Dear Interweb,
While I was at Sasquatch, I watched a dance party start near where I was sitting during Santigold and eventually joined in. I found out a few days ago that it has actually become very famous! The youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk) has had over a half million views and is highly rate. I started watching the dance party around the 1:00 minute mark of that youtube video and joined around the 3:30 mark. It was an epic dance party and I picked up some great moves!
Here is a feel-good-article, that appeared in the Calgary Herald, about the man that started the party. He’s from Calgary too! Click Here for the article!
Sincerely,
RozG
During the ski season, music is very important to me even though I can rarely manage to attend concerts. My ipod and skullcandies are always with me.
Before I travelled so much for skiing, I went to all the live concerts I could. (I used my first ski comp winnings to travel to Montreal–where my sister, Veronique, lived–to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, back when they were edgy.) So after ski season, I seek out concerts, quenching my thirst for live performances and new music. Sasquatch Music Festival was exactly what I needed! I headed down to Washington state with a friend from school for three days packed with a huge variety of bands/musicians. I listened, sang, crowd surfed, swayed, danced, and clapped to favourites and new musical finds.
Hanging out in some of the only shade at the festival between bands
Through new friends and random occurrences, I received an all access wrist band. Oh, the freedom of the “I’m-someone-or-I-just-know-someone” pass! I spent the rest of the festival on the stages.
(The camera that we took all of our pictures with is currently MIA. I will post sweet backstage pics once I find them!)
Sasquatch was worth the drive (6 hours each way), the expense, lack of sleep, and even having to catch up on missed classes and lots of assignments through a haze of semi-exhaustion.
Roz G
Post-script: Here are my Sasquatch quick-picks:
Favourite performance(s): Of Montreal, Explosions In The Sky
Favourite new musical discovery(ies): Fleet Foxes, Devotchka, The Builders and the Butchers
Favourite band(s) to dance to: Santigold, Girl Talk
Most Surreal Experience: Being backstage watching TV on the Radio play and looking out into the audience to see 30,000 people watching back
Favourite people I hung out with at Sasquatch: Sam, Chrevor, Steven and Julia!
I’m back at Quest University for two spring blocks, Statistics and Ecology. I’m a self-confessed nerd because I love academic challenges so this is a good thing. Quest University offers the block program, much like Colorado College, so I don’t have to give up school or give up skiing. Each course is intense, just the way I like it. A few other athletes have chosen Quest for the same reason (Olympic luger, Sam Edney; US team sport climber, Elise Ebner; among others). I’ve heard rumours that a few other Canadian freeride skiers are joining me here in the fall…
My entire Statistics class eating dinner on top of our residences cooked by our university president and staff members
The other great advantage of Quest is its location, perching itself at the top of Squamish (Garabaldi Heights to the locals). When I’m done class, I can grab a bike and ride some of the most awesome trails in the world right outside my door. (I have to buy a new bike because my brother sold my cross country bike so he could upgrade his DH bike…oh Luke!) Or I can go with my friend, Elise, climbing or bouldering as Squamish is a prime destination for climbers. Last time Justin visited, we took a few hours to hike to the top of The Chief, for fun, fitness and vistas. The lakes around Squamish are also amazing, though super cold as they’re glacier fed, which are a nice way to cool off from a trail run.
2nd peak on the Chief (massive rock face that can be seen from anywhere in Squamish)
The view from the Chief!
Climbing with Samuel and Elise!
The view from the Quest cafeteria is spectacular, so much so that the locals often come to have breakfast or lunch with us. Three of my teamies have houses in Squamish—Sarah, Trennon & Mike—so I’m looking forward to going to the skatepark and jumping on tramps with them this spring and in the fall. In addition to some awesome friends I have at Quest, I’m meeting other Squamish outdoor athletes (DH bikers, Skiercross, climbers, kitesurfers, etc.) plus I have my favourite cafes and restaurants so it feels more and more like home. The sea-to-sky highway should be finished soon (por fin!), making the drive to Vancouver and to Whistler/Blackcomb that much easier & faster which will make life here practically perfect. Come visit!
Hanging out at Brohm Lake with Riddle, Elise and Samuel.
