Snowboarding: X Games mark the sport for talented Will

9:45am Sunday 10th August 2008

A TEENAGER from Denholme is hoping to prove he has the X-factor' needed to forge a successful career in snowboarding.

Will Smith, 14, is one of the country's brightest snowboarding talents and is targeting an appearance at the prestigious X Games extreme sports festival.

The Parkside Secondary School pupil became involved in the sport when he was nine after his family visited an artificial slope in Halifax.

Will said: "Me and a friend wanted to have a go so we got lessons and after that I carried on and it's just gone on from there.

"It's good because it's a lifestyle. You get to go all over the world - it's really fun."

The GB snowboarding squad member has competed in France and the Czech Republic in recent months and rates his 19th at the European Open junior event in Laax, Switzerland, against rivals from across the world, as one of his best performances.

Will, who trains up to four nights a week, also grabbed a gold and bronze medal at a British Snow Tour event in Halifax last month.

The youngster has now been handed £1,000 funding from Bradford Council and Sports Aid to help with travel costs as he tries to fulfil his ambition of competing at the winter X Games.

The yearly winter event is held in Aspen, Colorado, and attracts around 70,000 spectators.

"My dream is to win gold at the X Games when I've finished school," he said.

Will's mum Suzanne added: "He wants to make a career out of it - he just loves it.

"It's a really nice social scene.

"They usually all meet up when they're abroad so they're never on their own.

"Teenagers all get quite a bad press these days but he's got an interest and an aim which is good."

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