X-TRAIL JAM in TOKYO DOME 2008

snowboard network / SBN snowboard network

12/24/2008

X-TRAIL JAM in TOKYO DOME 2008

It's not limited to snowboarding, but it goes without saying that competitions play a part in evolution.
There may be some arguing that snowboarding shouldn't be competing, but if the rider enjoys "competing" and the audience enjoys it, that's one form of snowboarding.
Also this year, X-TRAIL JAM IN TOKYO DOME has arrived.It will be the 9th time.What kind of evolution will be seen this year?

13.Dec. Quarter Pipe
One of the surprises this time was the sudden participation of Shaun White. It will be the first appearance in two years.
And the other is the absence of Travis Rice due to a lumbar spine injury.The atmosphere of the competition changes completely depending on the riders who participate.The tournament has taken on a turbulent appearance.

Japanese qualifiers are Shota Suzuki (BURTON), Keito Kumasaki (SALOMON), Eiju Hirano (BURTON), Kosuke Hosokawa (KISSMARK), Tomoya Fujino (BURTON), Fumiyuki Murakami (FORUM), Rikuya Narita (ROME SDS). , And 10 people, Takumi Suzuki (BURTON), Kentaro Miyawaki (RIDE), and Yasuaki Momose (FLOW) who won the WILD CARD.
It was held at 2RUN and BEST POINT.
As a result, Takumi Suzuki, Keito Kumasaki, Yasuaki Momose, and Fumiyuki Murakami won the qualifying.Not to mention the perfection of the tricks, all of them are the points that were struck by the height and style.It is expected that it will be a good match with the invited riders in the main race as well.

In addition to these four people, a total of 4 people including Japanese seed riders and overseas invited riders will compete in the 16-minute JAM SESSION method in the qualifying round.
There are three Japanese seed players, Daisuke Murakami (K2), Kazuumi Fujita (K2), and Takaharu Nakai (BURTON).And overseas invited riders are Liszt Matira (DRAKE / northwave), Tostein Hogmo (DC), Nicholas Muller (BURTON), Kevin Pearce (BURTON), Peetu Piiroinen (BURTON), Sebastian Tortanto (NITRO), Nine people: Shaun White (BURTON), Terje Håkonsen (BURTON), and Chaz Gardemond (DC).

When the qualifying JAM SESSION starts, each rider's first run will be made with a simple technique.First of all, it appeals at a height higher than the number of revolutions.Emphasis on style with methods and toe fakies.Meanwhile, there are riders who are rushing into the quarter at the fastest speed.When you run up the vertical at top speed, a small body is ejected into the air like a rocket.It's Peetu Piiroinen from Finland.A big cheer goes up from the venue.
It seems that the fighting spirit of the following riders has also ignited.Shaun White also makes a tall straight air with a tweak.The following Terrier is also in a good mood with the familiar McTwist.
JAM SESSION started at a slightly slow pace, but speeded up from the middle stage.Takaharu Nakai has a wide variety of switchback side 360, early oop 540, front 720 and so on.Kazuumi Fujita makes up to 720 backside and 900 front.The air that seems to have stopped for a moment in the air of Terrier is also alive.Liszt Matira makes Mac Twist with the accuracy of lip-to-lip.Last year's TTR champion Kevin Pearce's backside 720 is also smooth.Nicolas Müller also makes a Mac with a unique style.
Among such familiar riders, Chaz Gardemond is a little worrisome while appearing for the first time.Even though he has a big physique, he can handle the board smoothly and his style is decided.cool.

The results are Shaun White, Kevin Pearce, Peetu Piiroinen and Chaz Gardemond.Eight people, Liszt Matira, Terje Håkonsen, Kazuumi Fujita and Takaharu Nakai, will advance to the semi-finals.However, Nakai, who was in XNUMXth place, had a concussion with the last one and gave up his participation. XNUMXth place Torstein Horgmo advanced to the semi-finals.
It was a spectacular qualifying JAM.However, after this, the semi-final and the final are all JAM sessions.I'm sorry for the players who hike up many times, but I'm happy as a fan.

Semi-final and final heat up further.It was a high-level trick exchange.It was Sean who was clearly leading the contest.Sean's riding stimulates other riders, and Sean responds.It's a collection of riders who don't like to lose.Kazuumi Fujita, who was unfortunately defeated in the semi-final, also has a trick and make-up rate that is comparable to overseas players.I'm looking forward to the future.

