RND 2026: A Super Session of Monstrous Proportions

RND Movie Night & Athlete Seeding

Due to travel logistics, we arrived midway through the weather window, just in time for athlete seeding ahead of the contest weekend. Despite a week of filming already under their belts, there was a palpable opening-night energy as riders chose their drop order and collected their bibs.

Seeding was decided by a ceremonial toss of the verts: longest throw earned first pick. Ellie Weiler won and, never one to shy away from pressure, opted to drop first.

The evening also saw the premiere of Facing Giants, Ellery Manning’s story of their journey from RND 2024 to Natural Selection 2025. The film highlights not just Ellery’s riding, but their drive and perspective on snowboarding — as well as their heartwarmingly close friendship with fellow competitor Estelle Pensiero.

That was followed by WAYWARD from TOMBOY Media — a full-length documentary exploring how women have shaped snowboarding. Richly detailed and beautifully made, it’s one we strongly recommend seeing at a premiere if possible, or marking down in the calendar to watch upon its public release.

Current WAYWARD premiere dates:

• April 3-6th at Baldface Womens Ride Week
• May 1st in Mammoth for the World Quarterpipe Championship

Community Ride Day

While the athletes were filming, Natural Freedom teamed up with Burton Snowboards for a community ride day at Whitewater.

Led by Zach Aller, more than 50 riders gathered for side hits, informal races, chairlift conversations and a few beers in the sun. Industry veterans mixed with weekend warriors, and the atmosphere was refreshingly ego-free.

It was a reminder of how rare it is to see that many snowboarders riding together with no agenda beyond enjoying the mountain. A true reflection of the strength of the snowboarding community.

Contest Day

With the weather lining up, contest day arrived under clear skies and with deep, supportive snow — a sharp contrast to last year’s visibility battles.

What followed was a day defined as much by community as competition. Riders supported one another throughout: celebrating makes, offering encouragement after falls and helping steady nerves.

Highlights included:

• Ellie Weiler, who took one of the heaviest falls of the day after clipping a rock and tumbling through the cliff band on her first run. She brushed it off like it was nothing and returned with a composed second descent.
• Eva Van Vugt, who once again proved why she’s a local legend, charging into the largest, and most consequential drops in the cliff band with the remarkably calm energy one might make a cup of tea on a Sunday morning. We’re excited to watch what the future holds as her career progresses.
• Yuka Fujimori, whose creative line choice and technical riding stood out, alongside an ambitious attempt at a huge back seven off the final booter.
• Katie Kennedy, who emerged from the cliff band in full flow-state and threw in a spontaneous butter that will live rent-free in our mind for the next few weeks — a small moment that perfectly captured her style and personal flair on the snowboard.
• Stefi Luxton, Maria Hidalgo and Eva Van Vugt, all of whom impressed with fast, fluid riding between features.
• Egan Wint, who brought her trademark intensity, attempting double backflips and sending the final kicker so deep she almost landed straight in Jamie Lynn’s lap juuuuust in case he and the fellow judges hadn’t sat up and taken notice yet.

Awards

With video footage factored into the judging, results were finalised the following day at the Arc’teryx afterparty at The Royal in Nelson.

Awards included:

Tomahawk Award – Unsurprisingly it was Ellie Weiler’s opening elevator ride through the course’s cliff band that took the win for the worst slam.

Mountain Monkey – Awarded for the rider that stormed around the mountain, linking together lines like Tarzan.Marissa Crozack headed home with this one.

Jeff Keenan Approved – An award that carries real weight. Jeff Keenan used to be the benchmark of quality out in the backcountry, bringing deep knowledge and a driving force to push everything to be “proper”. Jeff sadly passed away in March of last year and so the “Most Proper” award has been renamed in his honour. It was the queen of the poked grab herself Stefi Luxton who walked away with this prestigious award.

Seal Team Sender – Yep, you might have already guessed. Local legend Eva Van Vugt earned this one for hitting the biggest cliffs of the day… twice.

Clinic Award – Subtly named for the rider who put on an “absolute clinic” in the backcountry every day. Katie Kennedy put in the work to earn this one, grinding it out every day from first to last chair lift and has been rewarded with a spa trip to finally rest what must surely be some weary legs.

Podium:

3rd — Katie Kennedy ($4,000 + NST alternate)

2nd — Yuka Fujimori ($6,000 + NST invite)

1st — Billy Pelchat ($10,000 + NST invite)

And that’s a wrap on another standout year for RND. Huge thanks to Robin Van Gyn and the team for building something that continues to push women’s snowboarding forward.

Your feeds will be full of rider footage in the coming weeks — and make sure to tune into Natural Selection to watch Yuka and Billy.​