What it’s like going to Big Air Fenway

Months ago I heard that Polartec’s Big Air event was coming to Fenway Park. Since I was little I always wanted to go to an X-Games type of event, and I finally saw my chance. With in minutes I bought tickets for both nights.

Workers at Fenway Park did an amazing job throughout the last few weeks. They built the 140 foot tall ramp, stretching from home plate all the way to the green monster.

Famous skiers and snowboarders from all over the world came to the event for their chance to have a split the grand prize of $150,000. Olympians Ty Walker, Joss Christensen, Sage Kotsenburg, and many others were on among some of those competing.

Thursday night was the finals for the snowboarders. As soon as I walked into Fenway, I knew it was going to be an interesting night, especially after seeing three guys dressed as Wally the Green Monster, a moose, and a bear running around and photobombing fan photos.

Before the finals started, in honor of Fenway’s tradition, there was a ceremonial first pitch, or in this case, a first snowball.

The way scoring works at Big Air events the top two scoring runs count. Each competitor has to do three runs, so if you score high enough on the first two runs, you can go wild on your third without having to worry about scores. The judges deal out scores based on the type of trick done off the ramp, how much air the rider or skier gets, and how far away from the ramp they land the trick. If the competitor falls or if their hand hits the snow during the landing, points are deducted.

The finals for snowboarding were filled with flips and some spills, and was an all around good night. Two New Englanders made the top three. Julia Marino won the ladies’ portion of the night while Chas Guldemonde came in third for the guys.

On Guldemonde’s first two runs, he received very high scores, so he decided to have some fun with his last run. Before he went, he pretending to swing a bat, showing he was going to hit a homer- and sure enough, he did. His last run made the crowd go wild.

After the event, I briefly talked with fourth place Seppe Smits, a Belgian Olympian, to find out what he thought about the ramp. He told me “it did look pretty beaten up and it was really icy.” Another fan asked him if he had skied in New England before and he told us he had skied in Vermont a few times.

Friday night was the skiing portion of the event. Before practices started, I was able to meet Olympian Tom Wallisch.

Although he didn’t make the finals, he did have one thing to say about the ramp, “that jump is icy as shit.”

Every jump, trick, skid, and fall made the crowd go nuts. Olympian Jonas Hunziker became a crowd favorite with his Bruins jersey. Even with the cold and the wind, everyone there was excited and ready for a good night.

When asked how she will celebrate after the event, Silvia Bertagna, and Italian Olympian, responded with, “partying and drinking.”

Both nights the DJs made sure to play “Sweet Caroline” before the final set of jumps. Both nights this received the same response- the crowd got on their feet and sang their hearts out.

After the awards were given out, the night finished with a concert from American Authors, which originally formed in Boston.

The athletes who made the podium each received a special addition baseball bat in addition to other prizes.