"MURASAKI AIRMIX STYLE BATTLES 3" was held at Hoshino Resort Nekoma Mountain in Fukushima from March 7th to 9th. Traditionally, AIRMIX has focused on "who can fly the farthest", but from this tournament, Kohei Kudo has taken the lead in planning and running the event, and the focus has shifted to a more style-oriented approach. That's why the word "STYLE BATTLES" was added to the name of the tournament.And to conclude, the dramatic ending was like a drama written by a talented scriptwriter, and everyone there was enthusiastic and intoxicated. Many people have already checked the results and riding footage on social media. So, here we will look back mainly on an interview with Kohei, who brilliantly fulfilled his heavy responsibility as producer and led this tournament to success.
Before we get into Kohei's interview, let's briefly touch on the tournament.
The open practice was held on March 3th, the qualifying round on the 7th, and the men's final jam and men's and women's super final on the 8th. The battlefield was made up of three sections: a kicker that can also be used for transition jumps, a regular backside hip, and a section that can be used as a bowl or a front quarter. Up until now, the presence of oversized spines has been prominent, but this competition required a layout that required overall skating ability and style.
Among many heated battles, the winner of the women's race was Kanna Kono, who cleanly landed a Cab 540 on the kicker and then made a hip stile.
Raimu Katayama, who was the favorite to win the men's division, showed outstanding stability in the first round of the Super Final, connecting a backside 720 on the kicker, a huge method on the hip, and a high chuck flip in the end section perfectly, but he made a mistake in the third round and was eliminated. Nevertheless, his overall level of perfection was impressive, and he won the Best Trick award.
And it was filmer Omura Yusei, known as Gokuraku Bozu, who won the men's category, ahead of young Olympians and movie riders. Although his opponent made some mistakes, his front flips, in which he thrust his tail into the sky with his hips, got bigger with each frame, and in the final battle, he went over his hips completely wearing only swim trunks. The event ended with such excitement that the riders who were usually filmed by Omura, including Nishizuka Rensei, who had just finished a perfect run, ran over to him after his perfect stomp, along with head judge Kokubo Kazu.
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Such was the dramatic turn of events in this year's AIRMIX. We asked Kohei, who took the helm as the new producer, to look back on the event.
It seems like AIRMIX, your first in six years, was a huge success?
Thank you. Judging from the reactions of many people, I think they were very satisfied. There were many great battles at the Super Final.
What battle was particularly memorable?
The first match was a goofy showdown between Yuuri Okubo and Kuya Kubota. It was a battle between two guys with similar styles, so it was really interesting. The heated battles continued after that, but the final was so awesome that it overshadowed all of them.
The decision to include filmmaker Omura Yusei in the wild card slot was not a bad one.
When I said "We're putting Omura Yusei in the Super Invitation slot" during the planning stage, there was some excitement and I thought "Huh? Who is that?" But I persuaded him by saying "He'll be fine. He'll definitely liven things up." And he did it! Isn't it amazing to have a competition where the filmer wins against the rider!!
First of all, please tell us how Kohei became the new producer of AIRMIX.
About two years ago, there was talk of reviving AIRMIX, and at that time, Yoshino (Mitsuhiko) contacted me. "It's been a while since I left the scene, so I want Kohei, who knows the current scene well, to take the lead." In fact, we had been planning to hold it the year before last and last year, but we couldn't make it happen due to a lack of snow and other reasons. This year was the year we finally managed to make it happen.
What exactly were you doing as a producer?
I thought about the basic PR direction, decided who would be the invited riders and judges, and what the flow and rules of the competition would be. For example, up until now, even riders who received a super invitation had to participate from the qualifying round, but this time they will be able to start from the super final, and it's okay to not wear a bib except for the qualifying round... Also, I was in charge of directing the course layout so that it would be a stage where various personalities and styles could be displayed, rather than just making big jumps.
The reason why you even changed the name of the tournament is because you placed so much importance on style, right?
That's right. I was especially conscious of that. It's one style to fly with your hips, but it's also another style to show off with a slash without flying. You can fly normally on kickers, or use a side transition. How do you combine these various ways of showing off and express them as your own style? That's what gives you individuality, and I think it's cool to show off there. I wanted to break the image of AIRMIX so far, so I called out to riders who can show off whether they fly or not for the invitation.
The course layout certainly made it easy to vary tricks and express one's style.
The kicker can be used as an item of about 14m if you jump it from the front, and about 8m if you use the side transition. The angle of the hip kick is also slightly lower than before, so if you can get the ollie right, you can get the height and make it easier to do tricks. The end bowl doesn't just raise the slash, but also has a partial extension so that you can jump higher. I wanted it to not end with a hip jump. As a result, the riders had a lot of fun and attacked with various lines, and it was fun to see the diverse styles of the riders.
Was it also the efforts of the Nekoma Mountain operators and digger crew that made it possible to create such a setting?
I met with the operators when I went to Nekoma Mountain for an inspection in January, and we had several online meetings after that, but what was great was that they put the rider first. They had been riding snow groomers and creating items for about 1 years, so their skills were amazing. I asked them some pretty unreasonable requests, but they made them come true.
The judging was also good.
In a one-on-one battle, the rider who goes second has an advantage. But there aren't any detailed points in AIRMIX, so I made sure that the judges would give the same marks regardless of whether they were in the lead or second. I didn't want the riders to have to go for the win by putting together a compact performance, and I wanted the riders to always have an "attacking" and "showing off" attitude. Also, up until now, about 1% of the emphasis was on the spine, but this time I made sure that the judges would give a balanced score throughout the whole performance. That's why Katayama's performance, in which he made the whole course his own, was selected for the Best Trick Award.
Looking back at this tournament, what are your thoughts?
When I was young, my seniors showed me what it means to "show off in a competition," and I think I was able to convey this to today's young riders. We competed with our seniors and felt that if we won, we could raise our profile, and I think this event was also a place where they could feel that there are competitions like this in the world. In this day and age, even if a young rider who has finished competing in competitions shifts gears to want to be active in videos, it's quite difficult to suddenly become a movie star. However, there are many young and cool riders. In the past, there were many competitions that focused on "showing off," and even after finishing their competition activities, there were many places and options to express yourself other than videos. I think there are fewer opportunities like that now. But that would be boring...I felt that there was no dream for the riders. That's why I want to make AIRMIX a place where riders can raise their profile and aim higher by participating in competitions that focus on "showing off." I think this tournament has come together to create a tournament that gives us a sense of that future.
Will it be held again next season?
We are moving in that direction, but it depends on the number of sponsors we can get together. If we are going to hold the event, we want it to be a competition that riders can dream about, and we want to offer a prize that matches that! We are looking forward to sponsors who are willing to bet on the future of snowboarding!!
"AIRMIX", which was revived after a six-year hiatus, was held under the new vision of producer Kohei, and attracted a lot of attention, including the audience being swept up in a frenzy at the event. As a competition that gives new dreams to the next generation of snowboarders, expectations are high for the next season's event to see how it will evolve in the future.
