Kevin Edwards

Equivalence and Carte Pro

 Monday 11th October, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

Slopestyle - British Indoor Champs, Castleford

 Saturday was the final stop of the British Snow Tour. Castleford had put together an cool setup consisting of a four hit line with a choice of 3 rails on each. Unfortunately there were no jumps out so it became a battle of the jibbers! I put together some good, consistant runs including 50:50 front 180 off the down bar, Cab 270 - 270 out on flat down box, then Noseslide to back 180 out and finished with a frontside over the rainbow box. I finished 15th overall.

Tuesday 28th September, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

Big Air - British Indoor Champs, Milton Keynes

Monday 20th September, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

Boardercross - British Indoor Champs, Braehead

Yesterday was the start of the British Indoor Championships in Glasgow. We headed up to Braehead early Sunday morning from Manchester for the SBX and Rail Jam. The course was great and practice went well, i qualified in 4th place so was seeded well for the heats. I won my first heat and was 2nd seed in the semi-final, I got a good start but was forced wide on the first berm and out the top! Race over. I was still in the small final, up against fellow Chill Factor e instructor Craig Nelder! I was second seed and got out the gate well, Craig was on my tail all the way down and just out the last berm, in sight of the of finish i caught an edge and went down hard. Craig nipped through and i finished in 7th. Well done Craig for finishing in 6th and also to Sarah Fish for finishing 3rd overall in the Womens. See you next year!

Thursday 9th September, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

British Snow Tour - Seeded Riders

Just found out that i'm one of the top ten seeded riders for this years Indoor Champs. The Snow Tour have introduced a new ranking system (BST) to help develop grass-roots competitors and give the UK its own ranking system, as well as the TTR world rankings. The rankings have been based on last years results from the Indoor Champs.

Tues 7th September, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

Real Radio 105.4fm - Breakfast vs Home Time

It's Breakfast against Home Time with Ditchy and Salty going head to head with Glen and Lorna to see who's got what it takes to master the slopes at Chill Factor e. I'm teaching Ditchy and Lorna Snowboarding along with several competition winners over the next 6 weeks. At the end they will be competing against each other to see who is King of the Slopes! Today i was interview on the radio and feature on their website and video. If you got to realradionorthwest.co.uk, then search under the presenters shows for Ditchy and Salty's Big Brew and scroll down to 'Latest from the show'. I'll keep you posted on their progress...

Friday 3rd September, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

SUBJAM 2010 - Christies Fundraiser @ Cas

Tonight is the 3rd annual charity fundraiser for Christies. Usually held at Chill Factor e, but unfortunately due to on-going maintenance, is being held at Castleford. They have taken some of our boxes from CFe to use on the full slope set up and will be a sick night. The raffle is always a draw, with a huge prize selection for lucky winners. Just about everyone comes away with something. For more info check out: http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/events-subjam2010.html

Saturday 14th August, 2010 by Kevin Edwards

Summer 2010!

Oakley Grom Games

The Grom Games was epic! Great turn-out of both Skiers and Snowboarders with all categories sold out. The standard of riding was high in the jam sessions and the Invitational final wasn't to be missed either. A full review can be found here. Three times X-Games gold medalist Jenny Jones was awarding the prizes and judging the Invitational final with Scott McMorris. Big thanks to Pat Sharples for organizing the event, Col Mytton for designing and building the park alongside myself and Red Bull for bring along their DJ truck and rail!

Grom Games One Day Away!

Only one day away from the Oakley Grom Games. All the ski categories are fully booked and only a few places left on the snowboard side. The park is looking awesome but we still have a lot of work to do. The likes of Jenny Jones, Scott McMorris, Jamie Nicholls and James Woods are heading down for an invitational final which is set to be epic! The first ever Oakley Grom Games - Saturday 3-11pm, Chill Factor e

The Brits - Slopestyle

Due to high winds and rapidly deteriorating weather, the Slopestyle competition was altered into a rail jam. I slightly misunderstood the format and missed my first run, but managed to do my 2nd. It wasn't the greatest run in the world and I finished 17th in Senior Men (37th overall).

