Staff Writer

Boardercross snowboard racing is vigorous, bumpy mayhem.

“Guys come out of the gate trying to get to one place first and they are bumping and grinding to get there,” Dianna Olmsted, the mother of two snowboarders said.

Even though only one person finishes first, the camaraderie between racers is strong - strong enough to win awards like this year’s WCSH-6 Teens Who Care Award bestowed on Shapleigh resident Jordan Sanford for his work in establishing Tucker’s Boardercross in 2006.

The race, a part of the United States of America Snowboarding Association-sanctioned youth snowboarding events at Sunday River Ski Resort, is a benefit in memory of Olmsted’s son Tucker, who died of lymphoma in 2005 at age 14.

After four years, the races, raffles and auctions have raised more than $65,000 for the Maine Children’s Cancer Center, Sanford said.

Sanford, 16, who has been snowboarding for about 10 years, has been racing since he was 8, often against Tucker. A sophomore at Berwick Academy, Sanford was nominated by Jennifer Onken, a teacher.

“He was always faster than me, but we had fun,” Sanford said.

The two were more than a duo. Jackson Tupper, now a senior at Kennebunk High School made the group a trio so close that Tucker always took a picture of the three of them to the hospital with him when getting treatments.

“He never stepped on anyone to get ahead,” said Dianna Olmsted about Tucker.

After Olmsted died, Sanford and Tupper decided to make sure Tucker’s memory would remain alive.

At the ages of 12 and 13, the two organized Tucker’s Boardercross.

“I was too young to really understand what happened. It was hard to grasp,” Tupper said.

Sanford said the impact of their efforts became clear when the two presented a check to Maine Children’s Cancer Fund officials and toured the Maine Children’s Cancer Center in Scarborough.

“Where Tucker was would be the best place for the money,” Sanford said.

Dianna Olmsted said her son wanted other patients at the Maine Children’s Cancer Program to be remembered as well, and a fundraiser in her son’s memory is the most fitting way to achieve his wishes.

“I had no doubt they would be good at whatever they set their minds to,” Dianna Olmsted said about the success of the benefit established by Sanford and Tupper.

Sanford said the two approached the resort first, and that getting the races named in honor of their friend’s memory was one of the easiest steps.

Sanford and Tupper then approached businesses near the resort for donations of gear to raffle and appeared on a cable access show to promote the event. The first year, $10,000 was raised, Sanford said.

“I am still impressed with how generous businesses have been,” Tupper said.

Sanford and Tupper both said they get support from their parents and other friends to set up the benefit each year. Sanford is the son of Doug and Lauren Sanford. Doug Sanford is a real estate developer and owner of several properties in downtown Biddeford including North Dam Mill. 

Tupper is the son of Thomas and Birgitta Tupper of Kennebunk.

Organizing the benefit allows them to draw on individual talents. Doug Sanford said the graphics created by Tupper are always popular.

“You see the T-shirts and hoodies everywhere,” Doug Sanford said.

Tupper, who said he was just accepted to the University of Vermont to study studio art, said his artistic ability “came kind of naturally to me. It is nice I could add this to it.”

When Sanford won the national championship in a race in California in 2007, he flashed a T-shirt designed by Tupper while on the podium.

Dianna Olmsted said the approach Sanford and Tupper take to organizing the benefit impresses her. 

“They see it as a business. Then they ride each year with a passion that exemplifies the ‘Three Musketeers’ they were,” she said.

Winning the Teens Who Care award presents mixed emotions to Sanford because Tupper will not be honored as well. Dianna Olmsted has nominated Sanford and Tupper jointly in the last few years, she said. 

“I’m glad the race is getting recognized, but feeling bad for Jackson,” Sanford said. 

Presenting the award to one person when she knows both Sanford and Tupper deserve it is something WCSH-6 Director of Community Relations Debbie Small said she has to do.

“I wish we could give an award to each of them,” Small said.

Small said she suggested Sanford use his acceptance speech to highlight the joint effort of the fundraiser.

“The difficulty I ran into is the judges picked Jordan,” Small said. “You have to go with the letter of the nomination. I would be uncomfortable if it felt like we had tampered with the nomination process.”

“The beauty of what these two are doing is what is important,” said Dianna Olmsted, who survived Tucker with her husband Ken and son Evan.

Evan Olmsted is also a snowboard racer and tending to him after knee surgery caused Dianna Olmsted to miss the first Tucker’s Boardercross. She has not missed one since then.

“Now I want so badly for Tucker to be there,” she said. “Every kid wants to be a part of the stories we tell about Tucker.”

Although the racing can be fierce – “roller derby on snow,” –Lauren Sanford said, Tupper and Jordan Sanford recall a friend who never let his competitive side override fun.

“He was always out to race, but not hugely competitive,” Tupper said. “There was always a smile on his face.”

Daniel J. Ault of Brewer, Donald J. Cundy of Pemaquid, Patrick Diamond of Scarborough, Morgan Mitchell of Southport and Alexandra Morrow of Lebanon join Sanford as Teens Who Care award recipients.

Each wins a $2,000 scholarship from Maine Education Services and the Maine Community College System. Award winners will be honored at the Portland Museum of Art April 13.