From there I hit up the spa - had a killer massage and facial, then threw on my Canada gear for the Opening Ceremonies.  It all started with a Canada pep rally where we had the chance to listen to some music and inspirational speeches from other athletes.

After that we started our trek to Canada Place and waited in the hockey arena in anticipation for our walk into the Ceremony - by this point I had almost lost my voice from all the cheering.

I can't even explain walking into the stadium.  The roar of the crowd was so insane - I kinda felt like a boxer walking into a big arena for a fight. So sick.

After the Ceremonies were done I went to the Molson Hockey House to see Bryan Adams (who was awesome to watch) and meet up with a couple of friends.  Then back to the village, couple of cheeseburgers and rad smoothies and off to bed! 

Had a press conference this morning which was fun - played with some snowboarder action figures to demonstrate the Batcheloroll.  For those who don't know it's a toe-side trick where you basically go up the wall, drop your front shoulder into an ally-oop mctwist, then when you hit the apex of your air, you pull it into a backflip then head back down the pipe. 

I also had a fitting for my competition gear this afternoon which was awesome and tonight I'm off to another press conference and an Oakley fashion show. 

So far the experience has been amazing! 

On Monday the Canadian Olympic Committee officially announced the men's halfpipe team and it's an honour to have the chance to represent Canada in Vancouver.

Next stop - Calgary!

Appleby’s support of my career is an example of their commitment to helping their alumni after they are handed their scrolls at graduation. Their commitment to alumni development has created a remarkable community of Appleby grads, and I am proud to be a part of that community.

Appleby was generous enough to donate a portion of the proceeds from the annual “walkathon” to my Olympic pursuit. I vividly remember taking part in the walkathon every year, and am honored that the students of my former school will be walking in support of me, as well as a host of other very worthy causes. I wish I could have accepted this donation in person, but am instead writing this letter of appreciation from Argentina, where I am continuing to strive to achieve my Olympic dreams! I will be forever grateful to the school for its role in shaping me into a driven and ambitious athlete, and its continued assistance on my road to Vancouver 2010!

-Jeff
 

It’s been raining for 7 days and I think Brad, Jesse, Dustin Craven (a.k.a the couch monger) and I are both coming down with a little cabin fever. Monopoly became our main source of entertainment, and after a brutal loss (didn’t make it past GO for the first 6 or 7 turns) I decided it was time to get everyone up and out of the house.

We decided to go to the local brewery where Brewski Ale is brewed (check out the label in the photos below – pretty awesome). We arrived 15 minutes late for the tour and caught the last 5, plus taste testing. If you ever want to have some fun in North America, check out the Molson Brewery in Toronto – believe me, they are VERY generous there.

From the brewery, we decided to shoot guns at ‘Have a Shot’ – the local gun range. I managed to hit 5 of the 80 clay pigeons that I released…5. Oh well, it beats my ability to play Monopoly, so by this time the day has technically gotten better.

Another past time that we got creative with was crocket at the National Snowboard girls’ place. Interesting fact: crocket is actually a race.

What would a rainy day be without watching a couple of movies? Jesse is the movie fanatic on the road, and is stoked on ‘August Rush’, a story about a boy who is separated from his mother at birth, and finds her through the composition of music. Very touching: just let the photo sequences below of Jesse speak for itself.

Our New Zealand trip is almost over, and after 7 days of rain, we were finally hit with some snow. Treble Cone got 35cm of snow on Wednesday morning so we raced up the mountain to shoot some photos and ride some waist deep pow. If you ever want to check out some good riding in New Zealand, Treble Cone and The Remarkable are the places to go.

September 3rd, finally heading home after a grueling 2 weeks of bad weather and countless days of aimlessly walking around the house - not to mention a brutal World Cup showing. We hooked up with Pro Skiier Sarah Burke in the Queenstown lounge and found out it was her birthday…enough said.

Things to look forward to;

- Dropping into Kingston to see my girlfriend Sarah and a bunch of old friends.
- Muskoka with the family to do some wakeskating and surfing with my Dad (you can check out his site at http://www.iswarmsolutions.com)
- Argentina on the 16th with the Shreducation crew, joined by photographer Alex Browne and SBC editor Scott Birke to cover the story.
- Mustachio bashio?

