Sports

The latest news from Sydney-based photographer Richard McGibbon as he travels up and down the East coast of Australia covering athletes on adventures and high-action sports events and races.

Apr

2010

Easter Weekend

Bondi Bowl, Sydney

Had a great weekend over Easter. Spent my Saturday at the Five Dock jam. It was a great day with some very impressive riding, huge airs and a great atmosphere. On the Easter Sunday and Monday I spent my afternoons down at the Bondi bowl shooting skating. I had never really spent any time there before as it’s a reasonable length of trip to get there from here and I figured the scene there was as weak as it is here. Sunday afternoons down there are great though and the scene is very much alive and kicking. The bowl is a great shape and size and the park is not over-run by kids on scooters. As you can see in the shots below the spectacle attracts quite a crowd who all gather round to watch. I am looking forward to heading back down there this coming Sunday and shooting a heap more shots. Continue reading →

Apr

2010

Five Dock

Jake, Five Dock, Sydney

I caught wind of a BMX jam going on this Saturday at the not-so-local Five Dock skate park. There was also a visit to Hell on Wheels in Newtown by then Triplesix Distribution team who are on a roadtrip. I missed the meet in the shop but caught up with some of the riders as they came to Five Dock for a sunset session. The guys hit the park bigtime with super smooth runs and big airs. They will be hanging around for the competition on Saturday. If the level of riding that I saw this evening is anything to go by it should be a great day on Saturday. I will definitely be getting myself over there and shooting plenty on the day. Continue reading →

Mar

2010

Dirt Sessions

: Dirt Sessions, Sydney, Australia

Finally managed to link up with some guys hitting the dirt jumps on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and had a great day shooting with them. They had a bit of a jam session and invited me along to get a few shots. Around 30 people turned up at different stages throughout the day and a lot of riding done. Many thanks to Josh for giving me the heads up and thanks to all who were there and kind enough to let me shoot. Cheers guys. Continue reading →

Feb

2010

Local Skate Session

Had a chance to link up with some local skaters this week. Good to be shooting some action again. There is only so many sunrises I can shoot. Need a bit of refining still to get to the stage where I am happy with the shots of urban sports, not quite the same as having the magnificent mountain panoramas in the background. Hopefully will be shooting a lot more with them and some others over the coming weeks. In fact….time to head out right now and see who is out and about. My thanks goes to Olly West and Boarders skate shop in Brookvale for helping me line up the shoots.

Jan

2010

Candide Thovex, Skiing Magazine, Germany.

A new image in Germany’s Skiing magazine. The shot is of Candide Thovex, taken while skiing around the Rendl side of St. Anton in Austria. The rest of the mountain was a complete whiteout and even down below the tree line the light was very flat, but such good snow. This is a secret little location tucked away in amongst a few trees. When the visibility is poor you need to head to the trees for some definition and contrast.

A shot of Candide Thovex for Skiing Magazine, Germany

Dec

2009

Aline Bock: Snowboard

The winter season of 2008/2009 saw German snowboarder Aline Bock make her entrance into the Womens Snowboard leg of the Freeride World Tour. Her smooth and easygoing style led her 2nd overall in the 2009 season. This season she is looking to step it up a notch and take the top spot……so long as it is all in the name of fun.

Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.

Nationality:
German

Home Mountain:
Innsbruck/Nordpark

Sponsors:
Roxy, Völkl, Deeluxe, Ortovox

Favourite board:
The new Völkl Freeride Freestyle Board – Eco Cashew 157

Favourite spot:
Arlberg/Austria

What other sports are you into?
Surfing (Longboarding)

You are surfing regularly in summer these days. Is this something that you are looking to pursue further or something that something that is just for yourself?
I would love to compete in a Longboard competition soon and see if I can perform well….
That would be so much fun, I think… But I will take my time for that as I really try to never become last

Aline surfing at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia

How did you first get involved in snowboarding?
My whole family (one sister and one brother) were somehow always into sports. My parents were ski instructors in former times, so we always went to the mountains to go skiing, biking, hiking etc…
When I was 12, my dad bought me, my sister and my brother a snowboard for Christmas…we were all really excited…… I started snowboarding two years later (1997) and I loved it….!!! I always went snowboarding with the guys from my hometown Überlingen – unfortunately there were no other girls who wanted to hit some kickers. But I did not care, I was addicted and loved riding with the guys!!!
Since then snowboarding is a big part of my life (13 years now), a passion, a hobby, a job….
I started with freestyle halfpipe competitions when i was 15 years old and changed to slopestyle some years later. It has always been fun to travel to different places and parks to meet other riders, to compete, take photos or film etc., but there was and is nothing better than a powder day with friends at home .
I never heard a lot about freeriding competitions until I entered my first Freeride World Qualifier in Austria/Montafon 2 seasons ago. It was just too much fun riding some nice faces in perfect conditions. The fact that you can express yourself and your riding style being creative with choosing a line took my full attention. So here I am now, being a rider of the Freeride World Tour trying to integrate my freestyle background in my runs. It went really good so I ended up 2nd at the overall Freeride World Tour ranking.

Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.

Do you think your freestyle background helped you on the Freeride World Tour?
I definitely think it helped me a lot as I love to jump off some cliffs and do tricks. My goal is to integrate more freestyle tricks in my runs in the future. In Sochi/Russia I just focused on some jumps in my run and I think it was the reason that I have won. So I keep on riding with the passion for some freestyle. I hope it will work out.

Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.

Will you be going on the tour again this year?
YES, that´s the plan for now

Any plans to compete in any freestyle or halfpipe contests again?
I think it is almost impossible to do both, as I have a really tight schedule with the tour. But I am totally fine with that, as a freeride competition is also a freestyle competition for me. -As long as I try to integrate some tricks in my runs.

What’s your Favourite Country?
As I haven’t discovered the world yet, I cannot tell…But I really like Portugal as I have spent some time there just now. I actually love the ocean and the beach, it motivates me a lot and gives me energy that I need to refill after a long season.
A country with a wonderful beach, no tourists and great waves gains definitely more points

Influences:
My family and my friends…

Motivations:
The ocean and some waves, the first snow in October and my friends who cannot wait to go riding again in Autumn… It also motivates a lot if I see some big fat snowflakes coming down on my face…

Plans for the future:
My future plans are competing at all Freeride World Tour Stops again. Plus there is an ALL GIRLS extreme sports movie planned. Fingers cross that we can make it happen.

Aline Bock, St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria.

Best Moment:
My parents surprised me at the Verbier Extreme -The final World Tour Stop – last year. I had tears in my eyes when I saw them… It was a great feeling to get their support!

Worst Moment:
Every injury is an awful moment in my sports career!

Last Words:
Don´t take it too seriously, it’s just snowboarding