Few would argue that hosting on-hill freestyle events in the winter isn’t difficult: the weather, snow conditions, enticing crowds to stand in the cold, luring reporters, and keeping non-participant guests happy are all worthy challenges. But what else is as thrilling on a sunny day as basking in the sun’s warm glow as young athletes give it their all?

At some resorts, freestyle events are as much a staple of winter as hot chocolate and corduroy-lined trails. At others, they are a once- or twice-a-season service to the athlete community, an opportunity for local skiers and snowboarders to test their skills against one another. At a select few, they are a major marketing initiative, a media play that garners millions of eyeballs worldwide.

Most resorts fall within the former two categories, having neither the infrastructure, nor desire, to host an event of TV-worthy magnitude. But regardless of size, events have the ability to transform a resort from just another ho-hum hill to a buzzing social hub, the “place to be” for six hours on a Saturday. And whether people are watching their kids from the fence, or tuning in on NBC to see Shaun White do his famed double-cork, all have the potential to be converted to future clients.


NATIONAL EVENTS
Outdoor winter sports don’t get a lot of play on national TV, but with Shaun White appearing on everything from video games to Rolling Stone covers, freestyle snow sports have definitely gotten more TV love in recent years.

Part of this can be attributed to the debut of the Winter Dew Tour in 2008. Run by Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, a media company owned by NBC and MTV, the Dew Tour brings three multi-discipline snowboard and freeski events to prime weekend TV each winter. And although it would be easy to regard these types of events as being so big and unwieldy that they risk doing more harm than good, in fact the opposite is true, Chris Prybylo, Alli’s VP of events says.

“The biggest thing we bring to the resorts is media exposure,” he explains. “Our platform, our media platform, is really unmatched when it comes to the snowboarding and freeskiing events, or, frankly, any winter event for that matter.”

The sheer amount of content produced from each event is impressive: A Dew Tour stop generates over 52 hours of video footage per stop, which gets distributed across multiple media platforms, including TV (NBC, USA Network, MTV2, Universal Sports, Fuel), video-on-demand through cable operators, mobile (Verizon V CAST) and digital (NBC’s Hulu.com). Additionally, Fuel TV creates customized lifestyle shows focusing on the behind-the-scenes stories of the athletes living or competing in the resort or resort towns that host the Dew Tour, showing off a completely different side to the resort. In total, Winter Dew Tour footage is distributed to between 50 and 60 countries worldwide.

Prybylo says that Alli works closely with host resorts, which in 2009/10 included Breckenridge, Colo.; Snow Basin, Utah; and Mount Snow, Vt., to ensure that the resort is well-represented through the broadcasts. In addition to partnering with the resorts on marketing efforts, utilizing local resources as well as Alli’s own media, broadcast promotion includes on-course branding and custom-made resort “vignettes.”

“We give [resorts] the opportunity to create a customized piece that shows the resort the way they want to, whether it’s profiling the town of Breckenridge or doing a feature on Carinthia at Mount Snow. . .We really try to figure out what’s key for each resort and integrate that messaging throughout the broadcast.”

The media exposure is the number-one benefit of Breckenridge’s hosting of the Winter Dew Tour, says resort spokesperson Kristin Pettit.

“The Winter Dew Tour is critical to our early season strategy, specifically the live TV coverage,” she explains. “We have four hours of live winter sports coverage at our resort, so that lets everyone know we are open for business. Breck is known for having a long season and great early season conditions, so it’s essential for us to have an event like this.”

Crowds are an integral part of any event, but especially so when it is being broadcast nationally or worldwide. Big screens and professional camera crews allow even crowd-unfriendly formats to shine. For events that are large in scale but lack network TV coverage, though, formats that encourage crowds to stick around are key to ensuring the event is a “win” for the resort. Certain event formats definitely work better than others, Maria McNulty, a representative from Swatch TTR North America explains.

Comprised of more than 180 events worldwide, the Swatch TTR tour is the world’s largest coalition of independent freestyle snowboard events. Participation in TTR events helps athletes earn points toward a global ranking and cash prizes.

In her experience, McNulty says, halfpipe, quarterpipe and big air formats draw the largest crowds, because they allow fans to stand close to the action, seeing and feeling a rider’s speed, trick and amplitude. Slopestyle is a little trickier for live audiences, she says, because it is spread over a long run—it can be tough for spectators to get a good view.

However, some event formats also work better for athletes than they do for spectators, says Andrew Singleton, founder, EventSing Promotions. Event­Sing runs a coast-to-coast series of snowboard slopestyle events in Canada called You Look Good, targeted at amateur athletes and their families. While jam formats tend to be enjoyed by riders, who like the fast pace and ability to have multiple runs, an organized schedule with announcers who can relay rankings and scores makes it much easier for the audience to understand, he says. A crowd that understands who is where in the rankings, and what’s at stake each run, is more likely to be engaged and stick around, he explains.


REGIONAL EVENTS
While EventSing’s You Look Good may be national in scope, it started as a regional series in Ontario and expanded nationally to become the only series of its kind in Canada. Averaging about 100 riders an event, each You Look Good Rider’s Cup stop is located in a different province, at resorts ranging from Ontario’s 500-foot Mount St. Louis Moonstone to 3,500-foot Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta.

The difference between the You Look Good Rider’s Cup and many other events is its family-friendly nature, Singleton says, and as such, athletes’ “support systems” play a role in each event’s success.

