Miscellaneous News

A new type of slope, described as a ‘creek surfing system’ has been launched by inventor Czintos Csongor.

Named ‘Sineride,’ Mr Csongor believes that, “Truly this is the first real alternative of summer skiing.”

Explaining why Sineride is better than other summer sliding options, Mr Csongor explains,
“Boardsailing is amazing but it needs waves, which I do not. Windsurfing is great too although it needs wind, which I do not. Flow-rider machines are superb but they need huge water speed and energy, which from my system it negligible. An indoor snow centre is good as well but you need a large refrigerator which we don’t. Water-skiing is extraordinary but you need big lake surface and a motor boat which I don’t. It’s a similar story for wakeboarding. For dry slope skiing you don’t get the real experience of snow or water, it simply does not ’live.’ “

Mr Csongor says he first started considering what was needed for a successful summer sliding facility back in 1999,

“I understood that the essence of skiing is the possibility of braking instead of sliding.

“Water is an obvious solution as it works perfectly for water-skiing but you must stop it flowing down the slope. How can you achieve that? By putting smaller obstacles on its way which are small enough to stop the water but still let the skier slide over them.”

With Sineride therefore the skier carves down these small obstacles or ribs and the water held in place acts like a series of ‘small pools’ you can ski on as the ‘small pools’ are situated under each other, effectively creating a big slanting lake.

Those death punk snowboarders are at it again. Lock up you daughters because the Shithouse Tour 3 is hitting the road. A badass UK and Euro rock and roll tour with Monster and the Dalikfodda boys at the helm.

Favourites at the SCUK/TSA Rock Night at the Brits.

With a bunch of their best pals including Jettblack who are headlining the whole tour bringing the power of rock and roll to all as well as a whole bunch of special guest including the ever talented Sam Barret and for one night only the Gentlemans Pistols for the Euro X games gig.

Full info here on the Dalikfodda facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/dalikfodda

WeSC invite you to visit their new store on Carnaby St, London where they are launching a Slam City Skates concession. Drop by the store on the 28th January where 100 lucky people will win one of 100 prizes!

Samsung Mobile UK today announces ‘Gone in 60 Minutes’ its biggest ever competition that gives people the opportunity to win a prize every hour, on the hour, in the run up to Christmas.

Look out for details of how to enter on the Samsung ‘Gone in 60 Minutes’ Facebook page or Twitter feed and be in with a chance of winning a £4,000 Skiworld snowsports holiday for two, complete with lessons; kit and lift passes and extra goodies.

In addition to this amazing prize, other prizes that Samsung is offering in its biggest-ever giveaway include:

• A top-end 40" LED TV
• Samsung’s newest dual screen cameras (ST500)
• Samsung netbooks
• A huge selection of the latest Samsung handsets including the Genio Touch and Genio Qwerty
• Signed shirts and tickets from Chelsea Football Club (courtesy of Samsung Football)
• Samsung Blu-Ray players
• Lessons at Sno!zone in (Milton Keynes, Castleford or Glasgow)
• 5 Billabong Jackets from 2Seasons
• Samsung Movies vouchers
• Copies of the new Sega Football Manager 2010
• Chuckbuddies
• 20 SCUK memberships
• 8 pairs of Cushe shoes

The competition opens on Monday 30th November and every day a list of prizes up for grabs will be released. All you have to do is log onto the website and answer the question to enter and, every hour on the hour (weekdays only from 10-8pm), someone will win a prize. Sign up for alerts, follow the Tweets or become a fan on Facebook to be first to hear the news about the competition.

On top of the hourly prizes, for every hourly question people enter, they’ll be entered into the grand prize draw to win the holiday – so the more you participate, the more chances you have to get away on that trip of a lifetime!

Samsung is working with a range of partners to provide these great prizes including Skiworld; 2 Seasons; SCUK, Cushe, Chuckbuddies, Funky Gunk, Sega, Sno!zone, 3 Valleys, Ski Set, Samsung Football and New Generation.

