12 films in 12 months. 
A year in search of shred. 
Different spots, different crews, different styles. 
We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, or where we’ll go. 
But if it sounds fun, and it feels good, we’re in.

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The World Rookie Fest has been grooming snowboarding’s future stars for global domination for many years now. Guys that are now at the top of the game – like Peetu Piiroinen, Gjermund Braaten and Ståle Sandbech – have announced themselves by winning the WRF as groms and ahead of this season’s World Rookie Finals in Ischgl this edit looks at the impact it had on their careers.

The best rookies from all over the world are landing today in Ischgl, Austria, for the 2013 Volkl World Rookie Finals where the annual World Rookie Champion titles will be awarded. It is a great honor to join this legendary event, where all the rising stars challenge, and if you look at last years results from this event, you will notice that all the past seasons winners, today are among the invited riders at the 2013 Europe X-Games in Tignes.

The Black Yeti visited the 2013 X-Games in Tignes driving his brand new Jeep Wrangler and talked with some of the “past Rookie Fest riders” about the development of their snowboard carrier. Some of them competed in past edition of the World Rookie Fest and now are in the 10 top positions of the TTR World Snowboard Ranking and join world class events.

“If not for the World Rookie Fest I don’t think I would be here” sayed Gjermund Braaten, formed World Rookie Champion in 2006, from the rider lounge at the X-Games in Tignes. “Go to the Rookie Fest, do good, and if you end in the top 3 then you gonna be a star!” ended Gjermund.

These are some of past years World Rookie Champions and winner of the World Rookie Tour events competed at the 2013 Euro X Games:

Peetu Piiroinen (World Rookie Champion 2004)
Christian Haller (World Rookie Champion 2006)
Ulrik Badertscher (winner at the World Rookie Fest in Livigno 2006)
Gjermund Braaten (World Rookie Champion 2008)
Yuki Kadono (2nd place World Rookie Finals 2012)
Staale Sandbech (grom winner at the World Rookie Fest in Livigno 2009)
Seppe Smits (many partecipation at World Rookie Tour events)
Roope Tonteri (2 times World Rookie Champion in 2010 and 2011)
Sarka Pancochova (winner at the World Rookie Fest in Livigno 2008)

To say that Hoppipolla headwear has a good team is doing a disservice to the word ‘understatement’. With a team that reads like a who’s who of contemporary Scandic talent, this March team edit is predictably bolts. Check it…

Riders: Eiki Helgason, Halldor Helgason, Stale Sandbech, Kalle Ohlson, Alek Oestreng, Erik Botner, Torgeir Berre, Gulli Gudmundsson, Toni Kerkela and Lonnie Kauk.

Check this. Another rad look at the winners from the recent Arctic Challenge and how the overall World Snowboard Tour was decided. Contains more AYUMU, and therefore viewing is mandatory…

To quote Stale Sandbech’s sponsor Rome Snowboards, “This is the first and last Harlem Shake video we will ever post.”

Remember the RK1 boys’ banging Colorado edit that dropped over the holidays? You know, the one that’s probably the best park lapping edit you’ve seen in a long while? The one with Len Jorgensen’s awesome handspring knuckle thing? Yeah, that one. Here’s an edit made of B-shots from the sessions there. It’s still decent.

If you needed more proof that the Scandis – specifically the Norwegians – are owning park snowboarding these days, then be sure to check out this edit from the RK1 crew as they put the beatdown on Keystone and Breckenridge. Humbling skills and a bang bus of an edit from bossman Olav Stubberud, this even features a cameo from Steve-O of all people and some of the best knuckle tricks you’ll ever see. Check it…

If you ever wondered what video game snowboarding looks like in real life, watch this. Mark McMorris, Ståle Sandbech and Ulrik Badertscher make short work of back triple 14s, regular 14s and backside 1620s. Re. Tarded.

Rome are embarking on a 12-month-long odyssey of shredding and filmmaking this year. Having started their shooting schedule in November 2012, they’ll be dropping a full edit of each month’s action from their team of shreds, each month. And this is the November cut. And it is booming. Riders: Len JØrgensen, Ståle Sandbech, Jonah Owen, Ozzy Henning

Their sum up of the deal sums it up pretty darn well.

