Ski and Snowboard Tour

The fourth and final stop of the 2012 Canadian Shield Ski and Snowboard Slopestyle tour is quickly approaching. Blue Mountain in Collingwood, Ontario will play host to the tour finale from March 22-24, and will see another $20,000 cash purse handed out. The final stop will also include the crowning of the 2012 overall tour champions during the awards ceremonies following each competition day.

With Ontario experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures this month, the onset of spring riding conditions has come upon us earlier than expected. Luckily, Blue Mountain has been stockpiling snow supplies all season and has assured contest organizers and participants that there will be a condensed slopestyle course ready for this weekend. Park staff will be consistently grooming, maintaining and fertilizing the course throughout the competition to ensure the best possible riding conditions. Event organizers have made a few modifications to the competition scheduling in an effort to ensure all competitors have the opportunity to compete on the course in its best possible state. The pro & am categories will now be practicing at 8:00 a.m. on their competition day, followed by their qualifying runs to begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. The rookie categories will compete directly following the pro & am qualifiers and each competition day will end with pro & am finals.
Thursday’s typical all-day open practice will be abbreviated to a half-day, from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00p.m. in an effort to maintain the course for the competition days. For all the current event details and scheduling refer to thecanadianshield.ca <http://thecanadianshield.ca>


There is a plethora of exciting things taking place at the Blue Mountain stop of The Canadian Shield Tour. One of the most anticipated components will be the resentation of the tour titles to the competitors who have earned the highest number of tour points throughout the four-stops. The overall standings are by no means set in stone and many categories are still open for the taking heading into the Blue Mountain stop.

On the line for the pro category is a 7-day surf trip to Eldorado Surf Resort in El Salvador. Currently Warren Williams is in the tour points lead for the pro men’s division, however his lead is narrow and several riders including Ryan Manning, Craig Gouweloos, Chris Collard and Craig Beaulieu could easily change the rankings if they place well. Similarly in the women’ s pro snowboard rankings, Jenna Blasman current holds the lead ahead of Natalie Allport, Gillian Andrewshenko and Samm Denena. Jenna has placed first at the two tour stops she has attended this year, so another strong performance could capture the title for her. The only certainty heading into the fourth and final stop is that the battle for the podium and the remaining tour points will be a must see at Blue Mountain on Friday March 23.

The pro ski categories also have the opportunity to win a 7-day surf trip with the tour title wins. The pro men and women’s ski divisions are far less ambiguous at this point as both the male points leader, Ian Cosco, and female points leader, Yuki Tsubota, have substantial leads in the tour rankings. Both skiers have podiumed at each tour stop they have attended so far this season, so they are definitely the ones to keep an eye on at Blue Mountain on March 24.

The K2 Skis amateur open division competitors have the opportunity to win a substantial overall tour prize, a 2013 sponsorship from K2 Skis. The current male amateur standings have Braedon Wheeler of Whistler, BC in the tour lead, however there are several talented skiers trailing closely behind him.

The Disney XD rookie categories will also be awarding an overall tour title and prize at Blue Mountain. One boy and one girl from both the ski and snowboard divisions will be awarded a week at Muskoka Woods Action Sports Camp. There are several competitors in the running for the Disney XD overall titles, so it is quite likely that the Blue Mountain stop will determine the overall winners who will be going to camp this summer.


With so much on the line for competitors the final tour stop of The Canadian Shield will offer spectators plenty of entertainment. In addition to the on-hill ompetition tour sponsors including Franks Red Hot, Mountain Dew, West 49,Electric Visual, K2, Salomon and Skull Candy will be onsite sampling products and giving out swag.

Following the ski competition on Saturday, March 24, Coors Light will be hosting one of their famous Coors Light COLD Parties to celebrate the completion of The Canadian Shield Tour. All are invited to join in on the fun at the Blue Mountain Inn Cafe at Blue Mountain on Saturday at 10pm. This will definitely be one party you won’t want to miss. Friday night will play host to the SBC Media Showcase happening at the Cascade Room inside Grand Central Lodge at 730pm - be sure to show up and cast your vote for the best video.

Blue Mountain Hosts 9th Annual Keep Winter Cool Event March 15, 2012

Join us for a Special Fundraising Event and Screening of the Acclaimed Film All.I.Can

We haven’t seen many snowmen around this winter causing some of us at Blue Mountain to break out a snow dance.  However, the solution to climate change isn’t so simple and to help raise awareness about environmental sustainability Blue Mountain is hosting the 9^th annual Keep Winter Cool event on March 15^th, 2012 from 11:00am – 4:00pm.  Keep Winter Cool aims to raise awareness about the potential effects of climate change and encourages skiers and snowboarders to start taking steps to reduce their own environmental impact.