FB: www.facebook.com/pages/Samsung-Gone-in-60-Minutes/176008025147
Tw: www.twitter.com/UKsamsungmobile

The campaign url is www.gonein60minutes.com

www.samsungmobile.co.uk

Fat Face is celebrating its 21st birthday this year by giving one majorly lucky customer a 21 window split screen camper van in the biggest competition the active lifestyle has ever run.
That’s right, one lucky winner will win a beautifully restored camper van worth more than £35,000 plus the chance to customise it with a load of accessories and pimp it up for their own stamp of style!

Not only can one lucky winner get their hands all over the camper van for keeps but a further five winners will ‘Cheeky Weekends’ enabling them and a bunch of mates to head out in a limited edition VW Camper van for a weekend of fun!

So, what do the lucky winners have to do? Write a cheesy statement about why they want to win? Save up millions of Fat Face stamps? Go and beg at the feet of a Fat Face store manager? Nope! Simply get into one of the 160 UK stores and just fill out their details. Simple as that. Or, just hop online and register here http://winacamper.fatface.com/sbrass

You could then be driving away in your very own campervan or driving one away for the weekend. Nice!

Snowsport GB the national governing body for Snowboarding & Skiing in the UK who are affiliatted with the BOA and FIS are looking for a new CEO.

View the role requirements here:

http://www.snowsportgb.com/about/staff/vacancies/snowsport-gb-ceo/

Regards
Snowsport GB Board

The Metro Ski and Snowboard Show took home two trophies from the Exhibition News Awards last week as the show continues to gain recognition as one of the UK’s most successful consumer events. The show collected the coveted title of the “Most Impressive Visitor Experience” and the “Innovation Award” for the 2008 Marketing Campaign.

Despite being up against tough competition, in the form of Interbuild, Top Gear Live and the Platinum Experience, the show was voted top visitor experience of last year by individuals across the whole exhibitions industry.

“For the Metro Ski & Snowboard Show to win ‘most impressive visitor experience’ was a great honour. When you are up against the calibre of ‘Top Gear Live’, to be voted as number one by the industry underlines how far the show has come in the last 3 years. The show team have constantly pushed the boundaries of what the show can offer to its visitors and to have this recognised by your industry peers is a fitting compliment for all the work and passion they have put in over the last year.”

Damian Norman, Show Director for the Sports and Leisure division at dmg world media.

The 2008 show is the 3rd year that the show has worked with Metro Newspaper as a partner after a 32 year association with the Daily Mail.

“Metro continues to support the Ski and Snowboard Show as it continues to deliver a fantastic experience for visitors and exhibitors alike. With ever improving entertainment and experiences, it is more than just a place to find next season's outfit, but a fun, informative day out for all those seeking the thrill of the slopes the following winter.”

Lisa Roxby, Senior Marketing Executive, Metro Newspapers.

The 2009 Metro Ski & Snowboard Show takes place from 21st to 25th October at London’s Olympia, heralding the start of the European wintersports season.

Every year Neil McNab runs and guides a Heli boarding trip to the Kamchatka peninsula on the east coast of Russia. This narrow peninsula is the most active volcanic region on the planet. It was, until the early 90's closed to all visitors including native Russian's and was a major Military strong hold during the cold war period. It hosts the worlds highest population per square kilometre of brown bear (Grizzly) and some of the greatest Snowboarding terrain on the planet. Neil tells all below:

We’ve Got Balls in association with My Charitable Life presents The Snowboarders World Cup
Anglet, France 15th – 19th June 2009

After two very successful warm up events, the We’ve Got Balls tournament is going global with the first football World Cup for the snowboard industry.

Teams from every snowboarding nation will be led by riders whose love of football is only matched by their talent on a snowboard. Travis Rice, Nicolas Mueller, Cheryl Maas, Marius Otterstad and Iker Fernandez are just a few of the captains leading their nations into battle.

