Snowboarding News - April 2007

<

1 2 >

Olympic Winter Games in North America are generally highly successful and leave a multitude of lasting legacies in their host communities, according to a new report commissioned by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). The report, w ... Read Full Story hich includes a chapter on each of the three previous North American Olympic Winter Games, will be released over the next month as part of a host of activities to mark the 1,000 day countdown on May 19 to the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Legacies of North American Olympic Winter Games report, prepared by an independent researcher, documents and illustrates the possible social and economic trends that result from hosting Olympic Winter Games in North America and the lasting impacts of hosting the Olympic Winter Games on a specific community and region.

The report examines the legacies of the three Olympic Winter Games held in North America since 1980: in Lake Placid, Calgary and Salt Lake City. Research sources include previous official Games reports, Games senior leaders, studies, books, newspaper and magazine analyses, and original interviews with individuals who have witnessed firsthand the effects of hosting the Games in their communities. "Social and economic trends are often left unidentified until the facts are pulled together and analyzed in one place, through a common lens," said VANOC's Chief Executive Officer John Furlong. "This report, summarizing the legacies of previous North American Olympic Winter Games, outlines trends that should be encouraging to all British Columbians, all Canadians and other North American cities considering bidding for the Olympic Winter Games," he said.

All three of the previous North American Olympic Winter Games examined in the report were deemed a success in their time. The report shows how these host communities continue to:

• increase tourism in their regions
• remind the world of their attractions at subsequent international competition hosted there
• build sports participation
• be national hubs for recreational and competitive sport
• help the country's top high performance athletes achieve their full potential
• attract major sports companies to locate there
• encourage local children to excel in sport and other areas of life

"The best model for understanding the potential legacies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is analysis of other Winter Games held within the North American continent," said Furlong. "This report offers a frank look back on the experiences of previous North American Olympic Winter Games hosts. While each Games was unique with its own story, the findings clearly indicate a pattern of positive opportunity."

Due to the significant volume of each report, they will be released at vancouver2010.com on a staggered timeline: Lake Placid on April 30, Calgary on May 7 and Salt Lake on May 14.

The legacy of Winter Games can perhaps be easiest seen through high performance sport. Lake Placid has hosted the Olympic Winter Games twice (1932 and 1980), and has produced 125 local medal-winners since the Olympic Winter Games' inception in 1924. After Salt Lake staged the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, 69 of the 211 athletes on the U.S. team in Torino in 2006 had trained at the Olympic Games facilities in Salt Lake. At the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, more than 25 per cent of the 196-member Canadian team was from the Calgary area and trained on legacy facilities from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Calgary, the only Canadian city that has hosted an Olympic Winter Games, has a strong post-Games legacy. The Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) is responsible for a financial legacy that makes it the largest private funder of Olympic winter sport in Canada. Canada Olympic Park (COP) is a multi-venue sports complex that is the second-largest tourist draw in Alberta, attracting one million visitors a year – nearly 20 years after Calgary hosted the Olympic Winter Games. Plans are well underway to further develop COP.

The report shows a similar success story regarding New York State's Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). In the 2004-2005 fiscal year, a quarter century after the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games, the overall economic impact of ORDA's operations to the village and the counties surrounding it was an estimated $323.7 million USD.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) decided after the 2002 Games to use its $100 million USD profit to turn Salt Lake City and Utah into "an elite sports capital of the world." Since 2002, the Utah Sports Commission (USC) has hosted almost 200 major sports events. In 2006 alone, the economic impact of the events the USC helped organize was between $500-600 million USD. The state has also enticed more than 10 major sports equipment companies to call it home.

"The Legacies report shows that on a continent where enthusiasm for recreational and high performance winter sport is widespread, hosting a successful Winter Games can have numerous, multi-faceted benefits, many of which last for generations," said Furlong.

"VANOC is determined to continue this impressive trend, delivering an outstanding Games experience in 2010 and legacies that continue to benefit the community for many years into the future," he concluded.

This article is courtesy of the 2010 Olympic Committee.

 

---

CLEO and RALPH Magazines are calling young and adventurous Aussie travellers to join them for a special Contiki tour to carve up the New Zealand ski slopes on July 24-29, 2007.

Leading youth brand Contiki has joined forces with CLEO and RALPH magazines to offer an exclusive six-day ... Read Full Story New Zealand ski holiday. This trip is all about making new friends and having loads of fun so grab your mates and make sure you are one of the lucky ones to experience this exclusive South Island adventure. Places are limited and they are filling up fast.

This amazing trip will travel from Christchurch to Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand where travellers can check out the AJ Hackett bungy bridge and test their nerves, wander the township of Queenstown from shops to cozy bars and pubs and enjoy the amazing range of activitie available.

Then, enjoy three full days skiing or snowboarding at a choice of four great mountains around Queenstown including Cardrona, The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Treble Cone. Of course, if skiing is not your thing, or you just want a change, Contiki will exchange the included lift tickets for other non-ski adventures in the area like white water rafting, jet boating or bungy jumping.

The final day on the slopes is a big one with a special Contiki Ski Race Day at Coronet Peak! Travellers will have a ball and show up their mates with races and fun events for the whole group, whether they are skiers, snowboarders, beginners or advanced. Of course, the day will finish up with at an ‘official’ awards ceremony dinner.

Then it’s off north, along the west coast through the Westland National Park, with amazing views of the glaciers and rainforests, to the stunning Franz Josef Glacier for a night. There’s the choice of some excellent Optional Activities including a glacier hike or heli-hiking, both seriously amazing experiences, and Contiki has negotiated mates-rates. On the last day the trip heads back to Christchurch stopping off on the way at the coastal town of Hokitika and later, Arthurs Pass.

