As that pint-sized skateboarder Tom Schaar showed us earlier in the week, there’s no limit to what the young ‘uns can achieve with a bit of support. With that in mind, Nokia have given five large to both Japan’s Ayumu Hirano and the USA’s Arielle Gold. The two young halfpipe riders are the first recipients of the Nokia Rookie Award for snowboarding:
You may remember Ayumu as the one who stole the show at the U.S. Open with a mind-bogglingly good run for an adult, let alone a pre-teen. Check out the video if you haven’t already – to quote the flummoxed onlooker, “it just doesn’t make sense”.
Arielle’s less well known for now, but we’re guessing it won’t be long before she’s nipping at the heels of fellow Yank pipe-jockeys Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter and Gretchen Blieler. Congrats to both kids for being as down-to-earth as they are precocious. Awesome!