Chapter 9
We took a break for lunch (with lots of cocoa). Then the girls from our group met with Angie at the top of the half-pipe.
“Here’s the fun part, girls,” Angie announced. “Time to really show off.”
“Who are the judges?” a girl asked.
Angie pointed at a long table near the bottom of the pipe. There were four people sitting at the table.
“Those are the judges,” Angie said. “They are the head of the patrol, the head of the ski school, the winner of last year’s adult Cup, and the owner of the resort.”
Sofie whistled. “Wow,” she said.
“Yeah, they’re a good group of skiers and snowboarders,” Angie said. “They definitely know their stuff. So do your best out there!”
With that, Angie called out the first to hit the half-pipe. It wasn’t anyone we knew well.
The girl dropped into the pipe and started her routine. She didn’t fall or anything, but none of her tricks were hard.
“Boring,” Sofie whispered to me and Ana. “You have to try tougher tricks than those.”
The judges took a few moments, then showed her score: 2.5. Not bad, but not good enough to win.
Ana went next. She must have really listened to Sofie. She went for a 360 on her very first trick.
She made it, but almost fell. Sofie and I cheered like crazy.
“Good job, Ana!” I called out.
After her turn, the judges held up a 3.1. We went crazy cheering.
“She beat her score from last year,” I pointed out.
Next it was my turn. I hopped over to the top of the pipe.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Angie said with smile.
I pulled on my goggles and clipped into my board. Then, with a nod to Angie, I dropped in.
Right away, I pulled off a smooth grab with a lot of air. The landing was perfect.
On the next trick, I decided to go for a 360. But I wobbled on the landing, just like Ana had.
I guess I was a little out of practice from being in River City. After all, there’s not a mountain there that I can practice on every day.
To end my run, I pulled off a couple of clean 180s and then glided out the bottom of the half-pipe.
After cutting into a stop, I turned to face the judges and pulled off my goggles and helmet. I knew I’d done okay, but not great.
The judges lifted my score card: 3.3. That wasn’t as good as last year’s score.
Still, it was pretty good. To beat me, Sofie would have to score better than a 4.3. I was pretty sure she could do it.
A few more girls took their turns. Sofie went last on the pipe. The highest score in our group had been 3.5. That meant Sofie’s turn in the pipe would have to be pretty amazing.
From the bottom, Ana and I watched her drop in. She hit the first trick with a lot of speed.
“Wow,” I said. “She wasn’t even doing her best the other day, huh?”
Ana shook her head. “Nah,” she said. “That was just for fun. She’s really amazing on the pipe now.”
And she was. Sofie’s first trick was a 360 front grab. She stuck it perfectly. Everyone cheered like mad.
She did trick after trick. She didn’t wobble. She looked confident. She just kept impressing us.
Once, she got so much air she was able to grab the back of her board and pull it up almost to her helmet. It was amazing.
When Sofie came out of the pipe, it sounded like the whole resort was cheering for her. I know Ana and I sure were!
It only took about a second for the judges to hold up their score card. Sofie got a 4.9!
“Sofie!” I called out, running over to her. I threw my arms around her neck. “That was amazing!”
She hugged me back. “Thanks, Tess,” Sofie said, smiling. “But I’m just glad you were here to be with me.”
I smiled back. “Me too,” I said.
A voice crackled over the loudspeaker. “With a record score of 4.9 on the pipe, and a total score of 8.9 for the competition,” the voice said, “the winner for the girls 11 to 13 group is Sofie Waller!”
Angie came running over. She was carrying the trophy.
It was the same one I got to hold up for the last few years. But not this year.
“Congratulations, Sofie,” Angie said. “I’ve been watching you on the pipe this season. You really deserved to win.” She handed Sofie the trophy. Then she walked away.
“You really did deserve to win,” I told Sofie. “Even with me in the Cup too.”
“Thanks for making sure I figured that out,” Sofie replied.
Sofie took my hand and held the trophy up. The crowd cheered. It felt like they were cheering for me too.
