KIWI MAKES HISTORY IN WORLD CLASS COMPETITION

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Cardrona's terrain park supervisor, Richard Schollum, made history last week when he became the first and only New Zealander to be invited to the prestigious Cutters' Cup event in Breckenridge, USA and came away with the top prize for best jump.

The Cutters' Cup is an invitation-only event for the world's leading terrain park designers and builders. They spend three days building jumps, pipes, rails and table tops that are then tested by the industry's best and most critical riders.

Schollum (32), originally from Pukapuka near Warkworth, has worked with Cardrona Alpine Resort for six years. At the resort his responsibilities include co-designing and supervising the development of its four half pipes, terrain park and gravity-x course. During the northern hemisphere winter leading American terrain park designer, Jim Mangan, who had previously worked with him at Cardrona, asked Schollum to the States to help build Park City Utah's terrain park. In this capacity the industry recognized his skill and, in a team with Managan and a rider, he was invited to pit his skills against the world's best in The Cutters' Cup.

"It was a great event. Everyone worked well together and it was good to see what the other fields were doing plus some awesome riding went down," said Schollum. "What sets The Cutters' Cup apart from other competitions is it's not just about the riders, it's actually about building the features which is an art form in itself."

"I just love making stuff so people can have fun. I can't really class it as work. You've got to have a passion for it and be able to take riders' feedback, decipher it and put it into place on the snow. Plus you've got to have 100% commitment. It's not just about building a park, it's about maintaining it constantly as conditions and applications change. This is one of the reasons why Cardrona is consistently named Resort of the Year by the New Zealand Snowboarding Association."

The full results of The Cutters' Cup are not available until October when the first issue of Snowboarder Magazine is published in America.

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