Happy 10th Birthday, Rock A Rail. SnowFest Premiere Wows The Hague
The first ever SnowFest The Hague at Grote Markt is a wrap, offering finest freestyle action to the Dutch audience from Dec. 8th – 10th. The big highlight of the weekend is the 10th Rock A Rail edition in the city where the Rock A Rail success story began back in the day. Annika Morgan (GER) and local Mees Oostdijk (NED) take home the prestigious anniversary titles, while Eero Haukkala (FIN) wins the DownTown StreetSki session.
The freestyle community took over Grote Markt with thousands of enthusiastic fans watching the spectacle on the 37 m long, 17 m wide and 10 m high scaffolding with a progressive and innovative setup. An urban playground which offers ample space for creativity and style. And riders delivered just that: Top-class street snowboarding and street skiing. What a show!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – The 10th edition in The Hague is a true milestone and the Rock A Rail fans filled Grote Markt on Saturday evening. Riders visibly had lots of fun with the setup and stepped it up heat by heat. At the end of the night Annika Morgan (GER) took home the win in the women’s competition, literally flying through the finals with two insane 50-50 to Boardslide 270 Outs on the Down Flat Ledge Feature and a bunch of other crazy tricks: “It’s a dream come true winning here. So stoked!” Mees
Oostdijk (NED) made the audience proud and was over the moon ending up on top of the podium! It is indeed something very special to win the 10th edition of the contest he grew up with in front of his home-crowd: „I can’t believe this happened. 10 years of Rock A Rail. It’s an honor to be able to win this year. I am so proud right now!“
Alex Klerud (NOR) showed the most creative and crazy line of the evening on the Quarter earning him the GoPro Creative Award. The Blue Tomato Stair Master Awards went to Rachida Aoulad (NED) who displayed all her skills on the stairs feature with super clean style, landing almost all her tricks. Snowboarding looks so easy when you watch the queen of rails.
PREMIERE – A first for The Hague was the DownTown StreetSki session. Skiers kicked off the SnowFest weekend on Friday and delivered an unbelievable and spectacular show for the big crowd. Rider of the day truly was Eero Haukkala (FIN) who showed some of the craziest tricks of the contest with his unique style. The riders themselves declared him the winner. A deserved yet significant honour for Eero, as this makes the win a very special one: “It was the best street ski/rail event I have ever been to!” The Best Trick Award went to Ralph Welponer (ITA): “The Hague was awesome, first time for me. I can’t wait to come back next year.” Ryan Stevenson (USA), the 2022 SnowFest Innbruck winner, claimed the GoPro Creative Award. What an overwhelming success for the first edition of DownTown StreetSki at Grote Markt.
WINTER SPORTS FOR EVERYONE – The heart of the SnowFest is the Winter Sports Village. On Sunday the ramp was open for everyone with modified features for kids and amateurs under the guidance of coaches for the so-called “So you think you can ride” session. A perfect conclusion for SnowFest The Hague 2023, with lots of kids and teenagers seizing the chance to unpack their boards at Grote Markt.
Results Rock A Rail The Hague 2023
Top 3 Women:
1. Annika Morgan GER
2. Rachida Aoulad NED
3. Paula Benito SPA
Top 3 Men:
1. Mees Oostdijk NED
2. Leon Gütl GER
3. Fabian Fraidl AUT
(4. Jesse Augustinus NED)
Blue Tomato Stair Master Award: Rachida Aoulad NED
GoPro Creative Award: Alex Klerud NOR
Results DownTown StreetSki The Hague
Best Overall Rider: Eero Haukkala (FIN)
Best Trick: Ralph Welponer (ITA)
GoPro Creative Award: Ryan Stevenson (USA)
