Big White hosts 18th Annual Neil Edgeworth Banked Slalom

Big White Ski Resort has once again successfully hosted the biggest annual event for snowboarders in British Columbia, the Neil Edgeworth Banked Slalom. 

Dedicated to snowboarding legend Neil Edgeworth, the event has been running for 18 years. This year’s gathering, held over March 21 and 22, was the largest in the history of the event, with a total of 265 participants racing across 20 different categories.

Participants were allowed two timed runs, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, meaning that everyone had the same amount of runs and was able to stick around the resort for the duration of the weekend. The best timed run counted as the time for the weekend.

The fastest time from the weekend went to Tom Velisek from Nelson, aged 34, with a time of 01:18:71. Stephanie Haines from Kelowna took out the fastest time for the ladies. Aged 27, she had a time of 1:23:30.

Although the memorial event is designed to be more about friendship than winning, over $20,000 worth of prizing was handed out to participants, including snowboards, longboards, apparel, helmets and guitars.

The event was a true gathering of all riders, whether they were young or young at heart – ages ranged from five all the way through to 64. While the most popular category was males between 25 and 34, the female representation in the event was particularly strong this year. The amount of families attending was also at an all-time high, with an entire generation of new snowboarders emerging.

“The soul of the sport definitely rang true at this year’s gathering,” said Flynn Seddon, Big White Ski Resort’s Director of Terrain Parks and Outdoor Events. “Everyone lives with a piece of this event embedded in them. Next year promises to be even bigger and we’re already looking forward to it.”