Edmonton ready for the The Style Experience Big Air World Cup
Dec 09, 2022·Snowboard Park & Pipe
It’s been almost a month and a half since we opened the 2022/23 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe season at the Big Air Chur in Switzerland, but this week we’re ready to wind things back up in Canada at the Edmonton Style Experience Big Air World Cup presented by Toyota, the first of this season’s Shred the North Canadian series of World Cup competitions.
It’s shaping up to be a city big air World Cup showdown the likes of which we’ve never quite seen before here in Edmonton, with competition taking place in the cavernous Commonwealth Stadium from 9-10 December. Men’s qualifications and women’s semifinals are first up on the menu for Friday, 9 December, followed on Saturday, 10 December by men’s semifinals, then women’s finals at 17:00 local time and men’s finals at 19:00 local time.
Edmonton - nicknamed “Shredmonton” for the next four days - is the northernmost capital city in North America and Commonwealth Stadium is the largest open-air sports stadium in Canada, making for a setting unlike any seen before for a Canadian big air World Cup competition.
A special setting calls for a special jump, and the one here in Edmonton fits the bill. With a drop-in ramp that begins above the edge of the highest seats in Commonwealth Stadium and then follows the trajectory of the stands down into a wide-takeoff, long-landing, step-over jump, the geometry on display is the you kind would typically see on one of designer Charles Beckinsale’s signature on-piste showtime booters.
Making this weekend’s competition even more special will be the presence of Sebastien Toutant in the role of guest judge, who will be picking his favourite style trick of the finals with a bonus prize of $1500 each for his choice of the women and men. As well, there will also be an online fan vote for best trick happening after the competition, with an additional $1000 for each of those winners as chosen by Instagram vote.
Format-wise, we will see the top eight women from Friday’s qualifications go straight through to Saturday’s finals. For the men, meanwhile, the top three riders from each heat will advance directly to finals, with the next six riders from each heat going to Saturday morning’s semifinals. From semis the next four top riders will advance to finals for a total of 10 men dropping in on Saturday night.
HOST CANADIANS IN TOUGH AGAINST STACKED JAPANESE TEAM
On the women’s side of The Style Experience the host Canadian’s will be well represented, with reigning big air World Champion Laurie Blouin and third-place finisher at the season-opening Big Chur Festival Jasmine Baird leading the way.
With World Championships gold from the Aspen 2021 big air and Sierra Nevada 2017 slopestyle competitions, as well as slopestyle silver from the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and 11 World Cup podiums (including two wins), Blouin is one of most decorated freestyle snowboarders in Canada’s history.
As for Baird, she’s got podiums in four of her past seven World Cup starts dating back to the beginning of last season, making her one of the most consistently successful riders on tour in that time.
However, the Canadians - as well as every other rider in the women’s field - will have to overcome the exceptional Japanese team if they’re looking for a podium in Edmonton.
Leading the way is Reira Iwabuchi, winner of the Big Air Chur back in October.
Still just 20 years old, Iwabuchi has already won the big air crystal globe twice, and has 11 podiums and eight victories in 24 career World Cup twice. Staggeringly consistent and boasting one of the deepest bags of tricks in the field - including a triple cork that we just might see this weekend - Iwabuchi is the one to beat here in Edmonton.
Perhaps best situated to best Iwabuchi is her teammate Kokomo Murase, last season’s slopestyle and Park & Pipe overall crystal globe winner and bronze medallist at the Beijing 2022 big air competition. With three wins and five podiums in seven World Cups last season, Murase established herself as one of the world’s absolute best, and she’ll be pushing hard for her first podium of the season on Saturday.
Throw in three-time World Champs medallist Miyabi Onitsuka who’s making her first World Cup start since she finished second at the Calgary Snow Rodeo slopestyle World Cup season, and you’ve got a formidable Japanese team in deed.
Other international women to watch out for in Edmonton include Ariane Burri of Switzerland, Melissa Pepperkamp from the Netherlands and Kamilla Kozuback of Hungary.
MCMORRIS LOOKING FOR FIRST HOME-SOIL WIN SINCE 2017
While he never stays off the top of the podium for long, it has been a hot minute since Canada’s Mark McMorris took a win on home soil, with his last major victory in Canada coming back in February of 2017 at the Quebec City big air World Cup.
This weekend the 28-year-old will be looking to change that in big way when he leads the host contingent into competition on a Edmonton Style Experience big air jump that should play very much to his strengths as one of the absolute best all-around snowboarders ever.
While McMorris’ countryman and friendly rival Max Parrot will be sitting out this week’s action, with Nicholas Laframboise and young guns like Truth Smith, Finn Finestone, Cameron Spaulding and Jacob Lagault all suiting up, the Canadians have a young and exciting team looking to make some noise this weekend.
That being said, there are some serious heavyweights from around the world looking for their piece of the Edmonton podium.
Looming largest on the start list is Marcus Kleveland of Norway, one of the few riders on earth who can go toe-to-toe with McMorris in pure technical wizardry. Though Kleveland had something of a down year last season, he still took the W at the season finale Silvaplana slopestyle, and it was only back in 2020/21 that he earned Aspen 2021 World Championships slopestyle gold as well as the slopestyle and Park & Pipe overall crystal globes. Look for the 23-year-old to start the season off strong here in Edmonton.
As with the women, the Japanese men’s team is one of the strongest top-to-bottom here in Edmonton, with Takeru Otsuka leading the way after claiming the win at the Big Air Chur in October. Along with Chur second-place finisher Ruka Tobita, Hiroaki Kunitake, Taiga Hasegawa and a handful of others, the Japanese team is looking fierce.
With the likes of Chris Corning and Sean Fitzsimons suiting up the US starting lineup has some exceptional talent, and riders like Leon Vockensperger (GER), Valentino Guseli (AUS), Jakub Hrones (CZE), Jonas Boesiger (SUI) and Emiliano Lauzi (ITA) all on hand, there’s a whole lot of international firepower set to show their stuff over the next two days of action.
WHERE TO WATCH LIVE
YouTube livestream WOMEN (with restrictions), YouTube livestream MEN (with restrictions), skiandsnowboard.live (USA), Eurosport Discovery, CT Sport (CZE), Viaplay (DEN), TV3 Sport (EST/LAT/LIT), V Sport + (FIN/NOR), YLE Areena (FIN), L’Equipe (FRA), JSPORTS 3 (JPN), ESPN Latin America, Polsat Sport (POL), JOJ Sport (SVK), Viaplay (GBR), CBC (CAN)
QUICK LINKS
Edmonton Style Experience Big Air World Cup data page (programme, start lists, live scoring, results)
Women’s finals livestream (with restrictions)
Men’s finals livestream (with restriction)
