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Damian Doyle @ Kelvin Grove

So Mr. Doyle you are having a couple of days off after a busy weekend eh?

Yeah, thought I’d take the time to chill before I start work on the York Street Session. Last week was pretty hectic!

So it was the biggest street session yet, how long does something like that take to prepare beforehand?

Yeah, biggest yet. Different from all the others too, with it being in a park. Hull was a lot harder to setup having to get all the scaffolding side of it sorted first but this one was a dream location. The perfect spot to get speed and put in a decent rail line. It takes a couple of months to sort out actually getting the event confirmed and being able to use the park. A lot of the events needs come together in the last few weeks, like confirming the trucks and barriers…etc… There was myself and Campbell and Marty up in Braehead sorting things out between us

Although 50 tons of snow sounds a lot I was still surprised how much coverage you managed to get. How many truck loads were there?

I thought we’d struggle to get that much of the slope but in the end I reckon we had about 70tons. We managed to get 7 truck loads over, the groomers put in the hours for that one! I bet they did, did the warm temps help it pack down better, working on the theory that wet snow is heavier snow? Did you have to refresh it halfway through the day? It lasted better than expected, not sure if the temps helped, we just went with the theory that we couldn’t have too much. We made sure to put the most depth down on the landings and main wear patches and placed reserve piles next to the sides so we could top up throughout the day. As long as you don’t spread out the snow too thin it lasts well, that and shit loads of salt too.

What does the salt do for you?

I’m not sure on the actual science behind it but it helps bond the snow together and makes it almost icy. Melts it and then re-freezes it. We bought two Asda’s out of salt so I bet they wondered what was going on.

Ha ha. At Cas I remember you were famous for making sure all kickers in fact all transitions were all snow even if it took all week to make them, I notice in the photos there a wedge for the box. Obviously it’s because of minimal snow but would you now consider using them at the slope?

Nah, I don’t think so. They work great for the outdoor stuff but we’ve got the guys who can push snow inside so should use it. That way you’re always taking off snow even when it wears down. We use em for the rookie stuff though…they work well for that, take them in and out in 10 mins and never wear down to the point that the get ons are exposed and make new riders hang up.

Was that the first snow only urban kicker in the UK using no scaffolding?

Nah. I don’t think so? We didn’t have any scaffolding at all but I wouldn’t claim it. It was more an afterthought to put in a little back flip kicker for the crowd pleasers, we had loads of snow and Timbo (one of the shapers) suggested it.

Good old Timbo

Yeah we were stoked how well it worked and the crowd love it don’t they

There were a lot of fresh faced youngsters hitting up the rails, the Scottish scene is flying high at the minute is that all thanks to SNO!zone Braehead?

The kids were killing it. Pretty much all of those guys are from Glasgow and a few from Edinburgh. It’s maybe not all down to SNO!zone as they had the basics from the dryslope centers but I’m sure we’ve helped. It’s the only slope near that has the park nights every Thursday and Friday and it’s so good to just lap rails and get your tricks down. There are some good kids coming through there.

Who was killing it for you this weekend?

Tough one to call! Little Marcus Deans was pretty steezy, he’s getting good. Monkey was on one as well. I love watching him ride. Then there was Jonny Russell getting tech and it was sick to see Matt Leigh getting his tricks back after his ACL op. Good to see the girls pushing it too, Clare Frost has come on so much this winter. Everyone rode well; I think the atmosphere got everyone amped.

Yeah everyone looked to be enjoying themselves evens the youths drinking cider. Maybe they will be at the slope next week? Is that the goal for events like this?

Ha ha The “Neds”!!! That’s what they call chavs up there. Wicked. Some of them were pretty entertaining to watch. Yeah, that’s definitely the main goal, get out there and show people how good it is to snowboard and ski. If the kids/adults get stoked watching it and then come along to the slope we’ve done a good job. Get’s more people into snowsports!

Amen brother. So what’s next?

The York Street Session is up next on Sat 14th June. We’re in St Sampsons Square right in the city centre so it will be banging, such a rad location. This one’s a scaffolding set-up and two rails for the riders to session. We’ve got live DJ’s and MC Ferg from Burton fame is hosting this one.

Ah MC inside out coat superb… Anything else you want to mention

Ha ha. He’s pretty flash! I’d just like to say a big thanks to all the people behind the scenes that make these sessions happen and work hard on the day. We’ve got all the info and dates for events on the SNO!zone website and I am sure you’ll have em up on Whitelines too!

No Doubt, cheers for your time Damian and keep up the good work.

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