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Whistler Blackcomb’s Showcase Showdown is back Saturday, February 28 with a new format; the Backyard Slopestyle. Inspired by the mini-parks in locals’ backyards all over Whistler, the Showdown will blow the scene up with a snowboard slopestyle at the base of Whistler Mountain. Despite the larger venue and cash prizes on the line, the chill vibe of the backyard throwdown will remain.


The top three men and women will feature in Sandbox’s next snowboard film “Shine On,” and $5000 cash and prizes from event sponsors including Nixon headphones are up for grabs.


The Women’s competition will take place from 9am to 11am. The Men’s competition will start at 11am with Finals starting around 4pm.


Athlete Registration Information

Athletes can register in person at any Whistler Blackcomb Guest Relations desk. Registration is $50+GST per rider and is open to 60 men and 20 women. Competitor’s check in will take place on Friday, February 27 at the Village Showcase Snowboards from 5-7pm.

******Helmets and bibs are mandatory for all runs including practice.


For registration and more event information call 1-800-766-0449 or visit www.showcaseshowdown.ca


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I am going to talk to you about affiliate marketing or what is most commonly know as MLM – Multi Level Marketing.

For those of you who have not heard of MLM it is considered the best way to make money online although I have to say this method has received a lot of stigma over the years namely from those people who never made money from them and quit.

 

The fact is that 70% of people that TRY MLM programs usually quit within 2 months of joining and are usually for the same reasons, that they never made any money.

Truthfully those people were probably told they would make a small fortune in a very short period of time but sadly the person that introduced them was only interested in signing them up and failed to explain how to build a successful business.

 

To build any business successfully will require hard work and should be treated as a full-time job although this is not permanent it is necessary to build a solid foundation in the early days.

Sadly most are not presented with these facts so I guess you cannot blame them for quitting or even giving the MLM opportunities a bad name.

 

There are 3 main reasons to be able to succeed in any MLM program which I am about to share with you and in my opinion are key to success.

 

• The Right Program - You need to find the right MLM program that is low cost and offers the best compensation plan.
• The Dream – This has to be one of the most important ingredients because if your dream is big enough you will do whatever it takes to achieve it.
• Support – You need support with anything that is new especially from those who are already successful and are willing to help you succeed.

 

 

Ok now let’s look at these 3 key reasons in more depth to help put things in perspective.

 

The Right Program

 

Now although there are a lot of MLM programs on the internet it is important that they are an established company, offer an excellent compensation plan, provide tools to help you build your business and have a product that most people want and need.

GDI or Global Domains International are in my opinion the only MLM company that offers all of this and for only $10 a month.

Now one thing you have to realise is that if you want to work online from home and be successful in any business there will be some cost attached to it. Although GDI offers you your own business, product and unlimited income opportunity for only $10 a month plus you can try it for 7 days free.

So lets break it down and see what you get for your hard earned $10 a month.

 

• Web Hosting
• Your own domain name
• 10 email addresses
• Web site building tool
• Access to the GDI Forum
• Tools to promote your business
• Unlimited income opportunity

 

 

As you can see you get your own website, the tools to build it and can be active online within a few short hours but what’s more incredible is you can earn money too.

 

So who are GDI and how do I make money?

 

Global Domains International, or GDI, was founded in 1999 by Michael Reed, CEO and Alan Ezeir, President who both recognized another opportunity that was largely ignored. The dot com boom that was so popular back in 1995 reached its peak around march of 2000. What Michael Reed and Alan Ezeir wondered was if there were other available extensions that businesses could use as a domain name. They ultimately focused on the domain extension .WS, which belonged to the tiny island nation of Samoa, deep in the South Pacific. They were able to execute a deal with Samoa stating they had to produce 15,000 registered domain .ws extensions in 3 years. Well they accomplished that goal in GDI’s 1st month of business and the rest as they say is history. In the 2002 Special issue of Inc. magazine, Global Domains International placed #37 on the Inc 500 magazine’s “List” of the USA’s 500 fastest growing private companies and #5 in the state of California. If you have come across any .ws adresses on the internet you can rest assured that they have been registered through Global Domains International, as GDI has single handedly captured the market share for the .ws extension. But what really puts the icing on the cake is the amazing business opportunity they have incorporated in to the equation.

 

So now let’s talk about how you earn money.

For every person that you refer to GDI you will earn $1 every month for as long as that person remains a member.

That person that you refer – for every person that they refer to GDI, you will earn $1 every month for as long as that person remains a member. This continues down for 5 levels.

So even if you only refer one person, but that one person referred 50 people, you would earn $1 for each of those 50 people. If those 50 people referred just 1 person each, that’s another $50 per month you’d earn.

Remember though, as I said earlier you only get out of a program what you put into it. You could very easily get someone in your downline that could refer 50 people and that would be great, but you might not, so don’t just rely completely on your downline, especially in the beginning, try to refer a few people.

Let’s look at an example of the sort of income you can earn with GDI.

If you referred 10 people and those 10 people referred just 5 people each, and those 5 people referred 5 people each, and so on for 5 levels. Your monthly income would be $7810.

Sound Good???

Well that’s not all, GDI also offer a weekly bonus scheme of $100 for every 5 people you personally introduce. So for example if 20 people joined your business you would be paid $400 for that week and best of all there is no limit to the amount of people you refer. If you were to do the same every week that would an average of $1600 a month which for a lot of people would replace their job salary.

You may be thinking it sounds too good to be true or how can I refer 10 people, I don’t know 10 people that would be interested in this.

Well its not too good to be true, there are people earning even more than that with GDI.

As far as referring people GDI offer the tools to help with this however as I mentioned previously support in this business is key to your success from those who are already successful.

 

The Dream

 

To be successful you need to have a reason or a dream this could be a few hundred dollars a month to begin with or a new car.

What I have found is that people fear to dream because they don’t believe it will happen. It has amazed me being around this business how quickly people underestimate themselves and what started out as being a dream of making a few hundred dollars a month turned into buying their dream home cash.

This business offers so much its about people helping people and the feeling of knowing you have helped others take back their lives is priceless.

