Saturday, March 18, 2000 -- Snowshoe, WV
Boardercross Brawl & Halfpipe Invasion
Story and photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage] [Boardercross Results] [Halfpipe Results]
[Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Pic Set 4]
See also the 1999 Boardercross Brawl and 1999 Halfpipe Invasion.

Kyle Dobbins takes the inside line on his way to a BX heat win

Silver Creek's Ruckus Ridge, at Snowshoe Mountain, got what it needed the day before the 2000 Boardercross Brawl and Halfpipe Invasion. A day's worth of natural snow along with non-stop snow making had the well groomed terrain park ready for action. As the clouds cleared out overnight, the sun rose to create a spectacular Saturday afternoon for big fun and big air.

The first competition, the Boardercross Brawl, got under way just after noon as the women lined up at the top of a very fast course. The object is simple, the first to the bottom wins. But, to make it a little more interesting a series of slalom gates that take the riders over various obstacles must be negotiated. The ultimate winner is decided through elimination rounds with the top two finishers in each four-person heat moving on to the next round. It was no surprise to find Whitney McVey (Salomon, Edge of the World, Bonfire) at the bottom of the course first in the women's final.

It's an air battle between Mike Valach and Josey Larkin

The men competed in in several age divisions ranging from the under 12 crowd to the over 30. The most contested group was the 21-25 crowd where it took four rounds of racing to finally narrow the field down to a winner. Taking first in all four of his heats and claiming the title was Doug Mercer (Iris Snow, Millennium 3, Full Tilt).

He went on to prove that he was the man to beat on this afternoon as all the age group winners hit the course for a final elimination round to determine the best of the best. With the final coming down to Mercer, Eric Porter (Men 17-20), Andy McDaniel (Men 26-30), and Adam Cumashot (Men 13-16), he once again found the finish line first.

Rashida Hussein lets it fly

With all the high-speed, elbow-to-elbow boardercross action completed it was time to drop in the halfpipe for some high-flying, big-air performances. Each competitor was judged on style, difficulty of ticks, and amplitude, and they had three tries to impress the judges with their best two runs counting for overall points.

With just four women taking on the monster arcs of the pipe, they were certainly not short on skills. Putting on the judges' favorite display of power and grace was Rashida Hussein (Burton, Smith, Hurley, Select Board Shop) who scored a total of 50 points. Her amazing repertoire included more than the usual grab here or grab there, she threw in a nice back-flip that drew big cheers from the crowd.

Jason Blizzard goes big

The men were again competing in separate age groups, but almost half of the competition took place in the 21-25 age group. With all that competition it isn't surprising that the highest overall score came out of this group. Sailing to top honors was the always huge Shawn Batzer (Burton Oakley, Volcom, Select Board Shop) who scored a close victory with 50 points. His closest competition came from the young talent of Adam Cumashot, who was competing in the 13-16 age group and was just a single point back with a score of 49.

As the clouds and cold rolled in over the terrain park it was time to head indoors for the awards. If you have never been to an awards ceremony at a Snowshoe Mountain competition, you just don't know how much you're missing. This event started with everyone getting a t-shirt, then there's the shwag toss into the crowd, then it's trophies and great merchandise for the top finishers, but that's not all. Saved for last were the big prizes to be given out in a random drawing. On this evening three lucky winners took home brand-new snowboards. Oh, and did we mention more free pizza and drinks then the crowd could finish. If you're a novice or accomplished racer, you need to get to Snowshoe to join in the fun and rewards that are packed into every event.