2011 Breakdown

Comment Share Posted on Sunday January 16th at 2:34 p.m. Tweet

Whats coming up for me over the next few months!

Wow so its been a while since I have been on here. I apologise for any followers that have been keeping an eye out. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and if you are in New Zealand you are enjoying the summer heat.

After finishing up a very quiet 2010 NZ season, I now look forward to what 2011 will bring. I will kick of with some very exciting news. ‘I am going to be a Dad'!!! exciting stuff and really looking forward to it. Aleisha and I couldn't be more happy.
We are expecting the now massive ball in Leish's belly to pop at any stage. So things will be very interesting for the next few months.

Now with my snowboarding news!
In mid December I received an invite to compete in the ESPN Winter X Games 15 in Aspen, Colorado. I was totally stoked to be asked to compete and it would have been amazing to line up with the best disabled snowboarders for this massive event. Unfortunately, I had to turn this invite down with our first baby due around the same time as the X Games. Some things are just far more important than snowboarding! (Sorry Coach)!!!

This is the first time that Adaptive Snowboarding is in the X Games and there has been a huge amount of effort by AAS (Adaptive Action Sports) and ESPN to get it included in this world class event. The racing will be Adaptive Snowboard X, lining up on the same boardercross course as the abled bodied riders, with some minor modifications to the course.
Getting Adaptive Snowboarding or (Para-Snowboarding as it is sometimes referred to) in the X Games is a huge step forward to getting this event included in the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Adaptive Action Sports do amazing things for disabled athletes not only in America but disabled athletes from around the world. Check them out!

With becoming a dad in the middle of the Northern Season I will also miss out on a World Cup event in France. This follows straight after the X Games and located in Orcières, France. Although I will miss a couple of events I will still be making my way to Colorado in March for training and some regional events before heading up to Lake Louise in Canada for 2 World Cups in early April (lucky my wife is my number one supporter!).
Unfortunately with the Canadian World Cups in April I will miss out on defending my 2010 USASA Nationals titles in Slalom and Giant Slalom. Oh well a World Cup medal sounds a lot better to me!
All my pre-season training is going well in preparation for these events and now I'm just sorting out my final funding applications to make this trip happen.

So there it is, just a few things to keep me out of trouble for the next while. See ya all soon.

PS. Oh and I have also been working on a Website and hope to have this up and running soon.