My Blogs:
November 2nd, 2008
Feature in Snowboarder Magazine
Another girl who is dead-set upon breaking down any and all gender barriers is 17 year-old Kelly Marren. Kelly is on track to be the next Elena Hight, Kelly Clark or Gretchen Bleiler, slaughtering it in pipes across the globe and proving that there is indeed no glass ceiling when it comes to modern-day pipe riding. Locking down a spot on the PacSun USASA team as one of their standout pipe riders, Kelly showed up at Nationals, threw down a backside 9 in her run (yes, a back nine) and nearly missed the top-spot on the podium, coming home with an impressive second place finish in the Open Class. Not bad for a 17 year-old, eh? SNOWBOARDER Magazine got wind of Kelly’s talent and she was soon whisked away to their inaugural event, The LAUNCH, in which the world’s best riders under 18 were presented with the park and pipe of their dreams, and young Kelly let loose and made her impression; mainly in the landings of jumps and pipe walls, cause the girl stomped everything.
Check Out The Full Page Feature
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September 10th, 2008
New Zealand
New Zealand is the only country I know that would allow a racecar to jump a snowboard jump next to a snowboarder on an ordinary sunny winter's day. This summer was, as expected, complete with its own adventures and surprises.
I traveled down to the South Island of New Zealand to compete in the FIS World Cup. The competition didn't go as well as I hoped, but on the bright side, I still provided some entertainment for all Kiwis' watching the event. I, hands down, won the best crash of the day on a backside 900 attempt which a friend accurately described as a "half a rodeo to face deck, a face bounce off the deck, to heel edge catch on the wall, and head smack in the flats." (Don't worry Miah, no more concussions. I surprisingly walked away from the crash injury free!
Check Out The Full Story and Photo Gallery!
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August 24th, 2008
Camp Woodward, PA
Meet the Real PacSun USASA Snowboard Team
Woodward provided me the facilities to progress my snowboarding and body awareness. Also, the week I spent there instigated a unique bonding experience with a team I am so proud to be a part of. Every member of PacSun USASA Snowboard Team surprised me in some way during our stay at Woodward. This week I learned many things about our PacSun campers, coaches, and even myself:
1. Kiah Ellis may call himself shy, but he had tons of personality, spunk and personal expression, which is individual and unique. He is himself all the time, which I admire and respect.
Learn The Other 18 Things and Check The Photos!
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June 25th, 2008
Stanford, CA
Positive Coaching Alliance is a organization that speaks once a year in our school and it is a national group focused on making the sports environment more positive, but still competitive.
This year they started a board of student athletes to incorporate a kid portion into their investigations. I was named to the board and we have monthly conference calls on major issues that student athlete’s run into and this weekend we are doing a three-day retreat that incorporates meetings, lectures, sport physiologist sessions, and rock climbing and volleyball at Stanford's facilities. It should be very interesting and educational.
To Learn More Visit Positive Coaching Alliance
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June 18th, 2008
PacSun Photo Shoot at Mt. Hood
Kelly joined the PacSun Snowboard Team for a photo shoot up at Mt. Hood; check out this video clip of their day of shred.
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May 19th, 2008
PacSun Snow Team Spotlight
Kelly is this week’s PacSun Snow Team Featured Rider.
Kelly Marren Feature on PacSun Snow Site
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April 4th, 2008
USASA Nationals at Copper
Kelly took home 2nd place in the Girl’s Open Halfpipe Division this year with her huge signature methods and killer backside spins.
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March 15th, 2008
Killington Grand Prix
Traveling directly from Quebec to Killington certainly decreased the complexity of snowboarding in Vermont! I was already adjusted to the 3-hour time change and the perfect17-foot Killington halfpipe seemed simple after riding the icy Stoneham 22-footer. Additionally, I was thrilled to spend 4 days in Vermont without experiencing the much anticipated Vermont ice and rain. The pipe stayed soft the entire trip which allowed the athletes to compete comfortably and confidently. A rarity in Vermont!
In Women’s Qualifiers I landed my stock run: Method, Indy, back 5, Roast Beef, back 7, switch back 3, Tail. I was stocked that my run put me in 6th. place and qualified me into my second ever Grandprix finals.
