The Whistler Valley Snowboard Club launches The Academy

[Whistler, British Colombia, Canada] – Friday August 11, 2006 – The Whistler Valley Snowboard Club (WCSC) is proud to announce the launch of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Academy (WVSA), a new program allowing young snowboarders to get the most advanced snowboard coaching while going to school and living at The Academy.

Located in the hearth of Whistler, The Academy is prepared to accommodate co-ed students/athletes with single and shared rooms. Everyday, two well/balanced meals plus healthy snacks will be provided and a kitchen will be available at any time. Internet service is provided and students are encouraged to bring their own laptops and any other electronic device they may want to use. A guardian will always be present to assist in any situation.

As part of the snowboard program, members will have the opportunity to snowboard 100+ days on Whistler Blackcomb Mountains, some of the most incredible terrain in North America. Competitive members will have the opportunity to travel to different mountains throughout the season for Half-pipe, Big Air, Rail Jam, Boarder cross and Big Mountain competitions. Evening tutoring, as well as, video analysis, video editing and graphic design workshops are included.

Athletes enrolling in WVSA coaching program will have the opportunity to attend Whistler Secondary School as part of their Sports School program for the entire school year or part of the year.

The WVSA will be the first of its kind in Canada with its first session will take place this winter season (2006-2007). Led by Joe McAdoo, WVSA’s coaching program will encourage hard work, self-discipline and dedication, providing a solid foundation for success in every aspect of life.

Joe is a former national/international competitor. Joe moved on to Assistant Coach for the Canadian Snowboard Federation Halfpipe Team, followed by Head Coach of the National Development Team. In 2003, Joe joined the WVSC taking charge of all on and off hill training.

The WVSC is now accepting applications for its first WVSA session starting in September. Space is limited so call now to register.

For more information:

Rob Picard
Founder/General Manager
Whistler Valley Snowboard Club
Phone: 604-932-2092
Email: info@whistlervalleysnowboardacademy.org
Website: www.whistlervalleysnowboardacademy.org

Mt. Buller Rail Jam held on Saturday in Australia

The Burton/Mt Buller Rail Event was held on Saturday night, July 22nd, under clear skies. Ten of Australia’s top snowboarders competed for $1500 cash for first place and $500 cash for best trick at Mt Buller Australia.Without a doubt, it was one of the best rail events ever held in Australia. The rail was an actual street rail which was closed off all afternoon for the Buller park crew to move in the drop-in ramp and scaffolding set up. The ten invited riders included Marc Baker, Chris Boadle, Max Cookes, Chris Eacott, Alex Kutaysov, Aaron Maxwell, Tom Pelly, Nick Rochester, Robbie Walker and Mikey Williams. Crowd favorites Robbie Walker and Alex
Kutaysov started things off pretty quick with front board pretzels out, as did Marcy Baker.

Mikey Williams rode insane from the get go, hitting the gap to the rail straight away, then sliding through the kink on one of the outside rails. Chris Eacott (Burton) did a switch front boardslide right out of the gate and Max Cookes (Burton) then started to spin onto the center rail which had the crowd going crazy. After about forty minutes, riders started slowing down and that’s when Chris Boadle (Burton) decided he really wanted a spot on the podium and made a smooth backside 270 to lipslide and also stomped a nollie back lipslide on one of the side rails. After an hour and a half it was all over when the judges announced that not one, but two riders had won the event as they couldn’t decide between them. Chris and Mikey each walked away with $1000 each in cold hard cash.

Thanks to Jacqui, the Mt Buller park team and the aussie Burton team. Check out for more photos and video footage.

NEW CHAPTER BEGINS FOR TELUS WORLD SKI & SNOWBOARD FESTIVAL

WHISTLER, BC, July 25, 2006 – The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival is entering a new chapter of ownership and production with the announcement that Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb have purchased the 25% ownership stake held by event founder Doug Perry. The transaction was concluded on July 21.

As announced earlier this year, Perry is relocating the head office of his company W1 to Vancouver, where the company is developing a range of new projects in the areas of sports and entertainment marketing.

Coinciding with the change in ownership, Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb have entered into a new five year management contract with Sue Eckersley to lead the Festival into the next chapter. Eckersley has worked on the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival since 2000 and has produced Whistler’s First Night since 2005.

“Doug’s contribution to the resort has been tremendous with the immense success of this event,” says Dave Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb’s Chief Operating Officer. “His vision, passion and tireless energy for the Festival have driven its growth and we thank him sincerely for what he has built. We’re very disappointed that Doug will no longer be producing the Festival, but we are committed to carrying out the tradition he has established and have great confidence that Sue Eckersley and her team will deliver. As Doug isn’t going too far away, we hope there will be an opportunity to work with W1 again in the future.”

Perry created the Festival 11 years ago and is responsible for growing the event into the premier snowsports, music and arts event in the resort industry. Perry’s vision has transformed a once-upon-a-time shoulder season into a 10-day economic boom for Whistler, and has provided a forum to showcase the spectacular spring snow conditions that Whistler delivers in April. Snowsports enthusiasts from around the world flock to Whistler each April to be part of the action.

“I’d like to thank the community of Whistler for the tremendous support it has shown the event since its inception,” says Perry. “With the next chapter under the leadership of Sue Eckersley, I have no doubt the future of the Festival will be brighter than ever.”

Perry was a 23 year resident of Whistler, moving to the resort in 1983. As a past Whistler Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year (1998), and a SAMMY Future Leadership Award winner (presented at the National Ski Areas Association national conference in 2004), his contributions to the resort community will be missed.

“Doug’s impact in every aspect of the Festival will indeed be missed as we move forward into this new chapter,” says Barrett Fisher, President of Tourism Whistler. “The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival has been one of the resort’s most successful events in attracting visitors, celebrating community spirit, and furthering Whistler’s leadership position in the resort industry. We are committed to ensuring Whistler’s spring event remains at the epicenter of the snowsports world in order to continue Doug’s legacy for Whistler.”

