Jib-Fest wows onlookers

As the official commencement of winter is approaching, winter sports have already occupied the calendars of many snowboarders and skiers. For many students at Saint Michael’s College, Jib-Fest was a campus-wide opportunity for students of all skill levels and class years to display their talents in both skiing and snowboarding. Jib-Fest occurred on December 6, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. near the Townhouse 300s.

Student snowboarders show their stuff during the 2019 Jib Fest by the 300s Townhouses, which also included a campus band providing tunes (lower left photo). (photos by Ashley DeLeon ’23)

Hosted by Shred MC — the Saint Michael’s Ski and Snowboard Club — the group created a site of scaffolding, rails, boxes, and piles of locally sourced snow. Skiers and snowboarders were challenged to travel down a ramp, then quickly transfer onto a railing without falling. To increase the level of difficulty, some competitors added flips and spins in the air while still maintaining their overall balance and stamina. In addition, Turtle Underground helped to maintain high energy levels from the audience through live musical entertainment.

The night began with an hour-long practice for skiers and snowboarders. This had been implemented for competitors to familiarize themselves with the terrain and to begin strategizing the timing of tricks and weight shifts. As practice progressed, spectators began to surround the course’s enclosure. Spectators did not seem to mind the heavy snowfall and low temperatures, as they watched skiers and snowboarders finish the final rounds of practice in anticipation for the upcoming competition.

At around 7:30 p.m., the night had begun with the snowboarding quarterfinals. Snowboarders were cheered on by classmates, parents, and neighbors alike as competitors showcased their skills and surprised the crowd with many different tricks. As some snowboarders fell, they redeemed themselves in upcoming trials with increased balance and new approaches to their snowboarding techniques. After the quarterfinals, the event’s student host announced the contestants who would further advance to the final round. Preceding this was the skiing quarterfinals, which followed the same arrangement as snowboarding

Said Kyle Kowalski of ShredMC after the successful event, “ShredMC is a group of really passionate skiers and riders that love to bring the sport to the community. Our main event Jibfest helps get everyone stoked to go to the mountain and relieves a little stress before finals by watching some fellow students fling their bodies at our rail setup. It’s honestly my favorite event of the year because there’s some incredible skiers and riders here and this is their opportunity to go up against each other in a friendly competition.”

The final round aroused much exhilaration from the crowd as contestants competed head-to-head for the winning title. After an MC built up maximum anticipation, Joe Schuster and Isaac Rumpf were named the champions for Jib-fest 2019. The crowd excitedly cheered the winners and an atmosphere of happy good cheer permeated the arena. Despite low temperatures, the overall warmth emanating from the community allowed everyone to enjoy Jib-Fest this year and anticipate the upcoming winter break.