"What's happenin' with our competitors now? Well, the first freestyle event up on Crow's Nest will be underway in a few minutes, and our favorite SSX competitors are all waiting to bust some legendary tricks. These events have been Skye's specialty on Peak One for the last couple circuits, but recently there's been a question on everybody's mind as of now: Will the newcomer Judy Hopps end bein' crowned as the new queen of freestyle? Skye's has always been set on alpine domination from the start, but who knows? Guess we're gonna find out in today's event and the events to come. As for what I'll be up to? I'll be doin' what I do best: Watchin' everything from this little booth. Now for all of the riders out there today, here's some more killer tunes, from my booth to your eardrums…"

"SSX welcomes you to the Crow's Nest freestyle events," the announcer said over the speakers, nearly drowned out by the applause.

With her trademark elegance, Skye snowboarded her way over to the starting gate, passing the other competitors that were busy getting ready for their turn on the path. The arctic vixen was cloaked in a thick coat that was a bright turquoise color, and she also wore what looked like a sparkly tiara on top of her head. She chose to wear that as a nod to the title that she had been referred to more than occasionally during her time as an SSX competitor.

"They don't call me Queen of Peak One for nothin'!" she remarked as she prepared herself for the event to begin.

As soon as the event commenced, she would have exactly one minute to complete the course and pull off whatever tricks she possibly could. They were going to be judging her based on her performance, as well as how well she executed the tricks, but she didn't feel the need to worry herself too much about that. Freestyle events were where she did the best in, where kicked tail and took names.

She gripped onto the bars of the starting gate, slightly shifting her boots in the board's straps. She let out a deep breath and got herself ready for the moment those gates opened. The blooping sounds of the countdown were heard, starting from the number five. Skye grinned with determination, feeling ready to dominate in this event and whatever ones came after this in the future.

Just like she had done before this.

The countdown reached its end, and the gates immediately opened. As soon as they did, the vixen rocketed out of the starting area and onto the path that she was acquainted with quite well. Crow's Nest had been her favorite of Peak One's designated freestyle areas, so she knew every turn, rail, and jump on it like it was second nature.

The middle of the snowy passage led to a series of small jumps, and on either side of it was a bright blue rail that she could grind across. Either way a competitor chose led to the same location in the course, however, so she went with her first instinct and made a sudden right turn. She got onto the rail that stretched a good distance and rode across it with ease. Once she reached the middle of it, she leaned forward and released one of her feet from the board's bindings, performing the trick she referred to as the Paw Surf.

Skye started to approach the end of the rail, and she placed her foot back into position as she prepared to jump. Once she got to the point where she needed to jump, she did so while performing a spin in the air. Another smaller rail waited in the heart of the course, and she was about to right onto it perfectly. She grinned in that moment; everything she had planned to do on this course was going according to her internal plan so far.

Once she landed right on the rail, the vixen slid easily to the end of it, where the big jump of Crow's Nest awaited her. The jump managed to send her high enough from the ground to perform multiple tricks, assuming that she executed them all quick enough. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

While she was in the air at this height, it was time her to perform a series of swift yet simple tricks. While they weren't exactly the ones in her book that had the most finesse, she was certain that doing them in a row like this without flaws would manage to get her a good remark from the judges.

Skye quickly took her right foot out of the bindings of her snowboard and held it out in front of her, while putting her left arm out behind her. Not even a second after that, she returned to her original position and proceeded with a different trick, sticking her left foot behind her and pointing a paw out in front her. After performing that trick for a very brief moment, she followed it up with one where she stuck the same foot out in front of her and pumped a fist into the air. It was doing these moves in these events that made her feel like she was on top of the world.

Finally, if those moves with such speed and such ease wasn't enough, she ended it with one of her more special ones. She released both paws from their bindings and held her snowboard above her with one paw, making it look like she was clinging to the end of it. She immediately clicked her feet back into the board with enough time to prepare to touch the snow once again.

Coming up in front of her was a curve that went straight up into the air, giving anyone an ability to perform another big air trick. She decided quickly to not take that opportunity, however, and made a slight turn to the right. Instead, she managed to get some air by riding the curve at its very edge. That way she managed to land another one of her go-to tricks, but also get to the end of the course in less time. Had she decided to catch some big air by using that curve a couple of times, she might have let time slip away or run out of it. And she wasn't going to let that happen, because running out of time immediately caused you to lose whatever score the judges had for you.

