Whitelines Competion at Snozone MK

Last Friday was the final Whitelines  competition , and it was held at Will's home MK slope. He was really excited about it too. The Wednesday before was another late night sponsored riders photoshoot with the awesome Jools Smith. So Will got the chance to practice the park and ride with the rest of the Snozone Freestyle team before everyone else.
Friday Will rode really well with his favourite trick being a frontside thought the Whitelines down flat down rail, he was a bit disappointed he didn't make the final 8 but considering the caliber of the other riders that would have been a big ask for the little man. It's funny how his expectations of himself has grown.. Anyway he left before the end of the competition as he had taken a couple of heavy slams and was feeling really tired.. But much to his surprise he was awarded the most progressive rider of the evening winning himself a rather flashy new Ion video camera and a few Whitelines goodies.. So the little man is rather pleased with his prizes which were very kindly kept safe by Becky Menday's Dad Jeff until we could collect it all on Sunday.

Stoked with his most progressive rider prizes

So what next, well Will is having a day off school this Thursday to do some filming with some other young MK shredders for Cartoon network and then next week he is off up to Glasgow for two days of training with the GB junior freestyle team..

And then in amongst  all this excitement came a lovely new pair of Union Miniflite snowboard bindings from the lovely guys at The Riders Lounge..
Pictures to follow ASAP.

West Beach In and Out and other things

Its been a busy few weeks since the half term excitement. And Will has been having a whale of a time. So first up the was the West Beach In and Out competition in Milton Keynes Snowzone.  It was the second of a two part competition the first of which had been held up in Glasgows Bearsden dryslope. Will had not attended that one as it was a bit of a trek. but  he was definitely not going to miss a competion at his home slope.
 I do think that being his home slope allowed Will to feel much more at ease and he rode awesomely, pulling some complex tricks that earned him a place in the under 16 final. After a very long night of having fun doing what he does best,  Will came home with a sweet 3rd place and an armful of lucious prizes.

You can see a smile hidden behind the pile of prizes!

The next awesome thing to happen was that the lovely guys at Boarder Boards Snowboard shop have started a series of full page adverts in Whitelines magasine. It features some of their sponsored riders and first up was Will ! So he appears in Decembers issue which is out now !

Lastly and surprisingly the most challenging of his endevours so far was a chance to appear in a CBBC programme called the Friday Download. This was hard for the little man as he is very quiet and he was terrified of doing any talking. But the fact that he was going to be appearing with his good snowboarding friends Becky Menday and Jake Binney helped Will manage any fears he had. After some thought, he decided that he did want to take the offer up afterall.
 Its only a small riding part with very little talking ,but still it was a big deal for Will who took on the challenge and conqured some of his fears. He was told the programme is going to be part of the Christmas special on Friday 21st of December..

What a week!

Eiki  and Halldor Hellgason

It's been an amazing snowboarding week for Will. Half term stated off with a trip on Saturday to London to see the Freeze Festival. It was a really cold day but he had a great time watching the Big  Air competition  and getting autographs from the Helgason brothers and Salomon team riders  Jamie Nicholls, Matt McCormick and Will Smith.. Another highlight for Will was buying himself a new skateboard from money he saved up..

Jamie Nicholls, Will Smith and Matt McCormick

Then it was a quiet few days at home before heading out on Thursday night to join in the Capita  team tour. First stop for Will was Tamworth's Snowdome , where he got to meet US Proteam riders Scott Stevens and Jess Kimura and the rest of the uk Capita team and do a little bit of riding...He was really pleased that they both signed his new snowboarding helmet.
Thursday he met up with the rest of the Capita team at XC in Hemel  to watch them have a little skate ,before heading off to have pizza with the team. Will was pleased to sit opposite Scott Stevens who shared his love of the classic margarita pizza ..That night Will rode at Hemel Snow Center  where he had a great nights riding the freestyle park.
Saturday the rest of the Capita team went along to the Ski and Snowboard show in Londons Excel Center, but Will had a rest to recover from his late nights  as he would have quickly got bored of shopping, even if it was snowboarding gear..




Scott Stevens, Will and Jess Kimura

Sunday saw Will heading out to Manchester to ride at Chill Factor . He had a really awesome nights riding with the team and enjoyed jumping the two big gas pipes getting huge height and giving his old Mum and Dad a few new grey hairs. We were really impressed with how Will coped with meeting all the new people including a few heros, and we had a few compliments on what a modest, quiet  and talented boy he is. He certainly made us proud..

Will has a small feature

Will rode with the Salomon riders with the rest of the sponsored riders at Snozone MK earlier in the year. And it seems that he has  been given a little 'guest spot' in  one of Jed Andersons video's that has just been released. Talk about an honour to been seen  on the same  clip with an inspiring top class professional rider . Funny to think that thousands of people have seen that video ,and don't know that the little shredder in the yellow and green is our Will...

Team -vacation-jed-anderson

My Lovely New Capita Microscope Snowboard

Will outside Snozone Milton Keynes about to try out his new season Capita Microscope 125

Wham Bam Jam at Castleford

Last weekend Will went along to compete in the Indoor British Freestyle Snowboard Championships. What a difference a year makes . Will was so much more relaxed and whereas he did'nt know anyone last year, this year it felt like he was competing amongst friends as he knew so many of the competitors.