 

 

Support

 

Most people that join MLM programs have little or no experience on how to build a successful business and sadly quit before they even get started.

Having support from those who are already successful in this type business is by far priceless and it amazes me that so many people do not grasp this when inviting people to join.

After all the core of all MLM businesses is helping others to succeed which in turn helps you succeed.

Failing to grasp this simple concept and not put in any effort will surely lead to failure and again these types of people will only end up hopping from one opportunity to another but never finding success.

 

 

So there you have it an honest opinion on Multi Level Marketing which I hope this article has helped you in your pursuit for financial freedom

 

Donna Fielding is a successful network marketer with GDI. Click the link below to watch a video presentation on the GDI opportunity and the 7 day FREE trial and see if Global Domains International is the right choice for you.

 

www.themoneyprospect.com

(copy and paste into your browser)

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Peanut Butter and Rail Jam 2009

Seria imprez jibbingowych spod znaku Volcoma ponownie atakuje Europę. Wyłonieni podczas kolejnych przystanków szczęśliwcy zmierzą się podczas europejskich finałów w Gstaad - Les Diablerets gdzie do wywalczenia będą cztery zaproszenia do Mammoth Mountain na amerykańskie finały.

Tam też wszyscy zmierzą się o niebagatelną sumę 25,000 zielonych ale to dopierow kwietniu. W między czasie czeka nas spora liczba przystanków podczas których z pewnością nie zabraknie dobrego jibbingu. Idea Volcoma jest całkowicie skierowana do amatorów, wpisowe jest darmowe a format zawodów pozwala zaprezentować to co mają najlepszego do pokazania. Sędziowie oceniają tylko udane triki, a całość rozgrywana jest w formie jam session na rozsypanych jak w skateparku przeszkodach.

Całość ogólnie inspirowana jest deskorolką stąd też nie kładzie się nacisku na zaciekłą rywalizację tylko na dobrą zabawę i ogólnie rozumiany progres. Są trzy kategorie - 15 i poniżej, 16 i powyżej oraz dziewczęca. Do rozdania przewidizano mnóstwo nagród i gadżetów a poza tym każdy z uczestników może liczyć na sporą ilość kanapek z masłem orzechowym.

Poniżej kalendarz na nadchodzący sezon, szkoda, że brakuje w nim Polski.

1. 10.01.09 Hintersee, AUT
2. 17.01.09 Luz Ardiden, F
3. 02.07.09 Stockholm, SWE
4.  08.02.09 Foppolp, IT
5.  21.02.09 Alpspitzpark Nesselwang, D
6.  21.02.09 Horni Misecky, CZ
7.  07.03.09 Laax, CH
8.  07.03.09 Berghalde Penzberg, D
9.  07.03.09 Port Ainé, ESP
10.  07.03.09 Serena, FIN
11.  14.03.09 Vorarlberg Diedamskopf, AUT
12.  21.03.09 Trysil, NO
13.  22.03.09 Madonna di Campiglio, IT
14. 28.04.09 Glacier 3000, Les Diablerets-Gstaad (European PBRJ Championchips)

http://www.roninsnowboards.com/peanut-butter-and-rail-jam-2009/


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Effective April 1 - 30, 2003 the Forest Service will be implementing and enforcing a Supervisor's Closure on Vail Mountain, which will prohibit unauthorized access to the Minnie's Deck area where the end-of-season BB&B event has occurred. The Forest Service issued a directive to Vail Resorts under the terms of their special use permit to shut down the BB&B event on Vail Mountain. Historically the BB&B event has taken place at Minnie's Deck and the event had evolved into a gathering of as many as 2,000 people. The behavior of participants posed serious risks to public health and safety as well as caused resource damage. The Supervisor's Closure will be in effect to ensure protection of public health and safety.

So, with a stroke of the pen, the US Forest Service ended the infamous end-of-season party on Vail Mountain, ending a 22 year tradition.  Know by many variations, Boobs, Boomers and Beers; Buns, Boobs, and Beers; Boobs, Booze and Brews, etc, (BB&B) was held on the second Tuesday in April as a way for Vail valley residents and employees to blow off some steam at the end of the season.  The event started in 1980 as a small end-of-season birthday party on Minnie's deck. BB&B devolved into an orgy of drinking, snowball fights and raucous behavior. During the last several years, partiers spent days before BB&B building large snow forts, stashing large quantities of alcoholic beverages, and, too often, hauling up more illicit substances.

Historically, the end of season party probably started much earlier with the Great Race.  This season-ender was usually held in Lionshead and People would dress up in all kinds of wild costumes. A photo of Vail local hooligan Packy Walker standing on the winner’s podium wearing nothing but a fig leaf and his gold medal made the front page of the Vail Trail newspaper. After Vail executives and lawyers killed that event people continued to get costumed up and party at Minnie's Deck.  In those days it was called the mountain formal.  Costumes included top hats and suits as well as high school prom dresses, horrible powder-blue tuxedoes and ballerina tutus.  The event grew and was combined with Warren Miller’s Mad Mountain Marathon and the Rubber Legs Slalom.  The race involved 150 or more slalom gates at the bottom of Vail Mountain and the event raised money for local charities.

When I was there in the spring of 2002, my brother Travis, his wife Michelle, Mayela and I went to the BB&B.  We all carried backpacks loaded with beers, booze and buds.  When we arrived at Minnie's deck the atmosphere was relaxed and people were lounging on the deck in the sun enjoying the event.  We set up camp on the deck and in one of the nearby snow forts crafted by a group of Beaver Creek's happyshack community.  We took some runs and explored the other various snow forts in the woods.  It was amazing the elaborate complex of forts and the adornments within.  Some had full Ice sculpture bars complete with barstools carved from compacted snow.  Others were complete igloos with only a small portal in the roof for ventilation.  Another was an elaborate maze to thwart cops and security spies.

