Big White Ski Resort up for USA TODAY award
Big White's TELUS Park has been nominated as one of the best terrain parks in North America in the USA TODAY 10Best awards. Currently in second place on the 10Best leaderboard, TELUS Park is one of only two Canadian terrian parks on the list, the other being Whistler's Blackcomb.
Together, Big White Ski Resort and TELUS have partnered to develop one of the top ski and snowboard terrain parks in the country over the last 10 years.
The park is built around the progression system, consisting of small, medium, large and extra-large sizing - this allows skiers and snowboarders to progress along at their own pace and ride within their ability range. The areas are separated, allowing riders to ski and board in the zone that they are most comfortable in.
TELUS park also has a standard 12 foot halfpipe, which are rapidly becoming rare to find in ski resorts. The halfpipe and its transitional walls help to develop the skills of snowboarders and skiers and help strengthen overall riding and skiing.
A full time snowcross course is another part of the TELUS park package; the snowcross track similarly provides
terrain to help strengthen skier and snowboarders basic skills. Banked corners and rolling hills accentuate the unweighting and down weighting that is essential to a solid ski and snowboard base. Add to that the development of edge control, and TELUS park really becomes a great place to learn and develop.
TELUS Park develops athletes across the country
By partnering with Provincial, National and International sporting organizations, TELUS park supplies event venues for many disciplines of snowsports, from grassroots kids events to National and World cup events.
TELUS park plays host to events that showcase the Olympic disciplines such as ski and snowboard slopestyle, snowboard cross and ski cross, halfpipe and international World Cup para snowboardcross and banked slalom.
Let's not forget about the young ones...
TELUS Park also extends to the Family Channel Total Learning Centre park. This consists of a scaled-down version of the snow cross course with banked corners to help beginners turn and create balance, as well some small sliding features to help introduce the terrain park experience to kids and first time skiers and snowboarders - all in one specialized area. This park is located on the "Whoop de Doo" run off Hummingbird, just under the beginner Plaza Chair.
A third park product in the Family Channel Total learning center program is the TLC kids park - an area specially constructed for kids as young as 3 years to be exposed to the very basic of standing, sliding and balance on snowboards and skies in a mini terrain park environment. This park can be found in the beginner's skiing and snowboarding area in Happy Valley.
The progression system truly covers all the age ranges of skier and snowboarder and provides a life long avenue of progression.
Our thanks goes out to...
The programs could not operate without the Terrain Park and Events staff - over 30 staff solely dedicated to the operation of the park and events program. This undoubtedly makes TELUS Park one of the best maintained parks around, with an average of 10 paid Terrain Park and Events personnel out there each day.
We like to describe ourselves as "life guards on snow" performing basic feature maintenance, providing spotters on jump features to minimize risk for the guests, guest education and guest services.
The parks are maintained nightly with the terrain park snow cat grooming team and backed up by our professional Ski Patrol division.
Is Big White TELUS Park your favourite park in North America? Vote for us in the USA TODAY 10Best Awards and help keep us at the top of the leaderboard! Click here to vote - it only takes 10 seconds and you can vote every day.