Winter X Games is always an exciting time of year for all of us here at SCS. The sport of freestyle snowmobiling is very much at the roots of SCS, as are the athletes that go out and compete in it.
This is the one weekend of the year that these athletes really get to show the world why they put it all on the line day in and day out. From the beginning, this event has brought out the innovation and progression that the sport needs to continue to grow. From front flips to double back flips, X Games is the place to bring it.
The 2013 Winter X Games were no different. SCS Unlimited was proud to have 4 athletes representing our sled wraps. Heath Frisby, Joe Parsons, Justin Hoyer, and Willie Elam were sporting SCS graphics and all of them represented us very well throughout the weekend. Thursday night was the kickoff to the snowmobile events with Freestyle.
It was a stacked field this year with all of the big names healthy. Unfortunately, Frisby had a couple of big get off’s during practice which made for a long and very sore weekend. Heath had to pull out of freestyle minutes before the event as he was unable to get his sled repaired and running correctly after his practice crashes. Team rider Joe Parsons came out with his smooth, consistent style and was atop of the leader board for much of the event. Daniel Bodin came out charging and looked very good but unfortunately had a crash on his last jump, ultimately forcing him out of the event. Team rider Justin Hoyer came out and rode very well considering he hadn’t had much seat time on his new snowmobile. Hoyer ended up with the bronze medal on the night after two strong runs. Levi LaVallee came out swinging this year with big extensions and a solid run. It wasn’t until his final run that he was able to take Joe off the top spot for his 2nd freestyle gold medal of his career. Joe was not far behind with the silver medal on the night. The snowmobiling continued on Saturday as X Games brought back Speed & Style this year. All four of our athletes were competing in the event. Hoyer was a late addition due to some of the injuries sustained in the freestyle event. He rode well but was no match for the racer savvy LaVallee in round 1. Cory Davis was able to pull out a win over a very sore Heath Frisby in the first round ending his night. Both Joe Parsons and Willie Elam rode their way to the bronze medal round and had one of the more entertaining races of the day. After some serious rubbing in the first corner, the race officials were forced to restart the race on two separate occasions. Ultimately, in the end it was Joe Parsons taking the bronze medal over Willie Elam. The event proved that racing is a crucial element, as both Levi LaVallee and Cory Davis battled it out for the gold. In the end it was Levi who would prevail for the gold with Davis grabbing his first silver medal of his career. The weekend would wrap up on Sunday night with the always exciting best trick event. SCS was once again represented well with Frisby, Parsons, and Elam competing. Hoyer was a late scratch with a blown motor in his Polaris. Best trick had some new faces as well this year with two time Summer X Games best trick gold medalist Jackson “Jacko” Strong. Jacko attempted a body varial but was unable to reconnect with his sled on two separate attempts. Daniel Bodin came out with a big seat grab Indian air flip that landed him on the top spot. Heath Frisby, coming off his massive front flip to win gold last year, wanted to bring something entirely new to the sport. Heath was able to stick the first ever Under Flip on a snowmobile in his first run. It was pretty amazing to see a 450lb snowmobile at a complete 90 degree angle from the take off while flipping! Joe Parsons also came out and showed some true innovation with his Gator Wrastler flip. He also topped it off by landing backwards on his snowmobile, also known as the “Frisby Air”. Many people thought that this trick should have put Joe on top of the podium but the judges didn’t quite see it that way. Daniel Bodin was able to claim the Gold with Parsons taking Silver and Frisby the Bronze. Winter X Games was a great weekend in Aspen and it is exciting to see the sport continue to grow. SCS would like to congratulate all of our athletes in bringing home 5 medals on the weekend! We would also like to congratulate all of the other competitors on their success and wish the best to Caleb and the entire Moore family. Until next year! SCS [nggallery id=79]
