Sadowski-Synnott and Collins on top in WGNZ Obsidian Park Jam

Lake Wanaka, Mon 17 Aug: Cardrona Alpine Resort was the host for the final sports challenge at Obsidian 2020 - the Park Jam, where both the freeski and snowboard athletes threw down some amazing runs to wow the spectators on a bluebird day. Team Kuzma came out on top for the event (100pts) followed by Team Smoothy (80pts) and Team Wells (60pts). However, this performance from Kuzma's  team was still not enough though to topple Team Smoothy off the top of the overall leaderboard.

“The athletes and organisers wanted to keep the Park Jam true to an old school jam format, which meant the judging criteria was around the vibe of an athlete’s run,” explained Head Judge, Tori Beattie. “And it came out strong in the athletes. It was great to see.”

The men’s freeski event was the biggest category and at the end of the semi-finals it was hard for the judges to pick only three to go through. At the end of the day, however, it would be Finn Bilous grabbing top spot, with Jackson Wells in second and Beau-James Wells rounding out the podium in third.

Bilous set himself apart from the pack by hitting every single feature on the course, while putting down a different line in every run, landing all his tricks and exhibiting loads of style and variety throughout the day. Jackson Wells took the vibe criteria seriously and probably put down the most laps out of anyone - even running back up the slope for another lap at one point - showing his incredible skateboarding background and creativity throughout the day. Third-place finisher Beau-James Wells was technically strong and his pipe skills really paid off on the quarter pipe. Close contenders were Nico Porteous and Ben Barclay nipping at the heels of the third spot.

“It was full-on, even the qualifying rounds were pretty intense, then it just turned up a notch in the finals,” explained Bilous. “I had a few tricks in mind. I saw the course set up yesterday and did a few of those tricks that I wanted to do. I didn’t get the results I wanted earlier in the week so I put everything I could into this comp, so I’m stoked it worked out.”

A similarly high level of riding in the men’s snowboard category had the judges wanting to take four athletes through to the finals even though the rules stipulated that only three could be granted those spots, and eventually it was decided that Tiarn Collins, JJ Rayward and Ronan Thompson would be the ones to squaring off to decide the podium.

The quarter pipe became a key feature on the course and landing tricks on it became more important as the competition went through. Tiarn Collins rose to the top with some technical tricks and really impressed the judges, while JJ Rayward displayed his creativity and jumped into second, with Freeride athlete Ronan Thompson showing he was not just a big mountain athlete buy putting down a variety of solid runs to finish in third.

“It was fun today, I was able to put down a few things so I am so happy,” said a stoked Collins. “It was sick with the set up, you could see all the different types of snowboarding - it wasn’t just a rail jam, it was more of a park which is awesome, I loved it.”

Olympic bronze medallist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was the clear stand-out in the women's competition with her technical prowess on the rails and stylish airs. Veteran Christy Prior’s experience in the park also shone through and she was definitely in her comfort zone on her way to second place on the day, while youngster Ruby Andrews managed to pip Team Captain Janina Kuzma for the third-place spot on the podium with some technical rail tricks putting her above halfpipe specialist Kuzma.

“I’m pretty stoked and the whole week has just been so fun, everyone has just been so happy to be here so good vibes all around,” said Sadowski-Synnott. “Hopefully it was a successful day [for Team Kuzma], I think we came in first, we’ll have to see how the Mountain Shred and the videographers event plays out.”

The hour-long finals saw all the athletes turn it up a notch, which was impressive especially impressive considering the busy few days the riders have had on the snow throughout Obsidian. The skiers were pulling out double corks over the middle of the course and the snowboarders were pulling out the tricks in the quarter pipe, with the rankings staying steady even as the tricks got more and more difficult. Summing up the day, Beattie pointed to one particular athlete for helping to fuel the fire seen out on the Cardrona course - “If there was a vibe award it would go to Jackson Wells, who hiked so much and came up with some crazy creative lines and laughed the whole way.”

Obsidian Overall Results  - after Day Park Jam (17 August 2020) 
1 – Team Smoothy - 360
2 – Team Kuzma - 340
3 – Team Wells - 240

Full results here
 
Park Jam Results
 
Men’s Freeski 
 
1 - Finn Bilous – Team Kuzma
2 – Jackson Wells – Team Kuzma
3 – Beau-James Wells – Team Smoothy
 
Women’s Freeski and Snowboard
 
1 – Zoi Sadowski-Synnott – Team Kuzma
2 – Christy Prior – Team Smoothy
3 – Ruby Andrews – Team Wells
 
Men’s Snowboard 
 
1 – Tiarn Collins – Team Smoothy
2 – JJ Rayward – Team Kuzma 
3 - Ronan Thompson – Team Smoothy