The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival is now owned in full by Tourism Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb. The new event producer will continue to report to a Board of Directors who will oversee the various aspects of event development, as has been the case during the past 11 years. For further information on the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival, visit www.whistler2007.com,

W1 is an award-winning sports and entertainment marketing company with its head office located in Vancouver, BC. Established in 1993 by Doug Perry, W1 develops and produces a broad range of music, arts and sports events. W1 has staged over 350 concerts and produced television specials for distribution in over 120 countries.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the TELUS Whistler Conference Centre, the Whistler Golf Club, in-resort Visitor Services centres, and tourismwhistler.com, as well as 1-800-WHISTLER and whistler.com – the official call to action for Whistler. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Whistler Blackcomb is an Intrawest company. Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel. The company has interests in 10 resorts at North America’s most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Intrawest owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and an interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest – a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com.

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Media Note: High resolution TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival photos are available for download at the following link: http://www.whistler2006.com/media/downloads/downloads1.php

Shaun & Hannah Win ESPY Awards

Shaun White took home two awards at this year’s ESPYs, including Best Male Action Sports Athlete and Best US Olympian. After such an amazing season, it was great to see him awarded in the company of athletes like Lebron James, Jerome Bettis and others. Shaun was stoked to receive the awards, but he was almost too excited about presenting with Carmen Electra. The two gave away the award for Best Female Athlete. Hannah Teter also won an ESPY award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete after her incredible season, which included winning a Gold Medal at Torino. Hannah had a great time at the ESPY awards hanging with celebs and trading in her standard t-shirt and jeans for a glammed-out black cocktail dress. Check out http://espn.go.com/espy2006/index.html for all the details on the awards show.

Burton New Zealand Open

The Burton New Zealand Open is an up and coming annual event within the Burton family. With three years already under its belt, the New Zealand Open is on its way to join the ranks of Burton's showcase of premiere international events, the US Open, Nippon Open and the European Open.This year's event, the first stop on the World Series, will be located solely at Snow Park NZ and will comprise of Half Pipe, Quarter Pipe and Slopestyle disciplines. Running from Thursday 3rd through to Saturday 5th August, the 2006 Burton New Zealand Open promises to be the pinnacle of the New Zealand winter calendar. With in excess of 5000 people per day in attendance, this is an event not to be missed.

Founded by Jake Burton in 1982, the US Open is widely recognized as the pinnacle event of each competitive season. Winning the US Open is a huge honor within the snowboarding world. From humble beginnings over 24 years ago, the event was originally created for two reasons: to bring riders together from far and wide to have a great time and to show the world which riders are truly the sport's best. It was during the event's early days when the camaraderie, spirit, and fun that have always remained the foundation of the US Open were born.

Now an international championship series with events held in Europe, Japan, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, the Open Snowboarding Championships set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe.

Burton Global Snowboarding Championships

Burton Announces Dates for 2006/2007 Global Open Snowboarding Championships

BURLINGTON, VT (June 27, 2006) - Confirmed dates and locations are listed below for the upcoming Burton Global Open Snowboarding Championships, the international event series that gives local, amateur and pro snowboarders an equal shot at a world class title. This season, the contest series will crown its first male and female Global Open Champions at the Burton US Open, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007.

Burton Global Open Snowboarding Championship Dates:
New Zealand Open
August 3-5, 2006
SnowPark, New Zealand
Australian Open
August 25-27, 2006
Falls Creek, Australia
European Open
January 20-27, 2007
Laax, Switzerland
Nippon Open
February 20-25, 2007
ALTS Bandai, Japan
US Open
March 12-18, 2007
Stratton, VT USA

"We're expanding the Burton Global Open series to give more people the chance to witness some of the best snowboarding in the world," says Bryan Johnston, Vice President of Global Marketing at Burton. "Each of the Burton Opens will take it to the next level in terms of event execution, TV coverage and podcasting to give riders, spectators and viewers at home the best possible experience."

In addition to having a shot at the Global Open Champion title, the male and female winners of each Open competition will receive airfare and accommodations at the next contest in the Burton Open event series.

More details to come on all Open events as the dates draw nearer.

Go Skateboarding for a Day

GO SKATEBOARDING FOR A DAY: JUNE 21, 2006

On June 21 skateboarders around the globe will celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of one of the most influential activities in the world by blowing off all other obligations to go skateboarding!
Skateboarders everywhere will hold fundraisers, contests, protests, demo’s, they’ll skate across cities, gather in skateparks, stream into their local skate shop and some will even revel in the solitary act of skateboarding alone, all bringing together the skateboarding community in the grind heard around the world.

For more information visit:
http://www.goskateboardingday.org/

Burton US Open

Check out the Burton US Open on NBC this Saturday

The 2006 Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships will air on NBC this Saturday April 15 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. EST. Coverage will include highlights from the quarterpipe, halfpipe and slopestyle competitions where top riders like Shaun White, Hana Beaman, Mason Aguirre, Danny Davis, Gretchen Bleiler, Torah Bright, Mathieu Crepel, Antti Autti, Risto Mattila and Jussi Oksanen battled for over $200,000 in prizes and a coveted US Open title.

This year's Open was more exciting than ever with many past and present Olympians competing, record-breaking crowds attending and plenty of progressive riding enjoyed by all. So take a break from stressing over your taxes and catch some of the best snowboarding ever recorded by mankind.

Be sure to check your local listings for exact airtimes and channel information.
For more information on the US Open Snowboarding Championships, go to www.opensnowboarding.com or call Burton Rider Services at 800-881-3138.