A classic format of group and knockout stages held over the course of the week in June will decide not only the title but also the Golden Boot award. All the games will be held in the evening with BBQs and the odd party and lots of sore legged surfing going down in the day. After the final the winning team will donate a €1000 to the charity of their choice

The teams are 7-a-side, with the rule that each team must have a female player on the pitch at all times. Aside from this all normal football rules apply, even offside! Confirmed teams are Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria, USA, Australia, England, Norway, Locals and Germany.

We‘ve Got Balls Burton European Open January 17th 2009

Nicolas Mueller’s ‘Eco Nico’ side celebrate their title at the Burton European Open ’09.

Quiksilver/ Roxy Soccer Team wins the Vitamin Water's "We Got Balls" Charity Soccer Tournament

Carlsbad, CA – September 7, 2008 The Quiksilver/ Roxy Soccer Team celebrates a win over the Vans team at the Vitamin Water "We Got Balls" Action Sport Charity Soccer Tournament.

Base Camp Sponsored Ghanaian skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong has qualified for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Kwame, 34, recorded his best slalom performances in Iran last week and reduced his FIS (International Ski Federation) points to 137.5, underneath the all important Olympic qualifying level of 140 points.

Having learnt to ski at SNO!zone Milton Keynes, Base Camp sponsored Kwame's first trip out to the European Alps and his first ever steps on real snow.

His first ski season was spent training with our Meribel BASI Level 1 & 2 Instructor Course and since then Kwame has travelled the world over in pursuit of his dream and qualification points.

Base Camp Director, Fergie Miller, comments,

'It has been a pleasure to support Kwame while training and competing to qualify for the Olympics over these last 5 years.

It has been a marathon effort and Kwame has had to overcome untold hurdles, including setting up a Ghanian Winter Olympic Association and overcoming the complex and bureaucratic world of ski racing.

His qualification is a true testament of his strength and determination and his work in developing skiing in Ghana and charitable causes says a lot about the man.

We hope Kwame is able to enjoy this moment with his family and wish him every success for the future. Go Kwame!'

"We are very sorry but due to the very difficult trading conditions we have had to close down Extreme Holidays Limited.

Customers with forward booked holidays should contact the Travel Trust Association on 0870 8890577."

Despite the tales of economic doom filling the mainstream media, there’s a sense of optimism in the snowsport industry that those who love skiing and snowboarding won’t be deterred from their annual snow fix this coming winter.

The UK industry trade show is already around 90% full with several months still to go and the organisers will welcome some new and returning big brand names to Slide for 2009.

Blizzard is an iconic Austrian ski brand that has been absent from the UK ski scene in recent years, but that’s all about to change, with Bliss Outdoor planning to re-aquaint the UK skiing public with its reputation. With a strong pedigree in performance skis, the new UK distributor is looking forward to unveiling next winter’s range of skis and a new binding system.

Columbia Sportswear, a global leader in the active apparel and footwear industries returns to Slide 09 after an absence of several years. Dan Trapp, UK Country Manager enthused,

“We’re really excited to bring Columbia back to Slide in 2009. It ties in perfectly with our re-launch to the core independent winter sports retailers across the UK and Ireland. We’ve got a new logo, a new communication plan, a new team and an amazing new product range that we’re thrilled to be showcasing at Slide. All in all, we can’t wait to be back!”

“Slide has established itself as one of Europe’s premier Actionsport tradeshows. With an exhibitor’s list that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the actionsports industry, attendance is a no-brainer.”

“Given the current economic climate, it would be a foolish show organiser who took It for granted that suppliers would be wiling or able to commit to a show early. We’ve been really pleased that so many regular exhibitors have returned to the show, but also that the Fresh brands area of the show, set aside for newcomers, continues to be very popular. The fact that Slide is attracting back companies like Columbia and new exhibitors like Madison is really encouraging.

Head of Snowboard department required for a new Snow And Rock store which will be opening in Dundrum, Dublin, on the 9th October. The perfect candidate for this position would have at least one years experience in retail and have a vast knowledge of snowboarding and snowboard related equipment. This is a full time position offered with an attractive package. If you would like to apply for this position send your CV with cover letter detailing your retail and snowboard experience to: manager.dundrum@snowandrock.com

Onboard are more than stoked to have collaborated with binding masters Union to bring you these limited edition two-strappers.