While in the air another time, she started her next trick by once again releasing herself from the bindings of the board. She then glided in the air with the board out in front of her, looking like Supermammal in flight.

"The best just got better!" she proclaimed out loud, clicking her feet back into the board and getting ready to hit the ground.

The way she touched the snow managed to slow her down for just a brief moment, but she immediately shook that off and made her way towards the finish line. In front of her were three rails that were a short distance from each other and didn't stretch that far. They weren't long enough for her to do some sort of neat trick on them, so she decided she would just ride across them regularly.

Skye glided smoothly across the first two rails, taking in the applause that was being directly towards her. Once she reached the third rail, she did a swift handplant before crossing the finish line. She brought her snowboarding to a stop and took a deep breath. Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her very chest, and she could still feel the adrenaline rush that free-styling on Crow's Nest gave her.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a small booth where the panel of judges appeared to talking to one another, jotting some things down on papers that they had with them. It was going to be a bit of time until she got to see the score that they gave her, but there was no need to worry.

I'm confident that they'll acknowledge my natural talent, she thought with a grin.

"Up next in today's event is Duke Weaselton..." the announcer declared.

The cocky weasel was already waiting at the starting gates for them to open. He took a moment and acknowledge happily that they managed to pronounce his name right over the announcement. He recalled quite clearly on a different radio station, less popular than the main one him and the other riders listened to, said his last name was Weselton. Was it really that hard of a name to get right?

He disregarded that for the time being, as there were more important things about to happen at this time. Not only did he have this freestyle event before him, but he had also challenged that new rabbit on the circuit to a one-on-one race. He never backed out of something that he proposed, and he planned to be at Snow Jam to duel against her and show her who really was the best.

Once he left the gate, Duke went straight down of the middle of the course, ignoring the rails on either side of him. With each small bump that showed up in his path he jumped a performed some small grabs and flips. It wasn't the most impressive start, but he was saving his better tricks for when he approached the larger jump that was coming up momentarily.

He got to the middle of the short course, and he bent down in preparation for the moment he went soaring into the wind. The moment he was hovering above the snow, the weasel slipped his paws out of his board and did a quick one-armed handstand. From there, he performed a series of simple flips.

As soon as he touched the ground, Duke then came up to the curve and bolted straight up into the air once more. He took his boots out of the board and balanced himself on his paws with his feet in the air. He did a kicking motion with his legs while airborne, flipping himself back up on his feet in time to touch the snow. Now that that was done, it was time for him to complete his run before his minute fully ran out.

Satisfied with how he had performed, the weasel boarded his way down to the finish line, only grinding over one of the rails as he completed the course.

"Our third competitor to take on Crow's Nest is Snarlov..."

As soon as his name was said over the loudspeakers, the polar bear came sliding over towards where he was supposed to start, dressed in a jacket that was bright green instead of the plain black one he had worn before. A bright scarf was wrapped around his neck, and a pair of sunglasses with colored lenses were over his eyes. He didn't wear any boots like he did in the racing events before this, and instead had only his bare paws strapped into what looked like a brand new snowboard.

"Sorry if I'm late," he said to the others. "Just had to stop at the lodge to grab some new gear."

Judy, who had just finished waxing her board in preparation for her turn in the freestyle event, looked over and noticed what he had meant by that. Up until this moment, Snarlov had rode on that snowboard that had a transparent look to it. This time, however, he was riding on a very unique snowboard that was unlike anything the rabbit had seen before. The board looked twice as long as an ordinary one, and it had a bit of a jagged appearance at the end of each side of it. Its overall design made it look like he was sliding across the slope on a block of broken ice; the bindings where his feet went looked like they could be removed easier whenever ever he wished to perform a trick.

"Wow," Judy said in awe. "That board is awesome!"

"Thanks," Snarlov said with a nod of his head. "I just got it not too long ago. Thought today'd be the perfect day to see what this baby can do. Maybe it'll be a good luck charm."

"Where did you get that?" the doe wondered. "I don't think I've ever seen a board like that at any of the shops around the peak before."

