by The Editors on February 10, 2014
Jones Snowboards, makers of the splitboard that everyone wants (Ultracraft) were recognized for all their hard work with a Best in Class award at the ISPO Tradeshow in Munich, Germany.
“This is a huge honor for us,” said Jones Snowboards Founder, Jeremy Jones. “Our commitment to providing riders with the best, most progressive gear is what drives our brand. Knowing that the global snow sports industry finds the Ultracraft as revolutionary as we do is exciting and humbling.”
Congrats, Jeremy. For the official word from Jones, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 10, 2014
US Olympic Halfpiper Danny Davis hasn’t even begun competing and already he’s going for style points with his view of the Sochi Olympic halfpipe, according to Yahoo Sports.
American Danny Davis, one of the sport’s most respected figures, said the pipe’s flat bottom – the area that serves as a transition between the 22-foot-tall walls on each side – is bumpy and full of sugary snow, causing significant problems for riders. Two other sources confirmed Davis’ concerns, with one calling the halfpipe “unsalvageable.” . . . “It’s the Olympics. It should be flawless,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “What a lame showcase of snowboarding, and what a lame way to treat the athletes.”
Officials are saying they had similar snow problems in Vancouver and pulled it off so we shouldn’t worry. Aside from the judging, organizers appeared to have pulled off slopestyle, guess we’ll all have to pray they can pull off the halfpipe by tomorrow.
[Link: Yahoo Sports]
by The Editors on February 7, 2014
Apparently, at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, protesting against Russia’s “gay laws” can be as simple as flashing a unicorn and rainbow glove at the camera following a run, according to a story on Whitelines. They’ve given the title of “first athlete to make a statement on gay rights at the 2014 Winter Olympics” to Dutch slopestyle snowboarder Cheryl Maas.
As she walked away, resigned to the fact she hadn’t made the finals and would have to try again in the semis on Saturday, she thrust a gloved hand into the camera. The glove in question (or rather mitt) was covered in rainbows and unicorns – leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind as to where Cheryl (a happily married lesbian) stands on Vladimir Putin’s recent anti-gay propaganda bill, which outlaws “non-traditional sexual practices” from being promoted in public.
Hopefully, Maas will get the chance to say even more before these games are over.
[Link: Whitelines]
by The Editors on February 6, 2014
Last night, while we were falling asleep at the controls (and making #seperatedatbirth instas of Todd Richards) Transworld Snowboarding’s Gerhard Gross was getting all the slope runs down all proper. Canada’s Max Parrot (the guy with double gold from X Games) swept the field with a high score of 97.50. Check the chart for his run above, then click the link for the full run down from the Olympic Slopestyle course (including why no one was eliminated during qualification).
[Link: Transworld Snowboarding]
by The Editors on February 5, 2014
Yobeat nails it down on the Shaun White Slopestyle pullout interview. Our faces are cracking. “Afroman is my away message.”
by The Editors on February 5, 2014
After years of dealing with delays to prime time, worrying about spoilers, and having friends point their webcams at their TVs so they could uStream their live feed to us here in America, we’re finally going to be able to watch every bit of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics that we want to watch. And watch it live.
For the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics NBC, the old media TV monster, is doing it like they’ve never done it before. They will be live streaming every event, every day through their NBC Sports Live Extra smartphone app (available for IOS and Android). The app allows users to select the events they want to watch and then hits them notifications when the events are about to begin. It’s like having an Olympic servant who takes care of everything. After getting the notification we can either watch it on the iPhone, iPad, or in our case Airplay it to the AppleTV for viewing on the big screen. For fans of the Olympics, this could be reason enough to buy a $99 AppleTV and set it up.
There is one catch, however. To watch the live events on the app you must be a subscriber to one of the paid television providers. If you pay a cable bill, chances are you’re good. If you don’t pay a cable bill (and you know someone who does) you can simply sign in with their credentials and get all this streaming for free (yes, it works!). Oh, and Android users? You’ll have to figure it out yerself.
The 2014 Winter Olympic Snowboarding events begin tonight (Wednesday, February 5, 2014) at 10:00 PM with Slopestyle Qualifiers. For the complete schedule of Olympic snowboarding events (and when they’re on) follow the jump. If you load the app, you’ll already know all this!) [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 4, 2014
After analyzing the slopestyle course in Sochi and calculating exactly what he needs to accomplish at the 2014 Winter Olympics Shaun White has withdrawn from the slopestyle event to “focus on winning an unprecedented third straight gold.”
“After much deliberation with my team, I have made the decision to focus solely on trying to bring home the third straight gold medal in halfpipe for Team USA,” White said. “The difficult decision to forego slopestyle is not one I take lightly as I know how much effort everyone has put into holding the slopestyle event for the first time in Olympic history, a history I had planned on being part of.”
It’s too bad the halfpipe didn’t come first in the schedule. For the official word from US Snowboarding follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 4, 2014
Just as a reminder to see how far snowboarding has come in the last 16 years, check out this edit of the 1998 Nagano Olympic medal runs by Ross Powers, Daniel Franck, and Gian Simmen with the world’s first halfpipe gold medal. Wow. Follow the jump for the full final results [click to continue…]
by The Editors on February 3, 2014
How is Shaun White preparing for the Olympic Games? He took to Twitter to show that he’s been dining on a local delicacy saying: “Food in Russia is amazing! #McSochi” Wonder if this is part of a “viral marketing” campaign? Might as well get paid to eat, too.
by The Editors on February 3, 2014
During training on the Olympic Slopestyle course on Monday (February 3, 2014), Norway’s Torstein Horgmo went down on a rail and ended up breaking his collar bone, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The 26-year-old crashed on the slopestyle run’s rail feature and was taken to hospital with his neck in a brace. . . Horgmo suffered a broken collarbone and was pulled from the Games. . . “I am terribly sorry about this. Injuries and falls are a part of this sport but the timing is really bad. Now I just want to have a fast recovery and to get back on the board,” said Horgmo.
Athletes have reportedly been complaining that the Slopestyle course was not built properly. Australia’s Torah Bright was quoted as saying:
“The business’s best aren’t here building the course. . . When jumps aren’t built properly, if they don’t match up, yeah it can be a safety issue. But as long as the jumps are built fine, we’re all very experienced in our chosen disciplines, we’ll be able to manage it. It really shouldn’t be a problem.”
We hope Horgmo recovers quickly, and that the course gets fixed so it won’t cause more injuries.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
