How Tough Has It Become

HOW TOUGH HAS IT BECOME to place in men’s halfpipe competitions? Just ask Olympic medal winners Danny Kass and J. J. Thomas. About a year after standing second and third at the Salt Lake City Games, they were on the outside looking in at the 2003 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships.

With a new head-to-head format, riders squared off in two runs to see who would advance. Because both runs counted toward the overall score, any false move meant disaster. No one was surprised when Olympic gold medalist Ross Powers cruised into the final three, but Daniel Franck and Kazuhiro Kokubo shocked some people with their placement.

Franck took to the halfpipe first, but binding troubles kept him from finishing the run. That left the door open for Powers, and he blasted through it. Ross started with a 22-foot backside air and a 20-foot frontside air. By the time he was done, Ross had stuck a McTwist, a frontside 900, a backside 360, a switch McTwist, and a cab 720. Kokubo, who was just 14, touched his hand down on his final trick in the first run and trailed Powers.

Powers again went big on his second run by adding another two to three feet of amplitude to every trick. His cab 900 capped off a stellar run. On Kokubo’s final attempt, he raised the bar to unparalleled levels. Launching into the pipe with the two biggest airs of the day, the teen hit a 29-foot McTwist and a 15-foot 900. But he couldn’t overcome his first-run deficit, and Powers took home his second U.S. Open halfpipe title.

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POINT Snowboarders just keep going higher and higher in the men’s halfpipe. Soaring 30 feet above the pipe, their amplitude is amazing. But no matter how high they fly, they always come back to the ground.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Obadiah recorded God’s words to some high-flying people. The Edomites lived in the mountains and built houses out of rock. They began feeling proud of themselves as their confidence soared, and they treated God’s people badly. But God said he would bring them down. God always humbles the proud.

GOAL! Do you know people who think they’re better than everybody else? Perhaps you’re one of them. Ask God to keep you grounded—not puffed up with pride.