As the day continued, there were jam sessions on the numerous rails that had been created in the woods.  One was a 50 foot long triple wave that dumped out into the main area opening.  Eventually the traditional snowball fight erupted with the main focus from the snow forts surrounding the opening at Minnie's deck.  Some forts were equipped with water balloon launchers.  A couple of times I snuck out through the woods with my snowboard to take runs down born free.  After riding the gondola back up to the top, I'd come rolling into the woods with my pants down and flipping the crowd off in my black afro.  The trick was to ride fast and get to the fort as quickly as possible.  Poor unfortunate souls that tried to follow in the wake turbulence of my entry would get blasted into oblivion.  I would stand on the wall and yell out obscenities to the enemy forts.  The response was a furious barage of snowballs.  People were getting pissed because we were getting bombed with snow.  One time, standing on the wall, I took a water balloon launcher shot to the chest that blasted me flat on my back.  Heffe came right up like a  medic with the Jaegermeister bottle to nurse me back to insanity.

In the evening when security starts to herd everybody out of there is a Chinese downhill of sorts.  This race to the pub progresses down the mountain. There is one particularly steep pitch where people who are so f*cked up that they just take their skis off and hurl themselves bodily down the face, laughing their drunken asses off.  I came up to the edge and launched the hand bag I was carrying as high in the air as I could--only to find out Mayela had her camera in it.  We all ended up at the bars in Vail village till the weee hours of the morning.  It was amazing.  I'm glad I got to experience the greatest party on earth before it was over.  Good times

As kind of a sick footnote to all of this, the event has been commercialized in a couple of different forms. Never shy about making a buck off the sweat and toil of the locals Vail Resorts promptly christened Siebert's Mad Mountain Marathon and Beaver creek Blues, Brews, and Bar-B-Que. There is no limit to the depth of slime with Vail Management.

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Thousands of stoked out Japanese snowboard fans packed the Tokyo Dome for the legendary Big Air & Quarter pipe competition of the phenomenal 6Star Swatch TTR Nissan X-Trail Jam. Shaun White with the highest combined score from both the Big Air and the Quarterpipe, claimed the first 6Star TTR Title and 1000 ranking points of the 08/09 Season.

Horgmo, Piiroinen (FIN), White and Mueller duked it out in a heated battle that certainly stepped up the level of riding. Although favoured to do well, Mueller placed only 4th in the finals with a Cab 9, behind 3rd place finisher Shaun White who found himself on the podium once again after his sick Switch BS 9. Peetu Piiroinen gave White some much needed competition in the race for the 1000 TTR ranking points by also placing in the podium in both formats. It was super close, as Piiroinen took second in the Big Air with an impressive BS 9 Cork that had the Tokyo Dome on its feet in amazement. Torstein Horgmo walked away as the Big Air champ in Tokyo thanks to his consistent riding throughout the sessions. His Switch BS 10 in the finals finally carried him right to the top of the Big Air podium and to TTR World No. 3 . The best trick was awarded to Mueller who amazed everyone in the semis with his first ever Double Backflip in a comp.

http://www.roninsnowboards.com/en/shaun-white-wins-nissan-x-trail-jam/

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Perry & Louise... Videos videos videos!!!

So Perry calls us up last minute late Wednesday afternoon because Ben's out of town and he wants someone from the office to head over to Boardroom around six that night to do the IS Eyewear PK for him. Steve's out of town, I have plans so Jr.Burger agrees to help out. I help JB "short for Jr.Burger" get stuff ready then leave the office for the day. The next morning I ask JB how it went. So he gives me the run down then starts telling me about Perry's cute little introduction where he kisses JB's ass for saving his day and shi*t talks me & Steve. "JB's a super hard worker... Blah blah blah... I love him so much... Blah blah blah... he's the only person in the who office that actually works... Blah blah blah... Once Scientists figure it out I want to have his Child... Blah blah blah... I can't believe Karl gets paid a salary to do a blog and I don't even know what Steve does over there?" Real nice Perry. Didn't you just get back from a 3 week holiday where you and your buddy Thelma and Louised it across Canada... You poor thing, Couves must really be working you to the bone.. Haha



The IS Video Player is slowly filling up with content. Its pretty cool, you can download video directly to desktops or to mobile devices. I've set up a bunch of channels with more to come. So far we have PartySnake, Airhole, Kale, Dev, Duff, Daves Updates, Lil Bastards, 15Peddler and Archive channels where we'll be constantly uploading footage. We'll be setting up a SponsorMeChannel shortly where we'll be posting all the sponsor me videos we receive for the world to see and our team to watch and decide who makes the cut. To get your sponsor me video on the SponsorMeVideo channel send it to info@iseyewear.com in a quicktime format.

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The Kastel Battle is a jib event bringing 40 invited snowboarders and skiers to the Planta of Sion, Switzerland, to fight for the title "knight of the kastle".

The whole venue will be decorated in a medieval ambience with fire-spitters, jesters, barbecue, drinks and dj stage. You will also be able to catch an eye on the newest products of different brands who will be on-site.

20 skiers, 20 snowboarders (10 local, 10 international) and 5 snowboard girls, contest format will be open session.

Schedule:

Friday, October 17

18h - 19h Opening Kastle
19h25 - 19h30 Photo Expo JP Rodriguez
19h30 - 20h Movie : Jamski (swiss premiere)
20h - 20h05 Photo Expo Chrissie Stegt
20h05 - 20h30 Live Dj
20h30 - 21h Movie : Whats Poppin
21h - 21h05 Photo Expo Thierry Sermier
21h05 - 21h30 Live Dj
21h30 - 22h Movie : Walizer Dream (european premiere)
22h - 22h10 Photo Expo Pat Vermeulen
22h10 - 22h30 Live Dj
22h30 - 23h Movie : Roots (european premiere)
23h - 24h Live Dj


Saturday, October 18

10h - 11h Trainings Ski (20 riders)
11h - 12h Trainings Snow (20 riders)
12h - 12h30 Trainings Women (5 riders)
13h - 14h Ski Pool 1 (10 riders)
14h - 15h Snow Pool 1 (10 riders)
15h - 16h Ski Pool 2 (10 riders)
16h - 17h Snow Pool 2 (10 riders)
17h - 17h30 Movie : Alliance (swiss premiere)
17h30 - 18h Finale Women (5 riders)
18h - 19h Semi-final ski (10 riders)
19h - 20h Semi-final snow (10 riders)
20h - 20h30 Final Ski (5 riders)
20h30 - 21h Final Snow (5 riders)
21h - 21h30 Movie : Yeah Love (french-swiss premiere)
21h30 - 23h30 Live Dj