The final result is
Winner Shaun White (BURTON)
2nd place Chaz Gardemond (DC)
3rd place Peetu Piiroinen (BURTON)
It became.

If my record is correct, Sean has 16 runs from qualifying JAM to the final.I think that only one was slightly out of order.And I think that Chaz in 2nd place also made almost 16 of them.
Trick variation, height, and make-up rate.The result was suitable for standing on the podium.

▲ QP RANK 1 BIB # 16 Shaun White

▲ QP RANK 2 BIB # 2 Chas Guldemond

▲ QP RANK 3 & HIGHEST BIB # 12 Peetu Piiroinen
▲ BIB # 1 Kazuumi Fujita (8th)

▲ Travis Rice & Shaun White
▲ HIGHEST BIB # 12 Peetu Piiroinen

14. Dec. Straight Jump

On the day of the 9th X-TRAIL JAM straight jump, the Tokyo Dome was packed with more than 4 spectators.

A mix of apparently snowboarder-like races dressed in your favorite snow brand apparel and races dressed in ordinary streetwear.There are many young people, but older people and families are also noticeable. It turns out that X-TRAIL JAM itself is a very widely accepted event.

The fantastic light and sound production of the opening raises the expectations of the audience.Cheers go up with the roaring sound of fireworks.
In addition to Nippon Television's Ralph Suzuki Anna and Neil Hartmann's double MC, Rio Tahara, who retired from active duty last year, explains.And the talent Chinatsu Wakatsuki adds a flower (?).

Competition start.
This year's straight jump is a dramatic development from the Japanese qualifying.
At the end of the first run, Takaharu Nakai (BURTON) ranked first with 1 points.CAB1 which turns to a little late, grab is also stale fish and quite stylish. In second place is 298 points on the switchback side 720 indie, which Atsushi Ishikawa (FLOW / QUIKSILVER) is good at.Takato Taniguchi (ALLIAN) is in 2rd place with 720 points, including the CAB285 tail grab.The 900th place on the qualifying line is ALLIAN.256 points for the shuffled B3.

And the second one.The drama started here.
Shintaro Yamaguchi (VIONG), who has won from the wild card, made a 1080 tail grab on the front side and scored 296 points.It dances to the provisional second place at a stretch.
Takato Taniguchi's second one is Masakari.I made up!Immediately after thinking, the edge was taken by the snow surface and the balance was lost.It seemed to be almost safe, but the score did not increase and it was 2 points.At this point, it was provisionally ranked 145th.
Following Atsushi Ishikawa, the switchback side 900 did not make up, and he remained in 3rd place provisionally.
Tentative 1st place Takaharu Nakai is confirmed to pass the qualifying, leaving the other three at this point.But attack.Make the front side 3 perfectly by holding the indie grab. 900 points is over 304 points for the first time today. Pull away from 300nd place and below.
To pass the qualifying for the chocolate vanilla ball Arai (YONEX) in front of the lath, Takato Taniguchi needs 256 points or more.Switch backside 720 mute grab ... make up! With 282 points, she slips into the provisional 4th place.
And the last Takahiro Ishida (FORUM). If it is 282 points or more, it will pass the qualifying.The trick I challenged was the double front cork +1, which wasn't the first make-up (it seems to be called the Dub Peni 180 among my friends).What a last-minute make-up of this technique!The venue is filled with cheers.And the judge has 900 points!The venue screams again.
As a result, 1st place Takahiro Ishida, 2nd place Takaharu Nakai, 3rd place Shintaro Yamaguchi, 4th place Atsushi Ishikawa passed the qualifying.Vanivo does not pass unfortunately.I drank tears.