To find out more about this trip, please visit www.etravelblackboard.com.

This trip really is for everyone from beginners to those more advanced on the slopes, plus its all about fun and friendships so you’re guaranteed to have the most amazing experiences.

 

---

The end of winter doesn’t mean the ski and snowboard fun at Kitzsteinhorn has also already come to an end! With RIDE’N’ROLL, the Kitzsteinhorn offers the full monty at the end of April: a three day nonstop agenda for skiers and snowboarders! From April 27 to 30, 2007, there will not onl ... Read Full Story y be a Slopestyle Contest at the Glacier Park and a Speedcross Contest at the summit slope but also several cool parties at the Castle Kaprun and a free test of the newest skis and snowboards of the upcoming season.

At the moment, the Kitzsteinhorn offers perfect conditions with lots of snow and sun. With several big jumps and rails and some new features, the Glacier Park is also at top form featuring a quarter-pipe and a kicker line. The Glacier Park will be open until Mid of July.

On Friday, April 27, RIDE’N’ROLL will start with the training for the skiers’ and snowboarders’ Slopestyle Contest which will happen on Saturday. On Sunday, the Speedcross Contest will follow. Its start gate will be at the summit station on 3,029 m sea level.

In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to test next season’s skis and snowboards at the test centre on Sunday and Monday. The 2008 models of Atomic, Blizzard, Burton, Fischer, Head, Rossignol, Salomon and Völkl will be available – thanks to Intersport Kitzsteinhorn!

But the riders should take care they’ll have some power left for the parties at the legendary Kaprun Castle. On Friday, April 27, things will go off with the Clubbing Night presenting DJs and Electronic Acts on three floors and a chill-out area. On Sunday, the sound will become heavier at the Rock Night with five Bands and DJs on three floors. “The Doors Experience“ will finish the RIDE’N’ROLL rumble on Sunday night.

Until May 17 2007, Kitzsteinhorn offers the “Snow Okay Package”, the perfect choice for everybody who wants to visit RIDE’N’ROLL. The 3-day last minute offers can be booked from seven days before the day of arrival and include three overnight stays with breakfast, three days Kitzsteinhorn ski pass and entrance to the indoor swimming pool. It’s available from € 166.50, half-board from € 211.50.

Get more information at www.kitzsteinhorn.at.

 

---

Skiing champion Bode Miller recently said that he will not be competing in the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010. He stated that his experience in last year's Olympic Games in Turin, Italy as the reason behind his decision. The silver medallist in the 2002 Games in Utah said that the quadrennia ... Read Full Story l event put too much emphasis on winning.

Miller was highly-criticized for his disappointing showing in Turin wherein he didn't win in any of his five medal bids. He finished 5th in the downhill event, disqualified in the combination and slalom events, didn't finish the Super G and was tied at 6th in the Giant Slalom. Many people attributed it to his hard partying during the games, but he replied that everyone did that anyway.

Current disappointing performances aside, it is undeniable that he's one of the best skiers to have competed in the game in the past decade. Being currently only two World Cup victories away from Phil Mahre as the winningest American skier is enough proof of that.

 

---

Still a few days to shred at SPRING IN THE PARK: Germany's spring camp on Zugspitze, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is still open until Sunday, April 15. And the weather forecast for the remaining days predicts just the same perfect conditions the riders also enjoyed over the last two weeks. The ideal opportunity to test the newest K2 and RIDE products or to take some coaching lessons and learn new tricks on rails and kickers.

Last week, especially the female snowboard ... Read Full Story ers and skiers romped around at the Funpark Zugspitze. After the Girl's week, Easter Saturday saw a first highlight of the two SPRING IN THE PARK weeks, the Old School Contest. 29 participants wearing cool 80s outfits revived the tricks from the early days of snowboarding and the years before twin tip skis were invented. The winners were rewarded with day tickets for Zugspitze and goods by K2 and RIDE.

Old School Contest: purple, neon, yellow.
Ludwig Ochs was took the prize for wearing the best outfit sporting a purple overall, neon yellow ski boots, a pilot's cap and old goggles. Apart from the old fashioned clothing, also the pleasure of seeing the old school tricks again provided a lot of good laughs and admiration among the spectators.

At the snowboarders' contest, back flips and front flips, one footers and handplants were hot. Spins of more than 540 degrees were somewhat forbidden, but instead classic grabs like Chicken Salad, Crail, Andrecht, Mute or Crosshand were more than welcome. In tight white pants, Sebastian Schmidt took victory showing Double Grabs, Crails and Handplants. Last year's best rookie Chris Wild won the Rookies contest again, Tina Weber was the best girl.

The skiers had to abandon switch jumps and landings and went for helicopters, twisters, duffys, flips, backscratchers and one grabs instead. Last year's winner Tobi Deckert wasn't able to repeat his win as he didn't stick his double back flips this year. As a substitute, Max Kroneck rode on a constantly high level and deservedly won thanks to his 360 straddles, 720 helicopters, duffys, back flips, Mickey Mouse style and one foot landings.

The last days: testing, coaching, sunbathing.
Until Sunday, riders will have the occasion to enjoy the spring sun at SPRING IN THE PARK on Zugspitze. Head shaper Karl Killer will reshape the park daily. Expect ten hits and around 13 boxes and rails for beginners, intermediates and pros. The K2 and RIDE coaches will advice riders and give their moves the final touch. Even more, the K2 and RIDE test centre provides riders with the newest skis and board of the upcoming winter season. At the chill area, the deck chairs are waiting, and a professional photographer will take pictures of the riders they can later download from www.snowparkguide.com. And at night, the Lodge at Hausberg is the place to party.

For up-to-date information please see www.snowparkguide.com

 

---

<

1 2 >