‘sick' day

March 30, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman

WASILLA - At Wasilla Middle School, &#8220sick day” has a whole different meaning.

On a crystal-clear Tuesday afternoon, rap music and live drum beats filled the air outside the school. Hundreds of students milled about, nodding their heads to the pulsating rhythm. There wasn't a textbook in sight.

Suddenly, the crowd of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders erupted into wild cheering.

&#8220Wow,” said one.

&#8220Awesome,” said another.

&#8220Sick,” added a third.

Totally.

The students continued to watch in wide-eyed awe as a group of four professional snowboarders (and one &#8220token skier”) continued to rip off gravity-defying tricks behind the school. One by one, the pros took turns screaming down a 30-foot plywood drop-in, reaching breakneck speed before hitting a snow jump and launching themselves high into the afternoon sun.

&#8220Shred Fest 2007” was in full effect.

The event was started four years ago by WMS science teacher Jason Moore, who was looking to find a way to motivate some of his more challenging students.

&#8220I had a bunch of slackers one year,” Moore said.

An avid snowboarder himself, Moore came up with the idea of staging a snowboarding demonstration at the school. There was just one catch - in order to participate in the event, the kids would have to hit the books.

The idea took off immediately. It didn't hurt that Moore was friends with Jason Borgstede, a pro border from Eagle River who has won medals in the X-Games. Borgstede volunteered to donate his time, Moore managed to convince the school's administration that idea had merit, and the original Shred Fest became a reality.

It's since grown into a full-blown event. Along with Borgstede, pro boarders Travis Parker, Matt Wild and Travis Reid -along with skier Logan Imlach - took part in this year's Shred Fest. In addition, Los Angeles-based deejay Robby &#8220Robot” Gonzalez provided the soundtrack, setting up his drums in the middle of the school's hockey rink.

School principal Amy Spargo said students read more than 5,000 books this year as part of the program.

&#8220That's a lot of books,” she said.

The whole idea behind the program is to spur students on, and Spargo said it's more than accomplished its goal.

&#8220This is a great way to get them to enjoy reading,” she said.

WMS student Teontre Windon, 12, said he read 20 books as part of the program. On Tuesday, Windon was doubly rewarded for his efforts. In addition to getting to watch the show, Windon also won a drawing for a new snowboard.

&#8220This is awesome,” he said, beaming after getting autographs from the five pros.

Windon said the day's events made all his hard work worthwhile.

&#8220Reading 20 books was worth it,” he said.

Borgstede - who doesn't drink or use drugs - said he and the other participants feel strongly about presenting a positive image of their sport and encouraging healthy lifestyles and behaviors among young people.

&#8220There's too many people in the world telling kids that bad stuff is good,” he said. &#8220There needs to be someone saying to these kids, ‘you don't have to be that way. You can be positive.'”

Borgstede said he gives all the credit for the event to Moore, who spent countless hours lining up sponsors, building the drop-in and hauling in snow.

&#8220He's the one that makes it happen every year,” Borgstede said. &#8220The bigger it gets, the more work it becomes.”

Moore, however, was quick to deflect the credit for the event to its sponsors, which this year included Sederholm Insurance, The Wellness Center, Steve Orr Construction, United Rentals, Safeway Scaffolds, the Mat-Su School District, Alaska Quality Construction, Henry Cottle, Gary Moore, Burton, Capita, A-M Goggles, Analog, Oakley, Signal, Wasilla High School, D.C., Ride, Edward Jones, the Donaldson family, Play it Again Sports, Red Protection, Morrison Auto Group, Mat-Su Parks and Rec, DaKine, Northern Boarder, McDonalds, Brett Ice Arena, Air Blaster, Think-Thank, Nikita, D's Screenprinting and Vitamin Water.

Without their help, he said, the unique event would never be possible.

&#8220So many people helped out,” he said.

As school buses lined up in front of the school, the day finally came to an end - but not without one last trick.

After the pros each ripped off one last move, Moore slowly ascended up the scaffolding. With hundreds of students chanting his name, the science teacher stood at the top, looking nervously down the 30-foot drop-in. His first attempt ended in near-disaster, with a nasty wipe-out at the base of the jump.

Undeterred, Moore gamely limped back to the ladder. The cheers got louder, and Robot provided a drum roll.

With his kids looking on, Moore decided to go big. His drop-in was perfect, and he hit the jump at full speed, soaring into the air.

His near-perfect backflip sent the crowd of students into one last frenzy.

Hitting the books was never cooler.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com