A slope style snowboarder from Don Ross Secondary carved his way to the top of a provincial podium in Big White over the weekend (Jan. 12 to 13).
Thirteen-year-old Nelson Languedoc finished first place in the Under 14 category at Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna. The slope style competition had Languedoc riding head-to-head with B.C.'s best.
"I was pretty stoked to be out there," said Nelson.
Though an initial scare gave his nerves a short rattle, Nelson said he soon found his own way on the hill."When I first got there, there were a whole bunch of older people there who looked like my age. They were pulling 720s in the air," he recalled.
Nelson said he is still learning how to pull off two complete spins. Luckily, the snowboarders in his age group are part of the same learning curve.He made his way to the top of the pack, riding through gruelling weather on Saturday where he said he could barely see five feet in front of him.
In slope style boarding, riders do tricks as they work through a series of jumps and obstacles. It is not yet an Olympic sport, but Nelson is hopeful he will be riding jumps, rails and the occasional spine at Winter Games down the road.
"I think after 2010 it will definitely be in the Olympics," he said.
Nelson picked up the sport five years ago. It took his eight-year-old body a few days to get a handle on the board he would later master.
"My first week was really hard. My butt was really sore," he laughed.
Now he spends the better part of his week on the slopes at Whistler where he trains Thursday and Friday evenings along with the weekends as part of the Whistler Valley Snowboarding Club.His father Sean Languedoc does much of the chauffeuring, taking Nelson up to Whistler at the crack of dawn on Saturday and Sunday.His mother, Anne Languedoc, described how rewarding it has been to watch Nelson succeed in the sport.
"We're just so happy to support his dreams. We're so proud of him - the whole family," she said.
Balancing work and play has become a real challenge for Languedoc.He said he sometimes has to skip a day of snowboarding to catch up on schoolwork.
"That sucks," he said, but added school will always come first.
He said he couldn't have made it to the provincial level with out the help of Mike Quesnel, Stuntwood skateboard shop owner. Quesnel's funding and encouragement has been an integral part of his success, said Nelson.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be going to the provincials. He's been such a help with everything." Nelson is now back in training mode and gearing up for an anticipated competition at Grouse Mountain this February.
