The Freeride Academy on campus hosted their annual event packing the Tanner Building’s auditorium to watch Teton Gravity Research’s new film, Almost Ablaze, and get their hands on some free swag.
“The Freeride Academy is all about connecting students on campus who love skiing and snowboarding,” said co-president Rachel Olson.
As the time grew closer, students made their way to the auditorium trying to get a seat close to the front in order to catch prizes as they were thrown into the crowd. Mounds of swag was laid out onstage waiting to be given away. As the clock struck 6:30 the MC rallied the crowd to excitement and he reached his hand into the raffle bag to grab a ticket of a lucky attendee.
Shirts, hats, socks, a pair of ski poles, three pair of skis and a snowboard were all raffled off. A group game of rock-paper-scissors decided the winner for the first pair of skis. Chubby-bunny, the beloved marshmallow game, determined the winner for the second pair of skis. The last pair of skis was won by racing up and down stairs in ski boots.
“It went pretty well,” said Olson. “It was pretty funny when John, from Board of Provo, rushed down onto the stage and said that he would give a pair of skis to one contestant because the other contestant couldn’t decide if he wanted the skis or the helmet camera.”
As all the swag got tossed out, the crowd grew silent and ready for the movie to start. Cheers roared when the movie started and when the skiers and snowboarders performed outrageous stunts.
After watching the movie, Brayden Crump, a student studying microbiology from Liberty Lake, Washington, got really excited for the upcoming season. “Coming to this event and watching the movie really motivates me to get out and ski more this season,” Crump said.