After Party at Roxy Club, Conthey (Shuttle Service available)

WWW.KASTLE-BATTLE.COM



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Online competitor registration is now open for the first-ever Burton Canadian Open, taking place from December 1-7, 2008 at the Calgary Olympic Development Association’s (CODA) Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. CODA has been providing world-class sport facilities for Olympic development for 20 years and Canada Olympic Park is home to the exact duplicate of the halfpipe that will be built for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The third stop on the 2008/2009 Burton Global Open Series and a SWATCH TTR 5Star event, the Canadian Open will include slopestyle and halfpipe competitions, offering riders the chance to earn a piece of the $50,000 USD prize purse and gain valuable points towards Burton Global Open Series championship titles and the Swatch Ticket To Ride World Tour championship titles.

Here’s how to register to compete:

Head to www.opensnowboarding.com, go to the Canadian Open homepage and click on Registration in order to register online for the Registration Waitlist. Registration will be open until October 20, 2008. If we receive more registrations per format than the number of pre-qualification spots available, riders will be selected from the Registration Waitlist based on their BGOS standings/results and their TTR standings/results, with priority given to the riders with the best standings/results. On or before October 27th, you will be notified VIA EMAIL (and only email) if your registration has been successful and that your entry for the Canadian Open Halfpipe and/or Slopestyle Pre-Qualifiers is confirmed. At that time, your credit card will be charged a non-refundable $75CAD per discipline as applicable. If your name is not selected, you will automatically be added to the waitlist (which shall be selected at random). Top pros will receive special invites to compete. For complete details/rules on the registration process, visit the Canadian Open home page on opensnowboarding.com. 

With events scheduled year-round and in six countries, the Burton Global Open Series boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in snowboarding – over $900,000 – with equal prize money to men and women. All six Burton Global Open Series events offer riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding. Following this summer’s New Zealand and Australian Opens, Luke Mitrani (USA) and Jamie Anderson (USA) are in the lead for the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series Championship title.

The Burton Global Open Series is also part of the SWATCH Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns the TTR World Champions at the US Open. The current leaders for the TTR titles are Chas Guldemond (USA) and 2007/08 TTR world champion Jamie Anderson.

For more information on the Burton Global Open Series head to www.opensnowboarding.com  
For more information on TTR, visit www.ttrworldtour 

If you can’t make it to Canada, watch the semi-finals and finals live on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event is over.

Burton would like to thank CODA, Red Bull, Go211.com, Coors Light, Alberta Snowboard Association and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Canadian Open.

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

 

Help a blogger out / Swords will... / Kale's not ready for Fall

This blog brought to you buy ISeyewear.

08/09 Signature Forma goggles now available!



If you're interested in sponsoring a furiousblog post hit me here.



Help a blogger out. Kenta just brought to my attention that our buddy Matt has a Vancouver based food blog called vancouverslop. The blog focuses on Matt's food experiences around the city and his dislike for scenesters. He's currently working on finding the best burger in the city. According to Kenta, Matt recently received a check for $10 for advertisements on his blog. His average blog gets about a hundred views. So I'm conducting a little experiment here for Matt. Everyone reading this please go to vancouverslop and click on the advertisement to the right of the blog. I'll let you know how much his next check is and hopefully fill you in on how to get paid for blogging.

If swords, the F word or asians bug you don't watch this video.



I talked to Kale Today and he couldn't believe it was already Fall.



He was like "where did the summer go?" and I was like "tell me about it."

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"Enjoy The Ride...More" is DC’s marketing slogan for their highly anticipated release of snowboards this winter. Last night at 50-50 Brewery in Truckee, CA, PortersTahoe.com and the DC crew – including riders Devun Walsh, Iikka Backstrom, Aaron Biittner, and Lauri Heiskari – all came out with more than just their A-game to kick off this 20th anniversary edition of Mack Dawg’s "Double Decade."

Somewhere between 400 to 500 people joined Porters and DC at the biggest movie premier ever at 50-50 Brewery. There were two screens – inside and outside – showing the next progression in riding with several very well-received segments from not only the DC crew, but riders like Wille Yli-Luoma, Eero Ettala, and the closing part of Jussi Oksanen. The movie also sprinkled in 20 years worth of snowboarding pioneers and ground breaking MDP parts over the years from names like Chris Roach, Nate Cole, Noah Salasnek, JP Walker, and Jeremy Jones (past and present). "Double Decade" truly does give you more by throwing in a great, eclectic mix of music from the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, Devo, David Bowie, Doobie Brothers, and – believe it or not – the Grass Root’s "Let’s Live For Today" for a very soulful and artistic Jussi part.














Longtime Nor Cal industry veteran and DC sales rep Ron Depp put the evening in perspective this way, "It’s amazing that we could draw such a large crowd with only 5 days advance notice and have so many ex-pros and industry people come out of the woodwork...or the Truckee woods!" Bill Markham, DC Snow Sales Manager, added, "Double Decade is a walk down memory lane that showcases many legends of the 90’s rail brigade. The film also captures how shredding has progressed from backyard rails to big mountain kickers. Couple this with almost 500 kids, beer from 50-50, great support from Porters and DC pro shreds Iikka, Devun, Biittner and Lauri and you got a night you won’t forget....or remember in some cases!"









Judging by how big of a smile Lauri Heiskari had at the end of the night, everyone truly had a great time...and MORE!

http://www.porterstahoe.com

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The 90's weren't just the golden years for hip hop, they were also the golden years for skate videos.

All 08/09 products are now visible at www.iseyewear.com
Join the IS Gang for special offers and monthly chances to win IS EYEWEAR product.


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Please Join Us!

