Ten years ago girls who hit the snowboard park were the exception. Today the
number of women in board sports - surf, skate and snow - is snowballing,
gathering momentum with a blizzard of women-only courses, camps, magazines
and movies.
Leading the new breed is Bristol- born-and-bred Jenny Jones. A gymnast as a
child, her first time on snow was a college trip to the Alps at the age of
17. Jones is now one of the top riders in the world, always in the top ten
of the women's international rankings and Britain's most successful
slopestyle competitor, male or female.
Today Jenny, below, is with us. At Our Camp, a freestyle snowboarding camp by
the ladies, for the ladies. Now in its third year in the Portes du Soleil,
it is the brainchild of Gilly Seagrave, Sonia Shaw and Emma Rogers, three
British pros who wanted to encourage more girls to get spinning. Jenny is a
guest coach, stopping by whenever her hectic winter schedule of competitions
and travel allows.
Twelve of us cluster around her in the so-called “baby park” at Avoriaz in the
French Alps, attempting to boardslide the smallest box (something you slide
on that's wider than a rail) in existence without pitching off the side.
Those newer to the sport are better at giving things a go. They throw
themselves banzai-style off the small kickers, expecting to take the falls.
Those of us who have reached a level with which we are vaguely happy are
more conservative: we can handle the speed, we're technically competent, but
a combination of fear and a reluctance to fail in public holds us back.
Jenny appears to have no such problem. “You have to differentiate between when
you're scared because you're not physically ready, and when you just need to
get on with it,” she tells us, enthusiastically. The Our Camp coaches
believe women don't learn well when shouted at.
Although they teasingly prevent us from using our usual excuses (I'm still
warming up. I'm not ready. I'll do it tomorrow), there are no sergeant-major
style tongue-lashings here. Instead, they break down each trick into
specifics. “I learn as step-by-step as I can,” explains Jenny. “And do each
step so much that eventually I get bored and want to take it to the next
level.”
Before we get anywhere near the box, she explains how to lower our centre of
gravity, what we should be doing with our stance, how to keep the board flat
to avoid catching an edge, and what speed to take on our approach. Then she
demonstrates, planting an image of how it should be done in our minds.
She runs back up the piste and, with the other coaches, guides each of us
down. “A bit faster, put a turn in, straight line it from there, don't lean
back, get lower, yes!”
When we get it even vaguely right, everyone cheers supportively; when we fall,
multiple pairs of hands are there to hoist us up. Everything is filmed, so
that we can critique our efforts back in the chalet.
Each camp is based at a luxury snowboard chalet in Morzine. Days on the
mountain are complemented with evening yoga sessions, board maintenance
lessons, an Our Camp club night and boozy dinners around the grand dining
table.
Back on the mountain, one of our number, Nat, finally nails her 180 degree
spin in the air. Jenny jumps up and down excitedly. Having taught every
summer at the Kommunity camps, she's developed a passion for helping others
to conquer their fear. “It's incredible to see the satisfaction all these
people get from pushing their comfort zone,” she says.
“I have to get them over that jump because I know how stoked they're going to
be at the end of it; not many people get that much job satisfaction, do
they?”
Need to know
There are two more women-only camps (www.ourcamp.co.uk)
this season, based at Ride and Slide chalets in Morzine (www.rideslide.
co.uk). Each includes a week's half- board, afternoon tea and unlimited
wine, coaching and video analysis, yoga, six-day Porte du Soleil pass, and
airport transfers from Geneva. Booking for March 30-April 6, price £690: info@rideslide.co.uk;
April 13-20, £599: info@ourcamp.co.uk.
Our Camp will run a mixed camp in Morzine (March 16-22) and a summer camp
(July 20-27) in Les Deux Alpes: info@ourcamp.co.uk.
Snowboard tips from Jenny Jones
Straight airs: speed check (turn to slow down) well before the jump so
that you can take off straight and flat.
Frontside 180: Turn your shoulders before your lower body.50-50: As you
ride on to the box or rail, look at the end of the box or rail, not at your
board.
Boardslide: Commit to turning your shoulders a full 90 degrees. To
avoid catching an edge, think about absorbing the box by bending your knees,
rather than pushing into it.
