Archive for Sunday, March 23, 2008
Schaffrick rides with the stars
Teen thrilled with snowboarding experience
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Steamboat Springs — Both of her runs ended with a fall on the snow, so it might seem Madeline Schaffrick was disappointed Saturday at the Burton U.S. Snowboarding Championships at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont.
Not even close.
The 13-year-old Steamboat Springs boarder had little trouble finding positives in her 19th-place finish.
"I did well even though I fell on both my runs," she said. "I didn't make it to finals, but it was probably one of the most fun days ever."
The source of Schaffrick's excitement was not only both her runs - she beat more than 2/3 of the 66 competitors - but also the competition she was able to butt heads with.
Schaffrick threw down tricks with some of the biggest names in snowboarding.
"I got to meet a bunch of the pros," she said. "I met Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teter, Torah Bright and Kelly Clark. It was really cool just to be there and see them ride."
Schaffrick, who will compete today in a juniors event, said she nearly ran well enough to come a lot closer to the sport's stars.
"My first run, I fell on a backside 540. On my second run I got through the whole run and I was on my last hit and I was doing a cab-7, which is a switch front-side 720, and I just slid out and I just kind of sat down," she said. "I'm really proud of myself. I was just going to come out to Vermont to do the Junior Jam, but I won a spot in the open class. I told myself I would just try it, and I did a lot better than I thought."
Steamboat's Matt Ladley also competed. He finished 33rd and didn't qualify for finals.
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