The ursid dressed in bright green shook his head. "This was specially designed just for me," he replied. "The snowboard designer I sponsored in the past was the one that made it."

"Cool," the gray leporine said. "Good luck out there."

Snarlov waved back at her before getting ready for his minute to show Crow's Nest what he could do to begin. When it came him being on the SSX circuit, the reception he had received by media had been considerably mixed. He was a bit older than some of the others that were in the competition with him, but that didn't mean that his skills lessened with age. If anything, he felt that with age his tricks got better with each passing year, regardless of the fact that some of the articles said about him "losing his touch when it came to freestyle."

As a matter of fact, he had some new tricks he had been practicing the other day, and he could not wait to try them out before the spectators rooting him on.

One minute later, he was sliding down the first rail of the Crow's Nest course. The moment he reached the part of the rail that started to curve downward, he easily slipped his paws from out of the customized board and sat down on it, riding it like it was a sled. He leaped back up and got into his original position, ready to perform the next trick once he came up to the jump.

He slid both of his foot paws out of the bindings and bent forward, making it look like he was down on all fours as he glided in the air. He then picked himself back up, leapt into the air and clicked his feet right back in like it was nothing. His actions were smooth thanks to how many times he had practiced this trick, doing it time and time again around the mountain until he did it without messing it up.

Doin' good so far, Snarlov thought as he approached the opportunity to add more points to his overall performance score. Now it's time for the grand finale!

The polar bear went to the right bolted straight up the side of the and soared up into the air, higher than the two competitors before him had, birds squawking harshly as they flew out of the nearby tree. While at this height, he executed a trick that was newest of his assortment of tricks. He slipped his feet out of the board and proceeded to lay his back flatly on it, paws behind his head and his legs crossed. The way he laid on the board made it look he was reclining back on some sort of chair.

This was one that he personally called Just Chillin'. The thing about this one, though, was that he only had so much time to perform it, and had to be very quick about his movements when he did so. If he wasn't quick enough to return to his normal position again, he would end up crashing onto the snow.

That potential situation was avoided this time, however, because he performed with enough speed that he was able to stand back up with his feet back in the bindings and land safely. He smoothly cruised down the snow that made up the final portion of the course, taking in the sounds of the crowds going wild at his performance.

"And one more thing," he said to himself with a wide grin. Freestyle events were all about quick thinking and using the best judgement when under a time limit, and he though he had a chance to do one more trick he had up his sleeve.

He approached the oncoming rail and, as he cruised forward, swiftly slipped his paws right back out of the bindings again. As soon as he started to slid to the middle of the rail, he leaped forward into the air. The snowboard continued to descend down the remainder of it, reaching the end of it just in time for Snarlov to land his paws right back into the board again.

The crowd was even more ecstatic as he finished his run through Crow's Nest. So far, if he was correct in his assumption, he drew the greatest reaction from the mammals that came to watch this event. He gave himself a round of applause as he stood still, pointing his paws to himself as he took in all of that cheering. Those mammals writing those things about him losing his touch were completely wrong. If anything, he was getting better with each year.

"I still got it," he said to himself.

Every snowboarder throughout the history of the SSX circuit had their own uniqueness when it came to their trick performance. And when it came to Nick Wilde, he was known for the spins and flips he incorporated into his freestyle routines. Though he was a newer addition to the circuit compared to others like Snarlov, he managed to create this reputation, leading to him receiving several nicknames that became universal when he was talked about on the radio announcements.

He proceeded to prove why they called him "The Flip Trick Prince" during his run at the event. As soon as he approached a jump , he turned a bit to the right in preparation for the series of tricks he had already planned. While airborne he did his signature frontside cork, a trick that was a combination of both spin and flip.

The fox landed on the rail on the side of the course, quickly following that tricks up by slipping his paws from out the board and doing a handstand on it. This was the trick similar to the one he did as an example when he helped Judy get ready for the event. However, this was a bit simplistic compared to the ones that would follow on this course.

Ascending up the big jump, he stood back up and got ready for this next trick. The vulpine floated in the air for a brief second before he took his paws back out again, grabbing the board from underneath him and holding it above him. He started to twirl it in his paw like it was a spinning top.

"Watch and learn, folks!" he proclaimed with a wide smile, getting ready to land on the snow again.

