While most Canadians are spending the weekend at the cottage soaking up the last rays of summer or buckliing down for the new school year, Canada's top snowboarders were already hard at work on the slopes on Saturday (Sept. 1).
Cardrona, New Zealand played host to the first Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup of the 2007-08 season, and the first ever to be held in that country.
The event started off with men's and women's half pipe competition, and the Canadian squad can thank a handful of 樱桃视频residents for the team's ranking.
Squamish's Dominique Vall茅e took the country's the lead, with an overall ninth place result in the women's competition, and Justin Lamoureux was tops on the Canadian men's side, with a 12th place finish.
"They put on an exceptional contest here in New Zealand," said Canadian half pipe head coach Tom Hutchinson. "Unfortunately it was an incredibly windy day, and the gusts of wind literally blew Dom [Vall茅e] into the pipe, causing her to fall in her run. But we had some solid efforts to start things off, and we're looking forward to a strong season."Another 樱桃视频resident, Katie Tsuyuki, made her mark in the half pipe event with a 15th place finish.
Although new to Cardrona, some things weren't so new during the World Cup event, with top spots going to last year's Crystal Globe Champions, Manuela Laura Pesko of Switzerland, and Japan's Ryoh Aono.
It seems Pesko and Aono picked up right where they left off in March with some impressive performances to start the season. Other notable Canadians results included Charmaine Ironside of Calgary who secured 11th spot; Sarah Conrad of Halifax in 16th; Gabriel Dussualt of Donnacona, Quebec, in 30th; and Brendan Davis of Barrie, Ontario in 51st.
Next up on the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup tour is a Snowboardcross event in Valle Nevado, Chile from Sept. 25 to 29, where North Vancouver's Drew Neilson will be competing for the first time since winning the 2006-07 Crystal Globe title.
On the women's side the event will mark the return of Dominique Maltais, who missed last season with an injury, and yet another 樱桃视频resident, Ma毛lle Ricker, who finished the overall season in second place on the tour.
