TOP OF THE WORLD: Whistlers Tyler Mosher carves over a roller in Firday's adaptive snowboard World Cup. Photo by Scott Brammer. www.coastphoto.com
Published 2008-03-20 11:25:10
Adaptive World Cup just a starting point
Snowboarders hoping to have their sport included in 2014 Paralympics.
By Andrew Mitchell
If you build it, they will come — at least that’s what organizers of the first ever adaptive snowboarding World Cup event, sanctioned by the Canadian Snowboard Federation and World Snowboard Federation, are counting on.
The race took place on Blackcomb last Friday, with racers making three solo descents of the snowboardcross course — a format that was chosen because it combines elements of racing and freestyle, and because all of the athletes prefer soft boots to hard boots.
Although organizers were hoping for a larger and more international field, everybody knows you have to start somewhere.
“History was made — it was done and done well,” said Christian Hrab, head coach for the Canadian Snowboard Federation’s adaptive snowboard program. “The event was perfect, it was really safe and fast, we had a good course set, and good work on the course, and the athletes rode the best I’ve seen all season.
“It’s a beginning, but it’s also the culmination of two years of work, while it’s also the beginning of another 20 years of hard work. We’ve got the athletes, we’ve got a classification system for all the different disabilities, there are camps and programs, and there are starting to be more coaches. (Adaptive snowboarding) is also getting a lot of attention, because snowboarding is really for everybody — not just the elite World Cup athletes, but also for people with physical disabilities that can still participate and be very good at it too.”
There are plans to host three World Cup snowboarding events next season, including a competition at Cypress Mountain during the World Cup test events in February, and events in Italy and France.
However, while the sport has momentum it’s extremely unlikely that adaptive snowboarding will be included in the 2010 Olympics. But Hrab says things are looking better for 2014, providing all of the organizations involved internationally can work together to increase participation and create an international series.
While that may be discouraging for some athletes, Hrab says his athletes are in it for the long haul.
“I’ve worked with able-bodied athletes with the national team for years, and I can say that these (adaptive) guys are the most positive, constructive, forward-thinking athletes I’ve ever met,” he said. “They’ve overcome some huge obstacles to be here already, which make the little things easier to overcome. They can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they know that this is just the beginning and where the sport is heading.”
The next challenge for adaptive snowboarding, which was addressed at a conference and workshop surrounding the World Cup, is networking.
“We have to reach the people who snowboard recreationally with a disability, and get them into a competitive frame of mind,” said Hrab. “Events like this create awareness, and get a buzz going. People who never thought of competing will see it and say ‘I’ll do it.’”
Ian Lockey, who was second in the men’s event with a time of 59.15 seconds — almost three seconds back of Whistler’s Tyler Mosher — was excited to be part of the event.
“I really enjoyed the race, and having us race in a time trial instead of a boardercross was much better and much safer in the end,” he said. “I think the format is a little more spectator friendly, definitely more interesting than watching us wiggle down the course in a parallel giant slalom, and you can actually see people snowboarding, going up, coming down, and ripping around corners.”
Lockey is classified as an incomplete paraplegic, meaning he sustained a spinal cord injury that has reduced his feeling and mobility below the waist.
Riding a snowboard around the corners without full feeling for your edges can be a scary experience, he said.
“It is scary going onto your edge and being on edge, and having to rely on what you don’t have to hold on,” he said. “You can only hope you adapted well enough to survive the turn and not wind up in the fencing.”
Lockey plans to race in the U.S. Amateur Snowboard Association nationals at the end of the month, where he is the reigning PGS and freestyle champion, and will race all three World Cup events next season. If there’s a chance that snowboarding will be in the Paralympics in 2014, he wants to be there.
“Having events like this is great incentive for me to train more and do some off-snow training,” he said. “I’ve always relied on my snowboarding abilities, but as our coach said it’s one thing to get beaten by a better snowboarder than you, but it’s another to get beaten because you’re fat or unfit. It’s tough love, the only way to go.”
Bibian Mentel came from Holland to race in the first World Cup, winning the women’s category.
“I loved it, it was so much fun being here and riding the course,” she said. “It’s really, really nice for the level we’re riding at right now, and it’s just fun.
“Now we may have three World Cups next year, which would be exciting. I think it’s a good thing that adaptive snowboarding is getting more attention, that people with disabilities are going out and having fun, and I think we need more and more competitions to get into the Paralympics.”
Mentel is 35, and is not sure she’ll still be racing if snowboarding is added to the schedule for 2014, but she’s definitely not ruling it out.
“I love riding, and if I feel the same way then as I do now, I might have to race,” she said.
With a classification system, each competitor’s time was adjusted slightly to compensate for their specific disability. This was the first test of a classification system for snowboarding, and judging by how close the times were it went well.
Tyler Mosher posted the top time of the day, 56.3 seconds, making good use of some time off training for the Para-Nordic 2010 team to get some runs in on the snowboardcross course. Lockey was second in 59.15, and Mike Fisher placed third in 64.78.
For Mosher, winning was less important than showing up.
“I feel like a million bucks, it was really a dream come true,” he said. “After my accident (in 2000) there wasn’t anywhere for disabled people to compete. I’m so happy right now — not so much for winning, although I trained hard and I’m proud of it — but because we were laying the groundwork for all the children in the future that want to snowboard and that are living with a disability.”
For adaptive snowboarding to be successful, Mosher says the important thing is to get national organizations around the world involved and supporting their athletes.
“The hardest thing is that it’s not a Paralympic sport right now, so the athletes are pretty much on their own and we’ve had to take a bottom-up approach to getting people involved. All we can do is keep having events, get more people out each year, and sooner or later the sport will be recognized.”
As for the quality of competition, Mosher said that there were no recreational riders in the group and that everybody was out to race and win.
“It’s not just about how many people with disabilities you can get snowboarding, but how many people in that group can be athletes,” he said.
Mentel’s best time was 61.62 seconds, followed by Emily Cavallin in 63.5.
Zach Beaumont raced alone in the youth category, posting a time of 69.82.
