Absolut Park

6.1.2012 Day 1 Ski

50cm of new snow and continual snowfall during the competition can hardly be considered a good omen for a Jib Contest. But the cowboys in the Absolut Park in Flachauwinkel have deal’t with a lot worse in the past and so it’s not surprising that they managed to heave a great set-up out of the snow. Over 80 skiers of various different nationalities shredded the two lines which included a banana box, strait rail, straight box, kinked rail, butter box and a donkey rail. In the girls’ competition it was Maria Blersch who convinced the judges with her run, leaving Isabell Hanssen behind her in second place with a great run made up of a railslide BS 270 off and slide frontside 270 off.  The trio was completed by Ana Nikolic who managed to jib her way to third place.

The enthusiasm among the rookies (under 15s) was unwaning despite the adverse conditions and it must be said that the vibes in the Absolut Park are always absolut(ely) fantastic thanks to the team around Family Harml. With a frontflop on the butter box followed by a slide to fakie on the kinked rail and a 270 transfer Jakob Kratzer impressed the judges the most. A great run with a butter 450, switch lipslide secured Patrick Meisel second place followed by Bernhard Hochfilzer who came in third.

The level was sensationally high in the men’s competition (over 15s). In defiance of the speed problems the riders showed some real dirty pool on the rails which gave the scoring judges a true headache. Moritz Luger came in third; his run consisting of a butter box 270 off, frontside switch up BS 270 off on the kinked rail and 270 on the down rail brought him his well-earned podium place. Runner-up was the local Absolut Park rider Achim Winter with a BS 360, frontside switch up BS 270 off on the straight down rail and 270 to fakie on the down rail. And finally, “The Winner takes it all”: the American Spencer Keirnes simply tore the park apart with a 270 on 450 off on the butter box, switch up on the kinked rail, and 270 on 270 off on the down rail allowing him to grin from the very top of the podium.  

On February 17th and 18th the series continues with the Pop’n’Drop in the Absolut Park and the winner can look forward to a check-out in the Skiing Magazine! 

7.1.2012 Day 2 Snowboard

Like in the film Groundhog Day, the Absolut Park in Flachauwinkel woke up to the same scene as the day before – the boarders competing in the traditional Jib King competition at the foot of the Frauenalm were greeted with 30cm of new snow.  To start with however, the sun joined the boarders on their training runs which were either completed in powder snow or on the perfectly prepared jib course, a choice made by the boarders individually.  Awaiting the 40 participants was, among other things, a small kicker, a banana box, a straight rail, a straight box, a kinked rail, a butter box and a donkey rail. The riders thanked the shape crew for their awesome work with amazing tricks which left the spectators along the side of the run spellbound.  

The girls kicked off the competition and demonstrated their skill on metal. Alina Seelbach came in second with a great run which couldn’t quite match the winning run by Maya Lövenmark from Schweden. Her run made up of a 180 to 50-50 on the rail and 50-50 to noseslide on the kinked rail was completely to the taste of the judges Fips Gruber, Andi Lehmann and Michael, ensuring her a well-earned first place. 

A sneak preview of what the future holds for the jib scene technically speaking was presented by the rookies – up and coming athletes under the age of 15. Willi Winter twisted and “pretzelled” his way to 3rd place with a 360 on the kicker,  50-50 noseslide and gap to FS boardslide. Right behind him Tjarh Fritsch with his run made up of a BS 3 nosegrab, boardslide and 50-50 180 out. The title of small Jib King – or rather Jib Prince went to Alois Lindmoser. A switch backside 5, 50-50 360 out and a frontside boardslide secured him the victory. Well done kids for battling the conditions and not letting it show! Thanks for a great session.  

Who’s the King 2012? In the men’s competition the starting list included a number of well-known riders; Roli Scharner, who doesn’t do a bad job as DJ either, convinced the judges to award him third place by performing a backside 5, fakie boardslide to frontboardslide and a BS 180 to switch 50-50 on the donkey rail.  2nd place went to Marvin Salmina with a FS 3, a spin-combo on a staggered kinked rail, finishing off with a FS lipslide 270 out on the donkey Rail – respect! The fact that the locals don’t just wear the breaches in powder was impressively demonstrated by Christoph Schaidreiter, who was able to grab the Jib King 2012 crown. It wasn’t just the combination of a cab 540 melon, transfer BS lipslide and a millerflip over the spine that was unbeatable, his style was also formidable and Christoph was able to collect valuable overall points for the Absolut Park Series. On February 18th the Pop’n’Drop competition, the final in this prestigious contest series is being held. In additional to fantastic material prizes, the winner also receives an invitation to the annual Playboard Style Session!

Look forward to seeing you in the Absolut Park!

Results Jib King 2012

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>> JIB KING 2011

Jib King 4.-5. January 2013

The first event of the season in the Absolut Park is the JIB KING. This is where the Jib Queen and Jib King are crowned.