STATE COLLEGE — The downtown area scored major style points as it hosted the Red Bull Butter Cup snowboarding contest on Friday.
The company spent the day setting up a ramp in the parking lot on South Garner Street, then piled on three truckloads of snow from Seven Springs, a Pittsburgh-area ski resort, and flipped on the floodlights as night fell.
Music blared, lights flashed and emcees sparred in the lead-up to the second annual event. The strange scene draw in a festive crowd, composed mostly of Penn State students.
“You don’t see this every day,” said Lauren Williams, a Penn State student who made sure to be at the event after watching and enjoying it last year, at the inaugural event in State College.
The riders were scored for how expertly they performed buttercups, or spins and hops performed on the tail and side section of their boards.
Competing in 10 minute heats, almost 100 riders took turns jibbing, bonking and tapping across smooth plastic pads, vying for prizes that included cash and gear.
Andy Davis, 26, last year’s winner, led a group of boarding friends from Seven Springs back to State College to compete again this year.
“It’s fun have all my riding buddies here and to perform in front of a crowd,” he said.
Davis won $550 last year, and he said he was hoping for a repeat so he could replenish his bank account, which becomes depleted this time of year due to his frequent trips to Seven Springs.
“I need that money for gas,” Davis said.
The crowd of at least 100 cheered all the tricks the competitors pulled off, and loudest for those that weren’t. One competitor missed his entrance to a feature entirely, thudding against the plastic box and drawing sympathetic gasps. He got a round of applause — but no points from the judges — for swimming across the feature on his belly.
Trevor Eichelberger, 16, of Cranberry Township in Butler County, was one of the first to compete. He wowed the judges with his impressive balance and smooth style.
“It’s a really cool competition,” he said. “It was a long drive for me, but totally worth it.”
Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.
