WATERVILLE VALLEY, New Hampshire ??” After two days of snowy skies and powder conditions, Red Bull Schooled went off in true New England style with eight inches of fresh snow and a brilliant winter sun. This invitational competition pitted six local academies against one another in a team competition involving snowboard slopestyle and skateboard mini-ramp formats. Locals proved to be king of the mountain as Waterville Valley Academy walked away with top honors and $2000 in tuition endowment. The local team was composed of Ian Thorley (male snowboarder), Alli Weare (female snowboarder), Matt Cohen (skateboarder), and Tim Humphreys (snowboard and skateboard competitor).

“Stratton Mountain School has won the event the past few years and they’re a power house in the sport, so it’s great to finally get our turn,” exclaimed Waterville Valley Academy’s coach, Bill Enos, who has attended Red Bull Schooled since its inception three years ago.

A STEP ABOVE

Snowboarder Magazine Editor Pat Bridges manned the microphone while four judges – Matt Jennings, Jason Salzman, Chris Hottel and Mike King – ultimately decided the outcome of the event. The winning academy team was chosen based on the cumulative scores of each of its members. In addition, the top individual in each of the disciplines was awarded with a 2SI surfboard.

Tim Humphreys from Waterville Valley Academy took first in male snowboarding with a cab 7, switch backside 5, then 50-50 to frontside lip slide on the swing. In female snowboarding, Stratton Mountain School’s Mary Sallah proved to be head of the class by throwing down a series of runs made up of front side 540’s, backside grabs, and a gnarly tail tap on the butter box. And rounding out the individuals was Lucas Magoon of Okemo Mountain School who took first in the skateboard competition as well as the Skateboard Best Trick award with a kickflip shifty to fakie. Hannah Beaman made a guest appearance to present Magoon with his prize, a one week scholarship to Camp Woodward East.

GRADING PROCESS

The format for Red Bull Schooled 2005 allowed for more freedom in the “classroom” by switching from Snowboard Superpipe to Snowboard Slopestyle on a course showcasing a monster 50′ flat/down/flat/down kinked rail as well as a 6′ tall x 20′ long swing set rail. Rounding off the grounds was a five foot skate mini-ramp that was recessed into to the snow.

For more information, check out the website at www.redbullschooled.com.