On Saturday 9th July, the very first Billabong All For One Comp was held at The Snow Centre in Hemel. The event served many purposes, Two Seasons sponsored rider Jake Terry’s 13th Birthday party, charity fundraising and generally fun times – a demo and competition.

2S Team Boss Jim with Jake Terry

The first half of the day was for progression and lessons, provided by Definition and Grounded. The evening session saw the Billabong All For One comp split into three specific comps – kicker, Billabong rail and most outstanding rider. I watched most of the evening session (whilst waiting for birthday cake) and the standard was high, riders came from far and wide. There were the Tamworth regulars along with Belgian and Dutch riders who were slaying all the features of the set up. The Billabong feature rail got a lot of love and UK superstar Jamie Nichols even turned up!

After the session it was up into the bar for the prize giving, raffle and finally some cake! Prizes on the night had been provided very generously by Billabong, Two Seasons, Salomon, Bonfire, K2, Icon, Skullcandy, Flow, Nitro, Giro, Demon, Project 77, The Snow Centre, DC, Air Hole, Moog Royale, Tall Tees, Adio, NXTZ, Amplify, Westbeach,Burton, Whitelines, SCUK. The night managed to raise £504.00 for the MS Trust and Snow Camp.

Tweeeek it Jake!

The highlight for me was being able to present Jake with his Birthday present from myself and his UK sponsor Two Seasons, we got him a Nixon Newton watch, no expense spared, apart from on the wrapping paper which was a Two Seasons carrier bag (I was in a rush, gimme a break! ). For your information the cake was also great!

Final comp results:

Winners on the kicker

Gold – Mark King (snowboard)

Siver – Callum Welch ski)

Bronze – Jake Binnee (snowboard)

On the Billabong Rail:

Gold – Rich Mcintosh (snowboard)

Silver – Craig Colbron (snowboard)

Bronze – Ronnie Organ (snowboard)

Most outstanding rider of the night:

Cody Hierons (snowboard) he was destroying the park and he had taught all day in the coaching sessions!

Best slam:

Ross Welch (ski) for nearly decapitating Zee (photographer)!

A short Edit form my close personal friend who I taught all he knows (like how to use the auto button) Jamie Durham, from the UK’s best film crew Grindhouse will be out soon, watch this space…

Check out Jake’s blog to keep up to date with what’s going on http://jaketerry.co.uk/

(Words by Two Seasons Team Boss and Snowboard Hardware Buyer James McKenzie-Brown.)

Billabong · Competition · Skiing · Snowboarding

Next week the word of surfing descends on Jeffrey’s Bay on the Eastern Cape of South Africa, for one of the pro’s favourite stages on the ASP World Tour.

Expectations for the wave and the level of competition are high for the Billabong Pro J-Bay, and if past years and comps held at this spot (one of the world’s best waves) are anything to go by then it’s going to go off!

Head to http://www.billabongpro.com/ for more info and keep up to date via twitter @twoseasons and @billabongpro

Check out the video below and feel the excitement building…

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Billabong · Competition · Surfing

It doesn’t get much bigger than the biggest freestyle motocross tour on the planet! The Red Bull X-Fighters Tour in association with Fox, that has been running since 2001 stops across the globe every year, this time round since April when it kicked off in Dubai. This year the tour will end in Australia for the first time in its history but there is a whole lot of extreme-ness to see before then!

You can just imagine how insane the level of competition is on this tour, with the likes of Nate Adams, Dany Torres and Robbie Maddison to name a few, plus rising stars of the future on show, the tricks being thrown are just silly! Each stop on the tour is a spectacle of lights, music and anything and everything freestyle motocross.

The tour will be stopping in Italy this weekend but on 6^th August it will be held in Warsaw, Poland. This is where things get really exciting… Ever been surrounded by over 100,000 other people? If you have you know that the atmosphere is electric. If you have ever been surrounded by 100,000 people at an FMX event then you know that the atmosphere is epic! All you have to do to stand a chance of experiencing this is to click on the Red Bull X-Fighters banner at www.twoseasons.co.uk and fill in your details. Visit the official event website http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Xfighters-Homepage/001242814038525

Did you know that we also have some Fox Red Bull men’s clothing online too? Featuring Travis Pastrana’s race number 199 the collection is a must have for auto/moto fans! Click here to see it http://www.twoseasons.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/TwoSeasons/_121841/1/Fox

Check out the video below from the Brazil stage of the tour.

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Competition · Moto

Fat cheque for Adriano De Souza

The 3^rd stage of the ASP World Tour came to an end over the weekend with local Brazilian hero Adriano de Souza claiming the top spot in Rio and in the overall ASP World Title Rankings. The twenty-four year old beat veteran Taj Burrow (AUS) in the final at Barra Da Tijuca, in just two to three foot waves.

The Billabong Pro Rio got off to a slow start which saw a week’s worth of lay days and then varied, challenging conditions at the two breaks of Arpoador and the tricky beach break of Barra Da Tijuca, the competition being pushed through four consecutive days in the end.

