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Posted on Monday August 31st at 8:46 p.m.
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Despite high winds and rain, the crowds packed out the Coronet Peak deck to watch local freeskier names such as Jossi Wells and Beau-James Wells dominate the monster 85ft kicker, but it was 18-year-old Bobby Brown from the USA who struck gold with a double-cork 1080 mute, landing him an impressive 83.33 points.
"The jump was just perfect for me, I really enjoyed it," he said. "The landing was soft and slushy, which made it difficult for some of the guys but you just have to make the most of it and I had a lot of fun. I'll be heading back to Colorado very happy to have won."
Head freeski judge Phil Larose said he was impressed with how the skiers battled the conditions.
"The weather was the big issue with only the ‘braves' wanting to jump - it's a risky game and it was scary seeing some of the riders overshoot due to the high winds. Because of the conditions none of the riders reached their full potential but Bobby Brown stole the show with his double cork 1080 mute," he said.
Second place went to Sweden's Kim Boberg who scored a total 74.67 points and in third place was local Byron Wells on 71.60 points. Crowds also went wild for 13-year-old Beau-James Wells and older brother Jossi Wells from Wanaka, with spectators filling out the restaurant and deck to catch the action.
Jacob McLeary, a freeski judge, was impressed with how well the riders performed.
"The riders were nervous at the start but in the end everyone enjoyed themselves and threw down some pretty big tricks. Bobby Brown was stand out and didn't let the conditions get to him. It was testament to the high level of these athletes that they could still throw down very technical tricks, including double corks which are relatively new to the sport and not often seen in New Zealand."
The snowboarding contest was cancelled after the qualifiers, so the judges used the qualifying scores as results.
New Zealander Stef Zeestraten pulled off a well-executed backside 7 and his second hit was huge with a switchback 9, but unfortunately he wiped out. However his first run was enough to put him at the top of the field with an overall score of 22.5 points. Close behind, Jan Necas (CZE) rode into second place with a frontside inverted 5 while Queenstown's Nick Hyne stomped a frontside 7 earning him the final place on the podium.
Ste'en Webster, snowboard judge watched how the riders still wowed the gathered crowds below.
"It was a good competition considering the conditions and the top three riders really stepped up and threw down huge tricks," he said.
The women's competitions in both freeski and snowboarding were unable to run due to weather.
Chris Schuster, Big Air Manager, helped make sure the riding conditions were as controlled as possible.
"It was disappointing we had to make adjustments to the start list as conditions were far from perfect. The riders, both skiers and snowboarders, made the best out of the conditions but were limited to what they could do," he said.
"Working with Winter Games NZ has been great for a first-time event, helping get it off the ground - I'd be very excited to get involved again in the future."