12 films in 12 months.
A year in search of shred.
Different spots, different crews, different styles.
We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, or where we’ll go.
But if it sounds fun, and it feels good, we’re in.

romesnowboards.com

Yuki Kadono whirling his way through the second of three backside corks on the final run of the contest. He won. No shit!

16-year-old Japanese rookie wins the prestigious Air & Style Beijing by blowing minds and stomping a backside 1440 triple cork on the last run of the contest. Watch that madness, and that of the other finalists, Peetu Piiroinen, Ståle Sandbech and Mathias Weissenbacher… We’ll have a fuller report on Monday, but that was just nuts. Plain and simple. [UPDATE - You can now read our breakdown of the haps last Saturday beneath these videos.]

1st PLACE – YUKI KADONO – BACKSIDE TRIPLE CORK 1440

2ND PLACE – PEETU PIIROINEN – CAB 1260

3RD PLACE – STÅLE SANDBECH – BACKSIDE 1440

4TH PLACE – MATHIAS WEISSENBACHER – BACKSIDE CORKED 1080

“Unexpected”. That’s perhaps the word that could best sum up events at the Air&Style Beijing last Saturday. Big names fell by the wayside early on, rookies made it all the way to the Super Finals, landed triple corks were deemed not good enough, and finally, on the last jump of the night, a 16-year-old Japanese kid put it down when it mattered to win the coveted Ring of Glory. Another word that could work equally well is ‘Insane’.

The early rounds saw a couple of dudes you’d expect at the business end of things sent for an early bath. Last year’s winner, Ulrik Badertscher, was dispatched in the first round by  Torgeir Bergrem, Seb Toutant was knocked out in Round 2 by Roope Tonteri, as was Seppe Smits (falling on Mathias Weissenbacher‘s sword). In our Air & Style Beijing predictions post prior to the event, we’d staked our dubious reputations on Mark McMorris to walk away with the win, and to do so with a backside triple cork 1440. Well, in an effort to make us appear smarter than we are, we were right in a way – McMorris did put down the bs 1440 triple, and a bs 1440 triple did win the contest, but sadly for Mark – and our reputation – when he put down the triple dipper in Round 3 (the first ever triple cork at an Air & Style, nonetheless) against Mathias Weissenbacher his landing was a little off, his hand drag significant and the judges gave it a harsh, but in our opinion fair, score that wasn’t enough to see him progress to the Super Finals.

The Super Final itself was a mix of newcomers and established names. As everyone should know by now, ‘Never Bet Against Peetu Piiroinen‘ is a good thing to bear in mind at major events, and Piiroinen’s huge pop, clean style and solid stomps saw off an on fire Sage Kotsenburg (whose double cork backside 10 Japans were epic, it must be noted) to see him face off against last year’s World Snowboard Tour winner Ståle Sandbech and his backside 1440, and the relative unknowns of Mathias Weissenbacher and Yuki Kadono. Ståle took the early lead, putting down another 1440 with consummate ease and for a while it looked like that would be enough – the others fell or looked like they were out of ideas to answer his score of 92 points.

But cometh the last run, cometh the man, as they say. All of a sudden Peetu fired off a textbook Cab 12 which, despite us having seen countless times before is really pretty hard to fault, and 93.33 points was his reward. It looked like he was a shoe-in for another Air & Style trophy for his bulging cabinet. Anyone who claims that they knew what would happen next is either lying or should have our jobs. Up until this point Yuki Kadono had been riding strong and putting down back double 10s and switch back double 12s, but we were of the opinion that the pressure would get to him and that it would be near impossible for him to pip Peetu’s perfection. Clearly, he had other ideas. The last jump of the whole contest, Yuki whirled through a backside triple 14, stomped it clean enough and immediately his hands reached for the sky.

After a short wait the judges confirmed it. 16-year-old Yuki had won the whole shebang with a score of 97.67 and you could tell he couldn’t quite believe what he’d done. Pulling something like that out the bag at the critical moment is a rare thing at this level, but he managed it and deservedly took the champagne shower, the cash, the ring and all the adulation that goes with it.

With the Air & Style celebrating its 20-year anniversary when it drops in on Innsbruck in January, this was the perfect pre-party party with a defining moment that rivals any in its previous 19 outings.