The Armadageddon, Saturday July 3rd at the Snow Park NZ
WANAKA, NZ, July 3rd – Organizers are pleased to announce that the inaugural “Armadageddon� freeskiing slopestyle competition was a great success. The whole New Zealand Freeskiing community participated in the event making it a memorable experience, especially due to the fact that each competitor received personal feedback on their performance.
The competition was a “jam� format on selected features where judges were looking for overall impression on all features involved. The field was split into 3 packs (Male/Female/Grommets) and each assigned a judge. This was a very unique experience for all and let all competitors express their own style and creativity.
Hamish Ackland took charge of the grommet field and single handedly fostered the future of New Zealand freeskiing. Giving the groms tips and confidence whilst keeping a good flow in the cold conditions was a great achievement. The level was pushed as young Byron Wells proceeded to dominate with trickery not unlike that of the senior division. Super Grom Lyndon Sheehan stepped up and was duly rewarded. His impressive effort saw him receive the overall title and a tonne of product from Armada, Triple 8, and Poor Boyz Productions.
The female division was judged by none other than Dion Newport. I think he had a harder time judging whose phone number to ask for first! Never shy nor short on skill level, the ladies showed their male counter parts how it was done. Kat Griffith dominated with a barrage of rail trickery; but was narrowly beaten by a very solid performance from Victoria Beattie. For her efforts she got an airfare from Wanaka House of Travel, CHILL day passes to any club ski field, plus some Armada and Triple 8 product.
With head judge Dave Biggins in charge of the Men’s division we were guaranteed big tricks and plenty of carnage. With this in mind a group dispatched and started hiking higher than the rest. Within minutes there was an attack on the kinked rail which saw Sam Hazeldine gapping to the bottom section. Some hefty crashes, a broken thumb and a broken ski later it had been conquered by Sam, Marty Jillings, and Justice Meyer. Justice broke his ski but won an Armada pair for his effort! As the sun came out at 3pm the boys went crazy on the big jump. Lincoln Loops, Triple Daffies, and even a big 900 from Sam Hazeldine showed through that the skill level was very high. Tom Dunbar walked away from the jump session with a free skydive – from one extreme to another!
At only 14 years old it’s hard to believe that Jossi Wells is old enough to enter in the senior division...let alone win it! Jossi dazzled judges and spectators alike with smooth style and progressive trickery on the rails. Jossi’s outstanding overall performance saw him take 1st and walk away with a brand new Panasonic digital video camera.
Well it wouldn’t be a great event without a wild after party and all involved made sure of this. After an early prize giving at the Red Rock, the crew managed to tuck into a few Red Bull and Vodkas and celebrate in true ski style.
“Really I couldn’t have asked for a better day – The highest level of freeskiing in New Zealand was showcased today and it has left me awestruck! Its great to receive positive feed back from the competitors and even better to see them pushing the limits.� Jason Woolf, Contest Director/
Results
Open Men – Jossi Wells
Open Women – Victoria Beattie
Grommets – Lyndon Sheehan
Sponsors
ARMADA SKIS
TRIPLE 8 HELMETS & PROTECTION
SELECTRIX – Ben & Crew
WANAKA HOUSE OF TRAVEL – Maggie & Crew
RED BULL – Ivan & Nathan
LICENSE TO CHILL - Stu
SKYDIVE LAKE WANAKA – Jooles & Dave
FREEZE TV - Ants
POOR BOYZ PRODUCTION – DVD’s
SNEAKER BALLS – To keep your feel smelly fresh
SNOWPARK NZ
JUDGES – Dave, Hamish, Dion, Jake, Marty
DJ Ham Steak
RED ROCK - Lesli
VOLUNTERS – Neil, Luke, Kris, Tiff, Lindsay
