Last
 week,
 with
 grey
 skies
 overhead
 and
 blustery
 conditions
 Britain’s
 top
 freeskiers
 headed
 to
 North
 Yorkshire 
to 
kick
 start
 the
 summer, 
luckily 
it
 was
 not 
the 
sun
 they 
were
 after 
but
 the 
snow.
 The
 Armada
 Summer
 Heat
 Railbattle
 still
 in
 only
 its
 second
 year
 is
 now
 the
 biggest
 core
 freeski
 competition
 in
 the
 UK 
and
 is 
just 
the
 start 
of 
the 
UK’s
 summer 
ski 
season.

50 
riders 
from 
London 
to 
Inverness 
turned 
out
 at
 SNO!zone,
 Castleford,
 to
 hit 
one 
of 
the 
toughest
 courses
 ever
 seen
 in
 a
 UK
 comp.
 The
 setup
 was
 action
 packed
 with
 big
 technical
 features
 that
 would
 be
 at
 home
 in
 any
 of
 Europe’s
 top
 parks.
 With
 the
 jam
 format
 and
 big
 features
 the
 riders
 were 
forced 
to 
raise 
their 
game 
and 
once 
again 
British 
freesking 
was 
pushed 
to 
new 
heights.

In 
the 
end
 it 
came 
down 
to 
a 
30‐minute 
jam 
session 
with 
hot 
laps 
from 
the 
days 
top 
20
riders.
In
 the
 top
 section
 of
 the
 course
 technical
 tricks
 reigned
 supreme
 with
 a
 combination
 of
 270’s
 and
 450’s
 on
 to
 the
 down
 rails
 but
 it
 was
 the
 raised
 rainbow
 box
 that
 seemed
 destined
 to
 be
 the
 feature
 of
 the
 day.
 Notable
 tricks
 include
 Andy
 Bennett’s
 450
 transfers,
 Jamie
 Lawson’s
 surface
 switch
 up’s
 and
 George
 Walton’s
 cork
 3
 hand
 drag
 which
 eventually
 won
 him
 the
 prize
 for
 the
 days
best
trick.

In 
the 
kids 
category 
it 
was 
all 
about 
the 
jump 
and
 it 
was 
13 
year 
old 
Tyler 
Harding 
who 
came 
out
 on
 top
 with
 some
 super
 smooth
 cork
 7′s.
 In
 the
 women’s
 category
 Katie
 Summerhayes
 showed
 why
 she
 is
 now
 one
 of
 the
 worlds
 best
 with
 450’s
 on
 and
 off
 the
 rails.
 In
 the
 men’s
 category
 Joe
 Tomlinson 
came
 home 
in 
third 
with 
some 
super 
smooth 
cab
 2’ s
 and 
front
 4’s
 on 
to
 the
 down
rail,
 James
 Machon
 took
 second
 with
 4’s
 on
 and
 off
 all
 over
 the
 course
 but
 once
 again
 it
 was
 James
 Woods
 who
 was
 crowned
 champion.
 Woodsy
 put
 on
 a
 master
 class
 in
 rail
 skiing
 all
 day
 long
 stomping
 every 
trick 
he 
could 
think 
of, 
some 
of 
the 
best 
moments 
included 
his 
2 
on 
pretzel 
2 
out
 of 
the 
down 
flat 
rail 
and 
both 
frontside 
and 
blindside 
360 
switch 
up’s 
on
 the 
rainbow.

The
 Armada
 Summer
 Heat
 Railbattle
 is
 back
 in
 September
 for
 it’s
 second
 installment
 at
 SNO!zone,
 Milton 
Keynes 
and 
is
 another 
event 
that 
is
 not
 to 
be
 missed,
 so
 see
 you
 there.
Words
 by 
Rob
 Embling
 Photos
 by 
Joe
 Webster,
 Kerry 
Daines 
&
 Liam
Beardsmore