SuperUnknown is one of the few yearly fixtures of freeskiing. Started back in 2004 as a route to a career beyond the competition circuit, it still provides one of the few fast tracks to exposure available today. I was a judge for the video entries last year and it's insane how many good skiers there are out there who, even when you spend every day on Newschoolers and social media, you've still barely (or never) heard of. Last year's winner, Oliver Karlberg, is a prime example of that. The 15th annual instalment will be hosted by Winter Park Resort, in April 2018, where ten of the most talented amateur skiers from across the globe will gather to spend a week shooting on custom made park features before voting to decide who takes the overall title.

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What you need to know:

The basic rules for this year’s contest are pretty much the same- entrants are required to put together a 90-second long video showcasing their skills, talent, bag of tricks, style, and personality. No résumés, no still photos, no comp results- just pure unfiltered video action. Entries will be reviewed and judged by the Level 1 staff and our crew of athletes based on the above criteria and overall impression.

The entry deadline for SuperUnknown XV is February 19, 2018.

In early March we’ll be dropping Semi-Finalist edits online, followed shortly by 9 Finalists. The 10th Finalist spot? They’ll be chosen by YOU- voted from the crop of Semi-Finalists in an online poll!

We’re then taking the 10 Finalists to a private week-long superpark shoot at Winter Park Resorts in late April, where they’ll be joined by a film crew from Level 1, on hand to document all the action. Web updates will be released throughout the week keeping you on top of all the action that goes down! At the end of the week, the Finalists and Level 1 crew will put in their vote for whoever they think is most deserving of the title. The skier with the most votes will take home the official title of SuperUnknown XV, an invite to join the Level 1 crew for film shoots throughout the rest of the filming schedule, and a foot in the door of the ski industry.

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The Rules:

The SuperUnknown contest is open to amateur athletes worldwide, ages 12 and up. Previous years' Finalists are permitted to enter the contest and they'll be judged on the same criteria as every other entrant.

All entries should be submitted online through the upload form on our website - quick, easy, and painless! The upload form will be open on this page from February 1st until February, 19th 2018. Upload your video in Quicktime format (technical details) and submit the online entry form and you’re good to go!

Entries should show an athlete’s skill, style, and personality. The video must communicate not only the talent and ability of the athlete, but his or her personality as well, and may include lifestyle, cutaway, and interview shots in addition to action. The contest will be judged, and the Finalists determined, by examining the overall skill, ability, style, and potential of the contestant.

How are we scoring entries this year? There’s no official scoring sheet, but here’s the breakdown on how we’re looking at entries:

- 10% Personality

- 20% Technical Ability

- 30% Style

- 40% Overall Impression

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- Videos must be no longer than 90 seconds (or less)! Anything longer will get you disqualified.

- Videos must be uploaded with the following file name format:

YourName LastName SUXV entry.file (Example: Tom Wallisch SUXV entry.mov)

- Tricks cannot be repeated, whether they’re rail tricks, jump tricks, etc, show them one time only! It’s fine to show something truly epic from a few different angles, but its not helping you out to show that you can do the same trick more then once.

- Only amateur athletes are considered eligible for the SuperUnknown contest and prizes. How do we define “amateur?” Basically if you’re receiving money as part of a contract beyond equipment and travel support, you are by definition a “pro” and no longer eligible. If you get free skis or someone bought you a plane ticket to get to a contest you’re still good to go in our book. We reserve the right to disqualify entrants if we feel the rules are being bent too far or broken.

- What’s the singular most impressive thing in your entry? Drop it in as the last shot in your vid and we’ll consider that your entry in the Best Trick contest, rewarding the standout shot(s) of the contest! This will be voted on by the online community and awarded separately from the SuperUnknown prize.

- Upon entry, the contestant grants Level 1 the rights to use submitted material as they see fit, in any and all mediums of distribution. Entry materials will not be returned. Online distribution or release of video submissions prior to the announcement of finalists will result in immediate disqualification of the entry, which means KEEP YOUR VIDEO OFF YOUTUBE AND VIMEO until we have announced the finalists, if you want to enter!

Entries must be received by Monday 11:59pm (MST) February 19th, 2018.

- The contest winners are to be determined by Level 1 and our independent consultants. All decisions are final, and are not subject to dispute. Level 1 reserves the right to make amendments or changes to the rules at any point in time.

- The top 10 Finalists (9 chosen by Level 1 and 1 chosen by public vote from all Semi-Finalists) will be invited to a private week-long superpark shoot at a resort in North America starting in April where they’ll be joined by a film crew from Level 1 to document all the action.

- All finalists will be provided free lodging for the duration of the shoot at the resort, lift access, and transfers to and from the filming venue(s) for the duration of the shoot. All additional travel to and from the resort and/or any additional expenses are the sole responsibility of the entrant.

- In the event that one or more finalists is unable to attend the shoot at the resort, Level 1 reserves the right to fill their spot with another contestant, wildcard, OR leave the spot vacant at our discretion.

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The Superunknown XV winner will receive:

- Cash Prize (TBA)

- invitation to film and photo shoots for the Fall ’18 Level 1 release.

- Associated Media coverage in related web, magazine, and TV content.

- Inclusion of their promo video for the upcoming season in the Fall ’18 Level 1 release.

The Best Trick winner will receive:

- A full equipment package from Level 1 and our sponsors, some serious bragging rights, and a few other things that we’re still working on…