Dear Interweb

The European Open is one of the best events of the year as the courses are in perfect condition, the mountain and town are beautiful and the parties are amazing. Plus, accomodation and meals are provided for the invited athletes, which is always a nice change.

Here is my coach Trennon’s report:

Laax, SUI

Fresh off a third place finish at the World Cup final event in France, team member Rosalind Groenewoud carried her momentum into Switzerland for the European Freeskiing Open.

Starting the week in the slopestyle event, Roz qualified easily, and then threw a couple of highly technical runs in the final, which consisted of a switch 540 to a 720 to a 900.  Showing that she is a truly well-rounded athlete, Roz placed 4th in the slopestyle final, just missing the podium by 0.5 points, and proving that she is much more than just a “halfpipe specialist”.

On to the halfpipe finals, where Roz once again landed a couple of fantastic runs, putting together a complete package of amplitude, technical difficulty (right 540, left 540 and switch 540), and grabs. When the final scores came in, Roz was awarded 3rd place, her second halfpipe podium result in less than a week!

Our team was also represented at the European Open by Mike Riddle in the mens events.  Unfortunately Mike had a bad crash in the semifinal, and suffered a concussion which rendered him unable to compete any further.  Mike is healing fast and should be in good shape to ski at our final event of the season, which will take place in Whistler in April.

First hit!

Podium for Halfpipe! (I'm making a funny face...)

Sincerely,

RozG

Post-Script: After the halfpipe event, my awesome roommates, Kaya Turski and Jess Cumming, and I hosted an amazing girls-only party. It’s always fun to hang out with a bunch of wonderful ski girls!

Kaya, Jess and I rock our sunglasses at night!

Left to Right: Whitney Wickes, Mirjam Jaeger, Sofie Winsdet, Me!, Em Lonsdale, Jess Cumming, Kaya Turski, Keri herman, Claudia Bouvier, Anais Caradeux