Limited to a mere 100 pairs in existence, these are the binders that the Onboard crew will be slashing around in come winter, and now you too have the chance to get your feet in these two-tone bad boys.

We will be giving away 4 pairs each month from right now until March 15 2009
here:

www.onboardsnowboarding.com/competitions/win-limited-edition-union-onboard-bindings/1064952/

Les 2 Alpes will be staging a special poker week from January 10th to 16th.

“ The typically sporty 2 Alpes events calendar includes many cultural activities, so why not poker?” said a resort spokesperson.

France currently has 400 poker clubs with games rooms that are full to the brim and numerous competitions organised across the country. In addition the success of online poker, with French celebrities catching on to the craze and television channels that are increasing their number of poker programmes.

“Les 2 Alpes felt therefore that it was important to organise a poker week, with tournaments open to all based on different themes: women, speed dating, Texas Hold’em, beginners, Sit n’go, satellite competitions, the grand slam...” continued the resort spokesperson.
A grand finale will be held at the end of the week, in the presence of professionals and celebrities. No gambling will take place, there will just be an enrolment fee and the pleasure of playing to win.

www.les2alpes-pokerweek.com (currently under construction)

The Scandinavian obsession with saunas has reached new heights in the Lappish ski resort of Ylläs where the world’s first ever sauna gondola will open this winter.

Coming in Autumn 08 – Volcom London!

Come join our future retail team at our London store. Located near Covent Garden, we are now accepting resumes for all positions including:
- Assistant Manager
- Sales Assistant (full time employee : 39 hours per week; part-time employees : 20 hours per week; part-time employees : 8 hours per week end)

Requirements:
- Industry experience/knowledge is preferred (including surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding)
- At least one year of retail experience for all positions required
- Superior customer service and sales skills a must!
- Must be able to work week-ends as scheduled
- Local resident is preferred.

To apply please send your resume and salary requirements to jobs@volcom.fr for immediate consideration.

After having opened for one season in the Plateau sector, the new snowpark at Val Thorens is already a victim of its own success and needs to be enlarged by 18,000m² to 88 000 square metres at a cost of 300,000 Euros. A new 500 metre long hand rail, the enlargement of the beginners’ learning area with more educational and fun elements and the improvement to the expert zone will provide still more for skiers and snowboarders of all standards.

The installation of a second drag lift, doubling up the Plateau drag lift, improves the access to this important meeting and entertainment spot. And for those who haven’t yet tested it, try out the novel activity, the Jump’Air, a jump with landing on a shock absorbing mattress. The Jump’Air is ideal for learning or improving freestyle, whether on skis or on a snowboard including grab, back flip, rodeo back, under flip, 360°, 740°, 900°... or to try any jump with little danger

A new boardercross will also be added in the 2 Lacs sector. 1,4 km long and over a vertical of 350m metres, this fun area links whoops, jumping table and raised bends. (grab, back flip, rodeo back, under flip, 360°, 740°, 900°...) or to try and jump as far as possible with no danger. The Jump’Air is ideal for learning or improving freestyle, whether on skis or on a snowboard.
www.snowparkvalthorens.com

Warm temperatures on Europe's glaciers have led some summer ski resorts to close early, but the majority remain open and the leading snow-reporting service Skiinfo.com has snow depth details for all of them. The company tracks snow conditions several times daily, year round, at more than a thousand European ski resorts, including the dozen that are currently offering summer snow sports. Remarkably, ski areas in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland have all reported fresh snow falling at times over the past fortnight.