When Coach Seth and I headed back up to the mountain after a quick snack and video review session at our cabin, the energy and crowds at the halfpipe had escalated. The band Shiny Toy Guns was playing, the halfpipe was completely lit up, and the sides of the pipe had filled with people. There was a thick layer of fog hovering over the bottom of the halfpipe that made it impossible to see an entire halfpipe run from any spot of the pipe. The organizers decided to start practice despite the fog’s persistence and, surprisingly, when we were actually riding the pipe we could see clearly. I warmed up pretty well stomping my back 7 run and trying some back 9s that were close, but not perfect. The official ruling came in and the finals had to postponed because the judges wouldn’t be able to see our runs. Instead, Rip It Energy Drink spontaneously sponsored a One Hit Contest at the bottom of the pipe so the crowd that had gathered received a little of what they came for. Lucky for me, this was the perfect opportunity for me to practice my 9s.
Landing My First 900
I hiked up into the fog and strapped in. Feeding off of my own adrenaline, the energy of the guys going absolutely huge, and the crowd exploding with cheers I dropped in. I came up to the lip, snapped my spin and came down on my board almost at full 900, but falling straight to my back. After a quick discussion with Coach Seth, I learned that I simply needed more speed. I rushed back up to the top, dropped in at full speed, threw my spin, and landed my first 900! I was overcome with emotion: shocked that I had landed such a technical spin, relieved that I had finally stuck the trick I had been working towards all season, and ecstatic that everything had come together at such an ideal moment.
March 16th, 2007
Take-Two Grand Prix Finals
Finals were actually happening! I landed my first run with a big method, Indy, back 5 mute, lean, back 7. My second run I decided to throw my newly learned back 9. As I was about to drop in Coach Seth said, “Okay Kelly. Imagine there are hundreds of dirty men yelling and screaming and throwing snowballs at you just like last night”. Apparently, that was all the motivation I needed and I was able to pull out the 900. The run landed me in sixth place.
I still I have some work to do on my frontside if I want to pull out a podium finish, but right now I am still smiling over my back 9 milestone.
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March 12th, 2008
Kelly Talks About 2008 Season
So I am back online updating my blog and the big question is where to begin, it has been an amazing season for me with many firsts for my career.
The season started out with training at the Copper Mountain early season halfpipe, which was insane and everyone seemed to be training there for the month of December. Big ups to Frank Wells for putting together such an amazing early season pipe to shred.
That lead me to my first Rev Tour Stop in Minnesota, which was tough because the weather and conditions were not too great, but I squeaked out a 3rd place. From there we headed back to Copper Mountain for the second stop on the Rev Tour and that was followed up by the third stop of the Rev Tour in Park City.
Check Out Kelly's Rev Tour Photo Gallery
Park City was my breakthrough stop of the year, where my backside method airs finally came together with solid back-to-back grabbing 540s above the lip, which helped me earn my first victory in the 2008 season. I was stoked and took that momentum into stop two of the US Grand Prix at Tamarack Mountain.
The Tamarack SuperPipe was great considering the fact it never stopped snowing… one thing I have learned this year is 22’ pipes fit my style of riding much better. And the results provided that by making my first final and finishing in 6th place.
My traveling did not stop with my next event being to head home to Squaw Valley USA for the Jeep World Tour 48Straight where I busted out my first 10’ plus method air. I could not have been happier with my family and friends all in attendance to see me take 5th place with some of the best women riders in the world.
Check Out Kelly's 48Straight Photo Gallery
My season kept rolling from there with a 3rd place finish at Mt. Hood Rev Tour Stop and earning an official spot on the Jr. Worlds Team. US Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski asked me to accompany the Team for the rest of the season and compete in World Cups and the last remaining Grand Prix.
Super stoked to travel with the team I went straight to Calgary, Canada for the World Cup Halfpipe, where I had many firsts… First World Cup Final, first riding at night and first time to Canada – period. Super pumped I flew home to Tahoe with Steven Fischer to compete in Vans Cup.
Check Out Kelly's GP & WC Photo Gallery
Unfortunately in my first practice run I did a backside 720 to deck to backflip into the bottom of the pipe on my head. Basically knocking me out of the contest… I continued to compete, but qualified 10th and they only took the top nine spots. Which was cool I need some down time and allowed me to do some interviews with Angela Sun from Snowboarder 411.
