JAMBOREE BIG AIR RECAP
Bright sunshine and a hint of spring warmth set the stage for the Jamboree presented by Vidéotron this March 22–25, showcasing the FIS Freestyle Ski Big Air World Cup Finals and the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup Finals presented by Mazda. Riding high on the wave of the PyeongChang Olympics, freestyle skiing and snowboarding are all over the news right now. Homegrown Olympic snowboarders Max Parrot and Laurie Blouin, and freestyle ski Olympians Kim Lamarre and Alex Bellemare truly stole the show at this long weekend of World Cup action and festivities at Quebec City’s L’Îlot Fleurie. Talk about a rollercoaster of thrills and excitement for the thousands of visitors who turned out to cheer on their heroes!
Alex Bellemare, Kim Lamarre, Laurie Blouin and Max Parrot.
The organizers raised the stakes at this year’s Jamboree, setting out to inject even more fun into the fringe events and activities surrounding the World Cup action to keep the stoke alive for families, music fans and avid skiers and snowboarders with all-day programming Saturday and Sunday at the event site. For Chantal Lachance, Vice-President of Operations and Marketing for event producer Gestev, it’s “mission accomplished” for this stellar World Cup competition featuring nearly 60 elite ski and snowboard athletes, including 17 Olympians, as well as free music shows and kids’ activities, not to mention the inaugural Unmarked presented by Vidéotron video contest and fab new pop-up stands for foodies tickling everyone’s taste buds in the Bud Light Party Zone.
Dara Howell
The area around the impressive Big Air structure was buzzing with excitement yesterday as the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup Finals presented by Mazda and the FIS Freestyle Ski Big Air World Cup Finals took downtown Quebec City by storm. Following a nasty crash during training, home favourite in the women’s freestyle ski event Kim Lamarre unfortunately had to pull out of the competition. However, her fellow Canadian Dara Howell went on to take the win in the women’s competition, while Norwegian Christian Nummedal climbed to the top of the podium in the men’s eevent. In the snowboard event, local heroes Max Parrot, Laurie Blouin, Antoine Truchon, Francis Jobin and young rookie Marguerite Sweeney all put on a stellar show for spectators. Max Parrot romped away with the gold after an incredible day. “The crowd was on fire tonight here in Quebec City,” he said, after securing the win with a near-perfect score of 195.25 for his three jumps. “I can’t imagine a better way to end the season!” Pocketing the bronze, Antoine Truchon was also happy with his performance on the ramp, as was Laurie Blouin, who climbed onto the second step of the podium, much to the delight of her family, friends and fans.
Christian Nummedal
As if that weren’t enough, last night’s music shows courtesy of the Planet Smashers and Valaire took the Bud Light Party Zone by storm as well. And powder hounds with a taste for adventure were thrilled to see the entries in the brand new Unmarked video contest presented by Vidéotron projected onto the big screen. The winning freestyle ski video, based on the greatest social media engagement, was produced by Les Khroniques du Québec, while Les Épicuriens de la glisse took the honours in the snowboard video contest. Each winning team got to take home $1,500 in prize money. And that’s not all, the Vidéotron Prize for the best storyline and cinematography also went to Les Khroniques du Québec. All the videos entered in the contest are now available to view on the illico web channel and illico mobile app.
Women's Highlights
Men's Highlights
And because promoting the development of these snow sports is one of the Jamboree’s guiding principles, there were plenty of fringe activities on site, with more than 500 young people making the most of the Mazda Super Grom fun zone presented by the Quebec Snowboard Association and the Downtown Mountain urban bunny hill presented by Tim Hortons, not to mention the toboggan run presented by the Government of Quebec and the Zone des passionnés Mazda!
RESULTS
Hugo Burvall (2nd), Christian Nummedal (1st), Teal Harle (3rd).
Men
1) Christian Nummedal
2) Hugo Burvall
3) Teal Harle
4) Elias Ambuhl
5) Evan McEachran
6) Max Moffatt
7) Jonas Hunziker
8) Mac Forehand
9) Elias Syrja
10) Ralph Welponer
11) John Brown
12) Noah Morrison
13) Etienne Geoffroy
14) Paul Vieuxtemps
15) Nathan Harbonnier
16) Philippe Boily-Doucet
17) Patrick Dew
18) Philippe Langevin
19) Alex Bellemare
Silvia Bertagna (2nd), Dara Howell (1st), Megan Cressey (3rd).
Women
1) Dara Howell
2) Silvia Bertagna
3) Megan Cressey
4) Dominique Ohaco
5) Elena Gaskell
6) Kim Lamarre
For more on the event, visit snowjamboree.com.