EDMONTON 鈥� Organizers are promising a steeper, faster slope as the FIS snowboard big air World Cup returns to Commonwealth Stadium this weekend.
Sixty of the world鈥檚 top male riders and 30 female riders are set to hit the man-made slope that鈥檚 been installed in the stadium.聽
Organizers have introduced significant improvements to the scaffolding ramp, learning from last year when eight out of 21 women withdrew from the event because the track was too slow, depriving them of the proper airtime to safely complete their tricks.
The pitch of the slope is steeper, and two storeys longer than last year. It now stands at 15 storeys tall, from above the stadium lights to field level.
And, unseasonably warm weather in Edmonton may actually help make the event more competitive. Because the city has yet to receive a significant snowfall, the white stuff is being made at the nearby Rabbit Hill ski resort, about 35 kilometres south of Commonwealth, and hauled into the stadium.聽
鈥淭he warm weather may be a blessing,鈥� said Richard Hegarty, the director of major events for Canada Snowboard. 鈥淲e will have the snow, and that warmth will help the snow set once it warms and freezes. It makes the snow fast.鈥�
Environment Canada is predicting temperatures of around 0 C for both Friday's qualifying and Saturday's competition.聽
Last year, the snow was laid down on the slope at temperatures below -20 C, which made for a slower track.
鈥淎t that temperature, it almost sticks like Velcro,鈥� said Hegarty.聽
Jasmine Baird, the Georgetown, Ont.-raised rider who won her first-ever World Cup Big Air event in Edmonton last year, is looking forward to the faster slope.
鈥淟ast year, the issue I was having and that it seemed like everyone was having was the speed,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou were pointing it in, you were tucking, trying to go as fast as possible to just hope you鈥檙e going to make it. There was really no room for error on the run-in or the takeoff.
鈥淜nowing there鈥檚 enough speed this year, it鈥檚 going to take a lot of that stress off and let us be able to focus more on doing our tricks. It won鈥檛 be just hoping that we will make it to the landing.鈥�
Nicolas Laframboise of Saint Jean, Que., took bronze in the 2022 event, and did his final runs wearing a blue Oilers jersey. He said the jersey will be back this weekend, and he promised a secret twist will be revealed at the competition.聽
He was also impressed by the changes to the course.
鈥淟ast year, the big issue for everyone was lack of speed,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith the drop being so much higher, I think it won鈥檛 be an issue this year. People will be able to go bigger and further down the landing, which will allow us to do bigger tricks.鈥�
Australia鈥檚 Valentino Guseli will be in Edmonton to defend his 2022 title. He also won the Crystal Globe as the World Cup overall Big Air champion in 2022-23. He said he prefers the stadium events like Commonwealth to being on the side of a mountain.
鈥淥ne thing I love about the Big Air events, especially the scaffolding ones, is that there鈥檚 such a huge crowd,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the atmosphere is so awesome and all the people get behind you, for sure.鈥�
One athlete who won鈥檛 be competing is the three-time Olympic medallist and all-time Winter X Games medal leader Mark McMorris. He broke his fibula in late February, and still doesn鈥檛 feel well enough to compete at a World Cup level.
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling pretty strong and healthy right now,鈥� said the 29-year-old McMorris. 鈥淚 am getting really close to 110 per cent. But it takes longer than ever, nowadays, to get back to that 110 per cent that I am looking for. Quite honestly, it doesn鈥檛 make me feel that awesome if I put myself into a situation to compete knowing I鈥檓 not at 110 per cent.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2023.
Steven Sandor, The Canadian Press
