What exactly is Boardercross?

[PamelaDare]

Silly question perhaps but I still am not sure I really 'get' what is it.

[patmoore]

Not a silly question. Boardercross is a blast! I've competed in a couple of 'em. Four to six racers all start at the same time and try to be the first to finish a course with banked turns and jumps.

Here's a video of a race.

[runswithdog]

Bordercross!!


In the US South, we used to call it "Nascar on snow".

In the West, they like to refer to it as "motocross on snow, or roller derby on snow".

Either way, it was the greatest thing ever to watch on TV in the last Olympics. It was fascinating, thrilling, and charged with adrenaline.
What more could you ask for??

[PamelaDare]

Ah. It does seem an enjoyable sport.

[bernwern]

Boarder-X is my favorite. Extremely similar to how I ride, minus the big jumps I prefer natural features.

Basically, Boarder-X is a set course with boundaries. Racers line up at the gates similar to motocross and weave their way through the course as quickly as possible. It tests your speed, carving, balance, jumping (efficiently for speed, not for air), and more. First to the bottom wins!

My favorite Boarder-X of all time was the 1997 X-Games when Jim Rippey got piled up in the first turn. He started catching up...and as he hit the gap he decided to bust out a backflip....when passing his opponent in the air his hand actually grazed his nose while he was upside-down! He crashed on the landing >< But he did start making up ground again, and when the 3rd place guy crashed on the last jump, Rippey flew over the top of him and possibly tapped his back with his board Best sequence EVER and one we used to watch at the beginning of each season to fire us up.

-B

[daysailer1]

I'm debating whether to try it this year. They do have a training day at Copper before the actual competition. I've never done it before and I would immediately be taking on the USASA national champion for my division in my first race.

[patmoore]

My favorite Boarder-X of all time was the 1997 X-Games when Jim Rippey got piled up in the first turn. He started catching up...and as he hit the gap he decided to bust out a backflip....when passing his opponent in the air his hand actually grazed his nose while he was upside-down! He crashed on the landing >< But he did start making up ground again, and when the 3rd place guy crashed on the last jump, Rippey flew over the top of him and possibly tapped his back with his board Best sequence EVER and one we used to watch at the beginning of each season to fire us up.

-B

I did a search for that video but couldn't find it. Is it online?

[bernwern]

^ yes it is online, but very hard to find. I saved a link in email so I could get to it fast! The link is below, but note that the video is small and low resolution. It is the 3rd video down on the list. Enjoy!

http://vvi.onstreammedia.com/cgi-bin/visearch?user=expn&template=template.html&query=Jim+Rippey+VideoProgramTitle%3AWinter+VideoProgramTitle%3AX+VideoProgramTitle%3AGames+AND+VideoDate%3A1997+%28ClipEvent%3AMen+ClipEvent%3ASnowboarder+X+AND+NOT+ClipEvent%3AWomen+AND+%28VideoSport%3ASnowboarding+OR+ClipSport%3ASnowboarding%29%29&sport=%28ClipEvent%3AMen+ClipEvent%3ASnowboarder+X+AND+NOT+ClipEvent%3AWomen+AND+%28VideoSport%3ASnowboarding+OR+ClipSport%3ASnowboarding%29%29&show=VideoProgramTitle%3AWinter+VideoProgramTitle%3AX+VideoProgramTitle%3AGames+AND+VideoDate%3A1997&viKeyword=Jim+Rippey

-B

[patmoore]

Thanks! That is an insane run.

I saved it as a shorter URL ---> http://tinyurl.com/6xyoxc

Or you can access it with a link.

Note: it requires Real Player to view.

[PamelaDare]

Even though I don't see myself as a competitive person, there is something about boardercross that I find quite fascinating.

I'd like to be able to give a course somewhere a try by the end of the upcoming season...

:0)