Some people have been asking me why I’m not going to Spain this weekend, like the rest of the pro skier circuit. Just thought I’d clear that out.
I’ve known Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx for a long time. We used to talk music on MSN back in 2005, as a fellow guitar and bass player we learned from eachother and I remember how he showed me some clips of him and his friends playing music in Spain. I never really got to ski with him too much, except for the last few summers in NZ. This summer we shared a house down there together for a couple weeks, hanging out with his friend from back home, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx. Theyre both fun skiers to hang out with, not many spanish skiers on the international scene. When I heard about the two of them getting a city big air together down in Barcelona I was stoked, having seen so many awesome skateboard videos from their various skate spots around the city I’ve always wanted to go there to check it out, so I sent Xxxxx a facebook message back in september telling him how I would love to come. Seeing how we used to be cool and all, I must say this came as a surprise (a punch in the face? or how about a stab in the back?), when I opened my inbox a couple weeks ago;
You are getting this email cause you are someone who’s been in touch with us during the last month around the Barcelona Snow Show. Even if you guys didn’t get a spot to come and compete, or you couldn’t come due to injuries or other difficulties, we wanted to thank you all for your motivation and for believing in that event. For being the first time we’re organizing such event, we’re very happy with the good feedback we’ve had, almost everyone who was invited is comming and a lot of people has got in contact with us in order to be part of the whole thing.
We will keep all of your contacts and we’ll think of you for next years event, you’re already already a part of the event for us.
Phil
Sammy
Mike H
Pk
Roy
Andri
Gus
Colby
Ahmed
Jacob
Leigh
Kai
Mike R
Ken
Tao
Markus
Marco
Oscar
Anders
Frido
Dane
Thanks again and again,
Xxxx, Xxxxx and the Snow Show crew.
–
P.B
I love my friends
uh....right.
How cool, a non-invite! Hey thats what I’m going to do. Announce to the world that I’m organizing an international city big air competition, and then start sending out non-invites to all the people I don’t want there.
I later found out that one of the judges had sent out an email wondering why I wasnt in the comp, seeing how a lot of names he had barely even heard about was on there. This was the reply he got:
.
Hi Xxxxxx (judge),
We’re glad that every rider is motivated to get in the contest but:
From the day one, when we made the first riders list, we were clear that we wanted to do something else, not the same urban big air contest that every city own right now. Freeskiing is not super known yet in our city and our goal is to bring a show that expresses what the sport is about, not only a contest with the best tricks all in a row.
Due to this criteria, the list is now what it is, and we’ve been chosing the riders that we thought would match better with the Barcelona Snow Show concept.
We understand your reasons, thanks for your motivation, but I wanted to make sure that you understood why everything was that way.
Hug
X & X
.
.
Well, I guess that was about time for me to cancel my flight ticket to Barcelona. It’s a bummer, I’ve always liked city big air competitions. I’ve done Freestyle.ch in Zurich 5 times now, not to mention Berlin, London (twice), Stockholm (3 times), and that one in Oslo back in 05. I wish I was going to Barcelona too. But I guess I don’t match with their concept. And that I don’t express what the sport is about. At least these guys do:
.
Simon Dumont
Corey Vanular
TJ Schiller
Dane Tudor
Xavier Bertoni
Sammy Carlson
Matt Margetts
Andreas Hatveit
Russ Henshaw
Henrik Harlaut
Oscar Harlaut
John Spriggs
Shinji Osada
Patrick Hollaus
Joel Albaladejo
Paolo Martignolo
Tobi Tritcher
Scotty Jordan
Josep Gil
Jaime Puigdengoles
Noah Albaladejo
Luka Melloni
Jon Aguirrebengoa
Pako Benguerel
Elias Ambuhl
Benedikt Mayr
Fabio Studer
Paddy Graham
(invited and confirmed riders)
.
Good luck down there boys,
.
Jacob
~ by jacobwester on November 6, 2009.
random
i know that’s a pain, but think of the bad name it’s giving the barcelona ski show. why would it ever be the case that they prevent the world’s best guys from coming and putting on a spectacular show?! i mean as someone from the UK it’s great to see Paddy Graham there, but if they want to showcase the sport they should be after the biggest names! it all seems illogical and a bizarre way to run a comp to me!
p.s. check your ian cosco blogroll link!
Lol @ not being able to figure out who xxxx… is!
mhh sammy is in both lists, so i think someone had more power (salomon) than u or the judge
i seriously feel sorry for u!
give em what they diserve next time!
that response to the judge is weak. It’s funny to see that 99% of the riders at all the other city big air comps this year are on that invite list, yet the one who continually finishes in the top of those contests (with the most tech tricks, or even the most stylish of the same tech trick) doesn’t get in. I hope this gives you some motivation to crush it this winter, just to show everyone out there how poorly you “express what this sport is about”.
