We asked Burton boarder Cayley Alger to give us a recap on what went down at ‘She’ll be Right’
Read on for the behind-the-scenes story of the legendary women’s-led, snowboarding event.
“She’ll be right”: a phrase that epitomises Kiwi ingenuity and is the exact attitude that underpins this grassroots event. No FIS points were on the line, and no hands were being held in the baby park. This two-day event was designed to highlight the women that work their butts off every season to contribute to the New Zealand snowboard culture and industry.
With the support of Burton and @newzealandsnowboarding, we were able to collaborate with the keenest female riders, photographers, videographers, graphic designers, shapers and groomers from around the country. This hardworking crew not only helped build us our own park (led by Tūroa’s own Riley Davies) but also captured the action for you to stay tuned at home.
After a night on the tools with the rest of the Cardrona Parks Crew, and an episode of that nervous excited feeling when you’re uncertain but pumped for what’s about to happen, everyone arrived with that ‘She’ll be right’ attitude.
The snow hadn’t even softened, and we already had Jess McGregor hucking hand-drags over the rainbow rail. When you’ve got Zoi Sadowski-Synnott stacking clips for you, you don’t exactly ‘chill’.
The rest of the Cardrona locals, Cool Wakushima, Lucia Georgalli, Kaiya Collins, Ava Beer, Brooke Hansen and Mela Stalker, took some time away from lacing comp runs to stack clips and shots with the rest of the team. The vibes were high, we had the brainchild behind our edit, and Te Rina Adams was working hard to capture it all. Rusty Toothbrush were also in town and able to join us over the two days, with Chiara Grisorio and Alex Stewart filming, and little India out there regulating the crew.
It wasn’t until we had some of the guys timidly asking if they could ride ‘our’ park that we, firstly laughed at them referring to it as ‘ours’, and secondly, considered that on this rare occasion it may not be the most welcoming environment for them to ride through. A feeling a lot of women are all too familiar with and are therefore empathetic of. So, we didn’t ask them to kindly ‘get lost’ but instead welcomed them in. Subconsciously, we were reminded that we’re not just united by snowboarding, but also at times a bit of doubt and uncertainty too.
This a friendly reminder that if you’re passionate and out there giving it a red hot go, you’ll always be welcomed into the community with open arms.
Aside from facilitating a giant photoshoot and getting the names of those in front of and behind the lens out there, what we really hoped to do was provide opportunities. Mostly for like-minded women to get to know each other, but to also be inspired by each other and work their butts off, side by side. Which, judging by the extreme level of hanger, lack of arguments, and how much the group chat blew up later that evening, I’d say ‘mission accomplished’.
Check out the She'll Be Right final edit on youtube below:
