Westbound Boarder

I know we have all been anxiously waiting to hear who will be riding on this year’s 2010 Olympic Halfpipe team.  This weekend, Park City, Utah will play host to the fifth and final round of the Olympic qualifiers, where 30 riders will be vying for the remaining spots on this year’s team.

The US Snowboarding Grand Prix made stops earlier this year at Copper Mountain and Mammoth Mountain, so Park City will be the third and final stop of the tour where the 2010 Olympic team (four men and four women) will officially be announced.

We know that Shaun White, who has already seen two first place finishes in former qualifying rounds, has already solidified his spot on this year’s US Olympic team in the men’s category.  Louie Vito, with two second place wins, is in good shape as well. Other probable contenders include JJ Thomas, Zach Black, Scotty Lago, and Mason Aguirre, though the last two spots remain somewhat uncertain.

On the women’s side, Kelly Clark’s two earlier wins in qualifying rounds have already secured her a spot on the team, with Gretchen Blieler being a shoe in as well.  Elena Hight and Hannah Teter also have the odds in their favor, though Ellery Hollingsworth will give them a good run for their money.  Between these five ladies, the four open spots up for grabs this weekend in Park City seem fairly predictable.  The only question now is, which one won’t get to see Vancouver this winter?

Catch the US Snowboarding Grand Prix on January 23, 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT on Fuel TV or via the live stream here: http://www.fuel.tv/USSnowboarding

The Olympics are just around the corner, and people are a-buzzing about a couple females prepared to take the throne – namely, Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, Gretchen Bleiler, and Lindsey Jacobellis.  A few months ago, these women participated in a photo shoot for Glamour Magazine, and the issue finally hit the newsstands this month – Check it!

The spread features two shots of the girls – one where they are dressed in designer black dresses, and another where they are dressed down in their snowboard gear (we all know Gretchen designed her own Oakley line, which she sports in the shot).

Personally, I think its pretty awesome that these four ladies are being recognized for their talent in mainstream publications.  The juxtaposition of the two photos show their classy, feminine side, while also showing their fun, tough side.  This feature shows that you don’t have to be rough around the edges to be an awesome rider – something these women demonstrate to the extreme.

But back to the Olympics … America will be watching in 3 weeks and counting!

For those of you who may not know (or simply overlooked our sidebar) Westbound Boarder is a part of a larger blog network called Women Talk Sports, which brings together blogs and Web sites that support and celebrate women in sports.  A few days ago, the network challenged bloggers to write a post highlighting their favorite moments for women in sports in 2009.  As we here at Westbound Boarder never forego a good challenge, we were happy to participate!  For board sports, though, the real challenge is choosing just a few great moments.

Overall, I think that 2009 was a phenomenal year for women involved in board sports, both on a pro and amateur level.  We saw more women competing in competitions, more women snabbing film parts, and more women being featured in mainstream media, both alone and alongside their male competitors,

Here are some of our favorite moments from 2009:

• In January, the Winter X Games joined the US Open in a move to provide equal prize money for both males and females. In a sport where women have always been viewed as second best, this was a pretty huge feat, setting the stage for a great year ahead.
• Jamie Anderson was named Transworld’s Female Rider of The Year. Who will it be in 2010?
• Years ago, women who participated in board sports received a dismal amount of press, at best. National press, though? Forget about it! But in October, pro riders Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teter, Lindsey Jacobellis and Kelly Clark flew to New York for a Glamour magazine cover shoot. As we all know (or those of us who are Glamour addicts, anyway) the magazine cover typically features A-list celebrities – the likes of Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift. To think that mainstream America will see these four women as A-list cover girls is absolutely amazing.
• During the US Open of snowboarding halfpipe competition, Torah Bright won first place – and the $20,000 prize purse – with her third and final run, scoring an overwhelming 96. Though she fell during her first two runs, she persevered and knocked the third out of the park, surpassing Kelly Clark’s 93.3 score.
• Little miss shred Lexi Roland celebrated her tenth birthday. Roland, often compared to Shaun White for starting out at such a young age, filmed her first part at age 6, and has been dominating the sport ever since. We’re so stoked to see her ride in ten years!
• Stan Evans and Jeremy Miller created a snowboard film featuring an all female cast called Stance. One of the first of its kind, Stance featured some of the most progressive riding we had ever seen. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Roxy’s Dear and Yonder, a surf film also with a female cast.
• The team for the 2010 Olympics was officially announced. Go US!

