The weather forecast predicted the day of the O'Neill Pleasure Jam Finals to be a windy one – and windy it was indeed! In order to guarantee safe and fair conditions for all riders, the contest was rescheduled to 9.15 a.m. The girls were up first, showing us some fine shred action that made the sun come out again to see the spectacle for himself. Then it was up to the male riders to show the cheering crowd how it’s done. Even though the weather conditions improved with the start of their first run, it gradually worsened as the contest moved on. But that did not diminish the awesome mood in the chill area. Packed with comfy deck chairs and seat cushions, plenty of drinks and snacks, the audience was in for a real treat at the finals today!

Defending champion Aimee Fuller was once again the shining star of the contest. Pulling out her sickest moves, Aimee stomped the finals already in the first run and managed to keep her role as favorite female rider until the end of the contest. In addition to a phat prize money of USD 2.000,-, Aimee also creamed off an invitation to the TTR 5Star Points Red Bull Nanshan Open 2013 in China. Aimee about this year’s Pleasure Jam:

“I absolutely love this place, I mean, Dachstein is great, the course is awesome, we`ve been super lucky with the weather. I gave it my all and I managed my run. Not what I hoped but I landed on my feet. It was a good event.”

Swiss rider Isabel Derungs impressed with both her runs and came in second, followed by Urska Pribosic from Slovenia. Jenia Goldman from Russia scored the prize for the Best Trick with a Backside 540 Indy and can now look forward to an awesome trip to the Bali Surf Camp.

At the men’s first run, Eric Beauchemin emerged as leading rider after a thrilling session, closely followed by the Austrian Werner Stock and Jamie Nicholls from Great Britain. At around 11 a.m., wind gusts of up to 60km/h hit the contest area and started to threaten a fair continuation of the contest. Just after the girls’ second run was finished with some delays due to the wind, the judges called in a short contest break to determine whether or not to continue under these conditions. After a short riders’ meeting, the judges decided to continue with the men’s second run but soon canceled the run due to the worsening conditions. Thus, it was the first run that counted, which meant victory for Eric Beauchemin, who could rejoice at a prize money of USD 4.500,-. Eric had a massive run, which he also accredits to this year’s setup:

“I liked the course much more than in the last years, they made everything a bit smaller, like one less jump, but I liked the rails they had this year. Usually there was only the wallride at the end and three jumps, but this year, it was like a straight rail and a rainbow, which really was fun.”

The second place went to Werner Stock from Austria and third to Jamie Nicholls, who also stomped the Best Trick Category with a Frontside Tailbluntslide 450 Out and secured himself a steaming 2-weeks trip to the Bali Camp, including accommodation, surf coaching, board rental and € 250,- travel subsidy by Sudden Rush & Tobis Solution. This year’s Pleasure Jam was Jamie’s fourth, and four appears to be his new lucky number:

“It`s amazing – this is my fourth year and every time I`ve been so unlucky. The first year, it was OK but I was kind of scared and nervous but that was like 4 years ago and I got into it. The second year I did my ankle, third year I fell in the finals and this year I got third and won Best Trick – so, pretty good.”

To sum up, the 10^th edition of the O’Neill Pleasure Jam powered by Opel was packed with sick shred action, thrilling sessions and high-class vibes! And the party continues: Tonight, the Jam Bang Party once again rocks the Planai Underground with massive beats by Haptic Invaders and DJ BLAH. Don’t miss it!

Final Results Woman

Final Results Woman with run scores

Final Results Men

Final Results Men with run scores