March 3, 2008
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (March 3) - U.S. Snowboarding's Tyler Jewell (Steamboat Springs, CO) made it to his second career World Cup podium Monday in sunny Lake Placid. Jewell took home second place in a parallel giant slalom at the Visa U.S. Snowboarding Cup.
"This was great. My family's here and so are my nephews. I wanted to get them here to see this so that they can start snowboarding too," Jewell said. "It's just great to be here on my home turf."
Originally from Massachusetts, Jewell's second place finish moved him up four spots to ninth in the World Cup parallel standings. He was the only U.S. athlete to make it into the quarterfinals. Mathieu Bozzetto of France, who leads the standings, won, and Benjamin Karl of Austria, who sits second in the standings, was third.
"Bozzetto was the winner of the qualifier and he was really strong coming into the finals, and sure enough, watching Tyler, I thought if anyone was going to beat Bozzetto it was going to be Tyler," said Alpine Head Coach Steve Persons. "He had the shot to do it, but he let it get to his head that Bozzetto is a legend in the sport."
Svetlana Boldikove of Russia won the women's races, beating out World Cup leader Nicolien Sauerbreij, who came in seventh. Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli of Switzerland was second and Austrian Heidi Neururer anchored the podium in third. No U.S. women made finals including Michelle Gorgone (Sudbury, MA) who narrowly missed the top-16 finals when she qualified 18th.
It was a big weekend for U.S. Snowboarding athletes at the Visa U.S. Snowboarding Cup. Saturday, Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) swept the World Cup SBX. Jacobellis came back Sunday to pair with teammate Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (Girdwood, AK) to win an exhibition Team SBX event.
World Cup snowboarding continues March 7-9 in Stoneham, QUE with halfpipe, snowboardcross and parallel giant slalom.
Posted by Thom Cahir 
at 10:44 PM | Permalink
February 15, 2008
Dear Surf News;
There is a definite swell out there. We surfed head high stuff today and we expect to see at least a 2-3 foot south swell for tomorrow. Our first ESA contest of the year is ON! Signups are from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. South Parking lot at the town beach is the location. Entry fee is twenty bucks. Trophies to all competitors. Contest site might be moved so be on time.
See you at the beach.
Peter Pan/ESA South New England Director
p.s.wear warm clothes. With the wind chill, temps should be in the single digits.
Posted by Thom Cahir at 6:14 PM | Permalink
December 14, 2007
Yawgoo Valley in Exeter picked up six inches of snow and sleet from the Thursday storm that paralyzed Providence, and owner Max deWardener expects to have five trails open for skiing and sliding Saturday. Four were skiable Friday.
"The start of the season has been awesome," said deWardener, who opened Dec. 4 for his 28th season as owner and 44th at the area, having started as a 19-year-old URI student. "I'm still kickin' and tickin'," he said with a laugh.
Yawgoo's popular learn-to-ski programs have sold out, as they usually do, and 1,800 youngsters will take five-week lessons. Season passes sold out today.
DeWardener hopes to have 80 percent of his terrain open for Christmas week. "And half the tubing park, if not all of it. We have some cold nights coming next week," he said.
He expects a snow-rain-snow mix from the storm predicted for Saturday night and Sunday and said the rain will not affect his base if the temperature stays in the 40s.
Elsewhere in New England, skiers are enjoying mid-winter conditions. New Hampshire areas picked up as much as 10 inches Thursday, and Ski NH is touting the best early-season skiing and riding in years with 16 downhill and 11 cross-country centers already open. Ski Vermont is reporting 15 downhill and 14 cross-country areas open. Mount Snow got 10 inches and had 73 trails open Friday. Mad River Glen was fully open with its 45 trails. Okemo had 91 trails open, Stowe 84, Killington 80, Stratton 73 and Sugarbush 72. Base depths ranged between one and five feet.
Wachusett Mountain received 11 inches and is wide open with 21 trails and six lifts.
Posted by Mike Szostak at 3:59 PM | Permalink
August 3, 2007
Winning contests is every serious competitor's goal. Sure, everyone loves to skate, bro down, and stay in it for the love of the thing, which is ultimately skateboarding. But when you reach a certain level of status and professionalism within the skateboarding world, especially in an event as huge and media frenzied as the X Games Big Air competition, it comes time to buckle down, do work, and leave the beer-soaked mini sessions in the backyard.