10:30am - 12pm	Player check-in & putting contest
1:00pm - 6pm	Golf
5:30pm	Aprés / Silent Auction
7:00pm - 10pm	Dinner and Live Auction

Tournament Fees
$300 per player, $1,200 per foursome*
(*Choose to enter 4 players or 3 players plus a National Team Athlete for $1,200)

Price Includes: Green Fees, Golf Cart, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Beer and Wine, Prizing

Tournament Format: 18 hole Scramble

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The other day as I was minding my own business I got a curious invitation. A colleague asked me if I'd be interested in joining his group for dinner at the Rideau Club that night. So I brushed the hair away from my eyes and gave my beard a scratch (I haven't had a haircut in 2008 or shaved since I was in Whistler) before I said "will they even let me in the door?" It took a while to be convinced, but in the end I decided to accept the invitation. After all it seemed like a reasonable reason to skip yoga class.

The Rideau Club pre-dates canadian confederation and was established twenty-two months before Ottawa was chosen as the seat of government. The clubs first president was Sir John A. Macdonald who, two years later, became Canada's first prime minister. Those are some pretty lofty credentials for a club so when I was asked, first of all, if I owned a jacket and tie (apparently they won't let you in the door without them) and if I'd be interested in going, I was naturally a bit skeptical that I would even gain entry. Besides, the last time I went to one of these formal parties, I wound up across the desk of the Director of CSIS in Windsor two days later (being interviewed for a job oddly). "This could be interesting" I thought and accepted. It seemed like an opportunity that doesn't present itself too often, and besides I like to slum it every once in a while.

The Rideau Club is obviously quite old. The building where it's located, however, is not. The original building burned down in 1979 so they made a replica of its interior on the top floor of the Sun Life building in downtown Ottawa. In order to get to the club, there's an elevator which services it exclusively (how very elitist). As I got in the elevator, I found it odd that there were only two buttons: one for the lobby and one for the fifteenth floor. Secretly I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a retinal scan machine or some such thing. Nontheless, it was a neat feeling to be in a private elevator to an exclusive club which boasts heads of state as members. I felt like I was going to a Stone Cutters meeting. Maybe I'd get to participate in decisions on world policy, affect the course of human history, and witness historical keggers, beer blasts, beer bashes and steinhoists, followed by the regimented AA meetings. This evening was certainly looking up.

Once I arrived I was disappointed to discover that no one referred to themselves as numbers that were sequentially assigned in the order in which they joined. Once again the Simpsons had let me down. The coat room, however, did not. That thing was the size of my living room and dining room combined plus within it was the men's room which was equipped with shoe polishers and other gizmos that were cool and useless.

The view from the various windows in the club was quite spectacular. It was a great vantage point to see Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River, random high-rise living rooms (it gave me a bit of a voyeuristic feeling) and off in the distance, the Gatineau hills where my home resort, Mont Cascades, can be found (oh I miss the winter already). In spite of the majestic view, however, there seemed to be something missing. I realised what it was when reached into my breast pocket to adjust my hanky which I made out of a Spanky's Whistler trail map. It was the mountains that were missing. Having just been in British Columbia not two weeks before, I had grown accustomed to seeing large mountainous objects in the horizon; clearly these are missing in Ontario. In the time I spent in B.C. and Alberta, I had stopped noticing the giant masses of rock, earth and snow all around me. I was de-sensitized to their majesty and this thought disappointed me. It made me realise two things:

1. Never take what you have for granted. You'll miss it when its gone. This seems to be something that I have to be reminded of every once in a while and I'm now reminding all of you.
2. You can take the snowboarder off the mountain, but you can't take the mountain out of the snowboarder. I thought using a trail map as a hanky was a nice touch. None of my companions seemed at all surprised when they realised what I had done. A dirtbag in fancy clothes is still a dirtbag.

So if you ever get a chance to go to the Rideau Club, I highly recommend it. It's steeped in history and is a good place to take stock of who you are and what you have. Speaking of what you have, all you dwellers of the mountains out there, raise your glasses to them, they are precious indeed.

Keep Shreddin' the GNAR!

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The Superman Mythos

by Thyroros

The term superman first entered into modern usage through the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. This late nineteenth-century German philosopher was vehemently anti-Christian and never tired of condemning the faith as weak, absurd, even detrimental to human development. While Hitler admired him, and the Nazis are said to have made use of some of his ideas, Nietzsche did not actually share their racist and anti-Semitic views. (1) Thus it is not entirely incongruous that two young Jewish men from Cleveland, Ohio would have adopted the term for their own use. While many assume Superman is merely a work of science fiction, I do not believe this to be the case. I too grew up amid all the movies (the first film starring Christopher Reeve came out the year after I was born), cartoons, and TV shows, believing the Man of Steel to be nothing more than a slightly stale and out-dated comic book hero. However, after watching various episodes of Smallville, a very different interpretation of the American icon began to impress itself upon me.

As nonsensical or offensive as some people might think this to be, the tale of Superman represents an allegory of another well-known supernatural, extra-terrestrial being: Satan.

Before delving into some of the more specific correlations, and often glaring similarities, between these two legendary immortals, there is an important point which needs to be made regarding the nature of angels. Angels are extra-dimensional and other-worldly travellers who make infrequent appearances throughout the Bible and other related texts. They usually do not have wings, and they almost always appear just like men. The Seraphim and Cherubim are the only two celestial orders consistently described in the Bible which bear wings. While most angeaologies consider both orders to be angels, the highest orders in fact, neither the Old nor New Testaments refer to them as such. But this is really just a semantic argument that needn't be fully addressed here. Anyway, the English word angel is derived from the Greek angelos which simply means messenger, as does the Hebrew mal'ach, which is used in the Torah, the prophets, and other Hebrew writings. (2) These terms can be used to indicate human or divine beings. Many times the humans with whom angels communicate are not even aware of it until the supernatural visitors perform some act obviously beyond the capability of mere mortals. After closely examining all the Biblical references, I was forced to conclude that there is no overwhelming distinction between angels and what modern mythology refers to as aliens. Both are extra-terrestrial, and both seem to exhibit powers and/or technology beyond what might traditionally be considered human. Now, Satan, if standard Christian doctrine is correct, is a fallen angel, while Kal-El, or Superman, is a stranded, immigrant alien.

