Local snowboarder Laura Berry is back on top form after her recent injuries with an impressive double win at the Milton Keynes AIM Series Indoor Snowboard and Freestyle Ski Championships last Saturday (18 September) at Xscape. Laura, whose British Championship hopes were dashed earlier this year when she fractured her collarbone in two places, put in an amazing performance in the Senior Women’s Boardercross event to ride away with the top spot in her home town. Tense
 | | Lucy Passmore (Dopeshots.com) |
The final was a tense race between Laura and Katie Young with Berry trusting her immense confidence to push a little bit harder to take the title. Jules Chappell from Leighton Buzzard came third. Then, in a 45 minute jam in the Women’s Slopestyle event, Laura’s confident display of awesome riding secured her second win of the day, under stiff competition from another local snow girl Lucy Passmore who came second in the event. In the later event, Laura demonstrated why she is UK’s reigning queen jibber. Without fear and in full speed she gapped to boardslide on the kinked rail, did a boardslide to 180 over the wave box and finished with a smooth tail slide on the flat box. "I’m stoked!" she said. "The Women’s Boardercross was super good fun and the 45 minute jam rocked. It feels good to be back." Defend Laura now has her sights firmly set on next year’s British Championships. She will be there to defend her British Women’s Slopestyle title and go all out to win the Halfpipe and Big Air Senior Women’s events, two titles denied to her this year thanks to the fractured collarbone she received whilst riding in Mammoth, California back in March.
 | | James Carr (Dopeshots.com) |
Paul Wilkinson, Marketing Manager at O’Neill UK said, "Laura’s injuries were a terrible blow to her but she has come back fighting. To be on such awesome form so early into the season is amazing." Record The Orange AIM Series Indoor Boarder/ Skiercross Championships had a record number of entrants and with the indoor course being slightly narrow and shorter than a mountain course, the races were close and intense. Other local participants also did well. For the men, Milton Keynes did well in the form of skier Ted Foster who came second in the ski slopestyle, while James Carr came third in the snowboard slopestyle with Sam Cullum from High Wycombe taking the top spot. RESULTS Men’s Skiercross Championships 1) Michael Bates, Edinburgh 2) Simon Bates, Edinburgh 3) Ben Londsdale, Settle Women’s Skiercross Championships 1) Emma Londsdale, Settle 2) Victoria Sarsfield, Durham 3) Emily Sarsfield, Durham Men’s Ski Slopestyle 1) Jay Earles, Sheffield 2) Ted Foster, Milton Keynes 3) Andrew Colin, Doncaster Women’s Ski Slopestyle 1) Emma Londsdale, Settle 2) Rebecca Hammond, Sheffield 3) Shelley Jones, Cheshire Men’s Boardercross Championships 1) Dave Griffith, Sheffield 2) Luke Paull, Southampton 3) Michael Austin, Cheltenham Women’s Boardercross Championships 1) Laura Berry, Milton Keynes 2) Katie Young, Sheffield 3) Jules Chappell, Leighton Buzzard Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle 1) Sam Cullum, High Wycombe 2) Nate Kern, Legsheath Lane 3) James Carr, Milton Keynes Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle 1) Laura Berry, Milton Keynes 2) Lucy Passmore, Milton Keynes 3) Sarah Phillips, Stroud |