Jeremiah Cook, barely old enough to vote, but still a ruler in the ASC. Could this be you? Loon, NH. Photo: Brooke Geery |
Making it Big in Big Air
by Pat the eYe Bridges
Jeremiah Cook, barely old enough to vote, but still a ruler in the ASC. Could this be you? Loon, NH. Photo: Brooke Geery |
So you want to be a big name, big money, big air pro. You've got that switch backside rodeo stock and the head trauma to prove it. Now all you need is an avenue to fame and fortune, a là the big air circuit. We can't let all that health insurance go to waste, can we? Well, think again. Just because you have the skills and the drive doesn't mean you'll get the oppurtunity. The big air pro scene is somewhat of a tight knit society whose members have been chosen mainly by team managers with final say on entry going to each event's organizers. After all, they are taking as much risk as you are every time you drop in. These aren't the glory days of pre-'80s libel litigation and every lawyer has his or her own way of getting around individually signed liability release forms. Therefore, proven talent is the norm in these events and the true strait-from-the-backhill Cinderella story is almost unheard of. Almost! Enter Dave Olcott and the WAAF Stimilon Air and Style Challenge.
The Air and Style Challenge is the only open big air series in the country. By "open" I mean anyone from Peter Line or Gary Coleman to your little sister can get a shot at the glory. Skeptics are saying, "What good is some little hick big air series going to do me when I want to be the next X-Games Big Air champion?" First of all, it means a little cash: five hundred bucks each for the men's and women's first-place finishers. Second, it gives you results to provide potential sponsor team
 Even chicks can do the Air and Style challenge. Take Ali
Berntsen for example. After a years worth of hucking heself of Davo's jumps, she
ended up in the U.S. Open big air, and walked off with a five thousand dollar check and a
thousand people saying, "Who the hell was that?" at the 1998 Sugarloaf Grand
Prix. Not to shabby, for a girl. Loon, NH. Photo: Brooke Geery |
managers. Remember, these team managers hold a set of the keys to the big air kingdom via invitations. Furthermore, the Stimilon events have provided its winners with derect invitations to the Bud LIght National Big Air Series, Grand Prix Olympic Qualifiers, and U.S. Open Big Airs. Overall, 1998 Stimilon series winner Myles Hallen walked away from the Siearra-at-Tahoe Bud Light event with a second place finish and $2,000, not to mention a pretty penny from the Stimilon series itself.
For the series veterans, the invitations and money aren't the real rewards. Stimilon manages to bring a festive atmosphere along with their tour. Burlington based DJ's Flex Records routinley provides audible enjoyment by spinning up some vintage vinyl and even creating personalized theme music for the seeded riders. There is nothing like a fifty foot gap, a field of hungry pros and 1000 watts of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" blaring at the crowd to create excitment.
The Number One goal of the series is to give recognition to the riders not prestigious enough to be invited to the big tiem events. Hopefully, this series is developing the future super heroes.
For more photos, results and information, check out www.stimilon.com
