The winners of World Heli Challenge 2011 announced in New Zealand
One week after the competition wrapped up, the winners of New Zealand’s World Heli Challenge were announced at an award ceremony that took place on Thursday evening, August 11, in Wanaka, New Zealand.
Despite a talented field of international competitors, three of the four winners turned out to be from New Zealand. These included Sam Smoothy who showcased his exceptional skills in ski division to become Men’s Ski Champion.
In the women’s field, Janina Kuzma remained the top performer to walk away as Women’s Ski Champion. Abby Lockhart prevailed in women’s snowboard division to claim top honours. Australia’s Benny Bright turned out to be the only international athlete to earn
success, walking away as Men’s Snowboard Champion.
As per the format of the competition, the athletes were judged on the video of their performances over two days of competition, namely the Extreme Day and Freestyle Day. It was on the basis of these performances that the overall winners were chosen by an
esteemed panel of judges from around the globe.
The panel was rather unconventional though, with two judges present on site of the competition while the rest of the judges viewing the performances online. However, one of the on-site judges, Nick Draxl, appreciated this method of judging, commenting that
it increased the accuracy of scoring.
The contest turned out to be extremely intense in all four disciplines, the latest edition of World Heli Challenge was more-or-less taken over by the Kiwi athletes, an outcome that even took them by surprise.
Commenting on the competition, the winner of men’s ski division, Smoothy, said, “I had the best time ever. I'm a bit blown away by the win as I was being conservative having just come off an injury. I feel privileged to be named this year's champion amongst
all the amazing skiers who were out there.”
Kuzma, who had previously earned the title in 2009 and ending up losing it to Ane Endurud in 2010 only to reclaim it this year, commented that she had been a part of the competition ever since it’s rebirth in 2008, but the latest edition had been the most
exciting experience so far.
She further added, “The girls pushed it really hard, especially on the freestyle day. This was the most competitive field I've skied against at a World Heli Challenge and it was great to land on top. It was fantastic to compete against Natalie Segal, her
aggression is amazing and I've never seen someone send it so much.”
Lockhart felt pretty delighted over clinching what she humbly termed as an “unexpected win”. Australia’s Bright, who works as a coach, was really pleased with the win as well, saying that it would surely help to prove that he really knows his trade.
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