IMPRESSIVE YOUNG TALENT ON DISPLAY AT SNOW PARK NZ A field of thirty-two up and coming young freestyle skiers signed up for Armadageddon, the slopestyle extravaganza at Snow Park NZ today. Byron Wells (15) from Wanaka took the title of Best Male Grom for the 16 and under age group, he pulled off some super smooth and technical tricks including a Switch 720 Mute Grab and was the clear winner for that category. Mikey Austin (13) from Wanaka claimed top honours for Best Female Grom under 16 with some amazing rail slides and a 360 off the big jump. Ryan Read (11) from Auckland won the category for Best Grom aged 12 and under performing a tidy Switch 270 on to the box. Despite the early foggy conditions, the course was in excellent condition and set the youngsters some good challenges to contend with. The course included a flat-down and dinosaur box, a double barrel rail and a 15ft kicker which the field were using to pull of some spectacular twists and turns in the air. Head Judge Jake McCleary was impressed by the talent on display from the young skiers, “It was tough to pick the winners, with all the finalists skiing good clean and varied runs. There is definitely some up and coming talent in this young field and it was fantastic there were so many of them,” he said. The competition is now in its fourth year and offers a diverse mix of serious competition and fun jamming with fellow skiers. Each competitor completed three runs with the best-scored run taken. Skiers were judged on style and difficulty of the tricks they pulled off on the rails and jumps. The Armadageddon action continues tomorrow with the Open division being challenged on a new slopestyle course. The event gets underway at 10.00am with registration from 8am. Following the prize giving, two world movie premieres will be screened in the Woolshed Restaurant and Bar. Believe and Yeah Dude both display amazing ski footage from around the world, with Tanner Hall starring in Believe. The after-party kicks off in the evening with Jagermeister creating an ice sculpture and ice luge to get the party underway. DJ’s will be spinning the tunes into the night. Armadageddon is supported by Armada, Joystick, Destyn Via, Leedom, Rojo, POW, Jagermeister, McGregor’s Bakery and V. For further information, snow reports and web cams, visit www.snowparknz.com