The Tux glacier in Austria was amongst those recording fresh snowfall in the past week, topping up snow depths on the glacier to 105cm. Although temperatures have been variable, reaching +9C degrees at the bottom of the glacier ski area and +4C at the top, the centre currently has 13km of piste open , served by the three giant Glacier Bus lifts, one chair and five drag lifts. The ski day starts at 8.15 in the morning with the ski area winding down by 1pm daily because of the heat. The action then moves to the Treffpunkt Panoramaterrasse restaurant which also has specials on between 11am and 1pm. The lifts back down run to 4.30pm so there's no need to hurry!

You can also ski on the Dachstein Glacier, which has two kilometers of piste on a 180cm base available although the terrain park is now closed until
(hopefully) September. The Molltal glacier is currently running three
lifts, serving nine kilometers of slopes. A fourth choice, Kaprun, has about 70cm of snow on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and five runs open served by six lifts. Several more glacier ski areas in Austria are due to re-open in September, including the Kaunertal, Pitztal and Stubai areas.

In France Val d'Isere's glacier did close slightly earlier than expected usual after temperatures at 3000m reached 13 degrees Celcius, however Les 2 Alpes and Tignes both intend to stay open for the remainder of this month.
Les 2 Alpes has over 110 hectares of piste, including a popular terrain park, on a 400m vertical between 3,200 and 3,600 metres available to August 30th. Currently around 15 lifts are serving a dozen easy to intermediate grade pistes.

At Tignes the summer ski area on the Grand Motte glacier is open every day to 31st August, from 7.15am to 1pm daily. There are 20km of piste between 3,000m and 3,656m altitude available with 750m of vertical - as big as the biggest lift served vertical in the southern hemisphere. There are 12 ski lifts and a snow park to enjoy, with a new boarder cross course open this summer, as well as a mini slalom. Current snow depth is 40cm (16 inches).

In Italy Passo Stelvio has the most skiing available in the country at present. Sitting up at 2760 metres, the bottom lift station at Italy's Passo Stelvio ( Stilfserjoch ) is the highest lift base in Europe, with trails up to 3450 metres, giving a near 700 metre vertical. The current snow depth varies between one and three metres with fresh snow a few weeks ago. The centre, one of Europe's largest summer skiing areas, has 10 runs, with 20km of piste currently open. All but one of which are graded 'red' or of intermediate/more difficult standard, the other is an easy trail. A second Italian glacier ski area, the Val Senales glacier, is also open but with only a kilometre of skiing currently available.

The Matterhorn Ski Paradise in Switzerland, above Zermatt and also accessed from Cervinia in Italy, is Europe's highest ski area, one of the largest summer snow operators, and one of the few remaining year-round operators.
Following recent snowfalls glacier snow depths are around 190cm with 10km of runs available served by six lifts. The resort is currently installing a pioneering new snowmaking system from Israel that can make snow in plus temperatures which the resort hopes will bridge a piste-gap that has grown at the base of the glacier where it has melted away, so skiers no longer need to walk to the lift station but can ski there as they could 20 years ago.

Norway's three summer ski destinations remain open. Galdhoppigen has two
kilometers of skiing and a snow depth of 180cm, Folgefonn four kilometers of piste and a snow depth of 120cm and Stryn five kilometres and a 150cm base.


To keep up to date with the latest snow depths, open lifts and runs and snowfall projections, visit skiinfo.com

Doppelmayr has completed a new gondola with eight passenger cabins which reaches 4,843m above sea level in China. The lift accesses The Aba Great Glacier in Sichuan province, about six hours driving time from regional capital Chengdu. The top station is 327m higher than the previous record holder, also in China, at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Yunnan province, which was built by another European company, Leitner, opened in 1999, and has a top station height of 4,516m. The third highest gondola in the world, and the highest at a ski resort, is also in Asia, at Gulmarg in India. Built by French company POMA its highest terminal is at 3979.5m

Although ski writer Jimmy Patterson did make a ski descent of Jade Dragon and both mountains have snow cover, neither is a ski resort.

The new lift has been built for Aba Dajiuzhai International in a tourist region which attracts two million visitors annually. The company aims to initially attract 200,000 visitors a year to the lift, which accesses a beautiful mountain lake. They then aim to grow that business to 500,000 – 700,000 visitors annually following further improvements to the centre.
The new lift can carry 800 passengers per hour and takes 9.4 minutes to make its ascent. There are 36 gondola cabins travelling at six metres per second over the 2399m length and 1,226m vertical.

