by MARC SCHULTZ

For the fourth year in a row Brendan O'Dowd and his team will bring a snowboarding spectacle to the Laurentians. Held at Mont St-Sauveur, Shakedown is Canada's biggest pro snowboard contest and has quickly become a crown jewel in the Canadian snowboard scene.

O'Dowd's notoriety as a former professional rider attracts dozens of pro snowboarders to the event, and the competition format opens the door for amateurs to compete as well. There is a qualifier open to anyone who wants to see if they can measure up to the pros, and in a strange way, the amateurs bring some of the best energy to the whole weekend.

"The young amateurs are sometimes more impressive than the pros - they're hungry and out to prove their skills," says O'Dowd, 25, whose pro snowboarding career was cut short after a dirt bike accident five years ago. This year the competition will be especially spirited, since only three out of a possible 50 amateurs are allowed to qualify for Shakedown.

The main event consists of riders trying to do the best combination of two tricks. Competitors will hit a 15-foot kicker, sending them airborne 60 to 80 feet, followed by a skateboard-style manoeuvre on a 30-foot handrail.

Shakedown will draw over 5,000 spectators to the Laurentians and is a much needed boost to a lacklustre snowboard season. This year's event will boast its biggest winner's purse yet, with $15,000 in prize money, and will be televised on MusiquePlus for the first time. We can expect each competitor to rise to the occasion and attempt to do the inconceivable, much like Chris Rotox's mind-blowing double back flip to 360 (spin) front side board-slide on the rail last year.

Before all the big snowboarding magazines roll into town and start misquoting the French language, here's a list of riders that you can look out for this Saturday at Mont St-Sauveur.

Mark Frank Montoya: 28, Denver, Colorado. MFM is one of the biggest names in the competition. He was the winner of the Transworld riders' poll for "rock star of the year" in 2004. He's the kind of guy who shows up to put his money where his mouth is; his winnings last year totalled $50,000 (U.S.).

Etienne Gilbert: 27, St-Redempteur, Quebec. His first place finish last year at Shakedown makes Gilbert the one to watch. Gilbert took first place two years ago at the Xgames qualifications (where 150 of the best riders in the world compete for just a few spots), beating out big names like Danny Kass and Josh Dirksen. It's Gilbert's unpredictable bag of tricks that make him so much fun to watch.

JF Pelchat: 33, St-Jerome, Quebec. JF's signature handlebar moustache is as well known as the man himself. He will surely get the loudest applause, being a pillar of Canadian snowboarding for over a decade. This year it might be his chance to show the kids how the grown-ups play the game.

Benji Ritchie: 23, St-Jovite, Quebec. One of Canada's best riders, Ritchie is familiar with the terrain and has managed to place in the top three at Shakedown two out of three years. If he follows up his repertoire of big air tricks with an equally big rail trick, he'll go home with the title.

Guillaume Brochu: 22, Lac Beauport, Quebec. In 2003 Brochu won both first place and Best Trick at Shakedown. Coming off a 13th place finish at the prestigious Vans Triple Crown in February, Brochu is very impressive on the rail and is capable of pushing the whole competition to another level.

Eero Niemela: 20, Ojakkla, Finland. Niemela is known for tricks like the switch 1080 (spin), where he takes off and lands going backwards. He was also the first place winner at the first Shakedown competition in 2002. Niemela is your typical young and reckless type of rider; if he keeps it under control he could ride to a first place Finnish!

Travis Kennedy: 20, Ninilchik, Alaska. Kennedy's skills on the rail are his competitive advantage, and he placed first at the Red Bull challenge last year. His shoulder injury last winter may have provided him with some perspective and he will be hungrier than anyone to go for gold.

Tyler Lepore: 24, Gibsons, B.C. Lepore's surf-influenced style makes him a double threat, since not only does he stomp big tricks, he's got the grace to make it look easy. Lepore said in an interview with ThirtyTwo that he has been working on his 900 (spin), so chances are he's going to throw it down on Saturday.

Alex Auchu: 27, Mercier, Quebec. Another seasoned veteran on the Quebec scene, Auchu's specialty is in the backcountry. If he can transfer some of that huge cliff-riding talent to the competition he could make it to the top three.

Rube Goldberg: 24, Hudson, Quebec. He goes bigger and higher than just about anybody and has that perfect snowboarder style. Has a relatively low profile on the competition scene, but gets my vote for "surprise winner" if he can find his groove.

Shakedown goes down Saturday, March 26 at Mont St-Sauveur. Qualifications Friday, March 25, Free. See www.shakedown.ca for more details