Tuesday, December 18, 2012

RESULTS

YearResult
20091 Eastern Freeride Tour Slope
1 Eastern Freeride Tour Slope
1 Eastern Freeride Tour Slope
2 Jr Nationals Slope
2 Jr Nationals Aerials
2010invite to 2011 x games
1 Jr worlds Slope
3 New Zealand Open Pipe
1 Jr Nationals Combined
1 Jr Nationals Slope
1 Jr Nationals Aerials
3 Jr Nationals Pipe
4 NZO Slope
6 Grand Prix Pipe
2011Out with 2 knee surgeries
Same knee,
Came Back 3/2012
20121 USASA Nationals Slope
1 Mount Snow Open Slope
2 Rev Tour Slope
3 Rev Tour Pipe
3 USASA Nationals Pipe
7 New Zealand Open Slope
9 World Cup NZ (2 American pipe

upcoming comps and prices


EVENTREGISTRATIONTRAVELLODGINGFOODTOTAL
NFO copper$75.00$200.001,200$100.00
Grand Prix copper$250.00$200.001,200$100.00
Whistler NFO$150.001,000.00$500$100.00
winter x$200$200.00$500.00$100.00
Park City Grand Prix$250.00$0.00$0.00$100.00
Sochi$250.00$1,500.00$500.00$300.00
Aspen Open$150.00$100.00$400.00$100.00
FIS world Champs$250.001,000.00$600.00$300.00
9 Queens$0.00$500.00$800.00$100.00
Winter X Euro$200.002,000.00$400.00$200.00
WC finals$200.00$1,500.00$400.00$100.00
USASA nationals$0.00$200.00$500.00$100.00
WSI250$1,000.00$500.00$100.00
$2,225.00$9,400.00$7,500.00$1,800.00$20,925.00
COACHING$8,000.00
Grand Total28,925
*excludes lift tickets

Sunday, December 16, 2012

MY STORY



I’ve been skiing just about the same amount of my life I’ve been able to walk and talk.  I cannot remember a time back before skiing was my passion in life. I grew up racing, and loving the mountains. Whenever I’m on the mountain, I leave everything that holds me down behind me.  Growing up my best friends were always skiers, and we bonded over the most incredible feeling in the world. I raced at Waterville Valley, NH, from 8-15.  I loved racing, and excelled at it, but was constantly sneaking into the park.  Every year I would hit what I then thought were the HUGE jumps at Waterville, and LOVED boosting through the air.   I also grew up competing in gymnastics, and at 16 years old decided to go learn back flips on skis.

I went up to Lake Placid, NY and took my first jump on the water ramps.  They told me to press the front of my boots hard, and I listened, diving out and landing directly on my stomach. My worst jump to date!  But I was stoked, and by the end of that first day my strong dive out turned into awesome front flips.   US aerial coach Demetri came and watched me jump, and invited me to stay for the rest of the summer training to become an aerialist.  I couldn’t stay right then, as I had already committed to a US development race camp in Chile.  I came back after the camp and trained all fall as an aerialist.

That first winter I competed layouts and front flips for aerials, culminating with a 2 at jr. nationals.  A little bit into the winter I decided I wanted to do a slope comp.  My first run was a spread, double spread, and front flip.  I ended up winning, and was excited, but vowed I would SPIN as well as flip my next comp.  The very next comp I did 360 to front flip and won again.  In fact I won every single slope comp I entered that first year leading up to jr. nationals where I ended up placing 2.  I also at the same time started half pipe.  Half pipe was a bit of a different story for me.  While I was winning every slope comp, I got last in every pipe comp including Nationals.  I vowed to get A LOT better at pipe.  That first winter I was also racing, made it to J2 Nationals, and competing in moguls.

My second winter went even better then the first.  I was hooked on freestyle, and let go of the racing.  I continued winning in slopestyle learning my signature front truck and picking up the Gold at Jr. Nationals, as well as the first ever Gold at Jr. Worlds in New Zealand.  I didn’t learn to actually ride the pipe much, as we hardly ever trained it, but stubbornly did NOT want to keep getting last, so I learned both way 5s and left 7s and both way flairs.  That bumped me up quite a bit to being very competitive in pipe getting 3 at Jr nationals and 6 at my first halfpipe Grand Prix.  I continued excelling in aerials winning Jr. nationals.  I stepped up my game in moguls qualifying to nationals in moguls and duels as well, becoming the first to qualify for nationals in all racing and freestyle events over the course of my career.  Although I liked aerials and moguls, I was ALWAYS wanting to hangout in the park.  I LOVE the freedom of learning something new everyday, some days it’s the little tweaks, and others it’s a new trick you’ve been dreaming about.  SO, I specialized once more, into a park and pipe skier. 

The beginning of my third winter I was set on making x-games.  Hardly anyone believed I could do it.  Besides winning Jr. worlds I was a virtual unknown.  Somehow I proved them all wrong and got invited to x games winter 2011. I would have been ecstatic upon receiving my invitation, except my personal worst nightmare became reality, earlier that very day I had received the results of my MRI confirming my ACL in my right knee was gone. 

