Rising stars claim Ritblat Endeavour Awards
Rising stars claim Ritblat Endeavour Awards
Introduced with great success in 2017, the Ritblat Endeavour Awards added another fantastic element to The BRITS this year with eight talented up-and-comers sharing a £3000 prize pool.
As an extension of the thriving Championship Ski & Snowboard League, CSS at The BRITS came into being at last year’s event in Laax as the brainchild of GB Park & Pipe coach Hamish McKnight.
The concept was backed by long-time UK snowsports supporters Delancey, with the real estate investment company keen to bring the CSS concept out to the Alps and support the development of the sport’s future stars.
All under 18 skiers and snowboarders competing in this week’s Picture Organic Clothing Big Air competitions at The BRITS were eligible for the Ritblat Endeavour Awards. During practice, qualification and finals all tricks were filmed, with a panel of experienced judges rewarding the top two tricks in each category with a £500 prize for the best trick and £250 for runner up.
“The athletes coming through the Park and Pipe pathway are getting better and better, and Delancey is proud to be supporting CSS at The BRITS for a second year with the Ritblat Endeavour Awards,” said Jamie Ritblat, Founder and Chairman of Delancey.
“I have no doubt that some of this year’s recipients will continue to develop and compete at the highest level of the sport.”
The Ski Big Air competitions were the first to be decided on Tuesday. In the female category, 13-year-old Kirsty Muir collected first prize in the Ritblat Endeavour Awards for the second straight year. She sent down a 1080 safety off the pro line which was also good enough for victory in the overall competition.
“I’m very happy - I’ll be able to use the money for training and for getting out here again,” said Muir.
Connie Brogden, 17, finished second behind Muir in the open competition and was also runner-up in the Ritblat Endeavour Awards with her rodeo 5.
Seventeen-year-old Justin Taylor-Tipton’s double cork 1260 mute grab was good enough second place overall, but also landed him first prize in the Ritblat Endeavour Awards for the second year in a row. Second place was awarded to Jasper Klein, 16, who caught the judge’s eye with a dub 12 safety.
Taylor-Tipton said the prize money would be useful for “way more training, getting around the country and around the world.”
Wednesday brought the Snowboard Big Air competitions and the female category saw a repeat of 2017 which highlighted the Ritblat Endeavour Awards format where all tricks throughout the day are judged, not just those in the final. While 11-year-old Mia Brookes took out the British Championship ahead of Cerys Allen, it was the 17-year-old’s backside 3 tail grab which earned her the £500 cheque. Brookes picked up second prize with her backside 3.
“I had to prove to myself today that I could spin the pro-line again after a minor injury a couple of weeks ago but I pulled it out, went for it and it came off,” said Allen.
Harry Waite and George Waite had to settle for finishing behind Billy Cockrell on the Big Air podium, but the brothers claimed both cheques in the Ritblat Endeavour Awards. Harry, 17, walked away with top prize with a crowd-pleasing cab double underflip. George secured second place with a backside 7 mute grab, just in front of Liam Tynan who received a notable mention from the judges for his backside 7 stalefish.
“The weather was pretty difficult, so I was just happy to land the run,” said Harry. “I’ll probably spend the prizemoney on more trips away to train.”
GB Park and Pipe coach Hamish McKnight was impressed with the developing athletes’ ability to handle the windy conditions which reduced the length of the main big air events but gave extra opportunities to those taking part to showcase their tricks throughout the entire day.
“These tricks are hard enough when conditions are perfect but I was impressed to see everyone's motivation to push through in tough conditions,” said McKnight.
To see this year’s Ritblat Endeavour Award edits, follow these links:
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2018 RITBLAT ENDEAVOUR AWARDS |
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Female |
SKI 1st 2nd |
Male |
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Female |
SNOWBOARD 1st 2nd |
Snowboard Harry Waite |
