After another glorious day at Mont St-Sauveur for the Ride Shakedown, I am certain of one thing: every other snowboard contest in the world is going to be envious of the Shakedown's good fortune. Sunny skies and unseasonably warm weather that somehow didn't mess up the snow conditions? Check. Thousands of screaming fans to cheer on the riders? Check. One of the most progressive jump and rail set-ups ever built? Check mate. How the Shakedown will improve upon this year's contest is beyond me; it was just that good.

The day thankfully began slowly, with three hours of semi-finals not kicking off until 2 PM. This allowed plenty of time for people to shake off (not pun intended) their hangovers from last night's bender and ease into the day. Skate demos went down in the Push.ca tent, freebies were tossed into the crowd, and countless Coors Lights were consumed before a single rider even dropped into the jump: it was just that kind of day.

Last year's winner Seb Toots signs one for Push. Mathieu Couture photo.

After the semi-finals wrapped up, riders were picked to advance into the finals, and the Push.ca Half-Time Show - featuring skateboarders competing on the kinked rail - went down for 60 minutes. Thomas Parent took the win with a 50-50 to backside 180 out, winning a cool two grand (click here for the story and photos). That left just one hour before the finals happened, allowing just enough time to a washroom break, food run, and another beer or two to replenish your energy before the sun set.

Thomas Parent survives to win the Push.ca Halftime Show. Mathieu Couture photo.

The Shakedown's format is unique: riders can take as many runs as they'd like during the final jam, but they have to call which runs they want judged and what trick they'll do off the jump before dropping in. And if they land a trick they're not allowed to do it again. It makes for an entertaining finals and is no doubt a big part of the Shakedown's appeal. Factor in the perfect weather, and there was barely a square foot vacant for anyone to stand in - it looked to be the biggest crowd on record at the contest.

There were one or two people there to watch the finals. Forsythe photo.

Early into the finals, Mark McMorris asserted himself as a rider to watch, landing a switch backside 1080. Seb Toots unloaded some double corks, and McMorris countered with a double cork of his own. Zak Stone earned a spot into the semi-finals in yesterday's pre-qualifiers, and showed that he deserved to shred with the big boys: he stomped a backside 1080 into a buttery nosepress to 360 out on the flat rail. Eman Anderson, who took third place at the US Shakedown was going for switch backside 10's as well, and before long the backside 1260 made an appearance: Yale Cousino tried one and didn't land, but Matt Belzile did. So heavy, heavy tricks became the norm very quickly.

This was only the second year that the Shakedown had a women's category. A backside 360 was good enough for a victory last year, but this year was quite different: the ladies stepped up their game in a big way. Alex Duckworth and Lynn Neil both stuck solid back 3's into clean jibs, but Megan Ginter took it to another level, with a backside 720 into a 50-50 to frontside 180 out on the flat rail.

Megan Ginter in the semi-finals. Forsythe photo.

In comparison to last night's rail jam (click here for the story and photos), in which riders had to hit all three features to win, the riders could hit any rail they wanted to after their jump. That meant that the flat rail (which was arguably the easiest to do tricks on) saw the most action, and the kinked rail and wallride were largely ignored. Of course the banger tricks off the jump more than made up for that.

Mark McMorris. Mathieu Couture photo.

As the final minutes of the hour-long jam ticked down, several riders had yet to take their last judged run, so 10 bonus minutes were added. But the contest came to its inevitable conclusion as the final seconds ran out... leaving everyone to wait and wonder which riders would take first place (although it was fairly obvious in the women's category). Several riders stood a good chance of topping the podium, so I really wasn't envious of the judges and the difficult decision ahead of them at this point. When announcer Pat Bernier got back on the mic, all was revealed: Megan Ginter took a deserving first place in the women's category, with Lyn Neil in second and Alex Duckworth in third. In the men's category, it was young Mark McMorris who took first, beating out last year's winner Seb Toots in second place, and American Eric Willet in third.

McMorris went home with $12,000 in his pocket: not bad for a 16 year-old kid from Regina, Saskatchewan. Considering how well he rode tonight, I'm confident this won't be the last time he tops the podium.

From L to R: Lynn Neil, Sebastien Toutant, Mark McMorris, Megan Ginter, Alex Duckworth and Eric Willet. Mathieu Couture photo.

Story: Matt Houghton
Top Photo: Seb Toutant. Forsythe photo.

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