Hi girls! My name is Paula Mitchell I compete in snowboarding competitions all around the world and I love it. I am sure you love snowboarding too and it is even more fun hitting the jumps in the park; especially once you got your first time out of the way. So I am going to take you through hitting your first park jump.
Snowboarding jump broken down
1. Scope it out
2. Get your speed right
3. Take off a flat base
4. Bring your knees up for the grab
5. Extent your knees slightly for landing
6. Stoked!
Before you start…
Ride through the beginner Park and check out the jumps. What you are looking for is a small jump for you to try your first park jump on- this will be about a 5-10 foot gap between take off and landing. Once you find it, scope it out – check out the take off, the gap and the landing so you know what you are about to hit. Check out other people hitting the jump to watch their speed and where they are landing. It is important to have enough speed to make the landing, you do not want to land on the flat part of the jump, you want to land on the downward slope of the jump. Landing on the flat of the jump creates a lot of impact, so land on the downward slope and your knees will thank you.
Be safe, as you ride through the park scoping it out, make sure you keep to the side so you do not get in the way of the other riders hitting the features. The last thing you want, is to get smoked because someone could not see you from above.
You are ready and it is your turn…
Okay, cool so you have rode through the park, found your jump, checked it out and now you have lapped around and are standing at the drop in area for your jump. Watch a few people hit it first, look at their speed. It is your turn now…
Ride towards the jump, make a few edge changes to adjust your speed as needed. As you ride up the kicker keep your base flat by staying off the edges, you want to take off a flat base while keeping your weight over the balls of your feet. Keep your shoulders parallel to your board and jump (stops you turning in the air) and your arms down by your side to help keep them quite (not waving around to put you off balance).
Taking off…
As your nose is about to ride off the lip, gently rise off both feet to put you in the air. If you are feeling comfortable and confident, mid air bring your knees up and grab your board, it is all about bringing your board to your hand. I am grabbing Indy, back hand on my toe side edge between my feet.
Landing…
Right now it is time to let go of the grab. Let go and return your arm so your shoulders are again parallel with your board which is also parallel with the landing.
Extend your knees slightly for the landing, this way as you land you can absorb the impacted by bending your knees. Land on a flat base with the entire length of your board.
Claim it, ride off, snack on a Nature Valley bar on the chair lift and go do it again! Stoked!
So now you have something to work on! Start small and work your way up. It may take a few times before you feel comfortable to try to grab. Check out the grab guide to try different grabs and get out there have some fun and learn something new each day. Source: http://curl.co.nz
