Hours after she won the women’s snowboard slopestyle competition at last week’s Dew Tour at Breckenridge Ski Resort, Austrian snowboarding star Anna Gasser took home even more hardware downtown at the Riverwalk Center.
The 27-year-old Olympic big air gold medalist Gasser took home the women’s Reader’s Choice Award and the Women’s Rider of the Year awards at the 20th annual Transworld Snowboarding Riders’ Poll Awards on Friday night.
“This dual win demonstrates the degree to which Anna is dominating right now,” Transworld Snowboarding wrote in its description for Gasser’s wins. “She is truly setting the bar of freestyle progression.”
Steamboat Springs local snowboarder Nik Baden won the men’s rookie of the year award
“Nik Baden has been lurking below the surface of snowboarding’s mainstream consciousness for a couple seasons now,” Transworld wrote. “After shutting down (the) Beta (movie) with a standout part, however, Baden is now on the radar of those paying attention. The kid from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has developed a level of style and trick selection that has caused those in the snowboard world to turn their heads, and this season we (saw) him take the clean style and proper trick selection he’s honed on groomed features to the backcountry, stomping powder landings with an uncommon ease. Beta director Tyler Orton explains Nik is a ‘team player’ when complimenting him on his first year filming in the backcountry. With a well-rounded approach, Baden will be here for a while.”
Canadian rider Kennedi Deck won the Women’s Rookie of the Year award while Icelandic snowboarder Halldor Hellgason won the Men’s Readers’ Choice Award. The Men’s Rider of the Year award went to veteran Japanese snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo.
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“Kazu is as respected by his pro rider peer group as much as any,” Transworld wrote. “It is a calculated approach to major career decisions and a loose approach to split-second decisions on the mountain that make Kokubo who he is. As a rider who made a name for himself in the competitive halfpipe realm, Kazu has always been exceptional at riding natural terrain—whether many of his fans realized it or not — but this season marked a new height for him.
That new height for Kokubo was the film he directed and starred in, “Kamikazu,” which won for movie of the year.
“Kamikazu documents some of the best backcountry freestyle riding ever captured,” Transworld wrote, “by a diverse list of riders. From Keegan Valaika’s loose and skatey style, to Blair Habenicht’s powerful approach, this eclectic riding is captured in locations around the globe. Kokubo favored a session-based approach to filming—riding the backcountry in the way one would skate a park with friends.
For more information on this year’s award winners, visit: Snowboarding.Transworld.net/riders-poll