Edmonton to host biggest snowboarding event in Canada
Edmonton to host biggest snowboarding event in Canada
Commonwealth Stadium will be getting much more snow than the rest of the city this week as it prepares to welcome the world's best snowboarders.
Edmonton will host the first ever FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup to be held in a stadium. And to do it, the venue is building the biggest stadium snowboard jump in history using more than 1,200 cubic meters of snow.
"[It's a] pretty unique thing to do," said Richard Hegarty, major event specialist for Canada Snowboard. "We build these kinds of jumps on snow quite regularly, but you never get to build them in a stadium."
"This, to my knowledge, is the largest scaffolding build ever built in history."
The Big Air World Cup event, titled The Style Experience, will take place Dec. 9 and 10. It's a qualifier for the Olympics and the first North American stop of the 2022-2023 FIS World Cup season.
Hegarty said Canada Snowboard scouted locations across the country, choosing Edmonton because it's home to the largest outdoor stadium in Canada and it's cold enough in December for a winter sport event.
"It's probably easier here than it would be anywhere else in the world, so it's ideal," Hegarty said, adding that Commonwealth Stadium's layout made it the perfect spot to build the 147-foot-tall and 483-foot-long jump.
Construction of the ramp began Nov. 7 and will take around 6,000 hours in total. The snow to cover the ramp is being made at Rabbit Hill and trucked in.
Construction of the ramp for the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup began Nov. 7 and will take around 6,000 hours in total. (John Hanson/CTV News Edmonton)Unlike other snowboarding venues, the stadium seating offers multiple viewpoints that snowboarding spectators don't usually get, said Commonwealth Stadium director Heather Seutter.
"You don't have to travel to the ski hill, and you'll probably get one of the best spectator experiences to be able to see the athletes competing live," Seutter said.
The qualifiers on Dec. 9 won't be open to the public, but Suetter said the stadium is hoping to sell 10,000 to 15,000 tickets for the finals on the afternoon of Dec. 10.
"I think Edmontonians and visitors are really going to respond well to just how unique this event is and how we've repurposed the stadium into a mountain essentially," said Cindy Medynski, director of sport and culture at Explore Edmonton.
Medynski hopes the competition will become a regular event at the Commonwealth Stadium and said the international coverage will bring in visitors and show the world what Edmonton has to offer as a host city.
"It's huge for us to get that exposure," she said. "I think [being chosen] means that Edmonton punches above its weight, and we show up and we think outside the box."
British Columbia is taking a major step forward in its fight against the province’s deadly overdose crisis by decriminalizing the possession of a small amount of certain illicit drugs for personal use.
Advocates and business owners in the beverage industry say new guidance for drinking alcohol could speed up changing consumer drinking habits as younger generations drink less and non-alcoholic beverages become more popular.
A six-year-old girl died in hospital Sunday night after being involved in an incident at the Val-Saint-Côme ski resort in Lanaudiere. Quebec police are investigating, though details into the event are not yet known. Officers indicated that it involved a T-bar lift, but they were not able to say more.
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Elghawaby to apologize and step down.
Members of Parliament return to Ottawa to resume sitting for the first time in 2023 on Monday, with the state of Canada's health-care system, the health of the Canadian economy, and rates of violent crime in this country all top of mind.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine displacing millions of people, many refugees have begun to lay their roots in Canada. If you or someone you know has fled the war-torn country and settled in Canada, we want to hear from you.
The University of Lethbridge, following a great deal of push back from students and members of the public, has cancelled a planned lecture from a controversial guest speaker.
A man accused of murder said he has been behind bars at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre for the last 1,310 days and is only allowed out three hours each day.
A new grant program announced by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Grey Cup Festival Volunteer Host Organizing Committee will support provincial programs around the province directed at youth, healthy lifestyles and mental health, the team said in a news release.
The grisly aftermath of an alleged fatal shooting was described today during the murder trial of a former medical student accused of killing a fellow student in Halifax seven years ago.
Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella is among several Canadian police chiefs to speak out against the beating death of a Black man by several police officers in Memphis, Tenn., earlier this month.
Horror, outrage, and pain are just a few words Robert Wright uses to describe his feelings after watching Tyre Nichols pinned and assaulted by officers in Memphis.
A Toronto passenger said her Sunwing Airlines flight was unforgettable as she recounted the moments after the pilot shut down the plane’s engine mid-flight to Montego Bay on Friday.
The Farmers' Almanac just revealed its spring 2023 forecast and Ontario, along with much of the rest of Canada, is expected to see a “turbulent transition to warmth,” the agency predicts.
A six-year-old girl died in hospital Sunday night after being involved in an incident at the Val-Saint-Côme ski resort in Lanaudiere. Quebec police are investigating, though details into the event are not yet known. Officers indicated that it involved a T-bar lift, but they were not able to say more.
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Elghawaby to apologize and step down.
OPS and Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 192 parking tickets and 67 Provincial Offences Notices in downtown Ottawa this weekend, as people gathered marked the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
The Waterloo Fire Department is crediting a working carbon monoxide (CO) detector for potentially helping to save the lives of two people early Sunday morning.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
Two people discovered asleep in a vehicle in Sault Ste. Marie on Jan. 30 were found with weapons and more than $175,000 in illegal drugs, Sault police said Monday.
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series '24' and providing the voice for Tess in the video game 'The Last of Us' has died. She was 45.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
British Columbia is taking a major step forward in its fight against the province’s deadly overdose crisis by decriminalizing the possession of a small amount of certain illicit drugs for personal use.
Mounties are asking the public for help finding a 30-year-old woman missing in Nanaimo, B.C. Police say Samantha Evans has not been heard from since Jan. 11. Her family contacted the Nanaimo RCMP one week later and a missing person's investigation was launched on Jan. 18.
Construction of the ramp for the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup began Nov. 7 and will take around 6,000 hours in total. (John Hanson/CTV News Edmonton)Unlike other snowboarding venues, the stadium seating offers multiple viewpoints that snowboarding spectators don't usually get, said Commonwealth Stadium director Heather Seutter.