P.S For my ecology block, we are spending half a week camping/studying an old-growth forest near Whistler and then the final week on Vancouver Island, near Tofino, studying the marine restoration and forest sustainability. What a life!
The Association for Freeskiing Professionals was formed this year “to improve and progress competitive slopestyle, halfpipe and big air skiing”. http://afpworldtour.com/afp/ The board of directors consists of five key people/leaders in the ski industry and TWO of them are members of our team: Sarah Burke and Trennon Paynter. Canada is well represented and it is a good sign that the AFP chose these two dedicated, knowledgeable and thoughtful people to provide advice and direction!
One of the things they set out to do was to create an international ranking system. “The AFP ranking system was developed to track men’s and women’s competition results of more than 18 events held on four continents in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air in order to name true global world champions.” So throughout this season, all the major, international competitions received a weighting (maximum score) and the top ten competitors received a score based on their placement. The top four individual results for halfpipe and top 3 results for slopestyle and big air are used to determine athlete rankings and discipline champions.
The surprise to me was that they awarded an overall Champion for the skier (male and female) who had competed in all three disciplines. I found out reading the AFP press release on Freeskier.com which said: Overall World Champion: Women’s: Rosalind Groenewoud I am pleased to be the first female to win this prize and it motivates me to continue competing in more than just Halfpipe events. I think more skiers will once again compete in all events in the coming year and I hope to see more big air competitions which have a female category. (The male champion was American, Simon Dumont.)
Here is how our team fared in overall results per discipline:
Halfpipe Women: Sarah Burke, 2nd; Roz G, 3rd
Halfpipe males: Justin Dorey, 2nd; Mike Riddle, 10th
Slopestyle Women: Sarah Burke, 9th; Roz G, 19th (I only competed in one event!)
Slopestyle males: Mike Riddle, 15th
Big Air Women: Roz, 2nd
I haven’t done the math on how Canada did overall compared to other countries but here are some other Notable Canadians:
Slopestyle Women: Kaya Turski, Champion
Halfpipe Women: Dania Assaly, 9th
Slopestyle Male: TJ Schiller, JF Houle, Phil Casabon—8th, 9th, 10th
Big Air Male: Ian Cosco, 9th
Congratulations to my teamies and my fellow Canadians!
Roz G.
A win is a great way to end the season!
Here’s Trennon’s report:
Whistler BC
If there’s one thing that this team enjoys, it’s the annual WSSF event in Whistler. The 2 week long festival and it’s combination of sports, arts, music, (and even the odd party here and there) is the perfect way to cap off a long and sometimes grueling competition season.
The highlight of the festival every year is the Big Air competition down in the village. Crowds of thousands cram into the village to watch the best athletes in the world throw their biggest moves. This year was no exception, as the event organizers did an amazing job building a fantastic jump, and the athletes took full advantage.
Representing our team this year, was Mike Riddle and Rosalind Groenewoud. The rest of the team is in various stages of injury recovery, from the extensive contest circuit this year.
Mike did a great job in the qualifying rounds, which were held a day earlier in the terrain park up the mountain. Despite some challenging weather conditions, Mike stomped a great switch 1080 and easily advanced into the semifinal rounds in the village. In the best of two jump format, Mike caught an edge on landing his first jump, but came back strong on his second jump and landed a switch doublecork 1080. Unfortunately it was not quite enough to advance him into the final. The men’s final was eventually won by Shinji Osada from Japan, with Sweden’s Jacob Wester in second, and John Strenio of the US taking third.
In the Women’s final, it was all about team member Roz G! She came out swinging with a gigantic 1080 on her first jump, which instantly put her into the top position with a score that proved to be unattainable by the rest of the field. A great performance in front of a massive crowd, at one of the best events of the season, fantastic job Roz!! Second place went to Maiko Hara from Japan, and Canadian Megan Gunning took third.
Yay large novelty cheque!
Whistler Ski Invitational has officially started! Last night was the first training session on the Big Air jump in the village. The jump has a lot of kick on it (look how far above those people I am!). It was a little difficult to clear the jump yesterday because of the warm weather but Canadians Ian Cosco and Mike Riddle were still stomping doubles. Training also went well for me. I landed a clean 720 at the end of training and will be looking for some larger rotations tonight!
