Thursday, June 3, 2010

Campus Rail Jam Tour - 2010






The Campus Rail Jam Tour was a blast this year. The set up included a down flat down rail, a gap to down box, and a rainbow to down box. The first stop I did was in Spokane at Gonzaga University. The girl turn out wasn't very large, but that stop usually doesn't have the largest turn out in general. It had been a while since I had some good practice on rails and I was feeling really rusty. At the end of the competition I was stuck on trying to land a tail 270 out of the rainbow down box. Unfortunately, I couldn't land the trick and the judges were bored watching me try so I ended up leaving with second place.


One stop was added to the tour last minute and unofficially in Bend, Oregon. Considering the event wasn't really broadcasted with advance notice, there was a really good turn out. There was at least more than 10 girls there ready to throw down. Plenty of familiar faces were there including Krysta Pelchner and Ashley Thornton. The battle was fun and in the end I left with first place. Since the stop wasn't official, I didn't get one of those cool totem pole trophies...Boo. Those totem poles look pretty cool and are way better than the Jackalope heads I got for trophies last year....oh well.


The last stop that I went to was in Corvalis at Oregon State University. This stop was the last one before the finals in Portland. Mt. Hood usually draws a large crowd for the summer and with the last stop being so close to the summer there is a really good crew of people that show up. This stop had girls from all over the place, like Colorado, Utah, Tahoe. I really had to work hard to take second place. I was throwing switch tricks with different variations of switch ups and front boards. Emily Blewitt took first deservingly. She also was throwing down switch tricks and a sweet 180 swivel through the kink of the down-flat-down. She was keeping me well on my toes and motivating me to the fullest. I loved it!!! Being able to compete with girls that rip is a thrill and makes snowboarding more fun.


The finals in Portland was held Friday May 28th and it was such a wet day. The rain just did not stop poring, but for how much rain fell, there was still a great crowd of spectators. This was the best of the best. There were ladies from all over in Portland ready to take a stab at the title and cash up for grabs. California, Utah, Colorado, and your very own Oregon were being represented. It didn't take very long for me to take a nasty spill. My second hit on the down-flat-down rail I came off a little early and left the scaffolding heading fast first into the concrete. Instinctually, I placed my hands in front of my face to protect myself, but there was nothing I could do about the scorpion that was coming next. Regardless, I got up with so much adrenalin to finish what I started. Krysta Pelchner ended up taking the win for the day. I saw her land a really clean 270 onto the gap to down box and Ashley Thornton was super clean with a variety of tricks on all of the features. To see the top three spots being held by Oregonians was awesome. It just shows that that the Northwest can produce talent and there'll be more to come. Having all of the ladies in Portland was a really great time.