And the main race qualifying.
The three Japanese seeds are Keiji Okamoto (VOLKL), Akifumi Hiraoka (RIDE), and Haku Suzuki (K2).
The overseas invited riders are Shaun White (BURTON), Tostein Hogmo (DC), Chaz Gardemond (DC), Sebastian Totant (NITRO), Nicholas Muller (BURTON), Peetu Piiroinen (BURTON) as on the previous day. , Kevin Pearce (BURTON), Liszt Matira (Drake / northwave), Terje Håkonsen (BURTON).
The 4-minute JAM session for the final qualifying started with 16 people, including 35 who passed the Japanese qualifying.In the usual year, this qualifying was the best point of 2RUN, but this year it is also JAM.
You can see 7-8 jumps per person.It's a luxurious tournament.
In the case of 2RUN, each one has a sense of tension and is worth seeing, but at JAM, it's fun because it's a drastic trick.
Atsushi Ishikawa's Switch Backside 900, Chaz Gardemond's Switch Tweak, and Nicolas Müller's Late Stylish techniques such as backside 540 will be shown one after another. The last of the first round is Terrier's elegant backflip. In the 180nd and 1rd rounds, high-speed, high-difficulty tricks pop out. CAB2 is already a standard trick.When Sean makes CAB 3 and front side 900 continuously, Torstein makes switch back side 1080 and Chaz also makes CAB 1080, both of which feel even more affordable.When Sebastian Totant makes a cork 1080, Peetu Piiroinen also throws out a backside rodeo 1080 and 720, Keiji Okamoto, who caught the attention last year, will show off a double back +720.For Japanese people, Takaharu Nakai is pretty good in total. There are various variations such as CAB900, CAB180, front side 720, and back side 900, and the make-up rate is comparable to that of overseas players.Shintaro Yamaguchi finally made the front side 900 just before the end.Expectations are rising for passing the qualifying.

However, the result of the qualifying was Torstein Horgmo, Peetu Piiroinen, Shaun White, Chaz Gardemond, Liszt Matilla, Nicolas Müller, Kevin Pearce and Sebastian Totant.Nakai was unfortunately in 8th place and did not advance to the semi-final.

And semi-final.
This semi-final was just overwhelming.And it is no exaggeration to say that the X-TRAIL straight jump has definitely taken the next dimension in this session.

In the first round, Sean failed the CAB1.I can't hide my turmoil in the appearance of Sean running up the stairs. In the second round, Torstein made the switch backside 900 perfectly with stalefish.The press seat where we sit also raises a voice saying "Wow!".That should be it.Shintaro made F2 in the qualifying, but suddenly it was Switch B1260 past the backside 1260 and CAB1260.The dimensions are different.
Pete surely makes up to CAB900, backside 900, frontside 900, backside rodeo 900, and CAB1080 from a unique position, although the number of revolutions does not reach.Sean is trying to recover to CAB1260 and backside 1260, although he is slightly touching.Last year's champion list will also make up to Switch B900, but it will not reach the next generation.Similarly, Nicolas Müller, who once made X-TRAIL excited, seemed to have a strong semi-final defeat as it is.But the last one.When I think that I made one big backflip, the rotation stopped and another super late backflip from the banzai state.The dome trembled.In terms of difficulty, double backflip is no longer a big deal.However, this double back has no choice but to speak out to judges, reporters, and the audience.It was a double back with a different atmosphere.

The result of the semi-final comes out.Torstein Horgmo, Peetu Piiroinen, Shaun White, and Nicolas Müller.These four people advanced to the final.

Let me tell you the result of the final.
The first one.Nicholas made a CAB1 tail grab and got 900 points.Sean scored 310 points because CAB 1080 did not match slightly.Pete made a backside rodeo 223 with a mute grab and got 900 points.Torstein failed the switchbackside 338 made in the semifinal and scored 1260 points.
The second one.
No points will be announced from here.
Nicholas makes a smooth double backflip.Sean perfectly makes CAB 1080 Melong Love.Now I don't understand.CAB1080 does not fit the following Pete.And finally, Torstein unleashes Switchbackside 1080.I made the stalefish grab in the perfect style of holding it up to about 900 (two and a half turns).

After all the trials were completed, the venue was filled with excitement.
The results are as follows.
Winner Torstein Horgmo (DC)
2rd place Peetu Piiroinen (BURTON)
3rd place Shaun White (BUROTN)
MIR Takahiro Ishida (FORUM)

As I mentioned at the beginning, it's not limited to snowboarding, but it goes without saying that competitions play a part in evolution.
I am happy to have witnessed one frame of the evolutionary process.
And I would like to continue to see a new evolutionary scene.

The automobile industry is now experiencing unprecedented headwinds.However, I would like to pay tribute to NISSAN, which has sponsored this event for many years.And I hope this event will last for a long time.
▲ SJ RANK 1 BIB # 5 Torstein Horgmo
▲ SJ RANK 2 BIB # 12 Peetu Piiroinen