Sarah Burke and I were prequalified through to finals for tonight and will be joined by Megan Gunning, Dania Assaly and Maiko Hara, who qualified yesterday.
Wish me luck!
Check out this article written for the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival. I guess I’m a “Girl-Crush”!
http://wssf.com/media/newsreleases/apr15.html
Here’s the piece on me:
Roz Groenewoud, pro skier
Her first year competing at the World Skiing Invitational, skier Roz Groenewoud was 15 years old and star-struck to be in the half-pipe finals alongside her icons Sarah Burke, Marie Martinod and Jen Hudak. “I’ve been on the halfpipe podium twice since then but, as they say, you never forget the first time! “
No stranger to adversity, Groenewoud, who lived in Ecuador during elementary and middle school, showed her true colours in 2008 when she competed at the Orage Masters for Rossignol. “I left a lot of blood on the course. I was told they had to shovel away several garbage bags of bloody snow. My face was smashed up and swollen and I had stitches in my mouth plus black eyes… After x-rays, stitches and exams, I asked the doctor at the whistler hospital if I could still compete that night in Big Air and he said, “well…there is no physical reason…” So I grabbed a taxi back to my hotel, took a hot shower to get the blood off me, found clean clothes and stumbled over to the Big Air Finals site to compete. I’d won qualifiers for females and as it was the first time there was a female category for big air, practically nothing would have kept me away.”
Roz, now a member of the Canadian Halfpipe Ski Team and hoping that half pipe skiing will be welcomed into the Olympics in 2014 so she can bring home gold for Canada, says “WSI is many people’s favourite event of the year (including me!) because no matter what, you have fun with your ski friends.”
Roz Groenewoud is competing in the World Skiing Invitational at the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. April 18-21, 2009.
On Sunday, I joined photographer Yorick Carroux and German snowboarder Nina Einer for a day of skiing powder on Blackcomb mountain. It was my first time shooting powder turns, so it was a great learning experience. Thanks to our tour guide Richie for showing us the best spots! (I highly suggest Crystal ridge off Crystal chair for anyone looking for some fresh snow late in the day.)
Post-Script: Thank you to Gabe Authier for setting me up with the experience!
Just finished a week in Park City for Queen’s Cup Open! Click here for the freeskier article!
Just so you know, the yellow group, my group!, was the most awesome. Perhaps other coaches would disagree but I’m sticking to this opinion. My girls were rocking yellow bandannas, pushing themselves all day, going for new tricks, and loving skiing. Megan, Mel, Keni, Becca and Eli all rocked! They made me smile all day and exemplified the love of skiing!
Up top: Becca and Eli. Sitting: Me! Keni, Mel and Megan
I was a little apprehensive of this event because I hadn’t really enjoyed my first experience at Queen’s Cup as a competitor. I had been really excited about getting to know more female skiers and instead there were too many girly rules and a lot of insincerity. It was a different experience this year–there was none of that attitude with the yellow team—and I enjoyed the camaraderie with all the female coaches/judges/organizers.
After the competition day, we hung out sharing our ski stories and ideas for future events, partied in our little black dresses (looking sassy!), and went out to GTS (get the shot) with some photographers for four day for the inaugural My Super Sweet Park (MSSP). I left Queen’s Cup/MSSP with so many positive memories and ideas this time. MSSP was my first editorial photo shoot. I was nervous about it all but I learned a lot. Though the weather didn’t totally cooperate, I think we all still GTS! (I’ll post shots when I get them)
Getting ready at Ashley's house
Looking sassy at Harry-Os
Thank you to Anna and Nancy Demasi for organizing a progressive week for female skiers!
Post-Script: And…thank you to Ashley and her family for letting me stay at their beautiful home!
I love this part of the season: when your skis are a mere extension of your body, responding exactly to the movements of your knees and ankles; when you wake up with fingers curled delicately around a perfect set of imaginary ski poles; when early morning wakeups and afternoon naps are completely integrated into your sleep schedule; when you’re completely comfortable on skis but not burnt out and physically exhausted from the season.
