Snowboarding, terrain park?

Question

I know its late summer. But I've been thinking about snowboarding this winter. I just started snowboarding 3 or 4 years ago. I know my limits and I'd say im pretty good. I've been down the black diamond a few times, and I barley fall. I turn properly and stuff. I've always wanted to compete in snowboarding contests. So, do you think this would be the year to try the terrain park out. I feel pretty confident doing it.

Answer 1

Theres a few questions that need to be asked before I give an answer...

1) How old are you/How far do you want to go in the sport? If you want to go far in the sport I would suggest hitting the park this year, but if you are 18-20 it's pretty much past your prime unless you really want to make some sacrifices like not getting a job or falling behind in school. I am an amateur snowboarder who is about to break into the professional ranks and have been in a few pro contests. I am constantly traveling from about november to around march and miss a lot of school. Luckily for me I go to Stratton Mountain School and they completely understand what goes on in competitive snowboarding and I get my work and tests emailed to me to complete so I can get as much riding in as possible.

2) If you want to go far are you ready for the stress you will be under?

Everything in trying to break out in this sport is SUPER STRESSFUL. Whether it is trying to get footage for a sponsor me tape, or the actual contests themselves it is very very stressful to be competitive in this sport, and with Snowboarding getting more popular it is just going to get more stressful. I have been in prob over 50 contests already and I still get nervous to the point of vomiting before a majority of my runs. Everything in a contest is even more stressful. It's not like you can just wing a run. You have to watch other runs and see what the judges are liking and not liking. You have to be smart with it. Also if you decide you want to go far I would suggest Stratton Mountain School. It is a great school that helps you progress while still giving you a great education. But now this opens up a whole new can of worms. Are you ready to be away from your home and family for months at a time. Last season (07/08) I was home a total of about 35 days from November to March. You are going in and out of airports and living out of your suitcase. Sometimes I get really homesick still even though I am "grown up". I miss my mom and my home friends. No doubt you will meet some rad kids while riding like I have, but nothing compares to the kids you grew up with. There are points when I'm out for almost 2 months going from country to country and contest to contest and would kill for a home cooked meal with my family. Just like any sport it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices to make it, but I personally think the sacrifices and the stress are worth it because I'm ultimately doing what I love.

3) Are you ready for the business portion of Snowboarding?

I have seen the nasty parts of the business and trust me it can get VERY nasty. You have to constantly perform well or you will get kicked to the curb. You constantly have to be better than the next guy. If a better rider comes along your sponsors will not hesitate to drop you. I had a very rocky relationship with my original goggle sponsor, which I will not go into detail with, but long story short I placed out of the top 5 in the USASA nationals in 06 and got dropped by said sponsor just for one contest. Some of the people in this business are RUTHLESS. They know this is a business now and do not have time for kids who don't perform up to their standards. It is very sketchy being an am rider and trying to break into pro because a lot of the contests you have to have at least one major sponsor in order to even ride and if the sponsors are being so critical then you can't progress like you want to.

Long story short and to answer your questions. Definitely go into the park this year if you can turn and stop. I would recommend trying to learn how to ride switch if you want to compete because their are spins and grinds that you will come out of riding switch and if you can't ride switch you will most likely just catch an edge and eat it. If you want to start competing then definitely looks into what I wrote.