Snowboarding: Olympic bid more than a pipe dream

James Hamilton's experience in skiing, skateboarding and surfing made him a natural talent for snowboarding. Photo / Brett Phibbs

James Hamilton was a late starter in snowboarding.

But he's made up for lost time at such a rate in the space of four years that he was briefly world No1 last year and is New Zealand's leading male contender for a place on the halfpipe at next February's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

And if he makes it, Hamilton knows it will be "a humbling experience". His father, Doug, is from Vancouver and Hamilton, who has been there only twice, knows he'll have more support than a Kiwi rider might expect that far from home.

Hamilton is one of seven New Zealand snowboarders chasing Olympic selection. Theoretically all could qualify. There are four events coming up which will decide the makeup of the fields.

If the popular, middle-aged view of snowboarders is of conversation limited to "yo dude, wassup?" and a general air of space cadetship, the 20-year-old from Albany defies it all.

He's articulate, quietly spoken, and while he has a measure of confidence in his ability, he also cannot disguise a degree of surprise at how far he's come in such a short time.

His route to snowboarding was typical. He began skiing at two on Cypress Mountain, venue for the snowboarding and freestyle Olympic disciplines next year and about an hour's drive out of Vancouver.

Skiing was more of the annual family holiday variety with parents Doug and Katy, at Mt Ruapehu, than anything remotely serious. In his mid-teens, things changed. Snowboarding took a grip.

"Because I was into skateboarding, surfing, that sort of stuff, it seemed like the coolest thing to do," Hamilton said.

"I tried it one day, loved it, changed from skiing and never looked back."

You'll hear people who have tried the switch talk of the difficulty because of the different placing of body weight and travelling sideways rather than facing down the mountain.

Hamilton found the transition straightforward, the skateboarding and surfing having given him plenty of experience of the feeling and balance required for moving sideways.

Hamilton was spotting his rivals a decent head start when he got serious on the board.

"To be honest, it's all come up pretty quickly for me. I haven't been snowboarding as long as the other guys. When the last Olympics were on [Torino in 2006] that's when I started seriously riding the half pipe so I've had to play catch up."

Hamilton can pick a key moment when his sporting career took a decisive turn. He had been selected for a national youth team in boarder cross, which is a racing event.

"We went to Switzerland to train before the junior worlds and I started riding the half pipe," he said.

"It just came so naturally and I progressed so quickly my coach was like, 'All right, quit boarder cross, you're doing the pipe now'."

Hamilton's sister, Anna, was on a training ride near Dairy Flat in 2007 when she was struck from behind by a car. There followed four days in intensive care, an induced coma for 10 days, and a month in hospital, crippled by severe neck, spine, knee and shoulder injuries.

Next September, the 23-year-old will contest the world triathlon championships, which roars of an athlete with a fiercely determined streak. There is clearly sporting talent in the genes; if the younger brother possesses similar resolve, it will serve him well in the coming months.

For a couple of weeks last year, Hamilton was ranked No1. If it was slightly misleading, in that he'd had some competitions, while many others hadn't, it doesn't matter. No1 has a good ring to it.

"It was fun while it lasted," he quipped.

"It was a real shock, I couldn't believe it but it opened so many doors with sponsors, so I'm all set up, I've got everything I need to go where I want."

Today, five of the seven contenders - Hamilton, Ben Stewart from Whangamata, Rebecca Sinclair of Taupo, Christchurch's Paula Mitchell and Dunedin's Mitchell Brown - fly to Mt Hood in Oregon for three weeks' training before returning in time for the World Cup event at Cardrona.

The challenges are a mix: for the five who have met criteria requirements, it's a case of staying in the Olympic frame, and not busting a leg; for the others, the coming months will mean nailing top placings to present their case for Vancouver.

The final say rests with the NZOC but head coach and nominal panel member Tom Willmott is hopeful of a sizeable contingent for Vancouver. He puts New Zealand's ability to punch above their weight on the international stage down to a combination of elements, including strong youth programmes which are now bearing fruit.

"Our facilities are definitely world class. In August, the best place to be in the world, where all the world's best half pipe boarders come to train, is New Zealand," Willmott said.

"While it's difficult spending six months a year overseas, these days you do get as much snow time as people in the Northern Hemisphere.

"We think we've got a good shot at being one of the stronger teams in Vancouver."

THE NUMBERS GAME

* New Zealand can field a maximum of four men and four women in the Winter Olympics half pipe competition. Four athletes per nation is the Olympic limit.
* Five of the seven New Zealanders who are chances to win selection have achieved the FIS criteria of being ranked in the top 40 for men and top 30 for women - James Hamilton (now No18 on Olympic rankings), Ben Stewart (No36), Julianne Bray (No13), Kendall Brown (No28) and Rebecca Sinclair (No30).
* Athletes are also expected to have two top 20 placings (men) and two top 16 finishes (women) in World Cups thus displaying the ability to finish in the top half of the Olympic field. All five have achieved that.
* There are three World Cup events left to chase, or solidify, Olympic spots, starting at Cardrona on August 25-26.