Natural Selection
Travis Rice, a renowned professional snowboarder, created the Natural Selection event to showcase big-mountain freestyle snowboarding at its best. The competition is designed to challenge riders with natural terrain features rather than traditional park obstacles. Natural Selection represents Travis Rice's vision for a snowboarding competition that celebrates the natural beauty and challenge of the mountains while showing off the incredible talent and creativity of the riders.
This is an invitation-only snowboarding competition that focuses on big-mountain freestyle riding featuring a unique format where riders navigate natural terrain, including cliffs, chutes, and steep slopes, while incorporating freestyle elements like jumps and tricks.
It’s been held at various locations in the USA and Canada, including Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming and Baldface Lodge in British Columbia.
This is a head-to-head competition format where riders compete in a series of rounds, with the winner advancing to the next round. The competition emphasizes creativity, style, and technical skill, as riders are encouraged to find unique lines and showcase their individual riding style.
The event attracts some of the best big-mountain and freestyle snowboarders in the world, including Travis Rice himself.
Natural Selection has quickly become one of the most anticipated and prestigious snowboarding events in the world. It has redefined what's possible in big-mountain freestyle snowboarding and has inspired a new generation of riders to push the boundaries of the sport.
A unique and exciting event, it continues to captivate snowboarding fans and inspire riders around the world.
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The term "Natural Selection" has its origins in biology, specifically in the theory of ‘evolution by natural selection’ proposed by Charles Darwin when he introduced the concept in his seminal work, "On the Origin of Species," published in 1859.
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is one of the foundational concepts in biology. He proposed that species evolve over time, and that the key mechanism driving evolutionary change is "natural selection”, the process by which individuals with traits that are advantageous in their environment are more likely to survive.
In the context of Travis Rice's snowboarding competition, "Natural Selection" is used metaphorically to highlight the organic and unpredictable nature of riding in natural mountain terrain. The term emphasizes the riders' ability to adapt, innovate, and thrive in challenging and ever-changing conditions, capturing the essence of adaptation, competition, and survival in challenging environments.