This year’s event aligns with March Break and features educational, fun programs for the whole family. Meet members of McMaster University’s Solar Car Project team with one of their solar racing cars; hang out with Animal Ambassadors from the Earth Rangers team; listen to your favourite tunes powered entirely by solar energy through the Collus Renewable Energy Trailer; test out your power on the bicycle and hand-crank generators with Elephant Thoughts; and write, paint or draw on our Keep Winter Cool art mural.  Representatives from the Environment Network, Bullfrog Power, Free Spirit Gardens, and the Town of Blue Mountains will also be on site so our guests can learn more about how to Keep Winter Cool!

ALL.I.CAN FILM SCREENING FUNDRAISER

New this year, Blue Mountain is pleased to announce that it is screening Sherpas Cinema’s highly acclaimed film All.I.Can.  The movie is the winner of the Best Feature-Length Mountain Film at the 2011 Banff Film Festival and is the first of its kind to integrate discussion on climate change and sustainability into a ski film. Shot on six continents over two years, the world’s best skiers deliver inspirational performances while ground-breaking cinematography expands our vision of the natural world.

                                                                     

In conjunction with the Keep Winter Cool event, the screening will take place on Thursday, March 15^th at 8:00pm in the Weider Conference Room (Blue Mountain Inn).  Doors will open at 7:30pm.  Blue Mountain is also pleased to welcome special guest speaker Eric Novak, also known as Enviro Dad (www.envirodad.com), to MC this special event.  All.I.Can tickets are on sale for $10.00 at all Blue Mountain Guest Service desk locations.  The event will include free popcorn, a cash bar (with valid photo I.D.) and draws for a selection of great door prizes – including a 5x7™ Season Pass for 2012/2013.  All proceeds generated from the event will be donated to the Environment Network to provide funding for a variety of community environmental programs.

EVENT DETAILS

Keep Winter Cool Event and Activities

·        Thursday, March 15, 2012

·        11:00am – 4:00pm

·        Blue Mountain Village Events Plaza

All.I.Can Film Screening Fundraiser

·        Thursday, March 15, 2012

·        Doors open at 7:30pm; Screening from 8:00pm – 10:00pm

·        Weider Conference Room at the Blue Mountain Inn

·        Special Guest Speaker Eric Novak (www.envirodad.com)

·        Tickets are on sale for $10.00 at all Blue Mountain Guest Service locations and the Environment Network office in Collingwood.  All proceeds will be donated to the Environment Network.

Blue Mountain received another blast of snow and cold temperatures

Even though Mother Nature hasn’t made up her mind this year, Blue Mountain Resort is absolutely where the snow is this winter.  In fact, we currently have a deeper average base than we did at this point last year… and remember we stayed open until mid-April in 2011. How have we kept winter alive?  Well, we have amazing activities on and off the hill, not to mention Canada’s largest snowmaking system.  We have also received more natural snow than other regions in Ontario and got more than 25cm of snow over the weekend.  

And the best week of winter is right around the corner!  March Break at Blue Mountain is sure to be memorable, providing families with a great option to experience a quick March Break escape without having to break the bank or fly abroad!

What could your quick March Break escape to Blue Mountain include…

·        $39 youth day/night lift tickets

·        Ontario’s best skiing and snowboarding on 36 trails and 250 acres of skiable terrain

·        Ontario’s only Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster

·        Plunge! Aquatic Centre with outdoor pools, water slides and rope swings

·        Village activities including snowshoe tours, face painting, fire dancing, fireworks, live concert with Suzie McNeil, horse and wagon rides, pottery sessions and scavenger hunts across the resort

·        Off-resort activities through Activity Central including nordic skiing, tobogganing and snowmobiling

·        Mom and Dad can enjoy shopping, dining, night life, wine tasting and a spa experience, while the children have fun in one of our renowned Kids@Blue programs!

Our full line up of March Break activities can be found by clicking here. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about March Break at Blue Mountain or how we have managed to keep winter alive despite unpredictable weather.

Thanks,

Collin Matanowitsch

PR Specialist

Salomon Jib Academy

The Salomon Jib Academy is a global tour of slopestyle ski events for athletes 16 years old and younger.  Participants ski in groups all morning with a Salomon pro coach learning new tricks and meeting other skiers. In the afternoon there is a 10-12 person final jam session where tons of great prizes will be given out including the Grand Prize trip to Mammoth Mountain for the Jib Academy Final.  Join us as some of the region’s future stars learn new skills in the Badlands Terrain Park.

The event runs March 3, 2012 from 10am – 3pm in the Badlands Terrain Park

For more information visit:  www.salomonfreeski.com/caus/jib-academy.aspx

Other activities:

• Village Scavenger Hunts
• Plunge! Aquatic Centre
• Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster
• Crock A Doodle Pottery
• Skating on the Mill Pond
• Live music and entertainment all weekend long

We received more than 20cm of snow this week and have great ski and snowboard conditions.  To prepare for the month ahead, we did another rebuild of the Badlands Superpipe – just another reason to check out Blue this weekend!