UK's Snowboard and Freeski elite were all under one roof, throwing down some tight freestyle action to a crowd of thousands, as the Orange AIM Series presented the British Quarterpipe Championships at the prestigious Metro Ski and Snowboard Show, London, on Friday 20th October.
The line-up for the afternoon qualifiers read like the British Snowboarding and Freeskiing hall of fame, with all riders eager to add another title to their already impressive collections. Taking on the snowboard battle were Dan Wakeham, Sam Cullum, James Mcelvaney, Ben Kilner, Mathew Gibson, Kevin Mills, Angus Leith, Jack Shackleton, Colum Mytton and two of the youngest riders to have ever competed at the high-status show, Jamie Nicholls and Sparrow Knox. Fighting the ski corner were Paddy Graham, Andy Bennet, Mike Wakefield, Richard Martin, Murray Buchan, Ben Hawker, Charlie Richards, James Webb and James Woods.
In the qualification round all athletes had just two practice runs and two judged runs, from which the best score counts, with the top 50% then going through to the final at 7pm. The top two riders and skiers in the final then went head to head in an immensely tense, one run super final.
In the snowboard competition, riders charged the 3m Quarterpipe going as fast and high as they possibly could in the quest to go through to the final and win the title, providing the thousand strong crowd with a fine display of inverted tricks and spins. Riding super strong all session, and the youngest competitors of the day, were Jaime Nicholls (13) and Sparrow Knox (12) who threw down McTwist combinations, ensuring they stood out among all the other riders double their age!
After a short pit-stop the six qualifying riders including, Dan Wakeham, Ben Kilner, Jamie Nicholls, Sam Cullum, Matt Gibson and James McElvaney were back up at the top of the run-in to battle it out for the coveted title and the chance to ride in the 6-star TTR World Snowboard Tour O'Neill Evolution event. Wowing the judges, but narrowly missing out of the super final was Jaime Nicholls who landed a 900, whilst GB team members Sam Cullum and Dan Wakeham, who had been tipped hot favourites to win, didn't disappoint by putting on a top class show to go through to the one run super final. Dan pulled out a big back flip whilst Sam's huge and stylish McTwist, ensured him the highly regarded British Quarterpipe Champion title.
In the Freeskiing qualifications, it was soon clear that firm favourites, British Slopestyle Champion, Andy Bennett and British Halfpipe Champion 2006, Paddy Graham, were in for stiff competition from fellow contenders. Back from injury, one of the UK's most fearless Freeskiers, Mike Wakefield, proved he was back on top form with a series of text book D-spins and flares, whilst AIM Series youngster, Murray Buchan pulled off a stylish 540 truck driver with ease.
Psyched up and raring to go, the qualifying skiers of which included Charlie Richards, Andy Bennett, James Woods, Paddy Graham and Mike Wakefield, knew that they had to pull out all the stops to be in with a chance of taking home the title. Charlie Richards set the standard with a super clean 720, which was answered back by Paddy Graham, who pulled one of the biggest flares of the day. Another youngster in the Championships who didn't fail to impress was James Woods who spun a 540 high above the coping ensuring entry into the super final against Mike Wakefield. Pushing the limits, James Woods attempted a 900, but unfortunately crashed out on the landing, whilst Mike Wakefield continued to raise the bar with a technical D-Spin 900, securing him the triumph and the title!
Along with the British Quarterpipe Champion's title the top skier, Mike Wakefield and snowboarder, Sam Cullum, each received a month's worldwide holiday courtesy of www.seasonaires.com. Joining Sam Cullum with entry into the O'Neill Evolution, the under 18's spot went to Jamie Nicholls, who was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of his outstanding performance throughout the competition.
Results:
Snowboard
1st - Sam Cullum, Bracknell
2nd - Dan Wakeham, Plymouth
3rd - Jamie Nicholls, Bradford
4th - Mathew Gibson, Sheffield
=5th - James Mcelvaney, Chesterfield
=5th - Ben Kilner, Banchory
7th - Sparrow Knox, London
8th - Jack Shackleton, Newbury
9th - Angus Leith, Aviemore
10th - Kevin Mills, Bournemouth
11th - Colum Mytton, Todmorden Ski
1st - Mike Wakefield, Wakefield
2nd - James Woods, Sheffield
3rd - Paddy Graham, Sheffield
4th - Andy Bennett, Kneesall
5th - Charlie Richards, Sheffield
6th - Murray Buchan, Edinburgh
7th - Richard Martin, Sheffield
=7th - James Webb, Bracknell
9th - Ben Hawker, Bournemouth
The Orange Aim Series would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Orange, Trespass, Animal, ThirtyTwo, Etnies, Snowlife.org.uk, SNO!zone, Salomon, Ride, K2, Zeal Optics and Nixon. Official retail partners TSA and Ellis Brigham. Media partners Snowboardclub.co.uk, Natives.co.uk, Dark Summer and Whitelines.