Cream of crop snowboarders in Edmonton show

Image: Canada Snowboard

Recently, the Commonwealth Stadium, Canada Snowboard’s Director of Business Operations Brendan Matthews and Cindy Medynski, Interim Director for Edmonton Events, accompanied by three-time Olympic medalist Max Parrot announced that Edmonton will be the Host City of Canada’s first ever Snowboard International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Cup ‘Stadium’ big air competition.

‘Canada Snowboard’ stated that the event, known as ‘The Style Experience,’ will be the first North American stop of the 2022-2023 FIS World Cup seasons, and will showcase the best snowboarders in the world in a festival of action and entertainment, all housed within The Commonwealth Stadium in from December 9^th-10^th, 2022.

The Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for Canadian football, it also hosts athletics, soccer, rugby union, and concerts.

Vancouver, BC (Canada)-based the Canadian Snowboard Federation (also known as ‘Canada Snowboard’) is the governing body in Canada for the sport of snowboarding. It is a member discipline of the Canadian Snowsports Association, and is recognized by the Government of Canada, the Fédération Internationale de Ski, the World Snowboard Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. They are a federally incorporated non-profit organization. The Canada Snowboard is governed by a Board of Directors elected by and from its volunteer membership and manages programs nationally and locally through professional staff, provincial and territorial snowboard associations, and their affiliated clubs.

‘Canada Snowboard’ further stated that Canada Snowboard has a strong history of major events and its Shred the North Series of World Cups in 2022-2023 cover all disciplines of competitive snowboarding spanning the country.

The Edmonton stadium big air World Cup will be the pinnacle event of the Shred the North Series (FIS World Cups in all snowboard disciplines) and the only ‘in City’ stadium event in Canada. It will be a one-of-a-kind spectator and entertainment-focused festival celebrating snowboard culture and style with plans for live music, art, vendors, food, and complimentary sports and spectacles such as freestyle snowmobile demonstrations, a potential 3×3 basketball tournament, and, of course, the world’s best snowboarders riding on a massive scaffolding jump under the lights – the likes of which has never been seen in Canada.

The Commonwealth Stadium is an epic venue of coliseum proportions and the perfect location to premiere an event of this magnitude in the country that is home to many of the best big air snowboarders on earth. It is the largest open-air stadium in Canada and the venue for the recently held World Cup Soccer qualifier between Canada and Mexico when the match earned its iconic name ‘Iceteca’.

The Style Experience will have a unique format. It will not only host a FIS Snowboard big air World Cup, but also an event-within-the-event focused primarily on style in the form of an interactive entertainment-focused event where competitors and the live audience will connect. Head-to-head battles between the sport’s biggest names will go down, and creativity and style will be rewarded over fast rotations. This will provide loads of entertainment for both the riders and the audience and should be a fun way to showcase the best of what snowboarding has to offer.

Canada Snowboard’s head honcho Dustin Heise said about the partnership with Edmonton City, “Thankfully, Snowboarding and cold weather go hand in hand! December in Edmonton is the perfect time to celebrate Fall, with Winter just around the corner. Temperatures will be dropping and the stoke level will be high for Edmontonians and fellow Canadians to witness the best snowboarders in the world battling it out for money and the glory right there in their City. Canada Snowboard has pushed to launch an urban, stadium big air event of this magnitude for some time. The partnership we have built with the Edmonton City as the event host is ideal, with the consistent early-season cool temperatures and its large, fun-loving outdoor population that it is famous for. Edmonton boasts world-class venues and hotels and there is no doubt the City will be the perfect host to the large group of international teams and social media influencing rockstars the sport of snowboarding is known for. This year’s event will be the first of many more to come.”

Canada is a proven nation for world-class big air snowboarders, boasting many of the legends of the sport as their own, including the likes of Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalist Max Parrot, and Olympic silver medalist and current FIS big air World Champion Laurie Blouin.

The Style Experience will be Canada’s first-ever large stadium big air World Cup competition, and the event will the first of seven World Cup competitions to hit Canadian soil in 2022-2023. Other World Cup events in the Shred the North series include parallel slalom and parallel slalom team competitions from January 26^th to 27^th, 2023 in Blue Mountain, Ontario, snowboard cross and snowboard cross team events from February 3^rd-5^th, 2023 in Mt St. Anne, Quebec, and halfpipe and slopestyle competitions from February 9^th-12^th, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta.

Remarked Laurie Blouin, Olympic silver medalist, “It’s awesome to have a big air World Cup back in Canada, the stadium setup in Edmonton looks epic and it’s always amazing to compete in front of a huge Canadian crowd.”

Commented Dean Gosper, FIS Council Member and Chair of the FIS Snowboard Freestyle Freeski Committee, “Inner City FIS big air World Cups are the Formula 1 of snowboarding events. They are non-stop live entertainment, spotlighting the world’s best freestyle snowboarders on enormous jump structures delivering the best of freestyle snowboarding right to your door. The FIS World Cup Big Air Series showcases the Host City and the arrival of the snow season. We welcome Edmonton to the series, supported by the Canada Snowboard.”

Only Italy, with eight World Cup events currently on the calendar, will host more than the seven slated to go down in Canada in 2022-2023.

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