Scotty James Wins 2015 FIS World Championship Halfpipe Title in Kreischberg

January 18th, 2015


Scotty back at home recently, making the most of some off-season vibes Image:: Simon Shiff Photography

Mountainwatch | Alex Horvath

Australian Halfpipe snowboarder Scotty James, has taken out the 2014/15 FIS Halfpipe World Championship title by beating a stacked field in Kreischberg, Austria.

Scotty won the event by a clear margin after putting down a solid first run that saw him way ahead with a well-earned 91.50. This year’s field was stacked with high profile names, including Sochi Gold Medal winner and 2013 FIS Halfpipe World Champion, Iouri Podladtchikov and second place finisher, Yiwei Zhang from China. Unfortunately Scotty crashed out in his second run, but the other riders just couldn’t put down anything to match his first. Scotty came out for his third and final run with a very noticeable winner’s grin and decided to make his final run a victory lap, jumping out onto the deck of the pipe and high-fiving his fans on his way to the podium.

Both Scotty and Torah Bright will now board a plane to head for Aspen, arriving just in time for the 2015 X Games Halfpipe competition.

Unfortunately the Kreischberg weather couldn’t hold out for the final, and the pipe was made all the more challenging thanks to the relentless rain that fell on the event. Many riders struggled in the conditions, including Torah Bright, who still managed a 6th place finish in the nighttime final.

2011 Halfpipe World Champion, Nate Johnstone, finished the event in 12th place with a 78.75 in qualifying; Kent Callister, who qualified in 2nd place behind James, finished up in 6th.

REVISION: This article was originally published with the news that this was Scotty’s 2nd World Championship title. The correction was made as in 2013/14 Scotty was the Overall FIS World Cup Champion. But in fact, the last World Champs were held in 2013 and were won by I-Pod. The FIS Freestyle World Championships are held every two years. Sorry for any confusion.