Doppelmayr won the contract in April 2005 and began work in October 2006 and following bad weather delays, completed construction and handed over the lift in late March, and the gondola is now open to the public.

The Kitzsteinhorn Mellow Parks on the glacier above Kaprun in Austria will be enlarged this winter with a superpipe. The new superpipe will be build near the summit station of the Sonnenkarbahnen, at around 3000m, between piste no. 1 and the Roxy park. This will be the only superpipe in the Salzburg region and one out of three in Austria. The pipe will be 150 metres long and the walls will be five metres high. Ther glacier ski area remains open for most of the year and is currently open for summer skiing and boarding so it seems likely that the superpipe will be a year round facility.

The Well Seasoned Chalet Cookery Course is open to anyone interested in developing the cookery skills to successfully run a chalet in a winter ski resort and the confidence and help to secure employment doing so.

We have just announced dates for week long courses in October and places are available now with a 10% discount on offer for all SCUK members! Dates for next years summer courses will follow shortly.
The course takes place in the famous winter ski resort of Tignes, also a thriving summer alpine resort. We provide training which will develop your skills in the kitchen through cooking in a real chalet environment, we're passionate about food and hope you will be too!

We’ve included some free time throughout the week so you can make the most of the activities on offer in resort from skiing and snowboarding on the Glaciers of Tignes and Val D’Isere to Mountain Biking, Skating, Hiking, Tennis, Golf, Swimming, Sailing, Football, Basketball, Volleyball and lots more.
For more information don't hesitate to check out the website and get in touch!

www.well-seasoned.co.uk gemma@well-seasoned.co.uk

The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour or simply "The TTR" is offering 6 months internships for talented and motivated individuals in Innsbruck/Austria intended to provide you with a true learning and exciting team experience.

Are you doing your studies in any of the following fields: Communication, Journalism, Marketing, Event Management, Sport Sponsoring, Multimedia Design? Are you interested to work in a young and creative team, facing challenges and providing solutions? Apply now, experience the snowboard scene from the inside and support some of the world's biggest and most renown snowboard events.

High fluency in English, working experience in related fields are required, a general interest in snowboarding and additional language skills are desirable.

The internships will last a minimum of 6 months, starting the latest in November 2008. The following positions are available:

• Copy Writer
  
• Event & Rankings Coordination
  
• Online Marketing
  
• Video Content Editor

A campaign to save the world by a mass turn off of power for an hour, which began in Australia last year, goes global this weekend.

Environmental protection experts the Aspen Skiing Company have highlighted the importance of as many people as possible taking part in the mass action, organised by the WWF, in order to help save snow.
The Australian event in March last year saw 2.2 million people who turned off their lights for one hour in Sydney, Australia. This reduced energy consumption by 10.2 percent, equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

At 8pm local time this Saturday, 29th March, millions of people in some of the world’s major cities, including Copenhagen, Dublin, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Vancouver, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour. But anyone, anywhere, can take part.

“To participate turn off your lights, and unplug any appliances – phone chargers, TVs, microwaves, MP3 players, computer monitors, printers. Then find something fun to do in the dark for an hour,” advises Matt Hamilton of the Aspen Skiing Company.

www.earthhour.org

Four police officers are currently being taught to ski in a programme to build up a slope security force ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Local officials have announced that security and public order is a concern as skier numbers grow ahead of the Olympics.

One of the four trainees, police officer Artyom Bogatov told local media that their work would be cut out once the Games start.

“The capacity of this ski lift is at least 2,000 people a day. There are a lot of spots where you can buy drinks. So people can get drunk, get aggressive, even commit crimes,” he said.

When the unit becomes fully operational, the officers will be able to ensure public order as well as helping tourists who find themselves with any problems on the slopes. They’ll also have a new ski police uniform.