Summer Rookie Festival 2009 in Val Senales

The competition was initially 1Star level, but was elevated to 2Star TTR after the display of rotations up to bs1260 in the qualifiers in the amazing Gentlemen Riders Snowpark.  With regard to the groms, the South Tyrolean talent Markino Grigis was the best one with a frontside 1080 on the big kicker. As for the eight competing girls, all of them from the Czech Republic, the best one was the young Diana Augustinova, protagonists of the contest as well as of the parties.

The Snowpark set up, realized by the Gentlemen's Riders crew, included a first table top with two jumps of  8 and 12m and a butterbox, a second table top with jumps of 14 and 18m and a 12-meter down rail. The contestants from Italy, Austria, Finland and the Czech Republic hit the park for a very high level slope style, but this event was not just about competitiveness. Sure enough, the program featured also skateboard sessions,  video shootings with the pro RedBull who were invited as coaches: Filippo Kratter, Roman Dlauhy and Sarka Pancochova.

As for the contest, the format scheduled a day of training, one of qualifiers and one for the finals, everything in the jam session format. During the competition we saw cab900, cab1080, fs1080 and fs1260. In the finals, the sky-high level of the two final contenders Roope Tonteri and Darek Bergmann brought to an extra final run for a direct play-off where the Finnish won with the fs1260. Unbelievable level. 

As in the tradition of the rookie fest, the prizes did not consist of money, but values for the career of young rookies: photo and video shootings with Entry Magazine and Board.TV, invitations to bigger events and surf camps offered by Protest.

This was the closing event of a season of rookie events all over the world, and the international stops of the next season have already been announced:

World Rookie Tour 2010

Iberic Rookie Fest 2009 – 2Star slope style, Spain, December 2009
World Rookie Fest 2010 – 3Star slope style,  Italy, January 2010
Balkan Rookie Fest 2010 – 2Star slope style, Serbia, February 2010
France Rookie Fest 2010 – 2Star slope style,  France, February 2010
East Rookie Fest 2010 – 2Start slope style and half pipe, Czech Republic, March 2010
World Rookie Finals 2010 – 4Star slope style, Austria, April 2010
Summer Rookie Fest 2010 – 2Star slope style, Val Senales, Italy, July 2010

In addition to 1star level qualifying events in many other Countries.
More info available at www.worldsnowboardfederation.org