For Billabong surfer Taj Burrow it was another frustrating end to an ASP stage, he has now come painfully close to the top spot twice this year having been defeated by Kelly Slater (USA) on the Gold Coast on the first stop and now again in Brazil.

Obviously disappointed, “I’m pretty devastated right now, but eventually I’ll be able to smile about it,” Burrow said. “Two seconds is good, but I didn’t want to lose that one, I wasn’t planning on losing that one.”

Frenchman Jeremy Flores came in 3rd

Frenchman and Quiksilver surfer Jeremy Flores, 23, came in an impressive equal 3^rd place after beating current no.2 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 30, in their semi-final heat. He had been suffering with a pretty bad knee injury but has recovered well and was pleased with his performance in his first event of the year. Bede Durbidge (AUS), 28, was his equal in third.

Josh Kerr (AUS) took home the prize in the Nixon Winner-Takes-All event and claimed victory for “Biggest Air” during Nixon’s first WTA stop of the year. Next stop is another Billabong Pro in J-Bay, South Africa, July 14^th – 24^th where the highest heat score will win. Check out Kerr’s full rotation front-side 360 indy grab which bagged him the $10,000 USD watch…

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Top 10 on the ASP World Title Series After the Billabong Rio Pro:

1. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 20,500
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 19,200
3. Kelly Slater (USA) 16,950
4.Taj Burrow (AUS) 16,500
5. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14,750
6. Owen Wright (AUS) 12,150
7. Michel Bourez (PYF) 12,000
8. Mick Fanning (AUS) 11,500
9.Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11,000
9.Tiago Pires (PRT) 11,000

Billabong · Competition · Surfing

Shane Dorian on the Monster

The Oscars of the surf world have been decided thanks to the 11^th Billabong XXL Awards fuelled by Monster Energy, which were presented over the weekend in California. The awards represent the biggest, gnarliest waves that have been ridden and captured in a variety of different countries from France to Fiji and Ireland to Tasmania, over the past twelve months.

Brazilian Danilo Couto took home the top prize for Ride of the Year bagging himself $50,000 plus the keys for a new truck, presented by non other than skateboarding legend Tony Hawk! Prior to this winter’s paddle-in assault, the Jaws break in Maui, Hawaii had long been regarded as a spot so difficult to ride a jet-ski tow in assist was required. On the same break in Maui, Hawaiian Shane Dorian surfed into the record books by paddling into a 57 footer! He easily won the Monster Paddle Award and also the Monster Tube Award on the same wave on the same day for catching one of the greatest barrels of all time. Good day for Dorian!

“It was an epic swell, a real late season swell,” recalled Dorian. “I didn’t really catch a lot of big waves throughout the whole year…I was just stoked the swell came my way, near my house in Maui, and we scored. The Monster Tube award is pretty special –I mean every surfer wants to get tubed, right?” Right!

Benjamin Sanchis on Belharra Reef in France

Other winners included Frenchman Benjamin Sanchis who took the Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award with a wave that measured 67ft on the face! Proud to be representing Europe, Sanchis nailed the wave (Belharra) which is just a short distance from his home in the Basques Country on the French/Spanish border. For the ladies, Billabong’s own Keala Kennelly from Hawaii took the Girls Performance of the Year Award a title Brazilian Maya Gabeira had won for the past four years.

Billabong · Competition · surf · Surfing

Celebrating all things ladies today as it’s the first day of the Roxy Chicken Jam in Mammoth Mountain brought to you by ROCKSTAR Energy Drink.

Pretty much the biggest women’s prize purse around of 50k, the Jam attracts the biggest names in the world of women’s snowboarding. Half-pipe and slopestyle events are the main focus with individual prizes of $15,000 for 1^st place. Now that would come in handy!

This is the 7^th year of the competition which is the USA’s only female specific snowboard competition. It has a competitive yet fun and festival-ly vibe with concerts, music this year from the awesome La Roux, mascot half-pipe competition, Roxy demo tests and athlete signings.

Top names such as Torah Bright, Kelly Clark, Billabong girls Jamie Anderson and the UK’s Jenny Jones will represent and Roxy’s newest and youngest female rider Ty Walker will compete – she is already one of the world’s top ten snowboarders and she makes us feel so very old…

For more information on the event and live coverage of the event go to http://www.roxy.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3901732

Competition · Snowboarding

Kelly Slater, retirement? The word has been spoken by the man himself but there has been no specific time or date mentioned yet, maybe the opening stage on this year’s ASP Tour might be his last competition, maybe it won’t. Maybe he says, he will do a farewell Aloha Tour. That would be better, we certainly want to see the legend that is Kelly Slater, 39, out there smashing the surf for as long as possible. Always keeping his private life private, he has got given anymore info away saying only that his 2011 agenda is undecided…

The Quiksilver Pro event on the Australian Gold Coast in just a couple of days away, starting on 26th February is the first of eleven stages and Slater is headlining it, after all he is the reigning ten time ASP World Tour champ! He will face Kai Otten (AUS), 31 and an event wildcard in the opening rounds.

