What an absolute humdinger, the first ever European Qualifiers for the Uninvited Invitational popped off in Austria this past weekend. More than 60 of the raddest women from across Europe flocked to Absolut Park to throw down for their chance to win international fame, eternal glory and an all-expenses paid trip to the US to compete for the $55,000 prize purse.
The level of riding at the event surpassed even founder Jess Kimura’s expectations. “Friday was just supposed to be a practice day; a warm up and chance for the competitors to get comfortable on the course. Instead we witnessed some of the most elevated levels of riding I’ve ever seen, and Saturday was even more insane. It just goes to show how much they can rise to the occasion when given an opportunity to shine”.
Finland's Telma Särkipaju came out on top, followed by Switzerland's Livia Tanno and Kaili Randmäe from Estonia in third. The UK's own Maisie Hill blew minds and took the win for best air on the hip, plus her hardway front 270 on the kink rail won best trick on the staircase. Australia's Mela Stalker took the win in the jib zone with a delightful noseslide pretz and Kaili Randmäe won most creative rider of the day with her flowy lines through the course.
It was nothing short of a pleasure to witness this total domination from all the riders, the level of women's snowboarding is insane right now. Arguably, women's snowboarding is the most exciting it's ever been and we cannot wait to see this event flourish and spread across the world in the coming seasons. Big ups to every single person involved in making this happen, women's snowboarding is in safe hands.