Nov 15, 2011
Author: Natalie Langmann
In the 2012 Snowboard Canada Women's Annual we listed the ten women who changed the face of women's snowboarding. There's a little of these girls in all of us—fighting to prove themselves, making a comeback after injury and raising the standards of women's riding. This is by no means the be-all, end-all exclusive group of women; and we couldn't fit all their great quotes in the magazine, so here's what Roberta Rodger had to say about snowboarding and her contribution.
Years Pro
9
Career Milestones
Won her first Pro contest she entered, the Westbeach Classic in 1996; 2001 Quarterpipe Champion; video part in Seasons and 411Snow; Chorus Pro Model, Hammer Pro Model, and Westbeach-designed jacket called Birdie.
Legacy
Rodger will forever be known for throwing down insanely technical tricks well ahead of the level of women's snowboarding at the time—try switch Backside Rodeos and Backside 540s off the City Booter at Mt. Seymour in 1996.
Sponsors
Yang, 1993-95; Westbeach, 1996-99; Rev, 1996-98; Salomon/Bonfire, 1999; Thirtytwo/Etnies, 1996–2004; Chorus, 2000-2002; Hammer, 2002-04; Sessions, 2000-04; Clive, 2000-04; GMC, 2000-04; Velvet, 2000-03; Split, 2000-04; Mt. Seymour, 1994 to forever (Legend Status).
On the scene when she first started riding
"That was about the time all the Whiskey movies were coming out so it was pretty rowdy, no coaches, training, energy drinks; it was pretty raw but totally real. I grew up riding with the Seymour Kids, so I was really lucky to be part of such a talented group of young up-and-coming riders like Kevin Sansalone and Devun Walsh. This was pre-snowboard parks, so we would either ride the Mystery Chair and charge all the natural hips and jibs, do the short hike to Mystery Lake and ride the small wind lip to flat learning tricks, or we would hike first or second Peak and build the City Booter, quarterpipe or one of the other jumps and then just session them all day. We had to earn anything we got by hiking, digging, working hard and helping each other out."
On her post-pro career
"I never planned on being a manager; I was going to school full time and I was going to pursue fashion design, but then I started working for Infamous part time, and I really liked it. In the beginning I was helping unknown riders like Spencer O’Brien get the recognition they needed and deserved from the U.S.-side of the industry and it was really satisfying to be a part of building someone's dreams and helping to accomplish goals. I had gained so many great contacts over my career and to be able to put them to use to help a new generation–getting a rider a new sponsor or interview in a magazine felt just as good for me as it did for them."
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