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Saturday December 16th 2006.
US girl Jamie Anderson wins biggest girls-only snowboard event
Roxy Chicken Jam – the girls are rocking it!
A Gibson guitar in the one hand, a 10,000 Euro cheque in the other: 16-year-old Jamie Anderson from the USA was beaming with happiness – just like Cheryl Maas from the Netherlands and Jenny Jones from the UK on second and third rank. The ROXY CHICKEN JAM on December 15 and 16, 2006 at Europasportregion Zell am See/Kaprun proved: The female snowboarders know how to rock the slopestyle parks – and this girls-only snowboard event has its very own, super-friendly atmosphere.
“It was the first contest in Europe that I’ve been to“, the winner Jamie Anderson said. “It was rad! Cool set-up, a lot of money to give away and fine people.” Jamie convinced the judges with solid tricks and consistent runs. In her best run, she showed a frontside boardslide to fakie, cab 540, frontside 360 and a huge McTwist at the quarter-pipe.
25 female riders took part in the Main Session of the ROXY CHICKEN JAM on Saturday. Each of them had four runs with the best one counting. At the varied Glacier Park on Kitzsteinhorn with its various kickers, a butter box, quarter-pipe, straight box, up and down box, A-box and C-box, the best female snowboarders from all over the world proved that their sports has reached a new level: they showed switch 720s, cab 540s and a wide range of impressive rail moves.
„The girls riding has become really mature“, Dani “Kiwi“ Meier said who was heading the jury with judges Mone Monsberger, Stefan Gimpl and Leslie McKenna. Matthias Hofmann from Innsbruck, the organizer of the contest was also happy – especially because the event had to be moved from St. Moritz to Kaprun within ten days: “It was a tough time but we had the full support of Kitzsteinhorn and the Europasportregion Zell am See/Kaprun.“ His conclusion: “A lot of sun, super performances, an excellent park, many spectators – what more can you expect from a snowboard event!”
Apart from the Gibson guitar and the prize-money, Jamie Anderson also grabbed 1,000 points for the Women’s TTR World Snowboard Tour and is now leading the overall ranking. Cheryl Maas who had won the Women’s TTR series last year was happy about her second place at the ROXY CHICKEN JAM: “I’m superstoked I got second. The contest was fun!“ In her best run, Cheryl showed a frontside boardslide to fakie, Cab 180 on/Backside 360 down the butter box, a huge backside 720 at the big kicker and a backside air at the quarter- pipe.
Third place went to Jenny Jones from the UK. She said: “I was impressed that they managed to transfer the event from one place to another within a week. It was good that they kept running it! We are having a good time and it’s just giving girls a proper chance to show what we can do.“ What Jenny showed: boardslide to fakie, a huge backside 360, a frontside 540 nose grab and a backside air at the quarter-pipe.
Basa Stevulova from Slovakia won the Gibson Rail Rocker Award at the Best Rail Trick Contest. Just like Anderson, she got a Gibson guitar. “I have to learn to play!” she said. But if she is going to play the guitar like she is rocking the rails expect a new rock star to come!
Friday December 15th.
Before entering the main event, a series of qualification runs took place on Kaprun’s glacier. Despite a little wind, conditions were good with good snow in the park, and all bathed in sunshine.
Check back for the main event results that will be posted asap after the event.
Qualifiers
1 Haller Ursina (CH)
2 Bleicher Conny (GER)
3 Stevulova Basa (SVK)
4 Gecek Sandy (AUT)
5 Schmied Fabiana (CH)
Roxy Chicken Jam moves from St. Moritz to Kaprun!
Kaprun, Austria, will host the ultimate girls-only snowboard event from December 15 th to 17 th 2006. As there’s not enough snow at the originally scheduled location of St. Moritz, the best female snowboarders in the world will now meet at the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier Park for the 4 th Roxy Chicken Jam Europe. They will fight for a 20,000 € prize money and precious points for the Women's TTR World Tour.
