LAST UPDATE: March 21, 2015
One of the elder statesmen of the sport, very relatively speaking (he’s only 27!), the Eric Willet snowboard story began at age 6. Riding for 21 years now Eric is no stranger to the slopes!
Achievements So Far
In his Winter X games debut in 2010 Eric claimed silver. So he was off to a good start to the year – but went one better a couple of months later in the European version at Tignes claiming the Gold. What made this gold more remarkable was the fact that he made up his run on the way down! Talk about confidence. Maybe it was that freedom of thought that allowed him to put together such a good run.
| QUICK FACTS |
| Age: 26 |
| Stance: Goofy |
| Nationality: USA |
| Height: 5′ 8″ |
| Disciplines: Freestyle (Slopestyle & Big Air) |
| Home Turf: Breckenridge, Colorado, USA |
| WINTER X GAMES | |||
| SS Aspen | BA Aspen | SS – Tignes | |
| 2010 | SILVER | 8th | GOLD |
| 2011 | 8th | DNS | BRONZE |
| 2012 | 7th | 4th | BRONZE |
| 2013 | 16th | 7th | 4th |
| 2014 | DNE | DNE | Cancelled |
A relative late bloomer (for this sport) Willett’s break out season was the 2009/2010 season. Since then he has ranked as high as 8th in the overall World Snowboard Tour rankings in 2011, and cracked the top 10 in the Slopestyle rankings in 2013.
| WORLD SNOWBOARD TOUR RANKINGS | ||||
| Overall | Slopestyle (SS) | Big Air (BA) | Half Pipe | |
| 2008 | 574th | – | – | – |
| 2009 | 46th | – | – | – |
| 2010 | 12th | – | – | – |
| 2011 | 8th | – | – | – |
| 2012 | 19th | 20th | 2nd | – |
| 2013 | 10th | 8th | 19th | – |
| 2014 | 14th | 25th | 10th | – |
Though he says he focuses mostly on Slopestyle he surely is no mug in the Big Air either. Finishing second in the World Snowboard Tour Big Air rankings in 2011/2012 season and 10th in the just gone 2013/14 season is testament to that.
Most Successful Event?
Willett won a gold, two bronzes and a 4th place in the Slopestyle in Tignes (European Winter X games) in that event’s short 4 year history. I’m sure he has fond memories of that event but winning the Slopestyle in the Burton US Open 2011 must have also been a satisfying victory and a big help to him in cracking the top 10 in the rankings that year.
Recent Events
Eric’s most recent event at the time of writing (March 21, 2015) was the 2015 Burton US Open. Eric was only able to place 25th in that event. Eric didn’t compete in the 2015 edition of the Winter X Games.
At the last update of the World Snowboard Tour Points List Eric was currently sitting in 45th in the Slopestyle.
How old is too Old to Snowboard?
When the subject of age in professional snowboarding comes up it can be a bit deceptive. Personally I am 32 and still in the learning process and only getting better on a board. But then I don’t spend nearly as much time on the mountain as I’d like to! And I know of guys in their 60’s that get up there and shred. The founder of Burton is 60 and still does 100+ days a year – how impressive is that!
How old is the oldest rider you know? Leave a comment below.
This Eric Willet guy seems to be doing pretty well for himself at snowboarding, but then I guess with plenty of time and practice = progress 😉
I myself am nearly 34 years old and would love nothing more than to learn to snowboard because it’s on my list of goals.
Thanks for the story here.
Neil
Hey Neil. Thanks for your comments. You should def get out there and give it a go. You won’t regret it – just a warning that you may find yourself addicted! ~Nate