Salt Lake City resident Madison Blackley is a top competitor at the Usana Rail Jam to be held at the Gallivan Plaza during Eve (239 S. Main, Dec. 29-31, 4-7:00 p.m., late show Dec. 31 at 9:30 p.m.).
Tell us about your event.
Put on by Galvanic Design, this is an awesome spectator sport. A rail jam has riders going down or over three stories of urban street rails onto a snow landing. This is a riding frenzy. Going as fast as possible, I have definitely puked before. When you get up 40 times in a half hour it’s pretty intense.
Anyone can apply by sending photos and explaining why you should be selected.
It’s not just about riding skills; they also look for good entertainment. It’s judged by who lands the most—and best—tricks. The winner gets money and bragging rights, but the competition is really fun and friendly—not too competitive.
Three-story-high rail, that’s got to be scary.
It’s all built on scaffolding, so it’s narrow. And sketchy, because so many people are doing the exact same thing as you. It doesn’t seem safe, but somehow, it is. I won’t try things that I am too scared of.
Usana supports healthy lifestyles. What’s in your diet?
Technically, I am an athlete, but I call myself a snowboarder. That helps me let things slide. Most snowboarders drink PBR and eat potato chips.
Describe the challenges of a female pro snowboarder.
Sometimes, it has benefits, like getting away with easy tricks, almost half-assing it. The judges focus mainly on the guys, and don’t pay much attention to the girls. However, I have traveled to contests and the woman’s scoring can be way off, different than the unanimous boarder vote. Then, it feels like a waste of time. My advice to judges is to really focus on what the girls are doing, and don’t award the ones that just look good.
Aspiring female boarders should be patient. If you really want to pursue this, you have to get in people’s faces and not let them forget you.
What’s your favorite trick to pull?
Nose-presses and front-blunt 270s. Most girls don’t do these correctly, if at all. Tricks have to be proper, textbook quality. When I ride, I want people say, “Is that a dude?”
Other plans at Eve?
It all sounds cool. I’ll be mingling, checking out everything offered.
Note: City Weekly is a sponsor of Eve.
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