The rest of my week was pretty low-key with photo shoots around Tahoe at Northstar, Boreal and Kingvale. My season is still cranking, currently I am in Vermont right now for the last US Grand Prix. Then I am off to the Jr. Worlds in Italy, which leads me straight into the Nationals at Copper Mountain.
Check Out Kelly's Tahoe Shoot Photo Gallery
Check back for my report from Italy in a few weeks, where I am sure to have some fun stories from the road.
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August 9th, 2007
Kelly Reports In From New Zealand
Day 1
Traveling across the world with a team I didn’t even belong to didn’t seem to matter while I was packing up my snowboarding clothes for New Zealand. I was itching to be on snow again and honestly underestimated what it would be like to live with kids that had been shredding together all winter and have to be the new kid. My Mom flew with me down to LA where I was to connect to Auckland, NZ. We took advantage of the time in LA to visit the Oakley factory and pick up new gear from Chris Hotell and talk to a couple of Oakley guys. The factory is so breathtaking I love any excuse to come down for a visit. I also got to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live in LA and check up on their exciting lives. However, when I got on the airport I realized that I didn’t know most of the people who were on the trip and I was instantly nervous.
The whole plane ride (14 long hours) I couldn’t help, but question my decision. The first couple days were hard getting to know the coaches and all the new names, but I soon found how friendly everyone was and open to welcoming in the “new kid”.
The first couple days on snow felt like I was learning to snowboard again. It took time for me to re-gain the skills I had stock in the heat of the season, but each day got better. Now, I am feeling totally comfortable on my snowboard and ready for the New Zealand open, but wishing I had just a little more time to learn a couple more tricks before the comp.
Day 3
This is just a picture I wanted to include for laughs. Grocery shopping was definitely an adventure considering there were no familiar brands from the States. Bayer accidentally took nappies instead of napkins and ended up with dippers!!
Day 6
On our day off today we went into Queenstown and got to do a little exploring. We went to all sorts of little shops and I felt like I was back at home again when we found a Starbucks to warm our stomachs. I laughed when I realized the New Zealand Starbucks didn’t carry strawberries and cream or soy lattes, two drinks that pretty much define Starbucks in the States. After we went up a gondola to a place where you could go cart race and bungee jump. The go cart racing was so much fun and definitely intense as we finished the day with flipped carts, torn jeans, scrapes not from 6 days straight of riding, but from the “mellow” day off.
Day 9
Qualifiers for halfpipe were today. I was definitely nervous considering there was a start list of 40 and only 5 girls made it to semis, but there was nothing I could do but land my run and see where it put me. Before the comp Mallon asked me “What do you do well?” That was a no brainier, go big and stay smooth. That simple question put me in the right frame of mind to turn in on in qualifiers. My run was simply 6 style airs and 2 connected 5s, but I wasn’t about to learn any new tricks the day of the contest so style and amplitude were what I really had to focus on. In the end my style and amplitude was what qualified me 4th for semis ahead of girls with 7s and cab 5s and even got me shots on TransWorld Snow Website and the New Zealand Open Website.
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July 27th , 2007
Kelly Scores New Gear From Oakley
On the way to New Zealand, Kelly's layover in LA gave her a chance to visit with her sponsor, Chris Hotell at the Oakley headquarters in Foothill Ranch. She hopes to represent Oakley well in the New Zealand Open wearing the latest new Fall 2007 line of outerwear and goggles!
New sunglasses
New Outerwear Gear
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June 21st , 2007
Kelly Wins Last Revolution Stop
TIMBERLINE, Ore. (June 21) - The final stop of the 2007 Chevrolet Revolution Tour opened Thursday as Kelly Marren (Hillsborough, CA) captured halfpipe a victory at Windells.
Kelly was boosting out of the Superpipe in her final run with large method straight airs and back to back 540s. Head halfpipe coach for U.S. Snowboarding, Jankowski had this to say about Kelly, "The girls did an excellent job too, Kelly is a USASA national champ and she had some of the smoothest straight airs, all with good style - it wasn't a surprise to see her up there."
