(Donner Summit, CA) It’s game-on for park skiers in the 2nd Annual Jibassic Pro Rail Invitational at Boreal Mountain Resort. Liberty Skis has stepped up to the plate to provide a winner-take-all cash purse of $1000. Originally slated as a snowboard-only competition for lack of ski company support, Saturday’s competition at Boreal will host some of the best urban style park skiers in the sport as well.
Boreal Mountain Resort will kick off Northern California’s winter of terrain park competition with its pre-season original, the Jibassic Pro Rail Invitational Saturday evening, October 14. This one-of-a-kind sunset ski and snowboard competition is the first on-snow competition in the Tahoe area, with pro and top amateur urban style riders and twin-tippers competing.
Boreal will truck in snow to create the run-in and landing area at the competition location, just steps from the main lodge. Competitors will slide a custom-built 30-step staircase consisting of four funbox options (two flat, one flat-down, and down-flat-down). “With last year’s contest featuring 50 competitors and 3,000 spectators, we hope the second time around will be even bigger and better. A shot at the cash prize purse isn’t a bad way to start off the season either,” said Eric Rosenwald, Boreal Mountain Resort Terrain Park Director. Local talents Jake Devine and Destinee Perata took first place in the men’s and women’s snowboard division at the 2005 competition. “Hosting the first contest of the season in the Tahoe area is a great way to get people excited about winter.” he added.
“We’re really happy Liberty was interested in providing a skier division purse,” said Eric Rosenwald. “There’s a really deep talent pool of skiers out there, so Saturday’s ski competitors should be great,” he added. Confirmed skiers to date include local talent Shawn Fields and Sean Collins, and Park City based Ian Cosco. Liberty skiers set to compete include Witt Foster, Steve Stepp, and Rich Fahey, all of whom are making the road trip from Utah. The star of the ski division will be Boreal athlete Becca Babicz, a full-time student at the University of Nevada, Reno, and one of the country’s top up-and- coming park riders. Babicz was also instrumental in fueling interest among athletes and ski companies to sponsor a ski division for Boreal’s event.
“We’ve been really successful so far with grass-roots outreach and marketing which concentrates on supporting the whole field of skiing, so this is Liberty’s first pro invite-only comp we have sponsored,,” said Jason Badgley, Northern California and Nevada Sales Rep for Liberty Skis. “We’re also going to be a sponsorship partner for Boreal’s season-long Friday Night Expression Session park series, so it’s a good step for us to take. We’re looking forward to having a presence at Boreal for Saturday’s contest and throughout the 06/07 winter” he added.
In addition to a current full line of new school park and mountain skis, Liberty also plans to launch a lifestyle apparel line at this year’s SIA conference in Las Vegas. Look for clothing, technical backpacks, and luggage/travel gear. Visit the Liberty Skis booth Saturday at the Jibassic Pro Rail Invitational.