Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Extreme snowboarder Henry Edmondson has surprised everyone with his recent results on the international junior Freeride circuit.

Henry, 16, is ranked among the top 40 junior freeriders in the world after competing in several events in France in January.

This was the first time Henry had competed and he achieved an impressive third place in one of his events and seventh place in another.

These results have placed him in sixth position overall on the Oceania ranking table of the Freeride Junior Tour which is the sport’s peak competition.

The Oceania ranking table includes riders from Europe, New Zealand and Asia.

Freeride is a style of snowboarding that is vastly different to traditional snowboarding as it’s performed on natural, ungroomed terrain where there is no set course.

Riders choose their own path down the mountain and look for topographical features such as rocks and drop offs to use as props for showing skill and doing tricks.

When done in a competition, riders gain points for fluidity, control, speed and creativity.

“Freeriders go where other riders don’t and the locations for events are usually pretty remote,” Henry said.

“It’s a lot more interesting and challenging than just riding down the same run over and over again and it’s also more fun as it’s done in powdery snow.”

Henry, who only took up snow-boarding in 2020 during a trip to Japan, said that surfing had helped him achieve results in his new sport.

“Snowboarding is a lot like surfing as you need really good balance and spatial awareness.

“I’ve done a bit of skateboarding too but that’s really different to snowboarding as skateboarders ride on very smooth, solid surfaces and it’s in a manmade environment like a skatepark or streets.”

Having not been able to travel to the eastern State’s snowfields to practise, due to border restrictions, Henry has been using his backyard trampoline for training.

“I’m usually on the tramp a few times a week and try to stay pretty fit in general as freeriding is a very strenuous sport.”

Henry is currently back in Europe getting ready to compete in three events over three weekends in Austria, Switzerland and Norway.

His aim is to gain enough points to qualify for the Freeride Junior World Championships which will be held in Austria in January next year.

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 24 March 2022.