Held in Lesotho last week, the three day snowboarding festival Quiksnow 2010 ended with a Grahamstown competitor winning gold. Bradley Stephenson finished second in the Giant Slalom event on the opening day.
Held in Lesotho last week, the three day snowboarding festival Quiksnow 2010 ended with a Grahamstown competitor winning gold. Bradley Stephenson finished second in the Giant Slalom event on the opening day.
The following day Stephenson won his speciality event, freestyle skiing, which means he retains his title of the South African freestyle champion.
Freestyle skiing usually comprises four disciplines: moguls, aerials, half pipe and ski cross, but the Quiksnow event was judged only on the jumps.
Although Quiksnow has traditionally been held at Tiffindell, Quiksilver marketing manager Dane Patterson is pleased with the results of this year’s new venue.
“The new venue and setup has certainly raised the bar, with a number of never before seen tricks being landed in competition,” he said.
Before the Quicksnow event, Stephenson took part in the Lesotho King’s Cup freestyle in July which he went on to win.
However, just over a week before the Quicksnow event, Stephenson fell during a training spin. After being unable to walk for two days, he consulted several specialists and missed the SA national Alpine champs at the end of July, but managed to compete in Quicksnow event with great results.
Stephenson and his coach Alex Heath are currently organising training and accommodation in the United States during December, as Stephenson hopes to compete in the North American Continental Cup and World Cup events, before representing South Africa at the World Freestyle Ski Champs in Utah, USA.
The world champs are held every two years, and he has already qualified and been selected for 2011.