Objections may arise as angels are said to dwell in heaven while aliens inhabit the supposedly innumerable worlds located in the vast reaches of space. But again, the only difference between the concepts of heaven and space lie in the minds of people who refuse to acknowledge the simple facts. Both exist above and outside the earth, and both are impossible to visit for the majority of living human beings on this planet. Even now, after thirty-some years of manned space-flight, it still requires the pinnacle of human technology, and the availability of monumental resources, to even consider such undertakings. We haven't been to the moon in over thirty years according to official sources. Moreover, space remains extremely dangerous. It is a notoriously hostile environment; the slightest mistake or malfunction can bring about instantaneous death for even the most well-trained astronaut. So, heavenly realms and intergalactic space, not that different, right? Okay then, hopefully that matter is settled, and we can move on to Krypton.

As most of us know, Kal-El's homeworld, Krypton, was completely obliterated due to a nuclear reaction at its core, which resulted in the infant Kryptonian's emergency flight to earth. Now, some theorize that the asteroid belt in our solar system was created when a large, terrestrial planet located between Mars and Jupiter (often referred to as Astera/Astara) exploded some time in the past. (3) It's possible that this same cataclysm was also responsible for the destruction of the Red Planet's atmosphere and its civilization. Satan may also be connected with Mars and Astera, depending on one's interpretation of certain Old Testament books such as Ezekiel. Ezekiel states in chapter 28, verse 14 that the former anointed cherub, Satan, "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire". It's not a very far stretch of the imagination to connect "the stones of fire" with planets. Please examine the following verses for more details:

Ezekiel 28:15-17 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground (Hebrew 'eretz is also often translated as land or earth), I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

So Satan may have ruled a physical civilization spanning Mars, Astara, and perhaps several moons as well. But he rebelled against his God and King, and was cast to the earth along with a third of the Heavenly Host (See Revelation 12:4).

The aforementioned information thus allows us to have a much clearer understanding of the scenario presented in Smallville 1961. While I don't disagree with Chloe about the possibility of genetic memory being stored in the DNA, I don't accept that this was necessarily true in Clark’s case. I believe it to be more likely that Jor-El and Kal-El are one person, not father and son. Here's how it works:

I. Jor-El is Satan. II. The father who exiled Jor-El/Satan to earth is actually the Father, as in Yahweh, the God of the Bible. III. Jor-El/Satan returns to space to continue the "War in Heaven" (See Revelation 12:7).. IV. In order to eventually assume the role of Anti-Christ, Satan devises a seemingly foolproof plan. Just as Yahweh/God limited himself in power when He assumed the form of Jesus/the Christ, Satan formulates a a similar device. He clones himself and denies this clone access to certain segments of his memory and powers. This way he will more easily deceive humans into believing that he is a righteous savior rather than evil incarnate. But he makes messages and recordings beforehand which will remind him of certain things at planned intervals. This will enable him to develop in the most ideal way in order to fit the role of the Christ more perfectly. V. Satan and his angels are defeated in the heavenly realms, Mars and Astera/Krypton is destroyed as a result. Satan transfers his consciousness/spirit from Jor-El to the infant clone, Kal-El and rockets off toward earth.

As additional support for this concept, let us explore the meanings of the principal character's names belonging to the Superman mythos:

Clark - Old English - Clergyman or learned man (4)

Kent - Welsh - Bright white, white or bright (5). Another interesting possible derivation of this name is from the Biblical Kenites (first mentioned in Genesis 15:19 as enemies of Israel), who may have been descended from Cain (for in Hebrew Cain is more accurately transliterated as Qayin, and Kenites as Qayini. Adding an "i" to the end of a name in Hebrew indicates the people or descendants of that personage. Israel/Israeli, Qayin/Qayini. See the pattern?) (6)

Kal-El - Can be translated as destruction or completion of God in Hebrew (or possibly 'all that is God/totality of God'). (7) El is the Hebrew word for God.*

Jor-El - J is actually pronounced Y (the letter Yod) in Hebrew. Possible translations are: Yare'-el - fear of God, Yarah-El - God teaches, taught of God, Yeru-El - God is a foundation, Yeri-El - founded of God; God will see. (8)

Krypton/Kryptonite - From the Greek words krypto - To hide; kryptos - hidden unseen, secret; krypte - hidden place (9)

Lex - Latin for law (Just in case 'Lex' is actually short for Alexander, Alexander is Greek for leader of men, alex (leader) + ander (men).10

Luthor (Luther) - Teutonic- famous warrior/ famous in war

Old German - Warring ones

German - warrior/famous people?. Martin Luther was a Catholic monk and theologian turned Protestant reformer (1483-1546). (11)

*If one is inclined to doubt that Kal-El and Jor-El may actually be Hebrew names, allow me to you remind you that both Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the original creators of Superman, were Jewish. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's highly unlikely they would give their characters Hebrew-sounding names by pure chance. (12)

There are just a few more items of interest which may possibly be connections between Kal-El and the Red Dragon/Satan. Since Superman derives his powers from the sun, that would make him a kind of 'sun god'. Satan has sometimes been compared with the sun gods of ancient mythology such as the Egyptian Ra, the Greek/Roman Apollo and the Persian Mithra. The 'infinity serpent' burned onto Clark's chest in the second season finale of Smallville is another fascinating correlation, as Satan is often recognized as being or controlling the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 3), and one of his titles in Revelation (12:9) is that "that old serpent". Finally, it would be quite simple to draw a pentagram inside the five-pointed shield emblazoned on Superman's costume. Pentagrams are used in ceremonial magic and Satanism the world over. Not that such a detail is conclusive, but I just thought I'd include it for the sake of being thorough.

So what does all of this mean? The reader, of course, is free to draw his or her own conclusions But here's what I believe; Superman comics, movies, and TV shows (and everything else in between) are Satanic Propaganda. Superman is the Anti-Christ/Satan and Lex Luthor, representing Christianity, is desperately trying to defend the earth against him. As the story is told from Satan's perspective, Lex is falsely demonized and portrayed as an insane criminal. In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche from Thus Spake Zarathustra, "God is dead. I teach you the superman." This is the lie that the father of lies is eager for us all to swallow down between mouthfuls of French fries and jelly-filled breakfast pastries.

- Thyroros, December 2, 2003, Redlands, CA.

