Women’s halfpipe, scheduled to begin at 12:30 on Thursday, is shaping as one of the most hotly contested events of the Games.

The field will include two Olympic gold medallists, two Olympic minor medallists, two World Champions, four World Championship minor medallists and two World Cup champions.

Then there’s Torah Bright, who can’t lay claim to any of those honours, but who has been one of the most successful riders in the world for the past two or three years.

The past year saw the 23-year-old pick up her second Winter X-Games title, her third US Open title and gold in the only World Cup event she contested.

The 2009 World Championship silver medallist Holly Crawford will join Bright in the starting line-up, coming off a bronze medal result in the Calgary World Cup prior to the Games.

She is in the best physical shape of her career, and like Bright is a medal contender.

But the battle for the podium will be a fierce one.

The US team boasts two of those Olympic gold medallists – Kelly Clark (2002) and Hannah Teter (2006) - as well as Torino silver medallist Gretchen Bleiler.

“The Americans have got a very strong team, there’s no doubt about it,” says Australian Snowboard Head Coach Ben Wordsworth.

“Kelly Clark has had an amazing season this year, winning a lot of the Grand Prix’s and the X-Games, but Torah has shown in the past that she can beat those girls.”

“She definitely has tricks at the moment that the American girls don’t have, which can clearly score higher, and I think she’s got what it takes.”

“And don’t forget Holly Crawford. I would say she’s the underdog coming in here, but she’s had a great preparation this year, she’s fit, she’s healthy, she’s better than what she’s been in the past and she’s ready to go as well.”

“Both our girls are going to be very competitive.”

And then there’s the Chinese team, led by defending World Cup champion Liu Jiayu, who currently hold the first four places on the World Cup standings.

Having built a formidable aerial skiing team, the Chinese have turned their acrobatic eyes onto the pipe, and they will be a major threat in the future, if not at these Games.

The competition format is a three stage affair. The qualification round involves two heats of 20 riders each, with each rider getting two runs, the final score determined by their best single run.

The top three from each heat progress directly to the final, while the next six from each heat go into the semi-final. The semi is also determined by the best run of each rider’s two runs, with the top six from the semi-final going into the final to make a total of 12 riders.

Barry White
AOC Cypress Mountain