Castleford Leg of the NBR presented by EA SPORTS BIG - SSX On Tour

The second leg of the Natural Born Riders Tour 2005 presented by EA SPORTS BIG – SSX On Tour took place this weekend at Castleford Xscape with all the top locals in attendance. The night went smoothly and three more riders from each category won their places in the final to be held at Milton Keynes Xscape on 26th November.

The night kicked off at 7.00pm with the regular one hour jam format for skiers and boarders. All the riders were watched by the two judging panels (one ski, one snowboard) who picked 6 riders in each category for the two run slopestyle finals. Before the finals kicked off there was another jam, this time for the Big Air event over the main kicker on the Castleford Xscape slope. All the riders went for it throwing multiple spins and flips but there were only two copies of SSX On Tour up for grabs, one for ski and one for snowboard. The snowboard category was won by Pete Helliwell with a super smooth corked 720 and Rob Taylor took out the ski Big Air with a stylish Misty flip.

Next up were the final slopestyle runs with the snowboarders going first. The ladies event was tight giving the judges a difficult job to do but final results were Gemma Marshall in 3rd, Emily Richardson in 2nd and Laura Hill taking the win. The under 16’s was also tight with Will Smith taking 3rd, Tom Knox taking 2nd and Jamie Nichols taking the win. In the main event the mens comp Tom Boddington took 3rd, Jason Thompson, last years NBR Tour winner, got 2nd and Pete Helliwell, Big Air winner, took 1st, leaving Pete a very happy and fully kitted rider, having won Big Air already. Congratulations to all you guys and see you at MK Xscape.

The ladies went first in the ski finals and it was great to see so many girls having a good time in competition. All of them pushed themselves, in fact so much so that Becky Hammond and Shelly Poole withdrew after pushing too hard and injuring themselves. Unlucky girls but respect due. Amy Rudman, (formerly Amy Wishanew), took 3rd, Amber Cowwers was second and the first lady of UK ski Shelly Jones took the win. Under 16’s were next with Jo Wedstel taking 3rd in his first ever competition, Eden Dyson got second and Harry Hancock, an NBR veteran, took the win. The men went last and with the heavy line up this might have been the highlight of the night. Joe Tyler took 3rd, Ted Foster was 2nd and Mike Wakefield, who’s run included a sweet 450 to down rail, took the win. Once again all you guys are in the final at MK Xscape. Congratulations.

A massive thanks goes out to everyone involved including the riders, Castleford Xscape and their staff, the judges, the compere Jonno Verity and most of all the sponsors who allow the tour to run. So a big thanks to EA SPORTS BIG – SSX On Tour, Oakley, Armada, Sapient Snowboards, Magic: The Gathering, Blue Wahoo, Dark Summer, SCUK, Natives.co.uk and the Extreme Sports Channel.

This year’s tour stops and dates are as follows: Each leg will be a qualifier for a grand final at Xscape, Milton Keynes (Milton Keynes will also hold a qualifier on the night before the final.)

• Sheffield Ski Centre, Sheffield (Completed)
• Xscape Snow Centre, Castleford (completed)
• Xscape Snow Centre, Milton Keynes , (Saturday 26th November 2-7pm)

Go to http://www.naturalbornriders.co.uk for complete details.

The Natural Born Riders (NBR) Tour Presented by EA SPORTS BIG - SSX On Tour heads to Milton Keynes Xscape for the Grand Final

The Grand Final of the Natural Born Riders Tour presented by EA SPORTS BIG – SSX On Tour heads to Milton Keynes Xscape on Sunday 26th November to decide the Natural Born Riders 2005.

The Tour has been exceptional this year with some great riding from all involved. Finalists have been chosen from the previous two legs at Sheffield Ski Village and Castleford Xscape, however there are still three spots in each category to be won by qualifying at Milton Keynes, directly before the Finals. The evening will start at 7pm with an hour jam session from which the last finalists will be chosen to go directly into the Final.

