8
JAN/FEB 2019
9
NEWS|
SUMMIT GIRLS WIN TEAM NATIONAL UNDER ARMOUR BULLIES LOCAL
TITLE AT NIKE CROSS NATIONALS
APPAREL COMPANY CASCADE
ARMORY
Mega-brand Under Armour (UA) sent a
cease and desist letter to up and coming
Bend apparel company, Cascade Armory.
The claim is that Cascade Armory has
infringed on UA trademark, causing “brand
confusion” and diluting their brand name.
We are talking Armour and Armory, where
is the brand confusion? These large com-
panies retain an attorney just to protect a
brand’s name, even if the other brand isn’t
making the same products. The products
that Cascade Armory makes couldn’t be
more different from the workout gear of
UA. Their line includes sweatshirts, stylish
flannels, and all types of hats and beanies.
On December 1 st , the Summit Girls XC took the team title at the 15th annual Nike Cross
Country Nationals. The race took place at Glendover Golf Course in Portland. To qualify,
teams and individuals race in eight regional locations around the country. The top two
teams in each region qualify as well as top individual runners. This was extra special for
the Storm girls because they came in third last year in Boise, Idaho and missed qualifying
but came back this year and won it all. The seven person team was all juniors and one
freshman from Bend and they will all back next year to defend their title. The National
Championship team includes, Fiona Max, Teaghan Knox, Isabel Max, Kelsey Gripkoven,
Azza Brovicka-Swanson, Stella Skovborg, and Jasper Fievet. All teams are flown in, put
up, fed and shuttled around all courtesy of Nike , who is dedicated in supporting and
building high school running.
Cascade Armory’s founder Alex Short and
his wife Diana were approved and received a trademark this past year. The day the trade-
mark was approved, Under Armour purchased a window to oppose the trademark. The
Short’s are not sure if they will fight the conglomerate. When Alex Short called the Under
Armour attorney they bullied up and told him to change the name and start over. In a short
time, Cascade Armory has built a growing fan based here in Bend and worldwide. It would
be a shame for them to have to start over. Unfortunately, big companies bully small cool
companies all the time, it’s important to support small businesses and buy local.
REDMOND’S NEW PUMP TRACK HAS
BEEN A RIDER’S DREAM
Since the new Redmond pump track opened it has become just what the local bikers
had hoped for. The park opened this past October in Homestead Park on Canal Blvd. De-
signed and built by Velo Solutions/American Ramp Company with funds raised from the
community and equipment and labor donated, the project turned out great. It all started
when a group of youngsters approached Redmond’s Parks Division Manager, Annie
McVay, and told her they needed a place to ride their bikes. Soon the ball started rolling
and the momentum built as others in the community got on board. The pump track is built
with black top, very sturdy wall rides has even attracted many ot the local professional rid-
ers. On any given day you can see people on skateboards, scooters, BMX and mountain
bikes.
I arrived one day in late November after a day of circulation in Redmond. The track was
semi-crowded but there was a grom session going on and a few parents watching. I
snapped this shot of Lathan Dunning a local ripper who was with a friend riding hard in
the park.
MARIO MENDOZA SELECTED 2018
USATF ULTRA TRAIL RUNNER
OF THE YEAR
Bend resident Mario
Mendoza, had a brilliant
year running ultra trail
races. Even having a
newborn at home, Mario
took home the title for
the second time. Men-
doza, 31, was 6th at the
Trail World Champion-
ships in Spain as well as
the USAFT 100 KM Trail
Championships. Mario
also won a major trail
race in Mexico this fall.
BEND CYCLOCROSS RACERS CLEAN CIRCUIT BOULDERING GYM TO OPEN
NEW STATE OF THE ART LOCATION IN
UP AFTER LOSING TEAMMATE
BEND
The 2018 cyclocross season had its highs and extreme lows. In October, the Bend Com-
munity was shocked to hear that Deschutes Brewery teammate Colby Nightingale had
cancer and within five weeks he was gone. A devastated community of cyclistes pulled
themselves together and “rode the rest of the season for Colby”. Otherwise, Bend racers
took home adult and youth overall titles and podiums as state champs and in the Cross
Crusade series.
