Snowboarders' final season

Proudly wearing black jerseys with a silhouette of Mt. Hood and “Glencoe” printed in crimson, two seniors represented Glencoe in the 2015 state competition for snowboarding last week. (Results were not available at press time.)

Anna Burton competed in half-pipe, slopestyle and banked slalom/boardercross, while Walker Roe competed in banked slalom and slopestyle. Burton has qualified for state the past two years and competed her sophomore year, but was unable to attend last year’s due to a ruptured appendix. This was Roe’s first time competing at state.

Roe’s most memorable moment this season was when he got a perfect run on a slopestyle competition.

“It felt so good to get everything right,” he said.

Both Burton and Roe said they enjoy being on the team and appreciate how much it has taught them.

“It’s crazy how much you progress with a team versus when you’re alone,” Burton said. “Just having a team is a great feeling.”

Roe started snowboarding when he was about eight and joined the team this year through a friend who was on the Forest Grove team. Burton, on the other hand, started snowboarding in eighth grade, but she really got into it when she joined the team her sophomore year. She said 2014 graduate Liam Garrett influenced her to join.

According to Burton, Roe fit right in even though he didn’t know anyone. Roe said that Burton has great team spirit and is always making sure everyone is having fun. They both enjoy having each other on the team.

“[Snowboarding] is the highlight of my winter,” Burton says. “People are missing all the sunshine, but the mountain is higher than the clouds.”

Glencoe’s team practices with Banks and Forest Grove at least once a week and competes on weekends. They have the same team manager and coaches: Justin McRobert, Grant McRobert and Ryan Audett, respectively. Because of the lack of snow, this season they have only had four competitions, two slopestyle, one half-pipe and one banked slalom/boardercross.

Glencoe’s team along with Banks, Forest Grove, La Salle, Tigard and Tualatin, make up the Sunset league. According to Burton, the Sunset league is the fun league. They don’t stress as much as the other leagues. One year during an awards ceremony, they dressed up in swim trunks, towels and snowboarding goggles with no lenses.

“It’s a bunch of people who snowboard and have fun. It’s laid back, and everyone’s up there to have fun,” Roe said

#sports #Issue31415