Nice ‘backside grab’
Photo Illustration by Nick Olmstead Emerald
The EMU Club Sports snowboard team could be national champions one day.
But not for a while, club organizers said. The organization has shifted focus from fun to a new challenge for participants — competition.
Members said this year’s leap into local invitationals spawns hope for the future.
Though the snowboard club still focuses on having fun and improving technique, a select group are attempting to take their sport to the next level.
Since 1991, the club has made trips to Northwest slopes with the goal of establishing a local riding community.
Junior biology major Loic Fabricant, the club’s organizer, said he envisions the club as a strong unit, formed by the love of the sport.
The group religiously takes trips to Willamette Pass, where they can continuously learn more about the sport, Fabricant said. He said riders take trips up to the mountain three to four times a week, with the ultimate goal of competing.
“The club is about getting up to the mountain with a bunch of people so you can push each other to improve your skill,” Fabricant said.
He added that most of the club’s approximately 90 registered members are active participants. Any student may join the group at any time during the academic year, Fabricant said.
“At this point, if someone wanted to be involved and showed up, showed the interest and got involved with fundraising, (becoming a member) would be no question,” he said.
Club organizers are going to be concerned with fundraising during the next few weeks, as members organize a T-shirt sale.
“After we get really rolling in these next couple weeks to do our fundraising, people could still get involved, but they’d miss out on a lot of the development things,” he said. “We’re always welcoming new members. The more numbers, the better.”
Club members of years past have traveled to faraway slopes for pleasure trips, but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year as the group has shifted their focus.
“In the past there have been trips to Whistler (in British Columbia) but not this year,” junior business major Nathan Price said. “We wanted to focus more on training and competing.”
With this new concentration, the members have created something groundbreaking for their organization. As members have grown in confidence and skill, the club has formed a group within itself — a snowboard team.
Twenty-five riders of the nearly 90-member snowboard club participate on the team, said Fabricant. As of now, 10 women and 15 men are working toward competition.
“This is really our first year competing,” said Price, the team’s coach. On Jan. 20, the team will represent the University in its first competitive event.
Club members and Willamette Pass staff are working together to plan future events.
Willamette Pass, the team’s home slope, hosts the competition. Randy Rogers, skiing director for Willamette Pass, said although he has seen many University snowboarders throughout the years, this year’s group is different.
“I’ve been really impressed with the group this year,” Rogers said. “They have great ideas, commitment and follow through. For all the years there have been (University) snowboard clubs, this year’s delivered the best so far.”
Rogers also said some of the snowboarders helped him design the layout for the terrain park at Willamette Pass.
The Jan. 20 inaugural event is the KDUK Slopestyle Competition, and the team will take to the slopes performing various technical maneuvers.
On Jan. 26 and 27, Willamette Pass and the team are sponsoring what Rogers called the “UO Snowboard Invitational.” Saturday will feature the halfpipe event, and Sunday will bring boarders together for the slopestyle competition.
Competing in halfpipe and slopestyle events entails virtually the same judging criteria, but with different physical settings, Rogers said. He said judges look for amplitude (how high a rider goes), landing quality, rotation, board grabs and the overall impression of a particular run.
Though the team will compete together, this contest allows only a single winner, Rogers said. The prizes for winning the invitational include CDs, lift tickets and other snowboard-related items, Rogers said.
“Anybody on campus (with) any skill level can compete (in either competition),” Fabricant said. “We want to encourage as many people to participate as possible.”
The registration fee is $10 to enter either contest, and $20 for a discounted lift ticket. Spectators pay $32 for a lift ticket, Rogers said.
On Feb. 23, the team’s first year of competition will continue with the third annual Windells Timberline Pro Am Classic Series at Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge.
The next day, the team will trek to Mt. Hood Meadows for the “Jamaican Days” competition.
Many of the members on the team are familiar with the sport but have never competed before, Fabricant said.
“There’s a big range in ability level,” Fabricant said. “We really want to encourage all those (nonexperienced) people, because in three years they could become one of our top competitors. The club is an incubation opportunity for the team.”
Price said there’s a hierarchy of competitions for those seeking to be national champions.
“It’s just like any other collegiate athletic,” Price said. “You start at regionals, which are usually held in Washington, and you move up from there.”
Price and Fabricant both agreed the snowboard team isn’t ready to tackle national competition.
“It’s a goal,” Fabricant said. “That’s what we’re building toward. Maybe next year.”
E-mail reporter Marcus Hathcock at
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