The Brits - Halfpipe

The Brits Halfpipe competition was my first real chance to ride a Halfpipe this season so needless to say I didn't do particularly well! I love riding pipe and it was great to ride alongside Dom Harington, Dan Wakeham and Jamie Nicholls. I finished 10th in Senior Men (26th overall). I think i'll be in the Masters Category next year so watch out!!!

The Brits - Big Air

I woke today with a incredibly stiff neck and tight back from my fall yesterday in the Boardercross comp. Big Air is probably not the best idea!!! DNS (Did Not Start)

The Brits - Boardercross

We arrived in Laax two days prior but the course hadn't been build until today. It was definitely a fun course, but a little flat in places. We had just one qualifying run and i qualified in 9th which meant i made the heats! In the quarter-final i came in to the first corner in 3rd place, but managed to over take and finished in 2nd to Thomas Bankes. The semi-final didn't quite go to plan, i had last pick of the gates and i was up against 1st, 4th and 5th place qualifiers. My start wasn't great and i had the outside line and could only watch the others in front. I was eliminated, but still made the Small Final. We were all super close as we came out the gates and it stayed that way into the first corner. Then two people fell and i was almost through into 5th, but i was clipped and fell hard. As i scrambled to my feet i was too late and the others were in front. I finished in 8th, but enjoyed it and it was good experience racing in the heats.

Disentis, Switzerland

The course in Disentis was fast with two large jumps including a good 15m table at the bottom. The sun was also shining and the temperature was having a effect on the snow. There was a fellow Brit competing too, Thomas Bankes so it was good to meet him. We only got one qualifying run and i placed 38th, just 6 spaces off the heats. Tom had a good race and finished in 10th overall, he is also going to The Brits to compete in both Boardercross and Skiercross!

BASI Level 4

Today is a good day. I have been awarded my International Ski Teaching Diploma (ISTD). It's the highest award a snowsports instructor can get. Here's a quote direct from the BASI Pre-course information booklet (v 5 Jul 07).

"At this level you will have gained a lot of experience right across the board and at some depth. The challenges that you are likely to meet in this situation are ski school supervisor/manager and private client instructor or team coach/trainer. At this level you are often expected to be all things to all people. You become the model and team leader and exemplar of all things virtuous. A tough act. At least for us mere mortals."

Just the French Authorities to tackle now for my Carte Pro (Right of Establishment as a Snowsport Teacher in France)...

Val Thorens

Due to being unable to find accommodation in Val Thorens for 3 nights i'm having to cancel my race entry this weekend. Also, due to The Brits, i was planning on doing just one of the two Europa Cup races in Lenk. This may now change and i might do both just to gain more FIS points.

Rejdice EC

Race day two was interesting. One of the gates had been moved a couple of feet inwards to make the lower part of the course a little more technical. Also the sun was blazing so would have an effect on snow conditions through the day. My first qualification run was ok, a couple of minor mistakes but knew what i had to do for my second run. As i was in the gate about to start, i thought 'f&*k it' and decided to go all-out. I flew out the gate and was making making good time as i came round a left berm in to a table top didn't manage to pre-ollie hard enough and was booted into the skies and fell. Even with the fall, my second run was only a few seconds slower than my first time. Anyway my first run was enough to score some points again so wasn't too dishearten. All in all an improvement on the race in Puy so can't complaint. Bring on Val Thorens next weekend!

Rejdice EC

My bags turned early Friday morning so i was all set for practice. Practice went well and i also managed to map out the course and take some photos too. Saturday was the first race day and we had two qualifying runs. My first run wasn't great, as soon as the start yell 'Go' i flew blindly out of the gate and wasn't thinking ahead, only about the feature directly in front of me. My second run was better, i took a breath after the starter shouted 'Go' and managed to shave 2.5 seconds of my first time. I didn't qualify for the heats but did manage to score some points so all good.

