Maybe a bit too late, with most the comps done and summer rapidly approaching, I got some inside info from Tom Zikas, head snowboarding judge at the X Games, Dew Tour, and various other pro level snowboard comps. Nothing too shocking, his input should none the less be cradled and respected by anyone who competes, or wants to compete on a snowboard. There will always be a gray area in judging creatively driven sports like snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding - and that's why getting in a judges head is so important. Who better to do this with than Tom Zikas. See what he told me below:

"When judging a rider I am looking at a variety of things, including trick difficulty, execution, amplitude, progression and variation (mixing up your run and not repeating the same moves) to name a few. When competing, riders should put together runs with tricks they know how to do well and can land. Trying tricks that are hard but are not landed will not score very well. Leading up to a competition, riders should work on putting together full runs with their the best bag of tricks. Show as much variation as possible with frontside and backsides rotations, plus, in the pipe mix up your straight airs with different grabs, alley oops and air to fakies.
Pros of being a judge: You have the best seat on the hill to view the competition.
Cons of being a judge: You have the most stressful job of the competition."

- Tom Z.

Female Surfer Carissa Moore Graces the Cover of Surfer Magazine
Leading the charge for a new generation of female surfers

At age 15, Carissa Moore is the third ever and first female in over a decade to grace the cover of Surfer Magazine, one of the largest and most respected global surf publications. "Landing on the cover of Surfer is a monumental feat for any surfer, but this is huge for both Carissa and all up-coming female surfers. Carissa is at the forefront of a new-generation who are taking women's surfing to a whole new level. Be prepared to see Carissa and her peers blowing minds over the next few years. This is just the beginning," said Jason Kenworthy, photographer and 6.0 surf team mentor.

Carissa, named one of the most influential surfers in 2008 by Surfer magazine, continues to cement herself as one of the top female surfers, recently upsetting seven-time world champion Layne Beachley to become the youngest-ever Vans Triple Crown of Surfing event champion... and this is the year Carissa, a highschool junior, has prioritized her education and postponed her dream of being a full-time professional surfer on the WCT until post-graduation. According to Carissa, "School has been pretty tough this year but I am trying my best. Only one more year after this, I am so psyched! Then more friends, family, and surfing."

"It feels pretty amazing. I am really stoked and feel very honored. Right now, there are so many girls, especially around my age, that are ripping and that are really pushing the level of women's surfing. They are mastering flow, power, speed and adding a lot of flare and creativity to what they are doing, which makes it very exciting. I am really looking forward to the future and what the girls will be doing." Carissa is sponsored by Red Bull and is part of the Nike 6.0 women's surf team alongside up-coming phenoms Monyca Byrne-Wickey, Malia Manuel, Coco Ho and Laura Enever.

With time on her side and a down-to-earth approach to her surfing career, Carissa's role as a leader for a new generation is currently being defined.

It's a Wrap: The 2009 Launch presented by Nike 6.0

Snowboarder Magazine called it a wrap on its second installment of The Launch, presented by Nike 6.0, after five full days at Keystone Resort in Colorado. There were expectations to be met from last year's debut performance that quickly dissipated as the bar was raised to new heights by this year's crew of more than 50 shredders, under the age of 18, showcasing the uber-talents of the next-generation of snowboarders.

The stage was set by Jason George and the Keystone Park Staff. They created a set of original features for the Launch, garnering remarks from participants as, "one of the best parks in the country," with its perpendicular spines and the fish hook step-up-step-down feature. "Keystone did a great job of constructing a fun park with enough features to keep this crew busy and creative throughout the week," remarked Nike 6.0 Team Mentor Barrett Christy.

And busy they were! Up-and-comers Greg Bretz, Kyle Mack, Bryn Valaika and dozens of other impressive young groms worked the park from day break to days end. Snowboarder Publisher Chris Engelsman was stoked to see the kids' excitement and passion for snowboarding. "Even with deteriorating weather throughout the week, they didn't let that stop them. They kept riding and progressing 'till it was over."

The Red Bull heli shoot on Friday evening was also a huge success producing a ton of great shots for a number of the riders. Later that night, participants were privy to a private 3 Inches of Blood concert, who collaborated on a show with Nike 6.0, capping off an awesome day of shooting. The overall consensus is that this year's The Launch was off the hook with riders and park staff alike working to elevate the sport to all new levels. "These groms have set a new standard for what is expected of the next generation," says Christy, "and The Launch provides them the venue to do so, as well as gives them a chance to be recognized by the mags, the industry and to stand out among their peers." Visit www.snowboardermag.com for a taste of the action from all five days of the event that will also receive a full feature in the September Issue of the Magazine.

1 BIKECAR
Top speed - 32 mph
Up hill - 5 mph
Flats - 10-15 mph
1 broken ankle - Scotty Whitlake
1 tweaked back - Louie Fountain
1 radical rhythm section
1 even more radical sand boarding session
850 MILES OF KEEPING SNOWBOARDING INTERESTING
"Well, we were going down highway something or other, and saw a little turn off and took it as a turn on. Came over here checked out the view..."
www.bikecarmovie.com

I have been trying to get an interview with the Bikecar movie dudes for a while. The goods are in, quick interview with producer JT Fountain below. (If you haven't seen the movie get it here, www.bikecarmovie.com)

Lowedown:I just had a big debate on the blog recently on how to keep snowboarding cool - as it gets so saturated? I think carrying out adventures like Bikecar is the answer? Any thoughts on this?
JT Fountain:I definitely think it's important to keep mixing it up in snowboarding and trying to do some things outside the box. It seems like there are more snowboard videos now than ever, but so many of them seem the same. I don't like the idea of trying to do something different just to be different. I think if you go out with the idea of having fun, regardless of what everyone else is doing, only good can come. You don't need perfect conditions to make things happen... in fact, I'd say better things come when the conditions or circumstances aren't ideal. It forces creativity. The bikecar trip was a good example of less than ideal conditions, which is probably why it's entertaining to watch. We could have done a snowboard road trip in a conventional automobile, but I don't think it would have been quite as entertaining.

LD:Rythm Section looks hard? Tell me about it?
JT:The rhythm section was something Travis had been wanting to do for a while. He saw something like it in an old snowboard video and thought it looked fun. It was definitely an experiment. What you don't see in the movie is all the cutting down and reshaping of the jumps. It was hard figuring out how far apart they should be spaced and how steep they should be. I don't even know how many times Travis hit it, but it was a lot. I think he was frustrating himself and psyching himself out, but he got it in the end.

LD:Did Parker hold the fact he had to run down Mission Ridge against you for a while?
JT:No way, Travis was always a good sport about everything. He was kinda like our own personal cheerleader. By that I mean he always kept a positive spirit going throughout the trip. There were times where without Travis, the whole thing would have imploded. Oh yeah, another thing the movie didn't show was that Louie took a turn running down from Mission Ridge too.

LD:Sandboarding run looked epic! Behind the scenes on that?
JT:The sandboarding was totally spur of the moment. I was riding a bike along behind the bikecar and next thing I new those guys had pulled over and were hiking up a giant sand hill. I barely had time to get my camera set up on the tripod before they dropped in. I think Scotty was kinda bummed that he couldn't join in the fun because of his hurt foot, which he found out later was broken.
LD: What are some of the added scenes in the new Director's Cut that you like?
JT:The scenes that come to mind are when Louie tweaks his back throwing rocks and then has to go to a physical therapist. Another one is when the bikecar's brakes fail coming down from Mission Ridge.