If You Ain't First, You're Last
With World Championships on the horizon, adaptive athletes all over the world want as much time on the course as they can get. They’ve faced the cancellation and postponement of two World Cup events in Europe this season, meaning less time in the gates and more time ping-ponging around airports. Thankfully, my new home resort nestled in the Sierra mountains has had both mother nature + luck on her side. Sierra-at-Tahoe is honored to be hosting the 2017 ParaSnowboard NorAm + World Cup from January 25-27 and as a former SBX athlete myself, its needless to say
If you're not versed in the boardercross world… chances are you had no idea there was even a difference between a NorAm and a World Cup. Don’t fret, I’m going to do you a solid and break it down for ya. Thank me later when your spittin' all the lingo like a pro to Paralympic Athletes from Korea or Australia. Before I get ahead of myself, I bet you’re thinking alright well why should I listen to some random girl from the Midwest… she’s not even a Cali local (SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE). With 8 years of racing experience, I have quite a bit of history with the competition world. So just like All-State, you're in good hands. (Full tuck in the pink base layer… this is my 5 seconds of fame)
NorAms, also known as the North American Cup, are FIS sanctioned competitions that nationally ranked athletes compete in to receive FIS points. These points add to your overall ranking and with enough, make you an eligible bachelor or bachelorette to rep the colors of your home country! That’s right, opening the doors to World Cup Level competitions with an end goal of the Olympics. I can’t name a single boardercross athlete that I’ve competed with that hasn’t seen the Olympics at the end of it all… hell, I was one of them.
Boardercross is a sport of adrenaline, determination, speed, technique, and fun. If it isn’t fun, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s essentially motocross, but here’s the kicker, instead of riding bikes you’re riding a shred stick (shockkaaa brahh). From rollers to berms, wutangs (a what tang?), step ups and more, each course is built with different features to keep things spicy. Bib number 7; first gate choice and the pressure’s on. You already know which gate to choose because you know exactly which line is the fastest; exactly which line will get to the finish first. Eyes closed, imagining yourself on course, each feature one by one in order from top to bottom. Board on and coach pulls you into the gate as he gives some last minute words of wisdom. A fist bump and now you’re in the zone.
Slapping your legs, pumping out a squat or two to make sure they’re warm and ready to work hard all the way through to the finish line. The following three riders jump into their gates, the start official asks if everyone is set… Racers Ready, 10 seconds. At 10 your hands are tightly gripped to the gate, pulling back into your start position. At 9-6 seconds your starring at one particular spot out front, ears open just waiting, anticipating the gate to drop. 5 seconds. At 5, the adrenaline hits. The gate could drop at any moment... be ready.. listen... as you'll hear it before you see it. Gate randomly drops, pulling out first, grab tuck into the first berm and separate from the pack. Tuck forest tuck! The key is to have a strong mental game, comfort in going to shoulder to shoulder with your rival + confidence in your abilities because once you leave that gate, speed is your friend. First to the bottom wins + takes home the W.
The sport alone is awe-inspiring and when dominated by adaptive athletes, it becomes jaw-dropping. Adaptive Bordercross has three different classifications of disability for these competitions: two for lower limb impairment and one for upper limb impairment. These athletes truly represent the outlook of do something you love with perseverance and don’t stop doing it. Nothing holds them back, it’s truly inspiring. If I haven't suaded you yet on how incredible this event is going to be, come experience it this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Better start conditioning those legs + work on grabbing tuck... race you to the comp!