So began the onset of two years as brutal as the first two were wonderful.  I rehabbed, got strong, dreamed and dreamed.  Took marketing classes in college to better advocate myself once back, and dreamed some more.  Was finally cleared.  Ramped that summer, feeling incredibly strong and completely pain free.  1.5 months later: got caught in the trampoline and blew my knee again.  This time got a LARS surgery, rehabbed at the COE and was remarkably back on snow January 2012, jumping February 2012. 

I spent last winter working on style, and at the end of the year got to compete in a rev tour stop (2 slope 3 pipe) Mount Snow Open (first) and USASA Nationals (3 pipe 1 slope) Last summer I got a discretionary spot into the first ever half pipe world cup in New Zealand, my first big pipe comp back, and rode away 9 in the world, 2 for the U.S. 

As I write this, I just got back from the first stop of the World Tour: North Face Open Pipe.  There I placed 7 a strong first pipe comp, and a far cry from getting last at local regional events. 

After Triumph to Tragedy, I’m right back on top. I have these opportunities to compete around the world: in Canada, Russia, Argentina, New Zealand, Norway, France… representing the side of the U.S. we are proud to represent, flying through the air and compbining gymnastics and skiing in a why no one has ever quite done the same before.

I’ve dreamed about the opportunities I now am invited to since I was a little girl, I still have much to accomplish: many tricks, runs, and Gold medals await in the future. 

I have the tricks lined up, gear is ready, I’m ready, got my invites, but no way to get there.  I have NO travel budget.  My mom has been taking money out of her savings for the past five years to single-handedly pay for my freestyle career. Recent personal circumstances have changed the finances for my mom.  My dad for the first time has contributed, but with their help, I am still at a loss.  Personally I HATE how something that has given me so much joy and success has left my little sisters without bread for school sandwiches because it’s the end of the month and we don’t have enough to make it through.  I cannot have a consistent job other then skiing due to traveling and training.  I’ve tried to accumulate money through working for sponsors, but as of right now I haven’t been successful.

 I actually got sick to my stomach and cried last night adding up the expenses for my comps this year.  I added up the travel, lodging, tickets, coaching, and food for the tour this year.  I didn’t add any day-to-day stuff, this is honest and purely the price of my competition tour, and the number I came up with: $28,000. It’s staggering, but every round trip ticket to Europe, New Zealand and so forth is between 1-2 thousand dollars. Add in tickets costing between 80-120 a day, lodging about $100 a night, food and comp fees, and each trip racks up.  My coaching is another 8,000 for the year.

I am so blessed for how many people believe in me and support me.  I have a HUGE crew of supporters. Of course my MOM, sisters, and dad, U.S. Freeskiing for allowing me access to the C.O.E. and giving me spots to the competitions, Jess Tidswell for saving my knee and my sanity, my sponsors: Head skis, Electric Visual, Tryumph Outerwear, Gabel Poles, A-Line foot beds, for giving me the best gear in the industry and having the patients and confidence to wait for me to rise back to the top, Jesse Thrasher, as well as ALL my friends, family, and even people I have never met that wish me the nicest support over Facebook! 

I know if you’ve read all the way down to here, you want to be part of my crew! And I thank you so much for your support!  You might be wondering how you can help, so here’s how:

Of course any and all donations are WONDERFUL and highly accepted!  No amount is too little (except pay pall says it has to be $10) and none is too high! We have some awesome swag to thank you for joining my crew!

I am well aware that not everyone can donate as much money as they would like, or perhaps any at all, but if you want to be a part of my crew, I’d LOVE you to donate any amount of time and energy.  Maybe you can’t donate money, but you know someone off the top of your head that would LOVE to help support my dream?  SHARE it with them personally!  Maybe you can’t think of anyone right away but want to help? POST it on your Facebook, Twitter and Blog! Think you know some people who might contribute? Email it to all of them!

According to statistics, the amount of the average contribution is $75. Industry research also suggests that of the people you tell about your campaign, 10 percent will contribute that amount; therefore in order to raise 28,000 I will need 373 people to contribute the average $75, which means I need to approach 3,730 people!  That’s a TON of people! That’s why YOU sharing is SO important!

Your taking the time to reach out to people beyond my circle means everything, I cannot do this without ALL of your help.  Together we are embarking on the journey of a lifetime, the little girl who dreamed of being a skiing superstar has the opportunity to make dreams come true.  This is America, we ARE Americans, we don’t have funding from the government which allows us to stand together and create miracles.  We are passionate, and have a purpose, together we can accomplish everything!

So, THANK YOU!  From the little girl who dreamed, to the young women who is opening doors on what is possible for women in sports, from the family who gives and gives, but would like bread and to stay in their house, to me, a regular girl with HUGE opportunities she is able to accomplish THANKS TO YOU!