While 2009 was an extremely progressive year for women involved in board sports, we would also like to point out some of the challenges women still face.  While a handful of women are stepping up their game in the sport, the rest are largely absent from the competitive circuit, as this New York Times article points out.  So basically, we are seeing four or so women, Bright, Clark, Teter, and and Bleiler, dominating, while the rest really aren’t trying anything new.  What we are also seeing, however, is a number of younger riders who will really take things to the next level in years to come.  Women like Jamie Anderson, and Lexi Roland, who are pushing the sport to its limits and setting the bar high.  Will the decade to come be their moment to shine?  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, now won’t we?

But enough about us, how about you?  What were your favorite moments for women in action sports of 2009?

Our favorite articles of the week; check ‘em out!

• Flippin’ Chicks Take Over Glamor Mag: A few weeks ago, Gretchen Bleiler, Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, and Lindsey Jacobellis participated in a photo shoot for Glamor’s Feb. issue.  Check out the photo gallery.
• Shark Attack: This past week near Santa Cruz, CA, pro surfer Eric Geiselman was attacked by a shark.  He came out of the situation unharmed (less a destroyed board) but definitely a good reminder to always be on the lookout while surfing.  Please don’t let it deter you, though, as these types of instances are very few and far between!  Read the full article on FUEL.TV.
• Inside the Transworld Headquarters: A fellow female blogger, Shayboarder, recently toured the Transworld Headquarters, which is pretty close to my neck of the woods in SoCal.  Check out her awesome recap!
• Pamela Anderson Learns To Snowboard? Ha, a must read.

Despite the fact that we are still in the thick of summer, the 2010 Winter Olympics are right around the corner. In less than 6 months Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada, will host the 2010 extravaganza. Consider this your friendly reminder that if you are planning to witness history in B.C. this year, that you better act quickly!

The ladies U.S. Snowboard Team Olympic roster includes hopefuls Hannah Teeter, Elena Hight, Gretchen Bleiler, Lindsey Jacobellis and Kelly Clark (all who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics). Ellery Hollingsworth, also a 2010 hopeful, has never been to the Olympics, although is no stranger to the sport. Check out her specs and accomplishments to see for yourself. No matter who makes the team, these stunnas will not disappoint the US of A, that is fersure.

The third and final stop of the 2008/09 Winter Dew Tour landed at Northstar-at-Tahoe in Truckee this past weekend and engulfed the town (and our TV screens) in probably one of the best and most exciting competitions I’ve ever seen.  The riders all stepped it up a notch from previous comps. but still not enough to compare to Shaun White, snowboard legend (at 22) and winner of the Dew Cup season title. This was Shaun’s second Dew Tour title, and according to Snowboard Magazine he’s stoked: “I wanted this Cup pretty bad so I knew I needed to just do well.”  Looks like the Flying Tomato prevails… this time around.

On the women’s side of things, Kelly Clark, Rhode Island native and Olympic Gold Medalist, took the title. Though she didn’t set out to win any titles this year, she dominated the women’s events and called her win simply “icing on the cake.”

All in all, the Dew Tour guys know how to put on a great event.  Check out Transworld Snowboarding for a full event recap and photos/videos.

Did you watch this year’s Winter Dew Tour?  What did you think?

The Dew Tour continued today, kicking off with the Women’s Superpipe comp.  I’m glad I got to watch some of the women riders today because they were freakin’ awesome.  Here’s a quick recap of some of the highlights:

•  In the prelim. round on NBC, Gretchen Bleiler stepped up first and performed an awesome run.  Her spins were impressive, though not quite enough to bring her into first in the prelims.  Her second though began with a frontside 9 into a backside crippler – her signature move – straight into a backside 5.  The run was amazing and propelled her to first, with an outstanding score of 90.25.
• Kelly Clark went second; though she didn’t spin as much as Gretchen, her run was so solid and clean that she walked out of the prelims in first place, with a score of 86.75.  Her second run was solid, but a quick scrub on the third hit cost her first.  
• Hannah Teeter, known for her unpredictable runs, was up third and took second place in the prelim round.  She threw out two 5′s and a 7, and though she didn’t get as much air as Kelly, her second place finish in the prelims was well-deserved.  Her second run, though, was a bust, and a bit surprising for Hannah.  She landed too far into the pipe on the first hit, which ultimately cost her the run and a chance at top 3.
• Elena Hight was up next with her second run of the day; she threw out both back and front side 900′s in the run, however, clipped the side of the pipe in landing after the first which impacted her speed and height quite noticeably.  But being the only female thus far to throw a backside 9, it was enough to boost her to second place.
• Holly Crawford and Kjersti Buaas also performed throughout the day; Holly’s run was smooth but not enough to place, and after a nice first run, Kjersti fell hard during her second.   

The final scores:

1. Bleiler – 90.25
2. Clark – 86.75
3. Hight – 82.00
4. Teter – 78.75
5. Crawford – 75.50
6. Ostgaard Buaas – 58.75

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