CZE

I arrived in Czech Republic this morning, but my bags didnt. I've been assured they've been located and I'll have them by tomorrow. It could potentially mean I'll miss the practice day tomorrow, just keeping my fingers crossed they arrive early morning.

Drove up to Rejdice this afternoon and saw part of the course, it looks healthy! Also the O2 sponsored park looks rad too, shame I've not brought my other board too..

Europa Cup

Since Snowsport GB folded the British Olympic Association (BOA) is now taking care of race entries. I email the BOA and I've managed to get myself upgraded to a B Licence so i can now race in the Europa Cup. This means i won't miss out on a race, due to the Haus race being postponed, and i can now race in Rejdice, CZE next weekend.

Austria Postponed

After various emails with the organisers of the Haus Im Ennstal race they have now told me that the race as been postponed until the following weekend. Unfortunately i'm committed to the Val Thorens race so won't race in Austria.

The Brits

Accommodation is now booked for The Brits, Disentis and Lenk races. Its going to be a busy week, 6 competitions over 8 days... I've decided to drive out and JP is coming along for the ride.

Next Race or not?!

I was just in the process of booking flights to Austria and arranging accommodation when I thought I'd drop the event organisers of the Haus im Ennstal FIS race a quick email. I received this response:

Hi,

at the moment, there is not enough snow at the Hauser Kaibling, to built a SBX. If I have more information, I will inform you.

Best regards

Heli

Watch this space...

Off to La Grave

It was getting close to assessment time for my BASI EMS module. With two tours left to complete, Gareth and I went to La Grave 4 days early to get them in the bag. Firstly we headed up to the Chancel Refuge from La Grave, an 1100m vertical slog nick-named 'Le Bitch'. Next day, with the good weather window, we headed up the South-facing slopes of Les Terrasses to complete our last remaining tour. The preceding 3-day assessment went well and we successful completed our European Mountain Safety module. I now only need to get some FIS points before I can apply for my Right of Establishment as a Snowsport Teacher in France.

Six-day trip to Tignes

With my BASI European Mountain Safety (EMS) module approaching I needed to get in a couple of tours and get some solid time training on 'real' snow. First 4 days saw clear weather with it closing in on the last two days. I managed to complete a couple of tours, one up the Col de Fresse and another starting out from Le Manchet. Coupled with the two tours I did in Zermatt in late November I have managed to rack up 4 logged tours, only another 2 to go...

Trip to the Porte Du Soleil

A long weekend to PDS to see in my 29th year. Three days of shredding with mixed snow conditions. Also managed to catch up with some old friends too. Fun times.

First FIS Boarder cross race!

It was hit or miss whether the Boarder cross was going to happen. Heavy snowfall during Saturday day and Saturday evening meant that qualification was reduced to one run. The Practice session was the first chance I got to ride the course, most competitors had ridden the day before in the Europa Cup so had one up on me. Practice started off well, but may last two runs saw me boot-out on the same corner, this didn't put me in the greatest mental mind-set for my one and only qualification run. I managed a good start but on approach to the dreaded corner I eased up and drifted out of the racing line and lost valuable seconds. This dropped me down in the rankings and out of the knock-out stages. Disappointed to say the least, but I learning experience never the less. Better luck next time...

First day in Puy

After receiving a foot of snow over night, the Europe Cup race scheduled for today has been postponed until tomorrow. That means i can only compete in one FIS race this weekend. Not as planned. At least it gives me a chance to ride so pow and prep some more for Sunday's race.

Getting ready for Puy St Vincent

Its been a hectic few days getting prepared for my first races of the season in Puy St Vincent. With many airports shut down, i'm just hoping my flight gets away without too many hitches! The F2 Eliminator is packed, race wax in the bag, full-face arriving today and laptop charged. Puy St Vincent here i come!