The organizers of the Roxy Chicken Jam Europe 2006 show courage, idealism and strength in organisation! Initially, the ENGADINE/St. Moritz was the planned destination for the event. But the high temperatures caused a lack of snow at the snowpark. Instead of cancelling the event, the organizers decided to take on the additional work and to move the event to the ski and snowboard capital of the Salzburg County, Kaprun, ten days before its beginning. “We at Roxy said from the beginning: it’s most important that the competition will take place – even if we have to move the event at very short notice”, Roxy Chicken Jam organizer Tina Birbaum said. “Now the riders are looking forward to the event even more – and we do, too!”
Kaprun, the new snowpark paradise
Due to its idyllic location in the Pinzgau mountains and the glacier where snow is assured, Kaprun is the perfect place for the pre-Christmas sports happening. In addition, the snowpark has been extended to an incredible 30,000 m 2 for the 2006/07 season. The planners at Mellow Constructions guarantee a superlative snowpark. The Glacier Park where the Roxy Chicken Jam will take place is situated 2,900 m above sea level and 200 m long. As it’s located on the glacier it has a perfect snow layer. “As Kaprun has already seen several international snowboard events, the best female snowboarders in the world will certainly feel at home here and be able to show their full abilities”, Rainer Edlinger, from Europa Sportregion said.
The girls set to conquer the snowparks
In mixed competitions, snowparks are usually adapted to a man's physique, putting women snowboarders at a distinct disadvantage. So four years ago, the women's sportswear brand Roxy (Quiksilver Group) teamed up with the snowpark builder Mellow Constructions and the professional snowboarder and founder of the Roxy Chicken Jam, Tina Birbaum, to create women's only competitions: the "Roxy Chicken Jams". They give female snowboarders the chance to compete on specially designed snowparks, enabling them to take their performance to another level and wow the crowds with the most daring and inventive moves. Roxy is presenting two annual editions of the Roxy Chicken Jam: in St. Moritz (Switzerland) in December 2006, and in Park City (USA) in February 2007.
Twin events: the Roxy Chicken Jams
The girls-only Jams have proven themselves so much that a Women's Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Tour with an integrated world championship was invented last year. This season, it already includes more than a dozen events. The Roxy Chicken Jams in Kaprun (December 15 th to 17 th 2006) and in Park City Mountain Resort/UTAH, USA, (March 22 nd to 25 th 2007) are the biggest and most important events of this series. In Utah, for the second time the Women’s TTR World Champion will be crowned after the season’s finals in St. Moritz last winter.
Jamming at the Glacier Park
The slopestyle competition at the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier Park will take place in the popular jam session format: the riders will have the freedom to show their skills at the snowpark in the way they want to and they will have as many runs as they like to. They will show their best tricks on snow, plastic and metal – on kickers, hips, fun boxes and rails. This event mode gives the riders the opportunity to display their personal creativity as the tricks don’t have to work at once: the jury will only rate the best runs. The judges will look how the rider uses the single elements, which tricks she does and how she executes them.
Fun is more important than prizes
25 invited riders from eleven countries will compete in the main session on Saturday, together with the best five girls from the Friday qualification round where 30 riders will start. For sure, these starting places have already been allocated. Despite that, all girls who are interested to take part should try to register at the race office on Friday morning as free places will be given away if enrolled riders don’t show up.
The eight best riders will qualify for the finals. 20,000 € are waiting for the winner, as well as precious points for the Women’s TTR World Snowboard Tour and an original Gibson sponsored guitar to also jam outside the slopes. But, “more important than the prizes is the fun to take part”, big air Junior World Champion Sina Candrian from Flims (CH) said.
Snowboarding Christmas stars!
The Roxy Chicken Jam is a truly prestigious event, and the world's top women snowboarders wouldn't miss it for anything. The 2005/06 WTTR world champion, Cheryl Maas from Holland, hot favourite and several-times winner of the Roxy Chicken Jam, Natasza Zurek (Canada), and the bronze medal-winner in the half pipe at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, Kjersti Buaas (Norway), are just some of the stars expected in St. Moritz this winter.
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