January 5, 2005

WHISTLER BLACKCOMB SELECTS FOUR YOUNG ATHLETES TO REPRESENT RESORT AT "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS NEXT SNOWSEARCH" IN FEBRUARY

Super Qualifier Held January 2 in Whistler Attracts 69 Kids

 

WHISTLER, BC: January 5, 2005 - Whistler Blackcomb has selected four promising young athletes to represent the resort at the Sports Illustrated for Kids Next Snow Search to be held in Colorado in February. The resort held a Super Qualifier event on Sunday on Blackcomb Mountain where 69 local kids aged 9-13 competed for the four spots.

 

The four Whistler athletes selected were Logan Pehota, skier, age 9, Garrett Milan, skier, age 13, Brian Bowles, snowboarder, age 13 and Simon Louwe, skier, age 12.

 

The 69 athletes competed throughout the day in a GS timed event, a big mountain event, and a slopestyle skills event. 14 finalists were selected to take part in a night-time big air that took place at the base of Whistler Mountain as part of the resort's weekly Fire and Ice welcome night.

 

Judges for the event had a difficult time choosing the finalists as the talent pool was so deep. "These kids represented such a diverse range of skills, and they were all such great individuals that it was really difficult to choose the finalists," says head judge Paul Rak. "We were only supposed to choose 10 finalists, but we extended that to 14 to give a few more kids a chance in the finals."

 

Six judges spent the day watching closely as the kids competed and interacted with each other, their coaches, event officials, and even their parents. Judges included Paul Rak and Zoltan Katchanoski, both IJC judges and working with Whistler Blackcomb, World Cup mogul champion and Olympian John Smart, the godfather of freeskiing Mike Douglas, international freeskier and snowcross competitor Cara Dolan, and international freeskiing judge and announcer John "Dak" Williams.

 

"We are very proud of these youngsters who worked so hard throughout the contest, but never forgot to take a moment to celebrate each others' successes," says Stuart Rempel, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Whistler Blackcomb. "We know they will represent Whistler Blackcomb well and we look forward to sharing in their future accomplishments."

 

The four athletes selected have each earned a finalist spot in the Sports Illustrated for Kids Next Snow Search held in Keystone, Colorado February 11-13, 2005. Accommodation, lift tickets, and $500 towards airfare are being provided as part of their prize. The focus of the Next Snow Search contest is to identify promising young athletes who embody the elements of talent, sportsmanship and character. The Keystone contest will feature 150 kids chosen from qualifiers throughout North America who will compete over three days for one of 25 spots on the Sports Illustrated for Kids Next Snow Search Team. A one-hour show on NBC dedicated to the event will air on March 5 at 2-3pm EST, 11-noon PST.

 

Proud to be a venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

 

Intrawest Corporation (IDR:NYSE; ITW:TSX) is one of the world's leading destination resort and adventure travel companies. Intrawest has interests in 10 mountain resorts in North America's most popular mountain destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company owns Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world, and a 67 percent interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest - a private resort club with nine locations throughout North America. Intrawest is developing five additional resort village developments at locations in North America and Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.intrawest.com.