Young boarders and shredders took over Killington this past weekend, offering viewers an eyeful of candy.
They came from across the country and threw down their best freestyle for a panel of Olympic and World Championship judges Saturday night as the Xbox Junior Jam played out before the crowd following the halfpipe at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix.
Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark, silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler and halfpipe world champion and U.S. snowboarding halfpipe coach Ricky Bower were on hand to score the youngsters as they threw their best on a series of freestyle features.
“It’s really fun to be on this side of the contest. It’s a lot of work and it definitely gives you a lot of perspective,” said Clark, who won the halfpipe competition and the overall Grand Prix title earlier in the day.
Taking the win for the boys was 12-year-old Jack Herald, who rides for the Waterville Valley Black and Blue Trail Smashers.
On the top of the girl’s podium was Makayla Tierney, a 13-year-old from the Stratton Mountain School, who is happy to be able to have an Xbox in her possession.
When it was all said and done, the judges were impressed by the future of the sport, and said the prizes were more than earned.
On Sunday, the Paul Mitchell Progression Session went off at Killington to cap off the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, with Sam Hulbert and Mary Sallah taking the top honors.
Hulbert, a product of the Waterville Valley program, was very impressive, finishing with a back nine and a spin on the barrel to take the win. Following Hulbert was FLOW rider Tim Humphreys of Basking Ridge, N.J., in second and Stratton Mountain School’s Jeremy Thompson from Elka Park, N.Y., in third.
Lindsey Jacobellis continued her dominance in snowboardcross, as she won on Friday to retain her position as the World Cup SBX leader on the Olympic course at Cypress Mountain, British Columbia. Jacobellis was joined on the podium by fellow U.S. snowboarder Seth Wescott, who was third among the men.