Monday Mix - May 13, 2019

It's Monday which means it's time for this week's Mix, where we've got more national team nominations for next season, some fresh video edits from one of the spring's highlight shred gatherings, our own "Best of 2018/19" photo galleries, and more for your weekly snowboard fix.

First up is some Beijing 2022 news, as the countdown towards the next Olympic Winter Games hit the "1000 days to go" mark on Friday with a celebration in the Chinese capital that featured guests such as Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and President of Beijing 2022, IOC Vice-Presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch and Yu Zaiqing, actor Jackie Chan, and others. That's right, only 2.73972603 years left before Olympic snowboard action will be taking to the slopes of Genting Secret Garden!

After an incredible "perfect season" in which he won every single competition entered from the season-opening World Cup in Copper Mountain (USA), to the Utah 2019 world championships at Park City, to the X Games in Aspen, halfpipe boss Scotty James claimed "Athlete of the Year" honours at the Australian Ski and Snowboard Awards earlier in the month. Congrats, Mr. James!

Next we're highlighting our own "Best of 2018/19" photo galleries, with the best shots from this season's alpine SB, snowboard cross, and big air action up now for your browsing pleasure. Halfpipe and slopestyle galleries will be coming later on this week.

Then we head Stateside, where the US Ski & Snowboard squad has announced their nominations for next season's national and development teams. With the likes of three-time slopestyle crystal globe winner and Utah 2019 world champion Chris Corning, PyeongChang 2018 halfpipe gold medallist and progression machine Chloe Kim, Utah 2019 SBX double world champion Mick Dierdorff, and a slew of other heavily-decorated riders populaing the list, the US squad is once again looking like one of the most fearsome in snowboarding.

Snowboarder Magazines Superpark 22 wrapped last Sunday, and now all five days of video edits are up for your enjoyment over on their website. If these clips don't make you want to get out there and get a few more laps in wherever the lifts might still be spinning, nothing will...

In some unfortunate injury news, 18-year-old Takeru Otsuka of Japan announced today that he has undergone surgery to repair his ACL and meniscus at Vail Hospital in the USA. Otsuka emerged as one of the brightest young stars in big air and slopestyle last season while claiming the 2018/19 big air crystal globe, and we wish him a speedy and full recovery on his back to competition shape.

The Swiss squad held their annual Masstag gathering on Saturday, which is the one day of the year where athletes and staff from all 11 Swiss Ski and Snowboard sports gather to get their team kits and equipment orders dialed in for 2019/20 and beyond. Read more here.

And for this week's bonus content we cast our eyes towards PyeongChang 2018 parallel giant slalom gold medallist Nevin Galmarini's Instagram feed, where the Swiss ripper recently posted this absolutely iconic photo of Jeff Brushie cranking a picture-perfect method mid-run in a 1992 giant slalom competition. Beautfiful.

See ya next week!