Queenstown, New Zealand – Some of New Zealand’s and the world’s finest skiers and snowboarders still managed to put on a great show at the 2012 Parklife Invitational despite a rainy Saturday night in downtown Queenstown.

This year saw the freestyle snowsports event move to Queenstown’s Recreation Ground in order to accommodate a bigger stair set structure featuring two handrails for the competitors to showcase their best tricks. With the help of some snow brought down from the mountain and the grooming expertise of The Remarkables Park Crew, the stage was set for the event’s tenth year.

At the start of the night all eyes were on the clouds overhead, but as soon as the strong field of competitors were given the go ahead, the attention of the crowd some 2,000 strong focused on the rail jam, which is now a mainstay in the Queenstown winter event calendar.

First place in the Male Snowboard category went to Eric Beauchemin from California. The DC-sponsored rider took home a check for NZ$1,800 after nailing almost every trick he went for. Gus Kenworthy from Colorado was the recipient of NZ$1,500 after he defended his Male Ski title from last year’s event with spins onto and off both rails.

The Female Snowboard winner was Orla Doolin from Ireland, who received NZ$600 and Isabelle Hanssen from The Netherlands was victorious in the Female Ski category, earning NZ$400.  Other winners included Will Wesson, whose blind 3 swap on the down flat down rail earned him NZ$500 for Best Trick, while Marlin Largerstedt received NZ$200 for Best Slam.

The weather conditions unfortunately scrapped for safety reasons a planned freestyle motocross demonstration. Kiwi Nick Franklin along with Aussies Matty Lewis and Brenton Drager were set to launch their bikes and perform tricks over the rail structure, but the wet weather meant the ramps were too dangerous to ride.

The Remarkables Ski Area Manager Ross Lawrence said that he was once again thrilled to bring the atmosphere of the mountain to downtown Queenstown — despite the conditions.

“Even though the weather wasn’t in our favor, the night was still a great success,” asserted Lawrence. “It just goes to show the passion everyone has for skiing and snowboarding that the crowd was there until the very end.  We can’t wait to bring it all together again next year.”