To Do Well In Snowboarding

TO DO WELL IN SNOWBOARDING slopestyle events, riders have to be able to make the most of the terrain. Competitions include rails, gaps, and huge launch ramps. At the 2003 X Games, Shaun White dressed like a mountain bandit and rode away with gold.

White, decked out in a huge red bandanna that covered his face, put together the two highest–scoring runs to claim the top prize. In the finals, the 16-year-old pulled a frontside 720 stale over the 57-foot channel gap, a neatly timed 50-50 slide to frontside nose-press up and down the A-frame rail, and a cab 900 stale off the big booter. White’s smooth, style-perfect landings and technical mastery earned a score of 95 from the judges and wrapped up first place.

But while White’s clothing and scores grabbed headlines, several other riders put together notable runs. Jussi Oksanen’s first run in the finals included a frontside 720, a buttered switch backside 720, and a massive 720 that he landed near the bottom of the transition. Scoring 93 points, Oksanen took silver. The bronze medal went to first-year X Gamer Jimi Tomer. The rookie put together a rodeo 720, backflip, frontside 180 tail grab over the channel, a frontside 900, and some technical rail work to score 91 points.

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POINT Big, twisting, flipping air is just part of slopestyle snowboarding. Massive slides over metal rails often separate the winners from the losers. Shaun White’s 50-50 to frontside nose-press showed off his amazing balance, skill, and creativity. That slide may have been the difference in winning gold.

But there’s an area of our lives where we don’t want to slide at all—and that’s in our Christian walk. The Bible warns us not to slip and slide into old habits. When we become Christians, we should obey God as his children. Backsliding into old habits is easy. But the disciple Peter writes that we shouldn’t do it. Before Jesus came into our lives, we didn’t know any better. But once we know Christ, we should do whatever we can to solidly follow him.

GOAL! Do you have any old habits that are easy to slide into? Decide on one that you will work on changing.