Endnotes:

1. See Friedrich Nietzsche's Biography.com
2. Information gathered by using the King James Bible (1611 Authorized Version) and The Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. James Strong, L.L.D., S.T.D. Fully Revised and Corrected by John R. Kohlenberger III and James A. Swanson. Grand Rapids Michigan. Zondervan. 2001
3. Click here for the standard line on the Asteroid Belt formation. Go here for more information on the possible link between Mars, Astara, and Satan, maybe even Venus?
4. Name definition for Clark (Any standard name/baby-name book should provide this information.)
5. Name meanings & Name origins (Any standard name/baby-name book should provide this information.)
6. See footnote 2. Most Biblical scholars don't make the connection between Cain and the Kenites. This is probably due to the long-held view that the Flood of Noah/The Great Deluge (as related in Genesis chapters 6-8) was worldwide and no one survived except Noah and his family. However, a gr owing number dispute that the Flood was regional rather than global (which is possible based on certain interpretations of the passages in Genesis), and therefore, Cain's progeny could have survived.
7. From the Strong's Concordance Hebrew Dictionary (contained within the same volume), Reference numbers 3605-3607, 3615-3617
8. From the Strong's Concordance Hebrew Dictionary (contained within the same volume), Reference numbers 3372, 3384, 3385, 3400. Incidentally, yerah is the Hebrew word for moon, ref. 3391.
9. From the Strong's Concordance Greek Dictionary (contained within the same volume), Reference numbers 2926-2928 10. (Any competent Latin-English and Greek-English dictionaries can be used to find these definitions. Also standard name/baby-name book should provide this information.) Here's a couple of websites just in case you want them. For Alexander. For Lex & another for Lex. Just for fun, here's website containing excerpts of Plutarch's Alexander the Great (who was not a good guy) bio.
11. "Luthor/Luther" name meaning.
12. "Jews are the true comic book heroes", article from the Chicago Sun Times and here's a History of Superman article from Superman.com.ar in case your interested.

End the words of Thyroros.

This article can be found at: http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/superman-satan

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(Saint-Sauveur, April 5, 2008) – Mont-Tremblant native Charles Reid has won the 2008 Empire 

Shakedown grand finale, presented this Saturday at Mont Saint-Sauveur.  In addition to honours, the 17 

year old snowboarder also won himself $15 000 in prize money.  

 

Empire Shakedown is one of the premium snowboarding events in the world - classed in the top five by 

the snowboarding industry.  This year’s competition also had two other Quebecois boarders climb onto the 

podium, namely Sébastien Toutant, a 15 year old boarder from Lanaudière, and Sherbrook’s Antonin 

Chamberland.  Chamberland was in fact one of only two amateur snowboarders to take part in the finals, 

the other being Saint-Sauveur’s Matt Kulisek.   

 

In total, 35 professional and 3 amateur snowboarders participated in the event; the finals saw the 15 best 

athletes retained for a showdown.   

 

‘I’m very excited to have won, it was a fantastic day, and the conditions were ideal for snowboarding – we 

could have even competed in fleece and t-shirts!  I think the moves I really succeeded with, the front side 

1080 and the back side 270 were what won me the competition.  I don’t really know what to do with the 

$15 000 prize money, but for the moment, its going to the bank.  One thing is certain; I will be ready for 

Shakedown 2009.’  explained an elated Reid.  

 

Empire Shakedown is a unique competition among competitions, requiring that athletes master two 

different snowboarding disciplines (the AMP booter jump, followed by the rail) in a jam format (unique to 

the Shakedown).   

 

Additionally, during the VANS Skateboarding half-time show and competition, Thomas Parent won top 

honours and a money prize of $2 000. 

 

An estimated 20 000 people have been present for the competition which has taken place over the past 

two days.  ‘The level of competition is very high and the boarders have been extremely creative; some 

jumps we’ve never even seen before.   The ambiance was incredible, especially today with the beautiful 

weather we’re experiencing’ commented Brendan O’Dowd, President of DIZZLE Productions Inc, and one 

of the Empire Shakedown’s organizers.   

Top 3 Runs:

1st Charles Reid 

- Jump: Front side 1080 

- Double Kink rail: back side 270 lip on the kink rail

2nd Sebastien Toutant: 

-Jump: Backside 1080 double cork 

-Double Kink rail: gap to back lip

3rd Antonin Chamberland 

- Jump: Front side 900 

- Down rail: Front side 270

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Snowboarders hoping to have their sport included in 2014 Paralympics.

By Andrew Mitchell

If you build it, they will come — at least that’s what organizers of the first ever adaptive snowboarding World Cup event, sanctioned by the Canadian Snowboard Federation and World Snowboard Federation, are counting on.

The race took place on Blackcomb last Friday, with racers making three solo descents of the snowboardcross course — a format that was chosen because it combines elements of racing and freestyle, and because all of the athletes prefer soft boots to hard boots.

Although organizers were hoping for a larger and more international field, everybody knows you have to start somewhere.

“History was made — it was done and done well,” said Christian Hrab, head coach for the Canadian Snowboard Federation’s adaptive snowboard program. “The event was perfect, it was really safe and fast, we had a good course set, and good work on the course, and the athletes rode the best I’ve seen all season.

“It’s a beginning, but it’s also the culmination of two years of work, while it’s also the beginning of another 20 years of hard work. We’ve got the athletes, we’ve got a classification system for all the different disabilities, there are camps and programs, and there are starting to be more coaches. (Adaptive snowboarding) is also getting a lot of attention, because snowboarding is really for everybody — not just the elite World Cup athletes, but also for people with physical disabilities that can still participate and be very good at it too.”

There are plans to host three World Cup snowboarding events next season, including a competition at Cypress Mountain during the World Cup test events in February, and events in Italy and France.

However, while the sport has momentum it’s extremely unlikely that adaptive snowboarding will be included in the 2010 Olympics. But Hrab says things are looking better for 2014, providing all of the organizations involved internationally can work together to increase participation and create an international series.

While that may be discouraging for some athletes, Hrab says his athletes are in it for the long haul.