Being in the Kids cateogory he had a two run competition before getting a chance to compete in the Jam for all ages. There was  only  20 mins warm up &  Will was a little nervous and there was not much time to get used to the features. He did his two runs  and then stayed out to the Jam. This allowed the little man time to relax and enjoy the park and he really impressed a few people with his technical riding, so much so he was the only one from the Kids cateogory to survive the 50% cut of the field.  So Will ended up 4th in his age  category of 12 and under , and although he was 3 years younger that his fellow riders  he ended up  heartbreakingly 1/2 a point from finishing 3rd. Impressivelty though, by getting through the first cut of the Jam has meant that he is ranked equal 13th.

Jools took some awesome pictures of the day and it is a pleasure to include them in Will's blog..

Wow ! I'm on the poster advertising Parkstrife

I'm on the Park strife poster !

Will's latest exploits

So far it's beena very busy start to the summer holidays! This week Will went along  to Snozone  along with all the other sponsored riders to be photographed having fun on the slope doing sledging ect for new set of pictures for the company.. Watch this space Will may be the face of Snozone!
Then it was a quick dash home to pack to come up to Scotland to take part in some training with the GB team this Thursday and Friday... As well as visiting his Nana and Grandad who are lucky enough to live right next to the sea on the very beautiful South West Scottisish coast..
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Ben Kinnear took this cool picture of Will , Cameron  and Fraser  when they were bike riding  on the Scottish summer training camp

GB training camp in Saas Fee

Last week Will went along to the GB training camp in Saas Fee , Switzerland. He had a great time practicing his freestyle snowboarding and refining his technique on the glacier snow in the morning, followed by fitness training in the summer sun in the afternoon. The rest of the GB team who were very supportive and friendly, and Ben Kinnear was a brilliant coach breaking down all the elements of the tricks making it easy for William to understand what he needed to do to improve...
He worked progressively through 180's right through to FS 540 indie grabson a range of kicker sizes.
As well as snowboarding ,Will started skate boarding down in the skate park with some great tips from fellow team mates and came away some impressive brusies to show for it..The week was a definite success and Will is keen to go for the full two weeks next year..

what a view of the glacier for  afternoon training

Will's Sponsors

                                       Will's  Red Helmet all stickered up with his sponsors

Nike stair set comes to MK Snozone !

Jools Smith took some great pictures of Will on the Nike Stair set that has just taken up residence in the MK Snozone for the next month

Will Gilmore Snowboarding WAYJ

Well its been a relatively quiet few months snowboarding wise for Will, he's just been keeping his head down doing Freestyle nights at his local indoor slope mainly, but he's got a weeks summer camp of freestyle training coming up as well as a trip up to Manchester's Chill Factor next week ...


In the meantime check out Will's fab video taken from edits from his training camps with Steve Addicott over the winter.
It shows edits from Pila , Italy and Avoriaz , France.. Awesome..

Training with the GB junior team

There was a two day training session down at Hemel's Snow Center on Saturday and Sunday, and this is the first time Will's been able to attend since he joined the GB team earlier this year.Ben Kinnear came down from Aberdeen to do the training bring with him Matt MaCormick and Fin Bremner. The rest of the group were much more local and they were Callum Paton,Tomski Robinson, Becky Menday, Cerys Allen and Maisie Potter. The training from Ben was brilliant and everyone came away having tried and mastered new tricks. For Will these were switch back and cab 1's & 3's and a whole heap of spins onto and off the box. After the day's training on Saturday the group headed to XS nearby to do some climbing.. It was a really fun weekend for will and a real privalige for Will to ride with some of the best freestyle riders in the country and get a chance to be trained by Ben Kinnear.

Boarders Boards

We are really pleased to say that Will is now part of the awesome freestyle team at Boarders Boards. It's going to be great for the little man be among their sick riders many of whom the little man has gotten to know quite well whilst out and about riding. And the support from Jamie and Jim will be fantastic..

 Just had to add this totally awesome picture taken of Will from below..

Sponsored Rider Session at MK Snozone

So it was another really late night for Will this Thursday , finishing at 1 am Friday morning.. But Will was stoked to have the chance to ride with the rest of the MK sponsored riders on a really great park set up by Thom Boddington.  There are some awesome pictures taken by Jooles Smith

WAYJ Camp in Morzine

Ayla Thidling, Will Gilmore, Steve Addicott and Nathalie Silkstone

So Will has just come back from a fantastic week of freestyle training with Steve Addicott.Although it was one of the last weeks of the winter season the weather was interesting with rain, snow and poor visibility. The slushy snow meant it wasn't suitable to practice any spins off kickers as Steve didn't want to ruin their good technique. So instead Will , Ayla and Natalie got to spend lots of time in the super pipe with Steve and half pipe verteran Kate Foster, before heading up to practice backflips on the airbag in the afternoon. On the last day it snowed really heavily and after a couple of runs through the Stash they headed off to practice a heap of switch one footed tricks in the park. Will's highlights of the week were perfecting alley oop 3s out of the pipe and managing to get some air out of the pipe, especially as it was Wills first time in a half pipe.

