Canterbury dominate early at Uni Snow Games

Press Release
(For immediate release)
August 29, 2010

Canterbury dominate early at Uni Snow Games

Experience competing on the world stage held Cody Logan in good stead on the opening day of the 2010 NZ Uni Snow Games in Wanaka today.

The Canterbury University student, who represented New Zealand at the World University Games in China last year, posted the two quickest run times to win the Burton Boarder GS event at Treble Cone with a combined total of 73.791sec.

Marc Riedi, of Otago, placed second just over 5 seconds adrift, with Richard O’Brien, of Canterbury, less than a second behind him to claim third.

“It was fun – there was a bit of fresh snow about,” Logan said.

He now switches his focus to his favoured boarder X event, in which he placed 17th at the world fixture, to be staged at Cardrona tomorrow (Monday).

“It’s such a rush – slalom is fun but you don’t have that added challenge of people racing right there beside you.”

Logan has his sights set on returning to the World University Games, the second largest winter sports event after the Olympics, which will be staged in Turkey in January.

In the womens’ ranks, Estelle Baker, of Otago, clocked 84.042sec, narrowly holding off a strong challenge from team-mate Mallory Nordblad, who finished the course with a combined 85.662sec.

“I knew she (Nordblad) was pretty quick so it’s good to get the win,” Baker said.

Hannah Orchard, of Canterbury, finished third in 87.586sec.

NZ Uni Snow Games event manager Cam Craighead said limited visibility made for challenging conditions in the slalom ski events.

“It was a tight and pretty technical course,” he said.

Emilie Tait-Jamieson, of Massey Albany, proved untouchable in the slalom, producing a combined time of 76.28sec – even bettering the efforts of her male counterparts.

Courtney Tate, of Otago, earned second in 80.58sec, followed by Caitlin Feasey, of Canterbury, with 81.059sec.

Dominic Campbell, also of Canterbury, dominated the mens’ event with a combined time of 78.03sec, followed by Kevin Schreiber, of Otago, and Tim Harker, of Lincoln, in 84.33sec and 89.27sec respectively.

Fastest run of the day went to Ben Ridley, of Otago, with an impressive 36.51sec but disqualification in his second run ruled him out of contention.

The Uni Snow Games has attracted 150 competitors from 11 campuses throughout New Zealand. Students will strive for medals in a host of events while the campus with the highest points will secure the coveted Michael Forrestal Memorial Shield.

“There’s a really good vibe amongst the students,” University Sport New Zealand games director Dene Lynch said.

“They are all really keen and motivated to compete strongly for their respective campuses and that was evident on the slopes today.”

The skier x and Burton boarder X events will be staged at Cardrona tomorrow (Monday), before competitors return to Treble Cone for the ski giant slalom on Tuesday, followed by the Emberley Night Session at Snow Park.

After a scheduled weather day on Wednesday, the action continues with the Mad Wax ski and Burton board half pipe and slopestyle events at Snow Park on Thursday and the Big Air on Friday. Snow Farm will host cross country skiing on Friday afternoon.

Results:
Burton Boarder GS:
Men: Cody Logan (Canterbury) 73.791s, 1; Marc Riedi (Otago) 78.808s, 2, Richard O’Brien (Canterbury) 79.674s, 3.
Women: Estelle Baker (Otago) 84.042s, 1; Mallory Nordblad (Otago) 85.662s, 2; Hannah Orchard (Canterbury) 87.586s, 3.
Ski Slalom:
Men: Dominic Campbell (Canterbury) 78.03s, 1; Kevin Schreiber (Otago) 84.33s, 2; Tim Harker (Lincoln) 89.27s, 3.
Women: Emilie Tait-Jamieson (Massey Albany) 76.28s, 1; Courtney Tate (Otago) 80.58s, 2; Caitlin Feasey (Canterbury) 81.59s, 3.

Ends

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