Engaging that audience has benefits for both the contest and the resort, he explains. In addition to crowd-based prizing opportunities and a talented announcer who can guide crowds through the day, there are several other key ways to bring crowds and athlete support personnel into the event.

“We really try to produce an event that’s timely and that has the necessary [skill and age-based] categories, which means that families can gear their day around a black-and-white schedule as opposed to a free-for-all where they don’t know if they can go for a run with their family or see the rest of the resort,” he says.

“We also try to deliver or produce an awards component of the event: that gives an opportunity to an athlete to invite their friends and family see them receive an award and applaud them. We also incorporate photo and video into the day, so that people in the crowd are captured screaming and applauding, and it gets their faces included in the coverage.”

When fans can easily access the venue and they have a comfortable place to watch, they’ll be more likely to stick around, Swatch TTR’s McNulty says.

“Equally important is having a solid live venue production including experienced live announcers, DJs, a big screen and scoreboard to keep the crowd engaged and informed,” she adds.

For a resort that hosts a regional amateur-athlete focused event such as the You Look Good Riders’ Cup series, one of the main benefits is showing off your park to an influential crowd, Singleton says, and this extends to their families as well as their friends. (Especially in the age of social media, where a park’s status as good or bad is instantly communicated online.) It’s not uncommon for parents of participants to e-mail EventSing after an event to comment on the resort if they were pleased, he says.


GRASSROOTS EVENTS
Family-targeted events are really the best fit for a resort like Ski Sundown in Connecticut, Bob Switzgable, the resort’s owner, says.. Events are an important part of the resort’s winter strategy, and although it pursues a balance of events big and small—from East Coast-focused The Main Event slopestyle series to best-trick park events for kids—the events for local kids tend to generate the most ROI for the resort in terms of revenue and guest engagement, he says.

“Some are more successful than others,” he says. “We do a little big air for kids who are 12 and younger, and certainly for that, you have the whole family involved and they stick around for the whole day. Plus, everyone buys a ticket. Whereas when you have a higher-level event, you kind of get, well, a bunch of scenesters, and they take off after the event. But we’ve just accepted that it is what it is.”

Ski Sundown makes an effort to have an event of some type almost every weekend, he says, whether it’s a themed event, a ski or mogul event, or a park event. And if people have a good time, they do bring people back to the resort, he says. And if there’s one thing he’s learned over the years of owning Ski Sundown, there’s one surefire way of making a winter event a success: balloons.

“I tell people this all the time: balloons matter!” he laughs. “It blows my mind, but balloons matter. When we first started doing events—which I had to be persuaded into—and they started dragging out balloons, I was like, ‘What does this have to do with skiing?’ But I couldn’t believe it—every kid is walking out with a balloon and all the moms and dads are happy. I’m definitely a believer now.”


CALLING IT A WIN
Freestyle events are fact of life for most resorts, but whether or not they are a “win” for the resort depends on myriad factors, not the least of which is whether or not Mother Nature decides to bless it with moderate temperatures and sunny skies. Each resort’s goals will be different, but common to the execution should be the dual goal of pleasing participants while adding to other guests’ experience.

“Resorts are always most pleased when they know they provided a quality experience for everyone the event touches, from the competitors, their families and the spectators, to property owners, business owners and mountain staff,” McNulty says.

“Making sure that everyone is happy and needs are met seems to be the most important factor for host resorts.”



COVER MY EVENT! A Q&A WITH FREESKIER EDITOR MATT HARVEY
Q: What makes an event interesting to Freeskier for possible coverage?

MH: Our magazine focuses heavily on athletes and "behind-the-scenes" aspects of events. For that reason, the bigger the name roster, the more likely we are to give it attention. Of course, the bigger the cash purse, the bigger the athlete draw. In the case that there are no big name athletes, the other motivator for us would be if the event focuses on up-and-comers and gives them a path to get into the bigger events, though we don't give ‘am’ events nearly as much coverage. If there are no big-name athletes or up-and-coming ams, the event must be very unique in some way to warrant coverage.

Q: What's the best way for a resort to reach out? How much lead time do you need?

MH: We generally have a strong grasp of the events that we will cover throughout the season by about October. For events that are not already on our radar, a month's worth of notice would be ideal.

Q: What should a resort do to prepare for media coverage? What should they have ready and how should they be prepared to work with writers and photographers?

MH: Other than what I will cover in the next question, there is really very little that we look for from the resort in terms of helping our coverage. If they can provide lodging, that always helps. The rest generally comes from the event company. For us to provide the best coverage of an event, and therefore the resort it is held at, we need access to every area. However, this is really only an issue for a couple events (X, Dew) where access is very limited, so this point may be moot. Generally, at all other events, media is able to go wherever they please.

Q: What's the number-one mistake resort communication people make when trying to get coverage for an event in Freeskier?

MH: The hands-down, number-one mistake made is providing accommodations without Internet access! It is baffling how often this happens, even at the big events. I know I shouldn't be complaining about [complimentary] hotel rooms, but if an event has the resources to put media in a house or hotel, their number-one priority should be ensuring good Internet access. Ninety-nine percent of the event coverage we provide is through our website and social media; without Internet access, the quality and quantity of coverage is immediately reduced.

Note: Like many print periodicals, Freeskier only covers events on its website. “Events are interesting to our readers because they're timely, and the only way to be timely is through Freeskier.com, Twitter and Facebook,” Harvey says.