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The 2nd annual Womens Freeride Movement Airdome Session was held on August 12th in Whistler BC. Over twenty women showed up to hone their skills and learn from some of the best women in the buisness. Organizer Lisa Mason is leading the way in terms of supporting the development of womens slopestyle and freeride mountain biking. Watch out for more events coming next year.
Kat Sweet and Wendy Robinson were also on hand, providing inspiration and coaching the ladies. Although the airdome provides a “safe†way to progress, the drop-in is a near vertical roll that can be intimidating. Kat Sweet was the first to drop in showin’ the ladies how it’s done.
WhistlerBlackcomb has also stepped in up this year by adding a trampoline and customized bikes that allows riders to progress to more advanced skills. Lisa Mason demonstrated the backflip technique, then coached the ladies.
It was really exciting to see everyone drop the big ramp. Riders who were not comfortable starting from the top, were eased into it from the mid-point. Riders were nervous, but everyone dropped in and conquered the roll.
Corinna Swantje-Bolender was nervous about the drop. But after some inspiration, encouragement, and coaching from Kat Sweet, she worked up the courage to drop in. We couldn’t have been happier.
Lynn Armstrong, of Air Maiden, was also on hand helping the ladies with the roll-in. Here is Laura Landy dropping in for the first time. Although currently not able to ride, Lynn is busy working on planning a local Air Maiden event.
12 year old ripper Katie Hensien traveled from Seattle to check out the action. This is the future of freeride!
Tara Katamay-Smith from Vancouver walked away with rider judged best trick, the corked back-flip. 360′s, whips, and the back-flip were the show stoppers.
The 2nd Annual Airdome Session could not have happened without all our sponsors! Big thanks to Muddbunnies, Summitsport, RaceFace, Pinkbike, Loeka, and DTRWhistler.com.
So a big thank you to everyone that came out! It is so great to see more women getting involved in mountain biking events like this. We’ll keep you posted on the next event brought to you by the WomensFreerideMovement. We’ve got some exciting stuff in the works!