Prizes on the night will include swag from our sponsors that include EA SPORTS BIG™ - SSX™ On Tour, Oakley, Magic: The Gathering, Extreme Sports Channel, Snowboard Club UK, Armada Skis, Sapient Snowboards and Blue Wahoo. In addition Oakley will be putting up a pair of Wisdom Goggles for a Big Air challenge on the biggest hit in the park for both skiers and snowboarders.

Finalists so far:

Snowboard Mens Under 16 Women
Mark Hartley Sparrow Knox Lydia Ainscough
James Mc Elvaney Tom Knox Gemma Marshall
Pete Helliwell Simon Beck Laura Coates
Jason Thompson Jamie Nicholls Laura Hill
Tom Boddington Will Smith Emily Richardson

Ski Mens Under 16 Women
Charlie Richards Mike Nur Becky Hammond
Richard Martin James Woods Mekele Carey
Tom Ross Ryan Kaye Amber Connors
Mike Wakefield Harry Hancock Amy Rudman
Ted Foster Eden Dyson
Joe Tyler Jo Wedstel

To coincide with the Sheffield leg of the tour was the launch date of EA SPORTS BIG™ - SSX™ On Tour so the guys from EA have been bringing down pods for everyone to try out the awesome new game as well as providing some great prizes for the winners of all the legs and the finals.

This years tour stops and dates are as follows: Each leg will be a qualifier for a grand final at Xscape, Milton Keynes (Milton Keynes will also hold a qualifier on the night before the final.)

• Sheffield Ski Centre, Sheffield (completed)
• Xscape Snow Centre, Castleford (completed)
• Xscape Snow Centre, Milton Keynes , (Saturday 26th November 7pm)

Go to http://www.naturalbornriders.co.uk for complete details.

The Natural Born Riders (NBR) Tour 2006 Presented by EA SPORTS BIG - SSX On Tour Ends in Style

The Grand Final of the Natural Born Riders Tour presented by EA SPORTS BIG – SSX On Tour took place yesterday at Milton Keynes Xscape!

This year’s tour has been a massive step-up, especially in the standard of riding. A lot of new faces and last years entrants have all raised their game. The Finals kicked off last night at 7.00pm with a capacity slope. After the warm up jam the skiers took their first slope style runs. Standouts in the first runs included Josh Fawcett in the U16’s, for the ladies Amber Conners and Mike Nur in the men’s event. In the second runs the standard went up and Josh took first place in the U16’s, Shelly Jones won the ladies and Andy Collin retained his title and became Natural Born Rider Champion 2006. Having qualified on the night in MK Andy took the course apart in his second run, Congratulations Andy.

The snowboarders were up next and there was some great riding to be seen. The Knox brothers were having all sorts of fun, as usual. Jamie Nicholls was ripping, Gemma Marshall was killing it for the girls and Thom Boddington and Jason Thompson were looking good in the men’s division.
However, like in the skiing the best was saved for last as the second runs took place. In the U16’s Jamie’s smooth riding paid off and he took first place, Laura Hill won the girls event and Alex King won the men’s event, Congratulations!

Prizes this year were from our sponsors so a big thank you to EA SPORTS BIG™ - SSX™ On Tour, Oakley, Magic: The Gathering, Armada Skis, Sapient Snowboards, Blue Wahoo, Extreme Sports Channel, Snowboard Club UK, Dark Summer magazine, Natives and to everyone that supported us through out the tour.

Final Results

Snowboard Men’s Under 16 Women’s
1st Alex King Jamie Nicholls Laura Hill
2nd Tom Boddington Tom Guilmard Alexa Hottenburg
3rd Jason Thompson Tom Knox Emily Richardson

Ski
1st Andy Collins Josh Fawcett Shelly Jones
2nd Andy Bennett Murray Buchan Amber Conners
3rd Joe Tyler Mike Nur Catherine Earl



Go to www.naturalbornriders.co.uk for complete details.