From there, the next ascension gave him another ability to do the flips that he was known for. He took that opportunity to his advantage and did so, topping that up with another uber trick he had done in the past. Clicking his feet back out of the board for the third time, he held it up to him and started to make a motion over it that looked like he was strumming a guitar. After he did this, he was pleased with how he had performed and proceeded to slide down to the finish line without doing anything else.

Next was Judy's turn to take on Crow's Nest, and her heart was pounding from the moment those starting fates opened. The races she was in prior to this were much less nerve-racking, sine it was all just a matter of trying to not let others pass you up. This, however, was an entirely different ballgame for her. This was all about what you could do when placed on a course under a time limit, with a panel of judges watching every individual trick in order to tally a score. Being granted the freedom to perform whatever tricks she pleased, showing the spectators her talents, was definitely an amazing thing, but that didn't take away from the small sense of nervousness that built up in her when her name was announced.

For the first half of her run, the doe tried her best to not let her concerns get the best of her, focusing primarily on doing her best. When she approached the portion of the course that everyone else did unveiled their greatest manuevers, all of them before her being extremely creative ones, a look of determination took form on her face. Now was the time to perform the trick she had come up with to an audience for the first time. It was one thing to practice it out in the open, such as where Nick had taken her the day before, but it was entirely different to do so for an audience of hundreds of fans that gathered to watch.

Here goes nothin'... she thought, bracing herself for the jump.

She glided across that snowy path and sailed upward. It was time for her to do this new trick that she referred to as "Lounge." Just like she had practiced in the moments leading up to this, she carefully executed the maneuver. Out slipped her paws from the board that held them securely in place, and over her head she placed it. As she held it behind her, she started to kick her legs slightly back and forth. That brief period in which she floated in the air made her feel like a bird soaring majestically through the skies, and a smile naturally came over her.

Her movements were really quick as she got ready to touch the ground, only to prepare herself to grace her audience and the judges watching this with yet another maneuver. She was about to get ready to perform Lounge for a second time, but dismissed that idea, believing that it wouldn't give her any points if she wasn't as creative.

That was when another special trick concept struck her.

The next jump didn't get Judy too high into the air, but that was quite alright to her. What she was able to do wouldn't require her to be at a great height. She proceeded to do a handstand-like move on her snowboard, similar to how the fox that went before her did. Only she was balancing on her paws; she was balancing on her long ears.

More like an ear-stand than a handstand, she thought jokingly.

The gray lagomorph speedily performed this trick before cruising across each of the short rails that were awaiting her. She soon came to a stop and took a brief moment to catch her breath. The adrenaline rush her first freestyle event gave her was incapable of being compared to anything else she had ever experienced before.

A few moments went by, and Judy went over to where some of the other competitors were now that they already performed their runs. Just like she assumed she would, she looked around and eventually saw Nick standing by some speakers that started to pump music from them once again. Not too far away from where he was standing was Snarlov, who appeared to be talking to him about something.

Judy walked to the fox, who nodded with a smile as she approached him and the polar bear. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey there, Fluff" Nick replied simply.

"Gosh," the doe remarked with a sigh, "that course surely gets your blood pumping."

"That it does," the vulpine responded. "And what did I tell ya? You did an excellent job on your first performance."

Judy smiled back at him. "Thanks. I'll have to just hold out and see what those judges say about it, though."

"Well," Nick said, "no matter what they say, you did pretty darn good in my book. Besides, you were pretty creative when it came to your tricks and stuff, so I'm certain they'll give ya a good score."

The leporine turned her attention over to Snarlov, who was standing not too far away with his new board to the side of him. "You did amazing out here!" she remarked.

The polar bear nodded and let out a chuckle. "Glad ya thought so," he replied kindly.

"I don't think I'd ever be capable of doing some of those moves you did a moment ago."

Snarlov gave his shoulders a shrug before crossing his arms. "You wouldn't believe how much practice I had to put into those tricks. Just gotta see if all of it paid off. Like ya said, it all comes down t' what them judges are gonna say about us."

"Have to wait for one more boarder to make his way down here, though," Nick chimed in. "Wolford hasn't arrived just yet."

Judy turned away from the fox and bear over towards the course she had just descended down. She started to see the figure of the wolf snowboarder making his way forward. "I think he's coming," she said to the two.

