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Red Bull 'Butter Cup' draws local talent to ride the icy rails
by Eric Marotta | News Leader Editor
Sagamore Hills -- It was cold, but you wouldn't know it as the music echoed off the slopes at Brandywine Jan. 21 for the Red Bull Butter Cup snowboarding competition.
Dozens of snowboarders and their friends took their turns, going back up to make run after run -- even though the temperature had dropped to 8 degrees and the clock approached 11 p.m.
"All I really do is snowboard," said Noel Sehein, 22, of Stow. "It's never cold; you just have to layer properly."
Sehein, who works on cars at Streetsboro's National Tire and Battery, said this was the second time he had competed at the Butter Cup.
"It was a blast," he said.
The national touring competition was open to teens and adults who paid a $10 entry fee.
Music was provided by Austin Zimmerman, of Pittsburgh, who kept the beat going as the snowboarders slid down the slope toward ramps, hopefully to make a move that would impress the three judges.
"We're looking for completion, but there's a lot of style that goes into it," said judge Jeff Schuster, of Akron. "It's really a neat event. It only comes around once a year."
Rob Timko, of North Royalton, is an instructor at Brandywine. He made the finals.
"It's just a great time," Timko said, adding the he's able to snowboard year-round by traveling and building ice ramps in his back yard during the off-season. "It's pretty much a way of life."
A.J. O'Neil said he traveled about three hours from the Dayon area to compete.
"It just sounded like fun," he said.
At 30, O'Neil was older than most of the competitors -- and says he feels his age.
"When I fall, it takes a lot longer to recover," he said.
But even the younger competitors fall.
"I got a couple of good sticks," said Zach Robertson, a teen from Macedonia. "I fell once."
Though he didn't make the finals, Kyle Savage of Aurora, was more straightforward.
"I did pretty awesome," he said.
E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171
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