Skiboarders Help!!: Bens Email

[Mike W.]

I don't know if all of you recieved this from Ben, but you better read it and act now if you want to have a good time at Sauveur

"
hello all

this is a very very important email..... we have just been informed that mt st sauvuer, (where the ISF, BENTFILMS, and SKIBOARDMAGAZINE are holding a jam session next weekend) has a 'no snowbladers' sign outside there park, and they have skiboarders out in the past month due to a 'higher chance of injury' and insurance issue. We need everyone to tell all of your skiboarding friends, and POLITELY email and call these people (webmaster@montsaintsauveur.com and (450) 227-4671) saying who you are, and why you are going to be at mt st sauveur next weekend..... tell them that you are professionals who are more then happy to sign a release form to get into there park. DO NOT tell them that you are competing in a contest, tell them that you are in a jam session that has been organized for some time, and X GAMES CONTESTANTS from around the country are coming to film and promote there mountain. A main priority of your emails are POLITENESS and NON HOSTILITY... so please be very professional when you email and call webmaster@montsaintsauveur.com. and (450) 227-4671

AT THE BEGINNING of your email, please say "Can whomever is reading this, please forward it to the correct recipient? perhaps someone incharge of liabilities and the terrain park" so we make sure if the email gets tossed into a general mailbox, they know who to send it to. This shoot has brought together the largest amount of pros to come together since the X GAMES! we cant let it go to waste because of a silly liability issue..... THIS IS A CALL TO ALL SKIBOARDERS!!! please call and make this happen, because if not, its a 3.5 hour drive to STONEHAM!!!!!! thats to much gas to waste.... please be polite, and help out.... its for a good cause

Thanks for your help

Ben Wannamaker
Bent Films "

Good Luck

[Alex-TRS]

I wrote to them a huge mail and hope to get a reply....

but whatever happens we'll be there for sure because they cannot make us get out of the park... they'll say "snowblades are
dangerous in parks" and we'll say that we skiboard and show
them how "dangerous" we are not.

This is truly discriminatory behaviour...we could all get twin tips
and get in within a problem...why would be be kicked out for having smaller twin tips? huh?

there won`t be any problems =)

[Vitulla]

well hey guys, i just came back from sauveur and visited the snowpark with my skis. On thursday, i sent a letter to greco telling him about this. but i checked out the park and its sick. i also emailed sauveur about this and this is what i got:
Good morning, to answer your question, I just asked the person in charge of
our snowpark and he told me it was a matter of balance. It seems that since
the snowblades are so short, it's hard to keep your balance when you land a
jump and injuries could occur. And it's also a matter of insurance.
Because of what I just explained about the balance, our insurance company
wouldn't insure Mont Avila if snowbladers were allowed in the park.

I hope this answers your question...
Have a good day

anyways i guess we could have special passes or something stating that whatever happens is our faulth and no one elses...but good news...there is 2 other snowparks, not as big but with rails jumps and boxes, without any warnings about no snowblades...anyways please keep me posted. thanks!

[Alex-TRS]

we will be hitting the big park no matter what

if they do not want to give us passes or sign release forms (as we've asked in our emails) then we'll just have to go ride
elsewhere.

And they can just shove they "balance" up their asses since
its quite ridiculous..... ahhhh insurance companies

[C.Langer]

is this actually going to be an issue? this may change things for me since i'm driving 8+ hours. i sent my "professional, non-combative" email. hope it helps.

[Mike W.]

I think the biggest problem are little kids who are trying to go on rails, jumps and what not in the park. They don't know any better and hurt them selfs.. also ontop of that our bindings are non releasable.. so a higher risk of injury. This is why i belive that there are no "snowblades" allowed. They make a great point but its unfair to the pro ams and pros of skiboarding.

[Alex-TRS]

yep Mike....

but No C.Langer it will not be an issue! They will surely accept to let us in with a release form or a special pass and
if they don't I just made up the sickest back up plan ever

theres a place called Val-Saint-Come which is an hour away from Sauveur (and that one hour drive is at 100km/h or 60 mph which we all go beyond I'm sure....so make that a 40 min drive at the top)

For the past 4 years their park was one of the illest in Quebec..but I never had the chance to go.

So if we can't ride Sauveur we'll just go there instead! its not
too far away and they don't have "anti-snowblades" policies =P

[C.Langer]

i understand the liability issue ... it makes sense, but it's totally asinine to single out skiboarders when snowboarders are the biggest liability on the MTN. Alex ... is the other mtn you mentioned further into Canada? if I drive any further i'm gonna keep goin till it hit BC ;)

[Alex-TRS]

hahaha no man I said its a 40 minute drive from Sauveur...
so its basically right next to it =P

like a neighbor resort or something =p

and I'm with you on the liability issue about snowboarders...they don't have releasable bindings (like we do) but their freaking feet are stuck onto one board so when they fall they can't do shit but follow the board's lead.... now THAT makes for dangerous injuries.

[bobson]

man that really sucks
sounds a bit hypocritical to me
wonder wether the insurance company have ever been near a slope/park other than to get policies
does this mean that other resorts will follow suit?

hope it works out OK for you guys
look forward to see some footage
maybe you can get some footage of them chasing you outta the park?

:eek:

[Mike W.]

Even though snowboards can have bad accidents and could be at high risk for injurys.. Most new snowboarders don't attemts rails and jumps untill they can carve and go down the hill sucsessfully . how ever the learning curve on skiboards take about 1 hour - 2 hours and some times make people think that they are pros.. So this is why they had a large # of accidents with "snowbladers" over skiers and snowboarders.

[Alex-TRS]

good point....

=)

[J.D.]

And the problem with ignoring the jackasses would be...

So, I could go in the park with Ghetto Blasters and a DIN set at 17, and that would be all fine, but no Skiboards? Um. That seems, well, stupid. Especially the thing about Balance... "It's hard to land on skiboards so you can't go in the park". Hahahahahaha...as if there aren't 100 times as many shitty snowboarders who can't land a 3 foot straight air. Give me a break. Sounds like they're haters making lame excuses.

[CrazyDave]

It's actually pretty ridiculous. Sauvear lost out big time. They would have sold 40+ lift tickets + food, etc. I guess they don't mind losing customers to Tremblant. I don't know all the details when it comes to insurance, but that sounds more like a convenient excuse than a reason. Maybe it's different in Canada, but in NY all resorts have signs explaining the skier assumes all risk as well as stating it on each lift ticket.

Seems like a poor business decision more than anything...oh well, I'd much rather go to Tremblant anyway.

(JD makes an excellent point too...would they allow skiboards with releasable bindings in the park?)