Brit wins Mountainboard title

Kirkman Takes Mountainboard World Freestyle Title

Pick your sport: Snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, mountain biking, all four? Now imagine merging them all together without having to worry about an off season when planning your next weekend away. Welcome to Mountainboarding.

Last week Cornishman Tom Kirkman, 21, was crowned 2009 World Freestyle Champion after dazzling both crowd and judges at the Mountainboard World Freestyle Championships held at Bugs Boarding Mountainboard Centre in Gloucestershire, England.

Mountainboarding is the latest mainstream extreme sports creation from adrenaline junkies who dedicate themselves to pushing the limits in new and inventive ways. The sport derives from combining a snowboard deck with four wheels and pneumatic tires. Based on a similar principle as a skateboard, what sets the mountainboard apart is its size and off-road capabilities. Its robust wheels and trucks enable it to take on a huge variety of courses from grass hills to gravel tracks, from skate parks to BMX courses. For mountainboard riders the entire outdoors is their playground.

In the Freestyle discipline of the sport, Kirkman took home the top prize by beating out the world’s best riders after ‘stomping’ a multitude of tricks including 720 rotations, back flips and making several switch rodeos over 40ft dirt jumps look easy. The win was made all the more remarkable as Kirkman was on the mend after surgery to his ankle.

Despite the event seeing the world’s top riders battling it out to be crowned number one, it was a clean sweep for UK riders, as Tom Read and Joe Dickson clinched the remaining two podium positions.

For more information on mountainboarding, Bugs Boarding Mountainboard Centre and the World Freestyle Championship check out www.bugsboarding.co.uk