40 -— Wednesday, January 27, 1999 — North Shore News north shore news NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge No boarding pass required KOKANEE Boardercross competitors rip, fly and carve their way down Mount Seymour last Sunday. Drew Neilson won the men’s pro event, while Annie Boulanger took the women’s pro cempeiition. In the open amateur women’s event, Alison Amos claimed top honcurs, and Robert Fagan rode to first place in the men’s amateur event. Close to 200 competitors took part in the opening race weekend of the Kokanee Boardercross Grand Nationals series. Next step on the tour is Sunshine Village in Banff at the end of February. Ringstad has home slope advaniage Andrew McCredie Editer andrew@nsnews.com IF Kelly Ringstad is correct, getting shin splints and strep throat were the best things that could happen to her skiing career, “1 think I work best under extreme stress,” the West Vancouver mogul skier said recently. Considering the events of the past six months, fans of the affable skier are hoping she’s right. Following a decent season last year — in which she placed eighth overall in the Grand Prix and sixth in Federation International Ski rankings — Ringstad was looking to take her carcer to the next level in 1999. “{ wanted to increase the difficulty of my jumps — add a-helicopter and a twister,” she said of her off-season plans. But the scourge of the pratessional athlete — injuries - forced the 24-year- old to sit out much of the all-important training season, a time when competitors typically add new tricks to their resume and work on conditioning. First, came shin splints. “Late last season I had some soreness in my lower legs,” Ringstad explained. “I had both my legs x-rayed and the doctor found stress fractures in the tibias of both legs.” The injury kept Ringstad from com- peting in the Nationals in March, and also put an end to what had been her best season to date. Ringstad’s third place resule in Breckinridge was her best ever placing in a World Cup competition. For anyone who has watched a mogul race, it should come as no surprise that the legs, specifically the knees and shins, take the brunt of the punishment. Special braces are used by some skiers to dull rhe pain, but the best medicine is rest. So, in May and June last vear Ringstad did just that: “Basically, I didn’t do much of any- thing for eight weeks.” She was back on skis in July, helping coach the nexr generation of Canada’s freestylers at camps on Blackcomb glaci- er, and in August made the trip to Australia with the Canadian team. Ar the end of the trip she competed in a money race — her first race in over halfa year. “It was awesonie to be back,” she said. “Ir was so much fiin to be compet- ing again.” The legs fele good and so did Ringstad as she set her sights on the sea- son opening Europa Cups in the Swiss resorts of Zermatt and Champery in October. She never made it. A nagging cold turned out to be a strep chroat, and Ringstad sat our November and December trving to get See Mogul page 42 ‘ NEWS photo Terry Peters: WEST Van's Kelly Ringstad competes this weekend in Whistler. Westroc rescues Freestyle Andrew nccredie view from the cheap seats WE won't go as far as to call it serendipitous, but it is truly fitting that the company which has shored up — for the moment anyway —- freestyle skiing in Canada builds wails. When Nokia hung up on its World Cup Freestyle tour sponsorship deal last year, the tour scrambled for a saviour, fr came in the form of Westroc, a Canada-wide drvy- wall manufacturer. Unfortunately, it could be too fate to save the fledgling World Cup rour. A number of reasons have contributed to treestyle’s bunipy freefall. The Nagano Olympics Jaunched snowboarding into the sponsorship stratosphere, meaning much of the ali- important and equahy elusive TV revenue and sponsor money is today being diverted into boarders’ baggy pants. And there is the division within the ranks of freestyic itself. World Cup Freestyle’s governing body FIS has watched as offshoot tours and competitions, offering more money and a larger TV audi- ence, have lured many of the tour's stars of tomorrow, The most high-profile of these being the Johnny Moseley Big Air competitions and the ESPN-sponsared X- Games. Also, a women’s breakaway tour is making some noise, though it’s com- petitors are not ainong the sport’s clite. FIS is doing it’s best to stop the bleeding - Fox TV has signed on for a special FIS-sanctioned “jumps and bumps” event — but it appears the World Freestyle tour, as we know ir, is nearing an end. For proof, look no further than this season's truncated race schedule. In year’s past the World Cup Freestyle tour began in December in Europe and continued through March, This season the first race was in Quebec in the sec- ond week of January, and the final event is set for late February. On a more local level, the sport’s decline has led ta the cancellation of the always- popular aerial competition at Blackcomb this weekend. Getting rid of ballet (“acro” as itis called) was a no brain- er, but grounding the azrials is a serious mistake. : If Westroc tears down it’s sponsorship after this season, the tour would be well- advised to search out another construction company. ‘Though maybe a bridge, not a wall, builder, would be more appropriate.