Rail Jam will be 7 p.m. on Saturday at the UMC
It turns out you don’t have to brave Interstate 70 to see some killer snowboarding – just take a stroll across the UMC.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, the CU snowboarding team is holding its annual Heavy Metal Rail Jam in the parking lot across from the UMC.
The rail jam will feature sponsored riders and CU students that are involved with the team. The Campus Press caught up with Jeanine Deeb, a senior broadcast news major and the team’s only woman competitor, to ask her some questions about snowboarding and life.
CP: How long have you been snowboarding?
Deeb: Since I was 11, and now I’m 22.
CP: How long have you been involved with the CU snowboarding team?
Deeb: For three years.
CP: How long have you been competing?
Deeb: Since I was 15. I competed individually, and I have been competing with the team for the whole time I’ve been here (at CU).
CP: How long did it take you to learn how to snowboard?
Deeb: I got it in the first hour. I hit the rails the second day. My friend had been snowboarding for two years, and so she took me up to the mountains to teach me and I was better than her by the end of the day. I rode with guys the next season so I had to keep up or I would get lost.
CP: What is your favorite mountain?
Deeb: Winter Park and Keystone. Keystone’s park is like a little kid in a candy store. Winter Park’s jumps are awesome.
CP: What is your favorite memory?
Deeb: This year we had three competitions in one day. We had the half-pipe first and then slope style right after our run. Then it was 2 in the afternoon and I had been riding all morning, and I had to compete in Uptown Throwdown, a rail jam competition. I got first in half-pipe, first in slope style and best overall in the rail jam. It was cool because we took down everything. I was so nervous all day because the Uptown Throwdown was in the pro division, so everyone could come. It was a really solid day.
CP: What is your favorite trick?
Deeb: Big backside ones – really long backside ones. It’s hard to keep steady when you are doing a bigger jump, but it looks so good.
CP: What is your favorite event?
Deeb: I love slope style. It’s really challenging and I love being challenged.
CP: What kind of snowboard do you ride?
Deeb: Roam 143.
CP: What have you learned since you started snowboarding?
Deeb: It’s better to go big and fall than to come up short. If you go into it and are being a wimp, you’re going to get hurt.
CP: What are some things you can work on still?
Deeb: My backside and front-side fives are my next goal. I want to get those down really consistently.
CP: How does it feel being a girl in a sport dominated by men?
Deeb: I am the only girl on the team that competes for the team, rides every day and goes to every practice. But it’s good pressure (to ride with guys). I have always ridden with guys because they push me. Guys constantly say just do it. The more I watch them, they make it look easy and I’m not so intimidated. (The team) is all just a big family.
CP: Do you have a favorite athlete?
Deeb: I used to look up to Tara Dakides. She was, like, the first woman to make it big in snowboarding. She was my favorite when I was growing up.
CP: When is your favorite time during the season to snowboard?
Deeb: The spring. It’s a whole different attitude because we are not so much worried about getting hurt because it’s slushy.
CP: Do you play any other sports?
Deeb: I used to play volleyball, soccer (and) softball, and I swam. I have also been dirt biking, snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing and skateboarding since I was 11.
CP: Have you had any injuries since you have been competing?
Deeb: I tore my ACL meniscus in my right knee, broke my collar bone, got stitches in my knee, had a mild concussion, broke my thumb and wrist and sprained my elbow. That’s nothing. It’s worth it.
CP: What has been the hardest thing you have had to face?
Deeb: Trying to recover from the ACL meniscus. I had to get back to being comfortable on jumps, and I had to fight through all the little pains and just do it. I also have to keep in really good shape to prevent all injuries.
CP: How long does it normally take you to master a trick?
Deeb: On rails, not that long. I ride for eight hours a day, so just one day. Spins sometimes take a while, but rails take no time. If you’re not intimidated, you’ll learn faster and do better.
CP: Do you have any advice for aspiring snowboarders?
Deeb: Join the team if you want to learn park. People come onto the team and didn’t know how to jump and now spin fives.
CP: What are your future plans?
Deeb: I’m coming back next semester, and then after that I will go live in the mountains. I want to compete as much as possible. I want to really stay on top of my game and progress. I would love to eventually (be in the X Games). There are some contests below the X Games that I want to do first and do well in. I need to push myself to the next level.
CP: Are you excited for this weekend?
Deeb: I am so excited. We look forward to Heavy Metal every year. It is the most fun event of the year. Everyone and anyone can come see us.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Ashley Herzberger at ashley.herzberger@thecampuspress.com.