Maybe he is worried about the competition from the thirty-four other surfers on the tour this year, the best surfer’s in the world. Throughout the winter he has been putting in the training between his homes of Hawaii and California. He says of the off-season, “I’ve been hanging in Hawaii and getting boards sorted out in California and having down time. Surfing myself out most of January was fun.”

Parko winning the Gold Coast stage in 2009

Billabong surfer Joel Parkinson (AUS) 29, is back up to full fitness after the horrific injury he sustained during last year’s tour (slicing through his foot real bad with the fin of his board) almost ending his career let alone just the season. He still managed to finish off the season with a Vans Triple Crown win though. Of course Parko is well up for it this year, he says “I guess the benefit now is that I’m hungry – not only to compete, but just to surf. That’s one of the key things with surfing on the tour, you’ve got to not only stay hungry to surf throughout a whole event, you’ve got to stay hungry over the course of a whole year. The way I’m feeling at the moment, I’m going to paddle out for my last heat of the year at Pipe even hungrier than I was when I paddled out for my first heat at Snapper. That’s how I’m feeling, that’s how hungry I am to surf right now. And the thing now is that I’ve got three kids, so it’s not like I can go surfing five times a day. I’ve got to pick and choose my windows to surf in and I have to make the most of them.” Wow, passionate!

Parkinson should breeze through Round 1 being drawn against South American duo of Adriano de Souza (BRA), 24, and Alejo Muniz (BRA), 21. It would be nice to see him win an inaugural crown after so many near misses. Anything could happen this year, whether Kelly Slater is around or not…

Competition · quiksilver · Surfing

Element are one of the top names in the skateboarding world.  The Element ‘seed’ was planted in 1992 and since then the brand has set out and achieved an honest and ethical place within the skateboard industry. Ultimately though, the reason we all know and love Element is because they make the best skateboard hardware and some pretty awesome clothes. With help from the Element Advocates including artists, musicians, humanitarians, and social activists plus the worldwide team of riders, the Element family is formed.

In keeping with the Elements vibe in terms of giving back to the community, kicking off in February is the Element Make It Count competition. The comp is back again after the success of the event last year and how could it not be a success with the prize that is at stake? The winner of the UK stage will win an entry into the European finals in Madrid and then the overall winner there, will get an all expenses paid trip to California and be entered into a battle to win an Element sponsorship in June. Ever dreamt of being sponsored? Now is your chance!

The first and only stop on the Element Make It Count tour in the UK is to be held at Central Skatepark in Manchester on 25^th February and is sure to attract skaters from far and wide. The standard in the grand finals in California last year was pretty high to say the least, check it out in the video below. The competition is open to anyone so let’s see what you got…

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Competition · Element · skate · skateboard · Skateboarding

Men's ski podium. Photo: Dom Daher

So, the Freeride season has officially kicked off. The Freeride World Tour got off to a great start in Chamonix over the weekend as did the Red Bull Line Catcher 2011 where K2 skier Sean Pettit stole the show. Although there has been limited snowfall in the French and Italian Alps so far this season, temperatures dropped but there was excellent visibility for the first stage of the tour.

Billabong's Anne-Flore Marxer shows off her cheque! Photo: J.Bernard

At the Dakine sponsored Freeride World Tour, France dominated the podiums of the male ski and snowboard competitions and the rookie to the tour Swiss/French Billabong rider Anne Flore Marxer came in first in the womens snowboard round. Being in Chamonix it was extra special for the Frenchmen Aurélien Ducroz and Adrien Coirier who were first and second in the men’s ski event and also Xavier De Le Rue, Douds Charlet (from Chamonix) and Aurélien Routens who were placed first, second and third in the men’s snowboard event.

There are a lot more stages to the tour with the next stop for male skiers and snowboarders in St. Moritz in Switzerland on 30^th January. It then moves over to the USA and then into Russia where the snow should undoubtedly be better. We will be following closely.

Competition · Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2011

First stop is Cham 22nd January 2011

The Freeride World Tour is about to commence once we get Christmas and New Year out of the way and the event, sponsored by Dakine is destined to be bigger and better than before. This year there are six stages in total which are spread across Europe, Russia and the U S of A. Skiers and snowboarders alike will compete on the same face of the same mountain to be crowned eventual World Champions. The tour will kick off in the Chamonix-Mont Blanc area and go full circle around the world and back to Europe in the form of Verbier for the final to be held 19^th March. A women’s tour will also be taking place and will run along side the men’s tour minus a few stages.

The tour will start on 22^nd January in France and by the beginning of March will reach Sochi in Russia which is where the Winter Olympics will be hosted in 2014. It promises to be a spectacular event as always, how can it not be with a drop in from a needle point on a 60° slope? The speeds the riders reach and the fact that they are so relieved to get past the finishing line says something about the intensity and extreme element to the competition. Looking forward to following from January.

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Competition · Skiing · Snowboarding · Winter 2010