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Ten days of air

Full schedule of events, demos slated for World Ski and Snowboard Festival

The 10 th annual Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival gets underway this weekend with the World Snowboarding Invitational, and wraps up the next weekend with the World Skiing Invitational.

In between you’ll find all kinds of events, ranging from the World Ski School Championships to the Salomon Urban Rail Session, with a field that includes some of the top skiers and riders from around the world.

World Snowboarding Invitational – April 8-10

There’s $50,000 in prize money on the line in the slopestyle and superpipe events, but that’s only part of the reason why some of the top riders in the world are coming to Whistler. Changing the big air to a slopestyle was a big draw for athletes according to organizers. On top of that, Whistler’s late season conditions in the park and pipe are legendary.

Friday will be a training day for the superpipe, from 10 a.m. to noon and slopestyle, 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The slopestyle qualifier will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by the slopestyle finals and one hit contest from 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

The superpipe finals will run from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a half hour SuperHit contest.

Slopestyle

The list of athletes taking part in the slopestyle is almost all-Canadian with one prominent American in the group – snowboard royalty Todd Richards. Richards, 35, has been competing since the early days of the sport, and is still pushing the boundaries after almost two decades.

Most of the remaining riders call Whistler home, but some will be making the trip from Calgary, Ontario and Quebec. The list included Dennis Bannock, Neil Connolly, Dustin Craven, Jesse Fox, Etienne Gilbert, Justine Lamoureux, Guillaume Morisset, Mike Page, Jeff Pepperdine, Mikey Rencz, Todd Richards, Benji Ritchie, TJ Schneider, Logan Short, Marc-André Tartre, Aleski Vanninen (Finland), and Travis Williams.

The stand-by list includes Craig Beaulieu, Andrew Hardingham, Rube Goldberg and Brad Martin.

In the women’s contest, the American team is pretty tough to beat with Molly Aguirre, Erin Comstock, Janna Meyen, Hannah Teter and Marni Yamada in the hunt. Emily Thomas is representing Australia, and the Canadians are represented by Susi Davis, Spencer O’Brien and Marie-France Roy. Leanne Pelosi, one of the top rail riders out there, had to drop out because of other obligations, which opened a spot for stand-bys Molly Milligan and Star of Peace Quinn.

Seven men and three women will also advance to the finals from the morning’s slopestyle qualifier.

Superpipe

The list for Sunday’s halfpipe is as impressive as they come with American riders like Keir Dillon, Rob Kingwill and Elijah and Abe Teter on the invite list. Jan Michealis of Germany and Giacomo Kratter will be representing Europe, Rio Tahara will be representing Japan, and the rest will be representing the Maple Leaf.

The Canadian contingent includes Jed Anderson, Jared Anderson, David Aubry, Jeff Batchelor, Dustin Craven, Brendan Davis, Guy Deschenes, Rube Goldberg, Mike Gotuaco, Andrew Hardingham, Justin Lamoureux, Brock Linden, Crispin Lipscomb, Brad Martin, David Melancon, Mike Michalchuk, Guillaume Morisset, Jamie Parker, Dan Raymond, Matt Thompson, Matthew Wallace, Kory Wright, Sprite Park Rider Sessions halfpipe winner Tamo Campos.

The stand-by list includes Stefan Karlsson of Sweden, Austria’s Freidl Kolar, Craig Moore, Yves Martineau, Jesse Kumlea and Jimmy Brace.

The women’s list includes the current Olympic champion, the current world champion, the reigning World Snowboarding Invitational Champion, as well as the top girls in the X-Games, Gravity Games, U.S. Open, Grand Prix and more.

From the U.S., the group includes Molly Aguirre, Tricia Byrnes, Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter. Doriane Vidal will represent France, and Paulina Ligocka will represent Poland. The Canadian group includes Jaclyn Anderson, Kelsey Borsa, Sarah Conrad, Anne-Marie Gauthier, Natalie Gough, Charmaine Ironside, Calynn Irwin, Jessica Kimura, Amanda Mourant, Maëlle Ricker, Katie Tsuyuki and Koko Wright.