Nobody knows this better than Bob Burnquist. There's no question in anyone's mind how much this man loves skateboarding. Were he not pro, he'd probably still be ripping every day. However, Burnquist operates on a level that most skateboarders may not be able to relate to. Competitive skateboarding isn't just his job, it's a passion he's committed to pushing to new heights every time he steps on a board.
At X Games 13's Skateboard Big Air, Burnquist cemented that notion for us all. With mega ramp pioneer and 3-consecutive-time Big Air gold medalist Danny Way out of the event due to a recent ACL surgery, all eyes were on Burnquist this year. Not only does he have a mega ramp in his backyard, but his much-demonstrated raw talent, agility, ease in the air, and consistently focused mental state had Burnquist picked as the favorite to win, with "Jakey"—as Jake Brown is known among his friends—hyped as the underdog.
After a heated competition of ups and downs, with scoring and placing bouncing around like a 'roo on a pogo stick, Brown snatched first place with a backside, no-handed 360 across a 70-foot gap, into a 19-foot, 6-inch McTwist above the 27-foot mega quarterpipe in the third round, earning him a firm 95.33 with the judges. Barring a serious display of gnarlitude from Burnquist, who sat in second at that moment, Jakey had the competition on lock. Brown knew this. However, when the fifth and final round of competition came, Brown decided to, as Dave Duncan announced to all present over the mic, "roll the dice." Dropping in from the highest point, he passed on the no-handed 360 and cranked the first mega 720 that, according to mega ramp Zen master Danny Way, he has ever nailed.
What happened next was one of the most gruesome events in skateboarding's history. Upon landing the 720 Brown rocketed toward the quarterpipe with the intention of powering through a McTwist, but he came in with too much momentum, lost control, and fell from the zenith of his 19 ft. air to the flat bottom 40 feet below.
Needless to say, Brown did not bounce back quickly. In fact, many in the STAPLES Center were speculating about the status of his very life. Burnquist, who had been preparing to drop in, laid face down atop of the roll in, burying his face in his hands, as he prayed for the safety and well being of his friend. All in attendance, competitors and spectators alike, were on their feet for a solid ten minutes while Brown lay unresponsive.
Miraculously, Brown got up and walked away, showing the world why he has such a gnarly, tough-as-nails reputation in the world of vertical skateboarding.
But the show, as they say, must go on, and all eyes turned once again on Burnquist. By this point, many would have bailed and chalked it up to bad juju. But instead of walking away, Burnquist stepped it up. After Brown was deemed okay and cleared from the ramp, Burnquist dropped into a switch 180 no-handed backside ollie over the 70-foot gap followed by a double-overhead rodeo frontside 540, snagging the gold from the seriously jarred Brown.
In a post-competition phone conversation with Danny Way, Burnquist revealed his thoughts on the bittersweet win, and having to step up to get the gold while feeling Jake's pain from the top of the mega ramp. Burnquist told Way, "Man, I just did a lonely walk. There's no one around and I just walked over to my car … I feel like I'm floating. I feel so heavy, but I know Jake's all right so I'm stoked. It's not about who's the favorite. I don't remember a contest where I was in first, and then Pierre put me out, and then Jake bumped us both out, and then I came back and then bumped him out. The scores were moving, and the placings were moving a lot, so emotionally, and technically, this was one of the most intense events I've ever participated in. I've never cried and then went back and did something, got stoked and then cried again. I was on a complete roller coaster."
When Burnquist and Way wrapped up their conversation, Way echoed the sentiments of skateboarders everywhere: "Dude, I'm so proud of you, Bob. That's true professionalism. And beyond professionalism, you're a true human being. There's no question about it."
----EXPN.com
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2oggs_jake-brown-falls-40-feet-worst-slam_sport
Posted by Thom Cahir at 7:37 PM | Permalink
August 2, 2007
By RYAN PEARSON
CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Travis Pastrana, Shaun White, Kevin Robinson: These guys like to fly. And they like to fly solo.
But what if the X Games -- the Olympics of individual-focused action sports -- were a team event? We decided that in order to form the perfect group of skaters and BMXers, we'd need a little help.