WELCOME TO
JAMIE’S CREW

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Halloween


 So Halloween was AWESOME! spent it with my boyy JESSE!!! went to the ELECTRIC VISUAL party dressed as Sandy and Danny from GREASE!  It was on Friday night, and I had GOLD CAMP on Friday so I tramped with a hat on so I would get those bomb curls!  Looked ridiculous, but didn't stop me from tramping hard and landin my first dub 10!  Can't wait to bring dat on snow where shit counts!

 dub 10 time

 CHECK out dem photos of us lookin SEXY AS FU*KKKK


















Legendary



Legendary
What does it take to be legendary?  The mystic that surrounds legendary people, regardless of the venue they became a legend in, is vast.  Many people in this modern state have taken to studying those that are extremely successful, and many hypotheses have thus occurred.  There are three factors: the person, the society they are in, and their nourishing that dictate success.  One of the most interesting people to study these three factors in relation to success is Bob Dylan. To be specific we will discuss the three evolutions Dylan personally went through.  Every successful person goes through these personal evolutions.  The trick is to balance these evolutions in a way that leads to success, not getting stuck in ruts of mediocrity.

To begin with, Bob Dylan wasn’t born Bob Dylan, he was born Robert Allen Zimmerman to a Jewish couple in Duluth, Minnesota.  They moved to Hibbing Minnesota where Bob’s father worked at his family’s electronic store.  Bob wanted to be anything but normal.  That’s our first cue that Bob could become legendary.  There are three major evolutions a person goes through to become legendary.  First, they need to want to be different, to stand out in something, and not fit the norm.  Second, they must surround themselves with highly talented individuals.  Individuals they admire, and want to learn from.  While surrounded by these individuals they must copy from them.  They must take in all their strengths, absorb the strengths, and be able to mimic.  Finally they must evolve and go further in a slightly different direction then anyone else has ever gone.

Most people spend their entire childhood trying to fit in.  They want to be the norm.  Being an outlier is hard.  Bob wanted to be different from those surrounding him, but like everyone wanted to find a niche where he belonged.  That, as well as the music, led him into the folk community.  The folk community seemed to Bob to be a community of outliers.  A place where he could be vastly different from the everyday people he saw growing up, but where that kind of different was accepted and relished.  

During his time in the folk community Bob became Bob Dylan, and excelled.  He saw and absorbed everything that was going on around him.  Everything became a part of him, and a part of the music, his music.  He idolized a man named Woody Guithere.  He wanted to be like Woody more then anything else.  So, he learned.  He learned to mimic everything Woody did, from the music, to the complete lifestyle.  He submerged himself completely into being like Woody.  He did this successfully and people started to take notice.  What Woody did was great, so Dylan copied it, and those who liked Woody’s style, became a fan of Dylan as well.

Dylan even moved to New York, where Woody was sick in the hospital, to live like Woody.  While there, he met Woody, and sang for him.  After meeting his idol, he got Woody’s approval and his idol became somewhat of a friend.  At that point there is little to learn from Woody.  Dylan falls in love with this educated 17 year old, and is exposed to new styles of music. 
Dylan evolves, and decides to move beyond what Woody had done.  All the folk knowledge, all the Woody knowledge, everything he had absorbed up to that point was an integral part of him.  So, when he slightly switched styles, he came out with something that was different.  Something people liked because it had all the good he had absorbed, and something that fit the times so well it became legendary.  

This story of the evolution of Bob Dylan is actually more common then you might think.  Take an art form a little different then music.  Something I am very aware of: freeskiing.  Many people compare freeskiing as an art form, because there is no right or wrong way to enjoy it.  It is similar to music where there is an inherent good factor to it, but beyond that it is interpreted to the whim of the observer. 

If you take a look into the path of one of the most legendary skiers of all time: Tanner Hall, you will see how his path to legend follows that of Bob Dylan.  Tanner grew up a skier.  Right from the get go he wanted to stand out, he wanted to be different, and he wanted to be remembered.  Whether wanting that is arrogance or confidence, is hard to tell, but only with that surge inside of you, can you embark on the path toward difference. 

As a child Tanner was a mogul skier.  He learned and excelled skiing moguls.  He threw himself into learning the technique to perfection.  He ripped it.  He copied the best mogul skiers to the t.  After he had mastered moguls he became bored.  He could mimic his idols, and was winning, but there was no creative outlet left.  He looked around and saw a group of skiers called the Canadian Air Force.  They were doing tricks Tanner had never seen before.  Again, Tanner threw himself into learning those tricks.  He learned everything those skiers had to offer.  This time, the venue was open for creativity.  So, Tanner took everything he had learned, all his skills, and started combining them in a way no one had ever done before.  You could tell it was good.  He kept with him styles and techniques he had learned before which were obviously good, and morphed into something legendary.

No matter what the venue, you can observe these steps are taken from every single person who becomes legendary.  The trickiness is to balance copying someone enough to learn all they have to offer, but not become stuck in the rut of believing what is already being done is the only truth and all there is, but expanding beyond the horizons of possibility. To reach the level where you are excellent at something, and being brave enough to go beyond being an excellent learner, and become an innovator.   If you have the skills, nurturing, and a society that is receptive to the new possible you have created, then you become a legend.