BTW: Your consistently updated freeskier blog expresses what this sport is about perfectly! That alone should get you an press-invite.
[...] http://www.freeride.se/jacobwester/2009/11/06/barcelona-snow-show/#comments [...]
Huhh!? Both big names like Simon and TJ, but also some “randoms” I’ve never heard about. And your not on the list, killing it in pretty much every comp!
I think you got yourself some new exfriends!
how sad. The respons to the judge and then seeing those invited skiiers made me sad.
and oh yeah, Jacob is not a creative enough skiier to challenge these creative tricks from qualifire:
Russ Henshaw (double cork 10 mute to japan)
Jon Olsson (double 1080 safety to japan)
Andreas Hatveit (double cork 1080 double mute)
Bene Mayr (double cork 1260 mute)
TJ Schiller (switch double cork 900 safety)
Elias Ambühl (double cork 1080 true mute)
Paddy Graham (double cork 1080 mute)
Patrick Hollaus (cork 900 mute to japan)
Noah Albaladejo, 17 year old Spanish Rookie, (rodeo)
Tom Wallish (switch double cork 1080)
They don’t know what they miss, you are the best out there!
I agree that it is odd that you’re not in the comp! However, regarding the “non-invite”, if you show interest in a competition but the organizers wont give you a spot, wouldn’t you rather they informed you about it than having you eventually find out on your own that you’re not in? Don’t get me wrong, I definitely believe they made the wrong call, but they should not be blamed for informing you about it.
what an outrage!
A friend in power is a friend lost.
damn, that’s one of the craziest things i have ever heard. I dont understand how they can say that they want to show and introduce the sport from the best side to their country and then they leaves you out who is right now like top 5 in the world.. I’m not hating on anyone who got in I’m just saying that you should have been in Barcelona right now, For sure!!
keep beeing the best! hope you prove those organizers wrong this winter!
sure it sucks not to be there but hey: do you ski for them or for yourself?
take your skis, hit some slopes and have FUN. don’t worry about such guilful ppl. that’s so disgusting. skiing should be fun and not business.
Hey man…. un f-ing beleivable! if i would be an organiser you would deffinatly be on my list and sure on everybody elses.
I would say let your skiing and awesome style do the talking and they will regret. love the blog! V
shitty man, I wouldnt take it too personally tho cause nobody doubts your skiing. it seems like the organizers wanna get some spanish names in the contest. Spain is not really known for producing skiers and they probably wanna rep the homeboys in front of the local crowd. Might higher ups have been involved in the invite process? It seems pretty lame that your flatmate wouldn’t have invited you…
HOw culd you guys say that jacob shouldn’t take it personal?
Two friends of him invites the rest of the pro skiers but not him?
At least now we wont have to hear you bitch about reading.
life goes on buddy.
Jacob, that’s pretty a poor show; on the organisers behalf. But you’re a good guy, with way more going on for you than a new City Big Air Comp. Go spinning for some Pike in your lake, get some surf and be happy you’re not recognised as being a corporate sell out; someone Barcelona feels they need due to an image. I’d rather be true to myself and my sport than a money grabbing idiot. I’m going kite surfing in a couple of hours….Peace
I would go for the riders listed above over you any day… This is absurd. Jon said it in his blog, this is “highly fu**ed”!
Paco and Jaime are the ones who look bad in this unbelievable story, not you! But I have to give it to them, at least they’re trying to tweak the concept (eg so they have chance on ending up on the upper half
of the result list).
Somebody wants to bet against me when I say a 1260 is winning this event anyway!?
Hi Jacob!!
I’m from Spain, freeskier (or something..) for 5 years now… i’m super surprised you’r not invited to the barcelona comp…
I can not understand why one of the best is not invited, and some unknown (and propably no so good skiers) are.
Anyway, just let you know that a lot of spanish guys support you
Take care!!
totally get u!
uuuuhm??? Isn’t sammy in this comp either??! WHAT THE FUCK spain? Sammy won the .ch and Jacob here won the fuckin’ .berlin how can you NOT give them a spot?
“With friend like these who needs enemies..” (TSSF)
Hey everybody,
Just let you know what is said here is spain about why so many top guys were not invited.
As Mike said before in his comment, the spanish pros don’t have enought level to compete vs most of the international pros…. so they gave a spot to some of them specting that some spanish pros (probably paco and jaime) will be ranked in the final top 10.
