Features

Hucks and Chucks for Bucks

by Sara Tollestrup

Sara Tollestrup put on her X-ray vision glasses to see through the fog and snow at Grouse Mountain and bring this report on MGT’s 2 Buck Chuck.

Forty girls made it to the top of Grouse to chuck for $2,222 bucks. In other words, the girls competed in a jam-style event hitting as many features as possible, with the best tricks they could pull, for the quadruple-digit prize purse. After getting friendly with the jibs the day before, many of the girls who attended the clinic returned to throw down during the contest. Through the fog, I managed to make out some newcomers too. Even during the practice session, the tricks were already looking pretty impressive.

As the jam got underway it wasn’t exactly bluebird. Competitor Brooke Voight said she couldn’t see any of the obstacles until she was two metres away. Yet, the girls were unstoppable. They had two hours to session the jibs and the jump while the judges watched on. Snowboard superstars like Marie-France Roy and Bev Vuilleumier were around to help the judges with the tough decisions.

Early on it became obvious that the flat-down bar was the contest favourite. Some girls were competing for the first time, so they were showing off their newly bagged 50-50s, while the more seasoned amateurs got gnarly with the likes of 180s on and off and Backside Lipslides. Emcees Dixon, from the Boardroom Shop, and Damon Pyett, of Coastal Riders fame, shot out quirky and unapologetic comments as the girls battled for the top spot. Joanna also had a turn on the mic and co-ordinated the event from the Burton tent, whenever she could take a break from eating the complimentary cupcakes.

Around 12:30, believe it or not, the conditions got worse. The riders and coaches decided the jam should be cut short, so the girls were given just 20 more minutes to prove themselves. In the last 20 minutes the girls stepped up the technicality of their tricks, while Robin and Amanda took their sideline dances to a new level. I started to formulate an opinion about which girl would grab first spot, but the competition was tough, and a lot of the athletes seemed to be in contention. Then a few girls threw down some banger tricks, and the bar was raised one last time. As the sleet turned to, well, larger sleet the session came to a close.

The judges deliberated for a while, referencing their trusty clipboards that painted a picture of the last few hours, while the crowd kicked around Vestal beach balls and anticipated the results. Finally, the coaches announced that the jam was almost too close to call, so instead of naming the top 3, they were going to name the top 5. Before the announcement however, the coaches gave out a whole bunch of product. My personal favourite was when Amanda announced the rider who had the worst slams was receiving a new pair of goggles so that she could see better, and a tote bag to carry her body parts in. Next, Leanne handed out a stack of $20 bills for sick tricks of the day. Taylor’s 270 earned her $20, and Ali’s Frontside Boardslide made her $20 richer. Best Trick went to Breanna for her Backside Lipslide to Pretzel-Out on the flat-down bar; she scored herself a pretty sweet mallet for that.

Then it was time to name the top 5. In fifth was Karen, rocking a sweet plaid jacket and a bag of tricks to go with it. Billabong/K2 rider Brooke Voigt of Fort McMurray took fourth. Third place went to DC’s Raewyn Reid for moves like her 180 on to 50-50 on the kinked rail (or was it for her impressive hip hop routine?). Claudia came in second, with tricks like a Half Cab to 50-50. I overheard her telling someone that she didn’t know what she was doing with her life, so she decided to snowboard. Good call Claudia, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you. And the winner of the 2008 2 Buck Chuck and winner of an impressively big axe was Breanna Strangeland from Calgary. The girls stood proudly on top of the podium with their newly garnered hammers, mallets, and axes.

I guess if the podium finishers don’t make it in the big bad snowboard world, they can always follow in Paul Bunyan’s footsteps and become a bunch of lumberjacks. I have a feeling they’d just end up jibbing their logs anyway.

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