Nick looked over in her direction and said, "He's cutting it pretty close. He's only got about fifteen seconds left on his clock."

The doe wondered for a moment how he knew how much time he had left, only to look over and see the nearby screen that projected a countdown clock. The numbers blinked from white to red as each second ticked away.

From out in the distance, she saw Wolford start to do some sort of maneuver, but he didn't look like he would be quick enough to land on the snow properly. The worst possible thing came to pass when she saw the canid tumble onto to the thick snow, rolling a bit before getting himself back up once again. By the time he did this, however, he only had three seconds remaining. That was far from enough time to cross the finish line, considering how far he currently was from it. He buried his face in his paws before stopping, just as the countdown went to zero.

"Time has run out," announced a voice over the speakers.

"Oh dear..." Judy said to herself, feeling bad at what occured during Wolford's run.

She knew that if you didn't cross that line, you weren't getting any points. It didn't matter how fantastic of a performance you had in seconds prior to that. That was the basic rule for the freestyle events on the circuit.

Wolford came walking up to where Judy, Nick, and Snarlov were standing about a minute later. Even though he had just been stripped of his potential score in the event, the look on his face implied that he wasn't going to let this get the best of him. He waved at them as he walked by.

"Had a bit of wipeout," he said to them. "Gonna set me back a bit, but I'll try real hard to make up for it in the future events."

A chuckle arose from nearby, coming from Duke Weaselton. "The dude landed right into the snow," he joked.

"That's not real funny," Judy said, speaking up in that moment.

The weasel snickered before glaring in her direction. "Don't forget about our little match later, Flopsy,"

After the mustelid stopped talking and Wolford went and stood elsewhere, Judy remained silent for a short period of time, awaiting the moment in which the scores from the panel would be announced to everybody. That moment came soon enough when the ambient tunes cut out before the bass could drop.

"These are the results of today's event..." said the announcement.

The crowds went wild as the three mammals with the best scores so far stood on the long podium. On the top of it was Snarlov, who managed to get the highest number at the moment. The polar bear nodded his head as he enjoyed the moment.

"Number one looks pretty good from up here!" he said out loud, waving to the those who were applauding him and the two to this sides.

To the left of him was Judy, who managed to currently hold second place when it came to the scores. She was actually surprised herself that she managed to place this highly. The worry she had about not doing well enough seemed quite silly now that she was standing on this podium. To the right was Nick, who had the same number of his score as her, resulting in him getting third place.

A good distance away from the lit stage, Skye looked at the three. She was only two measly points away from achieving the same score that Nick and Judy had, and that got on her nerves. She could understand it if there was huge gap in between her score and the others, but two points? The Queen of Peak One felt as if she were being challenged for the right to carry the title of who was best on this portion of the mountain. And she wasn't;t willing to give up that position she held any time soon.

A Few Moments Later...

Snarlov squatted down as he continued to meticulously wax his new board, minding his own business now that the big event was complete. Everybody that came to watch them was starting to go home, and he was just getting ready to leave for his accommodation himself.

The polar bear started to hear someone coming up from behind on their snowboard, and he turned around to see who it was that was now right behind him. He looked around and saw that it was none other than a certain arctic vixen on the circuit.

"Hey, Snarlov!" she said to him in a challenging tone of voice.

"Skye," he said quietly in reply.

Skye pointed a finger to his face. "I'm gonna give you one chance to take me on in a trick challenge in the backcountry. You can take it or leave it."

Snarlov nodded his head and responded, "Alright then. I'll accept your little challenge."

"You can join me there later this afternoon," the arctic vixen informed as she started to leave. "And get ready to lose."

The ursid simply laughed under his breath as Skye left the area. He remembered hearing Judy say something a bit earlier about how she was challenged by Weaselton to a race later today as well. The last thing he was expecting to occur was a one-on-one challenge from one of the competitors, and yet that was exactly what happened.

But there was no need to get himself all worried about it right now. With how good he did at Crow's Nest today, there was no doubt that he would be the winner of the vixen's little challenge that she just proposed. If she didn't see that he was quite skilled when it came to pulling off tricks now, she would certainly figure that out in a short time.

Snarlov decided to forget about that for the time being now, though, reaching into his pocket, pulling out his Z-Comm and tapping on its screen.