In this asap video, five X Games stars reveal who they'd ask to join their team. The only rule: The teammate had to be from outside their sport.
Most were loyal -- pairing with friends or fellow high-profile action sports luminaries. But some answers, like these athletes' death-defying tricks, didn't always make sense.
Hulk Hogan, anyone?
Watch the video here:
http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_sports/xgames/
Posted by Thom Cahir at 9:33 PM | Permalink
August 1, 2007
X Games 13 has announced the first ever worldwide simulcast of the opening of an X Games. Scheduled for tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET, the first five minutes will air live simultaneously on ESPN in the U.S. and 18 ESPN International networks around the globe reaching 267 million viewers in 145 countries. The entire opening show, as well as an additional 40 hours of coverage, will also be webcast on EXPN.com.
Posted by Thom Cahir at 7:23 PM | Permalink
July 13, 2007
The Cape Cod contest is not going to happen right now. The sandbars are not cooperating this summer. We cannot depend on the beach breaking through the tides. This contest is now on call for the Narragansett Town Beach for tomorrow morning after 7:30 AM. There is a swell right now but we are not sure it will last into tomorrow. Call 401.727.2605.
----PETER PAN
Posted by Thom Cahir at 6:02 PM | Permalink
May 25, 2007
Since there is a ZERO possibility of any type of ridable surf this weekend, right across the entire New England coastline, the contest scheduled for Nantasket Beach has been postponed until next Saturday (June 2). Contest will be on call for Friday night.
Call the ESA hotline at 401.727.2605 or check in on our website at www.sne.surfesa.org.
Peter Pan/South New England ESA
Posted by Thom Cahir at 6:11 PM | Permalink
May 5, 2007
Dan Callaghan cutbacks during the Men's Final.
The URI Surf Club is back in business and by the number of entrants at last weekend's Spring Intercollegiate New England competition at Narragansett Town Beach it was the most successful event they've run in the past two years, drawing surfers from all over the region.
With waist high conditions and the Eastern Surfing Association providing the equipment, judging, and tabulators the contest went smoothly and competitors were happy.
URI surf club officers Ashley Baron and Rachel McCarty both agreed that the turnout of both female and male competitors was better than expected.
“We had six heats in the Men’s Open competition,” said Ashley. “That is a good turnout for any contest.”
The Ram squad was already discussing plans for the next inter-collegiate contest, possibly in October.
Final Results
2007 Spring New England Intercollegiate Surfing Championships
Mens Final- 1.Justin Taylor 2.Dan Callaghan 3.Dave Bonanno 4.John Knapp
5.Fred Ecke 6.Grif Plume
Open Longboard Final- 1.Pat Kennedy 2.Steve
Hulse 3.Andrew Krystinik 4.Ashley Baron 5.Katie Imswiler 6.Logan Downey
Women’s Final- 1.Chrissy Barabas 2.Katie Imswiler 3.Ashley Baron
4.Ashley Grandell
Collegiate Team Final- 1.Team OG’s (Justin Taylor, Kyle Murray, Fred Ecke, Mike Warren, David Gerard) 2.Team Baron (Ashley Baron, Matt Baron, Josh Trotta, Justin Cesino, Logan Downey) 3.Team Froth (Mason Beutel, Griff Plume, Byron Halovik, Brian Thompson, DaveBonanno) 4. Team RWU (Chris Archer, Johnny Knapp, Austin Wirth, Kevin Higgins, John Jordan) 5.Team Awesome (Jack Szczepanski, Ashley Grandell, Brian Connelly, Rachel McCarty, and Omar Fahmy).
Posted by Thom Cahir at 10:33 PM | Permalink
April 27, 2007
With a solid wind swell, the annual Newport Surfing Championships will go off as planned Saturday, April 28. The contest is set to take place at First Beach, in Newport; right on Memorial Boulevard.
Sign-ups are from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Entry fee is twenty bucks.
Trophies will be awarded to the top finishers. This is the second rated Eastern Surf Association contest of the 2007 season. There will be rated events held in all categories.
Peter Pan/ ESA Director
Posted by Thom Cahir at 6:30 PM | Permalink
