The 2007 Queens Cup in Park City Utah
Feb 16 2007 / Park City, UTDay 1 - Feb 2, 2007
At 8:30 this morning in Park City the snow still had enough bitter frost left in it to really crunch and snap under my boots as I made my way over to the registration to meet the girls of this years Salomon Jib Academy Progression Session Clinic. I wasn’t sure what to expect really, and I sure as heck didn’t know where I was going. From yards away though, I spotted a gaggle of girls with their pants sagging, tall tees hanging, and all of them clopping around the lodge at Park City with ski boots on. I easily spotted Sarah Burke, our Clinic leader for the day. After a quick run down of plans for the day we were introduced to our four star coaches. First up was Megan Olenik, sister to the famous Olenick brothers and winner of the Aspen Open. Next we had Grete Eliason, who took Silver last weekend in the Winter X Games Women’s Superpipe Halfpipe. After that was Jen Hudak who nailed the bronze at the X games in pipe, and to top off our all star coaching cast we had the Gold Medal Superpipe winner from last weeks Winter X games, Sarah Burke, hailing from Squamish.
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About 30 some girlies showed up this morning to lap the park here at Park City, and take in pointers from some of the worlds top women freestyle skiers. Registration is free, and Salomon generously passed out goodies to the participants. We left the lodge and headed over to the Salomon tent at the base of the park for a light stretch session. The girls then broke up into groups and skated off with their predetermined coach to train pipe, work on spins, and slide the boxes. The morning was light and fun. None of the participants seemed intimidated by the stature of their coaches or of other skiers. After a break for lunch, the girls launched into a small jib contest in a jam format. They rode together for an hour, perfecting what they had worked on in the morning. Then they met at the Salomon tent and voted for who would receive the prizes, which included full car audio systems from Kicker for the first place winner, along with IPOD’s, Salomon Ski’s, and a trip to Mammoth. Winners were judged by their peers not solely on their ability levels but more on their attitude, willingness, and progression throughout the day.
All in all today was a perfect gathering of the ladies. Not one cat call came from the lift, and the only guys we had interaction with the whole day on the hill was Chris a photographer, and the park crew staff who brought us our pizza (thanks boys!). If today was any indication of what this weekend’s Queen’s Cup Open has to offer, then we girls are in for a treat better than a good pillow fight.
Day 2 - Feb, 3 2007
The Ski Gods were shining down on the girls over here in the Wasatch Range today. Another perfect day on a perfect slopestyle course, thanks to the talents of Jim Mangan and the Park City Park Crew.
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The course consisted of a triple set of tabletops into a channel gap. After another boosting tabletop the course funneled into a rail garden, with everything from flat downs, to rainbows, to down rails. Nearly 70 girls showed up at the Queens Cup Open to ski. Katie Dill took home 3rd, along with $250 greenbacks and a Skullcandy MP3 watch. Natalie Sirianni snagged 2nd and got the Skullcandy watch, $500 hundo AND a pair of K2 Missdemeaners. Last but definitely not least was Rebecca Babicz who took home first, $1,000 in cash, the car audio system from Kicker, the Skullcandy watch, and a pair of Roxy Broomstick Skis.
After a long day on the hill under a favorable sun, it was down time for the girls, and time to start prepping for a night out in Park City. At 9pm doors opened at Harry O’s and by 10:30 the place was packed. The Swollen Members were the only act and they got the crowd jumping. Prevail, the lead singer, even surfed the crowd. The lovely ladies of the competition were treated to VIP access in the balcony and at the upstairs bar.
Today was a long day with both the Slopestyle and the concert, but I’m still looking forward to tomorrow’s halfpipe event.
Queens Cup Sponsors:
Roxy
Redbull
Zion's Bank
Paul Mitchell
Salomon
Oakley
Dakine
Booster
Girl Powder
Aeryx
Rage films
Kicker
Skullcandy
Tecnica
K2
Park City Mountain Resort
-- Adryan Roane Ritter
