In a bid to attract a younger television audience the International Olympic Committee will introduce slopestyle competitions at next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The addition can be seen as a ploy to make the Games more relevant to a generation raised on extreme sports, but it also means future snowboarders and skiers won’t always need a big mountain to reach their Olympic dream.
Spencer O’Brien is one of the best female slopestyle snowboarders in the world. The 25-year-old from Courtenay, B.C. won gold at last year’s FIS snowboarding world championships and has earned podium finishes at both the Winter X Games and on the Winter Dew Tour. O’Brien, a medal threat in Sochi, first learned slopestyle at the Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Island.
“That’s what is so great about slopestyle,” O’Brien said recently at a Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»news conference where some members of Canada’s Olympic snowboard team were introduced. “It’s so accessible for young kids.
“Almost every mountain in the world has a terrain park of some size and level. It’s really great. You can really take steps. You can start with a small jump and move your way up. There are lots of steps for progression.”
Slopestyle is done by both skiers and snowboarders. It uses a specially designed course that has jumps and other features. Most slopestyle athletes get started in a terrain park on their home hill.
While alpine skiers need a big mountain like Whistler to expand their talents, local ski resorts like Grouse, Cypress and Mt. Seymour allow riders to learn and progress in the sport.
“With the new disciplines like slopestyle, small hills can have a terrain park anywhere,” said Steven Hills, executive director of Canada Snowboard. “Young kids train at Seymour and ride out in the Fraser Valley. They have every opportunity to develop the basic skills you need to become a world-class snowboarder.
“All the basics are right in your backyard, especially here in Vancouver.”
At peak season, Mt. Seymour, Cypress Mountain and Grouse Mountain offer four terrain parks combined.
Simon Whitehead, marketing manager at Mt. Seymour, said the mountains surrounding Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»are world-renown for their terrain parks.
“The North Shore on a whole is pretty spectacular,” said Whitehead. “We have a lot of homegrown talent at Mt. Seymour.”
Seymour opened its first terrain park in 1993 and has since developed professional riders like Devun Walsh, Kevin Sansalone and Chris Dufficy.
Seymour offers training to young riders with qualified instructors with their Progression Team and then further support for aspiring skiers and snowboarders with their Development Team.
“We’re not just a learning area,” said Whitehead. “People can really progress. People travel from all over the world to visit our terrain parks.”
Jacqueline Blackwell, public relations manager at Grouse Mountain, said the proximity of the local mountains means reduced travel time and expense.
“If you live in the Lower Mainland in general, it’s closer to go to a local North Shore mountain than it is to go north to Whistler or somewhere in the interior,” said Blackwell. “I know our terrain park teams really pride themselves on building a really great terrain park.”
Mark McMorris is the poster boy for a kid from a small park making it big.
The 20-year-old learned to snowboard at the Mission Ridge Winter Park, about 45 minutes outside of Regina. The hill has only 89 metres of vertical drop.
McMorris, who also trained at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, is the first person to ever complete a backside triple cork 1440 and is the two-time Winter X Games champion in slopestyle.
“You need a park, any sort of park,” said McMorris, another medal contender in Sochi. “I grew up at a park that had three rails and a really small jump.
“As long as the park is good you can accomplish a lot.”