BEND YOUTH RUNNERS RACED AT
THE USATF JUNIOR OLYMPIC CROSS
COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPION-
SHIPS
25 youth runners from
Bend traveled to Reno,
Navada for the XC Na-
tionals. All the Bend run-
ners qualified through
regional races in the
northwest. All of the run-
ners raced on December
8th spread out by age
groups throughout the
day. Last January, the
Rancho San Rafael Park
was the host for the
USA Cyclocross Nationals. This year the runners found a much colder setting with snow
and mud on the course. Coaches Max King and Kari Strang attended help keep the kids
focused and ready for their races. 8th grader Barrett Justema was 8th in girls 13-14 out
of 311. CORK girls 11-12 won the national team title, led by Taylin Bowen’s 6th place
finish. Girls in the 11-12 category included: Ainslie Knox, Payron Finney, Kate Hagerty,
Ava Simone, and Ella Renner.
ARMSTRONG AND RODRIGUEZ
CLEAN UP AT BMX GRANDS
The 2018 BMX Grand Nationals took
place in Tulsa, Oklahoma this December.
Several Central Oregon riders made the
trip and brought home some hardware.
Friday racing was a one day event with all
the state champions and qualified riders
from every state racing for the ROC #1
plate. Sophia Rodriguez placed first in
open class. Saturday and Sunday was
grands, Rodriguez placed first (in a class
with 55 riders) then sixth in the finals,
finishing the season #4 nationally in ten
year old girls. Three time world champion
and Bend local, Olivia Armstrong, placed
at the top in the Nag 5 Challenge and
won $800 for first. In the Grands race she
again placed first to become 2018 age
group #1 for 17-20. Now a freshman in
college in Indianapolis, Olivia mulls over
the decision to turn pro and attempt to
qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Circuit Bouldering Gym has finalized site plans and elevation drawings and they are
cruising through the city’s planning department (who seem eager to see The Circuit com-
ing to Bend). In the next few months, they will be developing a full plan set and planning
a date to break ground. The Circuit has designed a custom building from the ground up.
In addition to building a spectacular bouldering area, the light and ventilation plan will also
be specifically developed for climbing. They have taken into account the patterns of the
sun and wind and will use those to enhance the facility. This is going to be an incredible
place to climb!
At 23,000 square feet, the Bend location will be their largest facility ever. There will be an
impressive kids area and party room, similar in size to the Tigard gym and the first of its
kind in Bend. The building will also have an extensive fitness area, full locker rooms with
showers, and a cafe (with beers on tap!).
CENTRAL OREGON SNOWBOARD
COMPANY RELEASES SKI LINE
SnoPlanks recently an-
nounced the release of
their new ski line called the
Snosticks. Handcrafted here
in Bend, OR, the Snosticks
are an all mountain powder
ski available in three waist
sizes: 100mm, 106mm, and
112mm.
“We’ve been testing differ-
ent ski shapes and designs
for the past three years,” said
James Nicol, co-founder and
shaper at SnoPlanks. “We are
proud to bring these skis to
market. They are the result of
extensive hours of research
in the field and in the shaping
room. We designed them to
ride everything from the resort
to the backcountry, and with
three different waist offerings,
we feel this is a great model
to serve as the base to our ski
launch.”
SnoPlanks won the $100,000
‘Ready to Roll’ award at
the Breakout Event in 2016 and have continued to push the brand forward since. With
handcrafted shapes made primarily from bamboo, their snowboards have risen in popular-
ity and are now sold at well known retailers like backcountry.com and tactics.com. New
technology, such as seamless urethane sidewalls help differentiate SnoPlanks among
the competition while their new state of the art CNC router has allowed the company to
increase production by 50%.