Othewise, with all the top guys in the comp, no spanish “pro” will pass the qualifications…
I’m from spain, and i fell embarrased… so don’t get mad with spanish people, since barcelona snow show is a private event promovet by some riders from barcelona.
bye
jacob, i like you as a skier. but this was dumb. it’s one event. get over yourself
xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx
could be fellow armada team rider
Jaime puigdengoles!!
Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx.
could be
Pako Benguerel!!!!!
so kinda creapy if they set up an event and invited riders who would beet them and a few others that wouldent!! and in that way secure them self a top 10!!!
stupid!!!!
SUCKS A HORSECOCK that you weren´t invited!
They’re organisation and way of communicating is very disappointing. We think you wrote a good blog, finally somebody who isnt afraid to speak his mind.
Wow there is a lot of names on that list of confirmed riders i would def not give an invite to an event, if they are trying to showcase freeskiing.
I’m backing you 100% on this one Jacob. If I’d showcase what freeskiing is about you’d be on on my on my list before I’d even think about inviting 85% of the riders they invited.
Bad steeze P & J!
wow stop bitching man. you didnt get invited to a comp. your a pro skier and get paid to do it. stop being such a stuck up pretty boy
I know who is Xxxx and Xxxxx and they are very nice people.
I’m from Spain, nd I think I understand why they did not invite you or some other pros… And with the message they sent u, I think u sould have understood it too… That kind of competitions are not usual in Spain, so what we need to do first it’s to make people like it… How? Trying to have the very well-known international riders (that doesn’t mean the best, and I think that’s why you are not in…) and mixing them with our national riders. Why? Because we want to see our riders competing with others we can’t usually see like TJ, Wallish or Olson…
Honestly, I did not know you before reading this, but talking like that ’bout people like Xxxx and Xxxxx, that have done soooooo much for freeskiing in Spain, doesn’t make me think you got “the concept” of freeskiing… Man, think about it, think if they really did it because they are the “bad” people you want to make them look like or if they did it because it wasn’t the best moment, in order to make more people in Spain like freeskiing, for you to be there…
I hope u can understand something of what I’ve written…
Tke care!
you act like a 5 year old child.
your now making all spanish freeskiers look like idiots and amateurs .
you suck idiot
the organizers only can take 30 riders… not 200
tonto
I wanted to see you in barcelona. There was too many unknown (or not top 10) riders like paolo martingolo, paddy graham… I suppose that it is not so easy to organize an event like that and there have been some failures as for example the reason of your post. I hope that another year you will be invited and you’ll come with desire.
i’m sure that Xxxx and Xxxxx have no bad intentions, they want the best for spanish freesking. you would be invited
stop bitching!! you sound like a chick
Backing you on this Jacob. Everybody who’s writing bad things about this post is from Spain and some of them haven’t even heard about you before!? What the fu** is up with that? If you never heard about Jacob Wester you should not bother posting on this blog.
Hey MAN, are you God? Why do they have to invite you ? You dont have to be in all comps, there are tons of goods skiers that need opportunities
I´m from Barcelona, and I know Jaume. He is a very good person, and he did the best he can. I´m sorry Jacob, you could not come because I consider you a very good rider. But there are public sponsors that want a local name, just because they want to promote the sport, in their city. You have to understand that because is very easy to say your point of view whith out talking to the Jaume and asking him…
Not everything is black or white. This event cost a lot of money, public money, and I can assure that Jaume and Paco don´t have that power. I hope seeing you next year, because there are a lot of people who love that sport in spain and we want to see you there.
Respect
You guys telling him he is bitching are absolutely ridiculous. First of all Jacob never said that j&p are bad ppl, he also isn’t making them look bad, he was just disappointed by their way of acting, which is absolutely understandable. Their organization shows a big lack of experience and professionalism, whoever disagree with that either doesn’t know how to organize an event or do not know whats up in the freeskiing scene. And to the person that said : “you act like a 5yr old child” then writing “you suck idiot”, what a wonderful example of a hypocrite you are.
Hey Jacob. I think that should understand that is not that easy to organiza such a big event. In spain where I am from,ski is not very popular and it was necesary to introduce some spanish and andorrans mane on the list, because they would not have the oportunity to be in a competetion like that. The list was limited to 40 and you weren´t inside. I´m sure that xxx and xxw would love to introduce more skiers in that least and of course they thought about you, colby, pk… But they had a limited list. I can uderstand that you are disapointed about not being on that list but you ad to undersatnd that they do the best they could and they did great. They hang out with ridrs around the city what it was something great for people like, and people who came was very happy. At least the send you an e-mail explaining you why you weren´t on the least. And if you know xxx and xxx and you think you are his friend you have to understand that they do the best tey could and the did a great job.