The 2009-10 season is right around the corner so stay tuned for more posts on www.jeffbatchelor.com

Travel Times
1hr – Travel to Pearson Airport
2hrs – Getting through ticketing and security
6hrs – Flight to Los Angeles
5hrs – Layover in LA
14hrs – Flight to Auckland, New Zealand
5hrs – Layover in Auckland
2hrs – Flight to Queenstown
1hr – Drive to Wanaka

The sun was shining in New Zealand when we landed after our 35hr trek through miles of airports and airspace. Traveling to the Southern hemisphere is always a long journey and the time change can mess with your head a little.

When we arrived at our place in Heritage Village in Wanaka, I managed to snake the master bedroom suite with a walk-in bathroom, and a walk-in closet (home to Brad Martin for a couple of nights). The condo we’re staying in is rad; Jesse really pulled through on this place!

The sun would shine for three days after we landed, giving us some room for a solid training block. The first day we headed up to Snow Park (across the valley from Cardrona) and hit some rails and jumps. I think I might have re-aligned my spine after falling to my coccyx off a box. After feeling every bone in my back snapping out and into place, I cruised to the bottom and called it a day – a painful one at that.

The next two days were spent in the Cardrona halfpipe where the NZ Burton Open had taken place earlier in the month, and where the World Cup would be taking place. The shape was great, the pipe was full size, and I was ready to slay.

The first official day of training did not go too well. I dropped in with a brand new Burton Custom X 158, lipped out on my first hit, and snapped the board right in half just in front of my back binding. Practice = Over. I tried riding Jesses Custom, but that new base rocker was killing me (rocker is the bend in the bottom of the board).

The second and final official day of training was much better. I was landing double cripplers as well as the Batcheloroll, consistently, giving me some confidence going into Qualifiers the next day.
This is where the story quickens.

First run of Qualifiers: Front 9 to the deck of the halfpipe – over

Second run of Qualifiers: Frontside air, backside 9, front…uhhh…what was I supposed to do again? Oh yeah, front 5 (so mangled), backside air (second last hit before I throw the Batcheloroll)…

That hole I fell into at the bottom of the wall at the transition was sweet; so was planting my face into the flat-bottom of the halfpipe.

Kudos to Brad Martin (brave man) for finishing 6th over all – I don’t know if I would want to ride in a final with 90km/h winds tearing across the halfpipe.

So yeah…that was the World Cup for me.

The next 7 days were spent in the pouring rain, which made me even more stoked.*
*Insert sarcasm here

Check out more of Jeff Batchelor at www.jeffbatchelor.com
 

Tuesday was full of wakeboarding, wakeskating, wakesurfing, filming, photographing, banana-hammocking, and a whole lot of laughing. After Tommy D and Jesse showed up in respectable lime-green and red speedos, everyone knew that the great times would cease to end during these two priceless days…especially when Jesse dished out the Mexican wrestling masks.

Wednesday marked the 6-month mark until the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, and what better way to celebrate than with the greatest people on the face of the planet…not forgetting to mention some of the Rocky Crest wait staff – I’ll spare the details.

Tom Chenoweth – field and docs guy for CTV’s “Over the Bolts” – as well as Alex Browne – photographer extraordinaire – receive some brownie points for documenting these two epic days; check out photos below.
With the summer quickly coming to an end, it’s time again to kick it into high gear and get ready for a very long but seemingly short ride from now until the Olympic Winter Games. Next week Brad Martin and I head to New Zealand to continue our training, and we’re also going to hit up the World Cup while in the Southern Hemisphere at Cardrona.

Stay tuned for more posts!
 

Summer training is by far the best time of the year - there is nothing better than straight sunshine, warm weather, and of course soft halfpipes. The soft snow has been letting me send it more often than usual, and in return I’ve been throwing down.

Windells Snowboard Camp – run under the ownership of Tim Windell, a very successful pro in his day – decided that they were going to purchase an airbag (60 ft w x 60 ft l x 15 ft h) and cut into the halfpipe to allow for higher caliber tricks to be thrown without repercussion.

Mt. Hood is always my favourite place to come each year just because of the vibe and the unbelievable weather – don’t forget about our condo on a 27-hole golf course…necessary? Most definitely.
 