The awards for the slopestyle will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

World Ski School Championships – April 16-17

Ski school instructors spend years, sometimes even decades gaining the experience and certification to be at the top of their profession. Although the World Ski School Championships is a fun contest, bringing together the top ski schools from around the world to show off their stuff, there’s a lot more at stake than almost $10,000 in prize money – how about world’s best ski school bragging rights for a full year?

Although Whistler’s poor season conditions kept a lot of teams away this year, it will still be a good show.

On Saturday, April 16, the athletes and teams will have their turns judged in a mixed radius course starting at 10 a.m. That afternoon the giant slalom will run at 1 p.m.

On Sunday, competitors will compete on a short turn course at 10 a.m. before moving on to the bump course at 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.skischoolchamps.com.

World Skiing Invitational – April 13-16

Whistler has hosted this freeski event for six years, since the very first twin-tipped skis rolled off the production line. Although the contest formats, tricks and athletes have evolved over the years, Whistler has continued to help grow the sport, while becoming one of the most important stops on the tour.

There’s $50,000 in prize money available, but the real value for skiers is the fact that every ski publication in the world will have reporters and photographers on the sidelines.

This contest is anybody’s with Tanner Hall, Simon Dumont and David Crichton sidelined with injuries. Canadians like TJ Schiller and Charles Gagnier have been cleaning up recently, but they’ll have their hands full with the rest of the field.

The slopestyle qualifiers get underway on April 13, from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. The slopestyle finals take place on Thursday from noon to 2 p.m., followed by the athlete judged One Hit contest.

The superpipe qualifier runs on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., and on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The finals run from 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., followed by the athlete judged SuperHit contest.

Slopestyle

The list for the slopestyle finals includes the top skiers from the X-Games, U.S. Open, and last year’s WSI events. The list includes Josh Bibby, Sammy Carlson, Tom Dolezel, Pep Fujas, Charles Gagnier, Andreas Hatveit, CR Johnson, Peter Olenick, Jon Olsson, Tanner Rainville, TJ Schiller, Henrik Windstedt, the winner of Japan’s Canada Cup, and the top seven qualifiers from the day before.

The stand-by list includes Derek Spong, Stefan Thomas, John Spriggs and Michael Olenick.

For the women, the two favourites are Sarah Burke and Kristi Leskinen, who have placed first and second in almost every event over the past two years. Others to watch for include Ashley Battersby, Grete Eliassen, Virginie Faivre, Beth Fletcher, Jen Hudak, Heather La Hart, Lisa Solberg, and Jamie Sundberg. The stand-by list includes Denise Jaworsky, Jayleen Peura and Charlei Marian.

Superpipe

Last year the top skiers were pushing close to 20 feet out of the pipe, landing switch, and spinning 900’s and 1080’s with ease. Although it might seem hard to top that, every year the skiers seem to go a little bigger.

The field is similar to the slopestyle, with Josh Bibby, Pep Fujas, Charles Gagnier, Andreas Hatveit, CR Johnson, Peter Olenick, and TJ Schiller. Also competing are Sean Field, Scott Hibbert, Arnaud Kugener, Dan Marion, John Spriggs, John Symms, Stefan Thomas, Greg Tuffelmire, Chris Turpin, Yuta Ueno, Corey Vanular and Andrew Woods.

The stand-by list is Colby West, Brent Abrams, Michael Olenick, Ryan McPherson and Tyler Peterson.

The women’s superpipe will feature Sarah Burke, Grete Eliassen, Virginie Faivre, Jen Hudak, Krisi Leskinen, Marie Martinod and Jamie Sundberg, plus three qualifiers from the day before. The stand-bys are Jessica Cumming, Dania Assaly, and Heather La Hart.

The slopestyle awards will be presented on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and the superpipe awards on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Urban Rail Session – Saturday, April 15

This year the premier night sports event is the Salomon Urban Rail Session, which will take place outside the GLC on a set-up constructed from scaffolding. Ten pro skiers and 10 pro boarders will take part, battling for $10,000 in prize money and the love of the crowd. The action starts at 9 p.m., but get there early if you want a good view of the action.

The list of invited athletes has not been released, but should be confirmed next week.

Yop Bike Trials – April 8-17, four shows daily

Always a crowd pleaser, the Yop Bike Trials in Mountain Square will feature some of the top up and coming trials riders in the province. The object of the sport is to clean a circuit of obstacles on a bike without putting a foot down. Shows are 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily during the festival.