Nick Dirks rides the K2 Happy Hour all the way until happy hour.

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High Cascade is built on tradition. Every summer, snowboarders from all over the world make the pilgrimage to one of the few places where the stress of everyday life is non-existent. It is a constant in a constantly changing world of snowboarding. Naturally, this is the perfect setting for an event to enter snowboarding lore as one of the summer’s best, a moment remembered through the years as a highlight of the season.

And thus, Team Sports was born.

Team Sports was conceived from the thoughts of K2 Snowboarding and Ride Snowboards to be an event for campers and pros alike. Two teams, each composed of three pro captains and a squad of campers, go head-to-head with the assignment of stomping a predetermined set of tricks on a rail and a jump. Simple, easy, but most importantly, fun.

Flying the Ride colors were Spencer Schubert, Danimals and Cole Navin, while Nick Dirks, Johnny Brady and Jake Kuzyk stood behind the flag of K2. With their riders of smaller stature chosen, the captains stepped foot on the slushy battlefield of High Cascade’s Main Park to determine who would be engraved on the illustrious Team Sports trophy.

First was the downrail challenge. With judges Tanner McCarty, Pete Mullenbach, Hana Beaman and Jenna Kuklinski at the ready, the captains set their campers to the task of executing each trick with poise despite the pressure of what was at stake. After a short skirmish of presses, 270s  and switch tricks, Team Schubert emerged as the victorious one by completing all of the necessary tricks in the allotted time. Solidified as a contender for the title, spirits were high among Spencer’s contingent but missing the win by only one trick was Team Danimals, and the Minneapolis shredder’s team was hungry for a rematch.

The medium jump was where it really got started. With Nick Dirks leading the charge, the competitors commenced a session that echoed across Palmer Glacier for weeks following that day. Johnny Brady boosting the jump and the morale of his teammates, the team from K2 was looking for a comeback with stylish airs and stomped tricks. From the method to the bloody Dracula, everything was on the table.

But in the end, it was on the scoreboard of Team Danimals where the last trick was marked, securing its title and engraving in the Team Sports trophy that will remain at High Cascade for each camper to behold at each visit to camp. We’ll see you at next year’s Team Sports event, ready to crown another team in an event that will be a fixture at High Cascade for many summers to come.