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Freeskiers, snowboarders go extreme at Big Boulder SNOW SPORTS: Gatorade Free Flow Tour snowboarding event stops at Lake Harmony on Saturday.Jan 08, 2010 (The Morning Call - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Billy Keil, a 17-year-old from White Haven, and Jackie Kling, a 15-year-old from Ambler, didn't even hesitate when the question was put to them: Which would you rather compete in, the X Games or the Olympics. Both young snowboarders, who have dreams of hitting the pro tour one day, produced the answer in their very next breath: "The X-Games, because I don't really do half pipe or bordercross, and that's all there is in the Olympics," said Keil, a senior at Crestwood High School in Mountaintop, Luzerne County. "I'm more interested in the X Games," admitted Kling, a freshman at Wissahickon High School who calls Lake Harmony her "winter home." Both high schoolers are slated to compete in the inaugural Gatorade Free Flow Tour event at Big Boulder Ski Area in Lake Harmony on Saturday. Big Boulder, along with Vail, Colo., are the first two stops on the new tour, which features men's and women's snowboard superpipe, men's and women's snowboard slopestyle and free ski superpipe and freeski slopestyle competitions. The amateur level series is holding events throughout the country in January, with the winners of each contest earning a trip to the national finals at Mount Snow Resort in Vermont Feb. 5-7. The two overall snowboard superpipe and slopestyle champions, and the overall freeski superpipe and slopestyle champions earn spots to compete against the pros in the first stop of the 2010-11 Winter Dew Tour next season. "I wanted to get onto the Dew tour this year, but I didn't get picked," Keil said. "I'm pretty excited about having the Gatorade Free Flow Tour here because hopefully it will all work out and I will do something good." "I've been snowboarding freestyle since I was nine years old," said Kling, who has her own Web site (www.jackiekling.com). "I guess I'm pretty good at it. If it wasn't for Big Boulder, I wouldn't be anywhere good at all." Both snowboarders basically grew up on Big Boulder, which is hosting one of just three events Gatorade Free Flow Tour events in the East. Killington Resort in Vermont is hosting an event Jan. 23-24 and Loon Mountain Resort in New Hampshire is hosting an event Jan. 30-31 before the finals at Mount Snow in February. In all, there are 10 stops on the tour before the finals. "This is our first year for the Gatorade Tour in the winter," said tour spokesperson Lauren Bogema of Alli, Alliance of Action Sports. "We brought Gatorade into our summer series, and they carried over to the winter to help us launch this series." "Being able to bring amateurs in snowboarding and freeskiing the same steppingstone to the prose we offer skateboarders and BMX riders through the summer Free Flow Tour is something we are really excited about," said Kenny Mitchell, the Gatorade action sports team manager. "We want to do everything we can to support action sports at a grassroots level, and we're looking forward to seeing these dedicated freeskiers and snowboarders out there competing. "We tried to find the best resorts where competitors could showcase their skills," Bogema said, "and Big Boulder was a great fit. We think there is great talent in Pennsylvania and we can't wait to see what comes out of Big Boulder." Registration for the event begins at 7 a.m. with competition hitting the slopes at 10 a.m. Organizers are anticipating about 50 competitors and 200 dedicated fans, until the competition ends around 4 or 5 p.m. Competitors are scored by three judges on tricks, how well they're done, the size of the trick, the amplitude of their jumps and how well the routine went overall. "Probably my Rodeo 9 is my best trick," said Keil, describing a back flip with a 900-degree twist. "I throw a good front flip, 540s and rail switch ups and spins on and off, Kling said. For more information on the Gatorade Free Flow Tour, go online to http://www.gatoradefreeflowtour.com . Coming events: Blue Mountain is buzzing this weekend. The ski area's "Touch The Sky" motto will be realized in a whole new way at 10 a.m. Saturday with the grand opening of the BigAirBAG stunt bag, a 56-foot long by 35-feet wide and eight-feet high air bag used as a training aid and fall cushion for skiers and shredders attempting to land aerial maneuvers. The BigAirBAG is located along Lower Paradise, is the largest such air bag in the U.S. and the only one in Pennsylvania. Also on Saturday, Blue Mountain, located in Palmerton, is hosting a downhill bike race on the Raceway slope. Registration takes place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Summit Lodge with race starting at 10:30. Helmets are required, as are parent signatures for competitors 17 and younger. On Monday, Bear Creek Mountain Resort & Conference Center in Macungie is hosting a pair of events with bog mountain skier Glen Plake. The mohawk-haired Plake will sign posters from 2:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. in the lodge, and then offer commentary following a 4 p.m. screening of "The Edge of Never" in the Mountain ballroom. "The Edge of Never" is a documentary filmed against the backdrop of big mountain skiing where Plake takes 15-year-old Kye Petersen along the same extreme skiing route in Chamonix, France, where the youngster's legendary extreme skier father, Trevor Peterson, died in 1996. OUTDOOR CALENDAR BEGINNER FLY TYING CLASS, JAN. 9 -- 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. through Feb. 28 at NorthamptonMiddle School cafeteria ... presented by Hokendauqua Chapter of Trout Unlimited ...Learn all the techniques of fly tying. Materials provided ... $20 ... Registration required ... Call Art Williams (610-261-1788) for information. SURVIVE COLD WEATHER EMERGENCIES, JAN. 13 -- 6 p.m. at PPL property in Hawley ... Learn to identify frost bite, frost nip and hypothermia, heart attacks while shoveling snow, remaining sage on lake and pind ice ... Register by calling PPL at 570-251-6196 or e-mail [email protected] ANIMAL TALES, JAN. 16 -- 6:30 p.m. at PPL property in Hawley ... Hear Native American folktales about animals and learn about animals skulls and skins found in Pa. ... Call PPL at 570-251-6196 to register or e-mail [email protected]. SPRINGTOWN ROD & GUN CLUB 3D ARCHERY SHOOT, JAN. 18 -- 8 a.m. at Springtown Rod And Gun Club,off Route 412 in Springtown ... kitchen open ... For info, call Jim Segletes 610-258-0165 or 610-346-8806. WINTER WALK-n-TALK, JAN. 25 -- 2 p.m. at PPL property in Bangor ... Join Bud Cole of the Three Bs Nature Center for a walk along the Tekening Trails to observe winter wonders ... registration required ... Call PPL at 570-251-6196 or e-mail pplpreserves@ pplweb.com. POINT PHILLIPS FRIDAY NIGHT BLOCK SHOOT, JAN. 30 -- 7 p.m. -10 p.m. at 1035 Smith Gap Road, Bath ... efreshments available ... For info,call 610-837-0310. How to submit items: Local outdoor organizations must submit items online at http://www.themorningcall.com/outdoorcalendar . All events must be open to the public. Include name of event, date(s), time(s), location, details and phone number (including area code) for additional information. No raffle announcements. Submit items at least three weeks in advance for maximum exposure. [email protected] 610-820-6782 SLOPESIDE Check out Slopeside, our new video feature. We begin with a look at Bear Creek in Macungie. SKI GUIDE Directions, Google mapping, hours, prices, calendar of events, contact info for eastern Pennsylvania ski areas. Ski conditions, updated daily, for the region. Photos, new clothing and product directory, and more.. themorningcall.com/skiing To see more of The Morning Call, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mcall.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |