into their bag of tricks to see what moves will take them to the top of the podium. In addition to crowning an overall Hipwreckers winner other awards include best method, biggest air and worst wreck. World reknowned invitees for the Hipwreckers debut will include Scotty Lago, Heikki Sorsa, Travis Rice, Danny Davis, Jake Welch, Roope Tonterri, Peetu Piiroinen, Pat Moore, Sam Taxwood, Arthur Longo, Markus Keller, Kazuhiro Kokubo, Mikkel Bang, Dustin Craven, Terje Haakonsen, Nils Mindnich, Hans Mindnich, Sebastien Toutant, Yuki Kodano, Ben Ferguson, Sami Luhtanen, Seppe Smits, Christian Haller, Marco Swoboda, Nik Baden, Ben Ferguson, Gabe Ferguson and more.
GAME OF S.N.O.W. WC: The Game Of S.N.O.W. World Championships puts sixteen of the top jibbers on the planet in one place to tackle the same steel to see who has the board control to be branded as the best. The format is simple. Eight head-to-head battles, take place with the invited riders going trick-for-trick through four rounds until only two are left in the finals to duke it out for the first place prize and the title of Game Of S.N.O.W. World Champion. For this one of a kind event the setup is simple but the tricks are unbelievable. The arena for each round is comprised of a simple down bar and down-flat-down kink rail. Each contestants name is drawn at random with the rider then choosing where they would like to compete in the opening bracket. This is where strategy and luck coincide to infuse drama with uncertainty. The first snowboarder to drop in for each bout is chosen via roshambo and the rules dictate that if they land their trick then the other rider they are up against will have to land the same move or risk being assigned a letter until the word “S.N.O.W.� is spelled out, hence eliminating said competitor. If they miss their trick then they go on the defensive as their opponant gets to set the trick and dictate the pace. Past Game Of S.N.O.W. World Champioship participants include Louis-Felix Paradis, Frank April, Will Lavigne, Bode Merrill, Ethan Deiss, Dylan Thompson, Brandon Hobush, Zak Hale, Dylan Alito, Jake Kuzyk, Joe Sexton, Jaeger Bailey, Garrett Warnick, Spencer Schubert, Johnny Lazzereschi and Jonah Owen.
World Quarterpipe Championships: Begun in the late 90’s as an alternative proving ground for pro’s burnt out on the points chasers and mainstream sellout spectacles that littered the competitive landscape the World Quarters was the ultimate unfiltered airshow. Despite being an “anti-contest” the World Quarters routinely attracted some of the biggest names in the transition scene today including Travis Rice, Pat Moore, Kier Dillon, bryan Iguchi, Scotty Lago, Bode Merrill, Pat Moore and more. Now, after a half-decade long hiatus the World Quarters is ready to go from the underground to way, way, way above the lip! Quarterpipe riding has always been the most crowd pleasing discipline in competitive snowboarding. While trickery and style are subjective elements of every riders repertoire, being able to go faster, higher and further than the rest of the field is something that every onlooker can appreciate and admire. As the amplitude increases so does the excitement and each spectator knows the stakes as they can see the speed at play as the pro’s point it towards a ten meter high transition. With hangtime measured in seconds and trajectory ranked in terms of stories off the ground the World Quarterpipe is guaranteed to provide the media, crowd and contendors with the airtime of their lives!