“I’ve worked with able-bodied athletes with the national team for years, and I can say that these (adaptive) guys are the most positive, constructive, forward-thinking athletes I’ve ever met,” he said. “They’ve overcome some huge obstacles to be here already, which make the little things easier to overcome. They can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they know that this is just the beginning and where the sport is heading.”

The next challenge for adaptive snowboarding, which was addressed at a conference and workshop surrounding the World Cup, is networking.

“We have to reach the people who snowboard recreationally with a disability, and get them into a competitive frame of mind,” said Hrab. “Events like this create awareness, and get a buzz going. People who never thought of competing will see it and say ‘I’ll do it.’”

Ian Lockey, who was second in the men’s event with a time of 59.15 seconds — almost three seconds back of Whistler’s Tyler Mosher — was excited to be part of the event.

“I really enjoyed the race, and having us race in a time trial instead of a boardercross was much better and much safer in the end,” he said. “I think the format is a little more spectator friendly, definitely more interesting than watching us wiggle down the course in a parallel giant slalom, and you can actually see people snowboarding, going up, coming down, and ripping around corners.”

Lockey is classified as an incomplete paraplegic, meaning he sustained a spinal cord injury that has reduced his feeling and mobility below the waist.

Riding a snowboard around the corners without full feeling for your edges can be a scary experience, he said.

“It is scary going onto your edge and being on edge, and having to rely on what you don’t have to hold on,” he said. “You can only hope you adapted well enough to survive the turn and not wind up in the fencing.”

Lockey plans to race in the U.S. Amateur Snowboard Association nationals at the end of the month, where he is the reigning PGS and freestyle champion, and will race all three World Cup events next season. If there’s a chance that snowboarding will be in the Paralympics in 2014, he wants to be there.

“Having events like this is great incentive for me to train more and do some off-snow training,” he said. “I’ve always relied on my snowboarding abilities, but as our coach said it’s one thing to get beaten by a better snowboarder than you, but it’s another to get beaten because you’re fat or unfit. It’s tough love, the only way to go.”

Bibian Mentel came from Holland to race in the first World Cup, winning the women’s category.

“I loved it, it was so much fun being here and riding the course,” she said. “It’s really, really nice for the level we’re riding at right now, and it’s just fun.

“Now we may have three World Cups next year, which would be exciting. I think it’s a good thing that adaptive snowboarding is getting more attention, that people with disabilities are going out and having fun, and I think we need more and more competitions to get into the Paralympics.”

Mentel is 35, and is not sure she’ll still be racing if snowboarding is added to the schedule for 2014, but she’s definitely not ruling it out.

“I love riding, and if I feel the same way then as I do now, I might have to race,” she said.

With a classification system, each competitor’s time was adjusted slightly to compensate for their specific disability. This was the first test of a classification system for snowboarding, and judging by how close the times were it went well.

Tyler Mosher posted the top time of the day, 56.3 seconds, making good use of some time off training for the Para-Nordic 2010 team to get some runs in on the snowboardcross course. Lockey was second in 59.15, and Mike Fisher placed third in 64.78.

For Mosher, winning was less important than showing up.

“I feel like a million bucks, it was really a dream come true,” he said. “After my accident (in 2000) there wasn’t anywhere for disabled people to compete. I’m so happy right now — not so much for winning, although I trained hard and I’m proud of it — but because we were laying the groundwork for all the children in the future that want to snowboard and that are living with a disability.”

For adaptive snowboarding to be successful, Mosher says the important thing is to get national organizations around the world involved and supporting their athletes.

“The hardest thing is that it’s not a Paralympic sport right now, so the athletes are pretty much on their own and we’ve had to take a bottom-up approach to getting people involved. All we can do is keep having events, get more people out each year, and sooner or later the sport will be recognized.”

As for the quality of competition, Mosher said that there were no recreational riders in the group and that everybody was out to race and win.

“It’s not just about how many people with disabilities you can get snowboarding, but how many people in that group can be athletes,” he said.

Mentel’s best time was 61.62 seconds, followed by Emily Cavallin in 63.5.

Zach Beaumont raced alone in the youth category, posting a time of 69.82.

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Office Booyz Grouse MTN. 08

Office Booyz is back!!!!!!!

Alright all you office booyz and girlz out there, its once again that special time of year where we all get to pull our fluffy muffins out from under our desks and let them wiggle and jiggle in the fresh air with a fun day of snowboarding.. That’s right, Office Booyz the contest is back! With all the excitement generated from our very successful first ever US edition of Office Booys held at Bear Mountain last month there’s no doubt that our upcoming event will be one to remember. Don’t blow it! Missing out on this industry-wide day of F.O.O.O.E (fun out of office experience) would be a horrible mistake…

Details, details…

Mark it down in your day-timers folks! April 11th is set as the date of our 3rd annual Office Booyz event to be held up Grouse Mountain. Your contest entry fee includes: lift ticket, donuts & coffee, lunch, delicious belly buddies provided by Coors light, the official Office Booyz 2008 event T-shirt for the first 100 people to show up and pretty much a guarantee you’ll be walking away with some sort of ridiculous prize. The entry fee with a corporate pass is $30 per participant and $62 per participant for those without. Pre-register your office team at malakye.com/ob.

Event Schedule / format

*In case you’re not familiar with the Office Booyz contest please note that all obstacles are “office sized” and even more importantly, “office friendly”.

-Registration for the event will be held from 9am to 11am in front of Starbucks
-A massive on hill Coffee and Donut buffet will be available during the time of registration
-The event will run with an open jam style format
-It kicks off at noon sharp and will go till 2pm or till we’re ready to quit
-After party to be announced soon

Get involved ya humps..

Office Booyz is for everyone so anyone who wants to take on a prize category or get involved in anyway whatsoever feel free to hit me up at karl@iseyewear.com. The more prizes the merrier! Our usual prize theme is “Prizes for things you never thought you could win a prize for”. I have an extensive list of categories you can choose from or you can come up with a custom category which better suites your outfit..

Office furniture donations. Anyone???

Last but not least. If anyone has any old desks, filing cabinets, cubical walls or any other officy type junk sitting around which could be donated for the event course hit me up at karl@iseyewear.com

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