NZ Freeskiers And Snowboarders Off To A Flying Start (21-Dec-08)

Snow Sports, New Zeland, December 21, 2008 - New Zealand’s top snowboarders and freeskiers got off to a flying start

New Zealand’s top snowboarders and freeskiers got off to a flying start in the northern hemisphere this weekend, posting two top-10 results, including a podium finish by New Zealand’s number one freeskier, Jossi Wells.

Wells finished second in the slopestyle event of the Dew Tour at Breckenridge, Colorado (USA). Meanwhile, rising star Rebecca Sinclair of Taupo finished seventh in snowboard superpipe competition at the same event Monday (NZ time).

The Winter Dew Tour is in its inaugural season after three successful years as a summer-only tour. The winter tour is regarded as perhaps the most competitive series in winter action sports.

Wells, 18, was leading the slopestyle event right up until the last run when Breckenridge’s own Bobby Brown knocked him off the top with a near perfect run, scoring 90.50 to Wells’ 89.50. Third place went to Henrik Harlaut of Sweden with 85.67 points.

Wells’s run featured a spinning switch (backward) 450 and later a switch 630 on the box before going switch and spinning left and right 1080s off the massive kickers on the Breckenridge set up.

Due to lingering knee troubles, Wells pulled out of the Superpipe finals, leaving brother Byron Wells, 16, and team-mate Lyndon Sheehan, 19, Wanaka to represent New Zealand. Sheehan placed a respectable ninth.

On the snowboarding front, Rebecca Sinclair, 17, placed seventh in the women’s halfpipe finals, marking her career debut in the top-10.

Sinclair secured her position by combining a noticeable increase in amplitude with a series of tricks consisting of a Crippler 720 – her first attempt in competition.

Tom Willmott, Head Coach of the NZ Snowboard Team, said Sinclair was up against a truly world-class final with four Olympic medalists in the field. 

“Rebecca has been training hard out here in Colorado and the hard work certainly paid off,” said Willmott. “This is an outstanding result, especially considering this was only Rebecca's third major international event.”

Sinclair’s performance has earned her an invite to the next stop on the Dew tour, and she’s in fine form going into the 2009 World Championships in Korea.

Similar to the Dew Tour’s summer competition structure, the Winter Dew Tour is based on a cumulative points system as the top snow athletes battle it out for a piece of the $1.5 million prize purse and the chance to take home the Dew Cup at the conclusion of the season in February.

The four-day competition is the first of three stops of the Winter Dew Tour that features men’s and women’s freeskiing and snowboarding disciplines. The next stop is scheduled for 8 January at Mt Snow Resort, Vermont.

Wells and Sheehan are members of the New Zealand Freeski Association National Team while Sinclair is on the NZ Snowboard Union Squad. Wells, Sheehan and Sinclair train and compete with the New Zealand Winter Performance Programme.

Snow Sports New Zealand is the official governing body and National Sports Organisation representing all snow sports in New Zealand.