What used to be known as The Paskapoo Downhill Rodeo has been renamed to The Winsport Cup and this year was exceptional.

The Winsport Cup is now organized by the International Gravity Sports Association, but is fairly similar to what Paskapoo was the last time it ran (two years ago). Regardless of the organization running the race it is always put on really well. This year, there was large air conditioned tents for the riders, beer gardens, meals, jumbo-trons showing riders skating the hill, a live feed of the race connected to the internet, and a riders lounge at the top with cold water and snacks. That being said, the best is yet to come. The hill sits on Calgary’s Olympic Park and is an access road leading up to the ski jumps.  Because the road runs parallel to a ski hill there are chairlifts right to the top running all day which is a skaters dream!  Naturally there are several 180 degree corners that have been fairly roughed up by harsh winters, which makes for a bit of a challenge when entering said corners at about 40mph.

I was lucky enough to make it up to Canada during the Memorial Day long weekend, to participate in the Winsport Cup. With Friday and Saturday devoted mainly to just riding the hill I was bound to have a good time. The first day got a bit rainy but the weather was great besides that, otherwise you couldn’t really have asked for better conditions. I want to make a shout out to EVGS, Wolf, Slota, Luna, and Brett for killing it! We were taking sweet runs together all weekend… so much fun! It was cool to keep it interesting and change up the riding style every once and a while and hit the course stand-up!

Everyday after skating the hill, a group of skaters would go across the street to a hotel that was setup with a 2 story water slide. I don’t think I’ve seen more grown men bombing down a waterslide then I did those days. It was definitely a refreshing treat after a long day of skating. Race day was on Sunday and the conditions were perfect! I had my first race heat in the morning after doing a couple practice runs. I got into a pretty hectic pile-up with a few other riders which resulted in me getting fourth place and not advancing to the next round. Regardless of my unfortunate race it was a killer weekend and can’t wait to go back next year! Thanks to Comet Skateboards, Caliber Truck Co., and Abec11 Wheels for getting me there.