Boarders Boards Jam

Will had a total blast last night at Boarders Boards Bash last night! He was so stoked to win fourth place especially against the talent that gathered to attend. He was "killing it" as some people have been known to say. And even almost landed his first 720 spin...  Here is a link to the nights video, look out for Will at the start of the indoor riding bit..
Parkstrife Boarders Boards Jam Session Video

..... Next well , the little man is heading for a weeks training with Steve Addicott in Morzine.....looking forward to spring snow an d sunshine ....:)

Sponsored Riders Photo at Snozone MK..

Its been a little while since we last updated.Since last time Will has attended a fantastic late night sponsored rider only photo and video session with the Salomon US team riders. He was stoked to have the opportunity to ride with pro snowboarders on an exclusive freestyle park and to stay up so late that he and his Dad got locked in at Snozone..There were some awesome pictures of the session taken by Jules Smith

This next week holds the Boarders Board Jam session on Friday  before he heads out to have another week of freestyle training in Pila ,Italy with the Why Ain't you Jibbin Crew...
Look out for the pictures soon..

Why Ain' you Jibbin Freestyle Course

Well what a fantastic week Will had. Lots of fun doing what he loves best in the glorious resort of Pila just above the Aosta Valley in Italy. He quickly made friends with fellow juniour  snowboarders and thrived under the expert training given by Steve Addicott and Kate Foster.

The snowboard park was amazing giving them all access to some fantastic features & some much needed kicker training given that Will does'nt really get as much  access as he's like to large kickers in the snowdomes.

Road trip to Italy...

Will is on his way to Italy for another fantastic week of snowboard training with Steve Addicott. He is so excited and has all these tricks he wants to learn.So we will have to see how it all goes for him. If its anything like the last camp he will come away with a tonne of confidence and a bag of new tricks . Watch this space for new pictures and videos. It's going to be a fun week for Wills little brother who is going to have his first go at snowboarding at the tender age of 4.

Some brilliants news

Well it's been a very exciting time since our last blog . Will's had some amazing feedback about his riding  all his hard work has paid off in some very positive ways.

Firstly the little man has been accepted into the GB Junior Freestyle Snowboarding team, which is perfect to help him achieve his very big ambitions. He will be joining the rest of the team on some amazing training camps both here in the UK and Europe ,and he will have essential support and advice from some of the best people in Britain.

Then last night at the Freestyle night in Snozone milton-keynes , Will learn't that he had been made part of their development team. This means he gets discounted fees on the slope , so gets to spend more time doing what he loves and represents the Snozone wherever he competes in the future. It really is a win ,win relationship because without his local slope. his riding would'nt have gotten to the level he is.

And finally he's had some lovely comments from the guys at the The Riders Lounge who have been getting great feedback about Will riding his fantastic little Capita Microscope snowboard and Union bindings. We have no doubt that having the right equipment has definitely helped his massive progress these last few months.

32 Team come to Hemel's Snow Center

Some of Wills favorite riders came along to Hemel Hemstead . They were the 32
Pro rider team and they held a poster signing and meet session before going out to the slope and having a bash  with the locals at the freestyle park specially set up for them.. The 32 guys were just so lovely and friendly to everyone including young Will, who typically clammed up and barely spoke a word..The team were impressed by his Capita Microscope snowboard with the Union bindings and signed his board as well as signed poster and JP Walker very kindly agreed to have a photo with Will..

Will's VW camper

Will at Snozone in MK

Will Gilmore at Snozone MK with his new Capita Snowboard

Will's 9th Birthday!

So today is Williams 9th Birthday. His Nana and Grandad travelled 400 miles from Scotland down to see him and spend time with us for Will's birthday and then the weekend before they head home again..
He seems pleased to bits with his presents which again are mainly lego and a huge Nerf gun.. Will post some pictures of them once they are built up. Later we are having a special meal follwed by a "Chocolate cake with chocolate filling, chocolate icing and chocolate decorations" specially requested by the young man and completed by myself yesterday...

His latest adventure was a long weekend out at Avoriaz with his Dad. They stayed at Rude Chalets so were totally looked after , had a lovely place to stay and eat & they got to play X Box every evening! Apparently it had snowed so much that the most freestyle parks were closed, so they played about in the STASH which is and awesome freestyle park made completely from wood. Some of those rails where huge ! But Will just loved it. They arrived home tired but buzzing, with Will nagging at his Dad to download the video's so we could all watch what he's been up to. Will chose the tune :)

Well the little Man had an amazing Christmas , Santa brought him all the toys he asked him for and he also had a complete Lego overload ,which kept him busy for days.. There was't much going on in the indoor slopes over the festive period although he did go to Hemel's Junior JIBJAB bash on the 23rd of December. He had a great time and came away with a few goodies including a longtee t-shirt which is just huge on him but he loves.. He made a big impression on a few people there who were raving about him and how well he rides.. " Star of the future " was said a number of times.