2007 CHEVROLET REVOLUTION TOUR
Timberline, OR - June 21, 2007
Halfpipe - Women
1. Kelly Marren, Hillsborough, CA, 33.6
2. Katie Williams, Bend, OR, 29.3
3. Devon Crowther, Jamaica, VT, 29.1
4. Allyson Carroll, Truckee, CA, 28.8
5. Ellen Feldman, Avon, CO, 28.7
Read the article at USSkiTeam.com
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May 17th, 2007
Kelly Enjoys Early Season Mt. Hood
Saturday in Hood was very productive. I had spent the past couple days just warming back up after months off and breaking in new boots so I was ready to get back into training. Matt Murray was there shooting and so I worked solely on amplitude.
The day was less than perfect with on and off rain and foggy weather making it difficult to see the pipe walls. Luckily, the pipe was freshly cut and my backside wall where I was shooting had the perfect amount of vert.
It felt good to get my amplitude back up. I hadn’t gone that big since I hurt my back in March and it definitely boosted my confidence. I forgot how fun it was to scare myself so bad that I thought I was going to die on the drop in but get in the air and realize it wasn’t that bad.
One problem that I had to work out was over carving on my drop and loosing a ton of speed. I wasn’t sure if it was sub-conscious because I was scared of how fast I was dropping or just an edging problem that I needed to clear up. But by the end of the day, my line was heaps better than the start.
That night we all went for dinner at the famous Timberline lodge where The Shining was filmed. Besides getting lemonade spilled all over me, the dinner was amazing and we even got some lifestyles after dinner by the lodge’s campfire. The ride back to government camp was beyond sketchy. It was so foggy it was impossible to see more than 5 yards ahead of you, but luckily we made it back without a problem. We got back and after 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and a nice shower I feel right asleep.
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April 30th, 2007
Kelly Enjoys A Fun Trip To Switzerland
Yesterday was the Swiss Championships (not the competition we came for, but a good practice for the Swiss Junior Nationals the next day). The event was such a great experience it was all open class and all the Swiss pros were present. My goal was to make it to a finals of 8 people. After a shaky first run where I let nerves get the best of me (I fell on my backside 5), all the pressure was on the second run. With some friends on the All American Team taking my mind of the competition by tying me to the starting tent and some good mental preparation, I was able to land my second run and make it to finals in 7th place. 
The finals was a Jam format so we had an hour to get as many runs in as we could and the best two counted. My first two runs were the same as my qualifying runs (backside air, frontside air, back 5, front 5 back 3, switch back 3) to get a good start under my belt. My third run, with new gained confidence after landing two solid runs I threw in my front 7 which I didn't even get the chance to practice in practice and was stoked when I stuck my whole run including my first 7 landed in competition ever! My last run I connected my 5s with my 7 which I landed with a little tail tap on the deck. I got 5th for the day, which I was really happy about.
Today was the Swiss Junior Championships which was a great event kinda equivalent to the Swiss’s version of USASA nationals so very fun, but not nearly as exciting as the Swiss Championships the day before. I got 1st which was exciting and many other members of the All American Team had a good day as well which kept the team in high spirits!
The last day was the big air contest. The big side was about sixty feet and the small side was about 40-45 feet. I had a good practice and had a lot of fun with how well shaped the jump was. I decided to go all out both runs and spin instead of a straight air run and then a spin run like most of the other girls. Unfortunately, both runs I over rotated to backside 5s instead of a back 3 complete with a loss of helmet and a good headache from my second run. I ended up getting 9th in U20 age group, but I was completely satisfied with my performance and just excited that I got to hit such a smooth fun jump and that I went for it all the way!
Our flight out was at 9 in the morning the next day, but it took about 7 hours to get to the airport so we had to leave at 1 in the morning. 
This meat that no one slept that night we just stayed up packing and talking and laughing about the trip. By the time we got the airport we had been up for over 24 hours and all crashed on our board bags, but only got about half-an-hour of seep and a lot of weird looks from random Swiss people. My fight, turns out, wasn’t until 1 and by that time I had been up for like 30 hours. I fell asleep before we even took off and woke up after we landed. When I woke up and we were still on the ground, I asked the guy next to me why we hadn’t taken off yet and he laughed and said that we had taken off and landed and that I was asleep the whole flight and just didn’t realize it.
It was a long trek back, but I was happy I made the jouney. I had such a great trip and met so many cool people that I hope to stay in touch with forever.
Kelly
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