Qualifiers was very snowy and visibility was semi-limited. The pipe was slow, but this is where I excel. The need for amplitude in a slow halfpipe is imperative when showing the judges what you are capable of, and I was able to do just that. After first heat qualifiers, I was sitting in first place by a good four points (Justin Lameroux in second with 40.1). After second heat in qualifiers, I still stood in first with Dan Raymond now in second with a 43. After third head in qualifiers, I still stood in first with Brad Martin now trailing by one point.

Finals was held at 7:00pm (why? I don’t know), and the weather was now clear for us to throw down. The pipe was lit up to an ideal level, and the halfpipe was fast (thanks to Rod Honey; Canadian Team Wax Tech and Saviour).

I did not land one run in practice for finals, and although this would give most a punch in the confidence, I take it positively because I didn’t waste any landings hahaha. When it came down to my first run in finals, I stomped it. After landing my run and waiting for my score, I ended up with a 45.4 (2 full points higher than Mr. Brad Martin who I have to say had a wicked run).

Now I would play the wait game. Eleven people were to drop in the next run, and I would wait to see if my score was high enough to hold through second runs. It came down to Brad Martin (second last to drop after the re-wrack; I was to drop last) and he threw down. Frontside air, back 5, front 10, cab 7, front 12, BAM. As I waited in angst at the top of the halfpipe, I thought to myself, “I have accomplished the goals I came here to conquer - top 5, on the podium, cash - and if Brad beats my score, I still have a second run.

I dropped in after finding out Brad had scored a 44.4. I was ecstatic. Without even thinking, I threw another banger run for the crown (not to leave them disappointed with a victory lap of course) and attempted a backside 1260 (half a rotation more than what I previously put in my run) and nearly landed it.

Awards consisted of the usual; medals, flowers, singing, and of course poppin’ champagne - I managed to soak Mr. Martin as he was unable to get his bottle open hahaha.

The night consisted of a couple flats of Coors Light, and 30 single cheeseburgers that I ordered with the left over money from the flats. McDonalds dug deep and found what seemed to be a duffle bag for the “stack of gold” in order for Kris Decoste and I to carry everything back to the hotel. Have you ever been up for 28 hours straight? Me neither...until today.

My first run in finals left me in 8th place as I kept getting bumped down the line. The runs were ridiculous; 10-10 combos, 1260’s...wow. It came down to my second run to try and better my score. It was probably my finest run yet this year, until my last hit... I landed nose heavy on an ally-oop mctwist (a trick I’ve been doing for years) and fell into the flat bottom only to hear the big “awwwwwwwwwwwww” from the crowd, and lay in my frustration. Definitely a contending run, down the toilette. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to practice more next time.

Next stop, Quebec.

The afternoon was spent at the Coors Light beer garden at the bottom of the hill watching slopestyle practice take place.

Slopestyle finals were held on Sunday, and the competition seemed to match the level of the X-Games (so I've heard). At least three of the 16 finalists were throwing 1260's, two were throwing double-corks, and the rest of the field throwing 1080s, still a respectable trick.

Sunday was also spent at the beer garden.

Apart from the “offensive s****” that Cabral “Cabbie” Richards delivered to us last night, he had some pretty interesting things to say about interviewing and the people you choose to interview. It can go both ways in terms of a bad interviewer or a bad interviewee, and Cabbie, is definitely the opposite of a bad interviewer. Check Cabbie out at http://www.thescore.ca/programs/cabbie/

While speaking to him after his stint, we managed to come across the fact that he is going to be in Calgary next week for the Canadian Burton Open...wicked!
 

Apart from finishing one spot short of an automatic spot to the Olympics, I'm stoked on how I was able to pull through all the pain from my waste down, and post a solid result.

I'd like to thank everyone on the CSF staff as well as all of the riders out there from Canada for their support. Of course I�d like to especially thank Jesse, my coach, for his motivational support while pushing through the injuries; after all, him and I are just two guys havin' a good time.

To see more content from the World Championships, check out this years photos and my final run in the Video section of jeffbatchelor.com.

Koodos to Crispin for making finals and getting 8th. I think I’ll head into town with Brad and Justin to discuss how I will get past my first hit in my next contest; at least they made it to their 3rd.

Just so you know, the picture above was taken 3 years ago when I was there last; to give you a visual on what it was like at the WC this year, imagine nothing because that’s what you could see.