2013 Video Games

 Get your video cameras, make a team, and hit the slopes for the 2013 Video Games.

Who doesn’t love to film their friends or be filmed while snowboarding?? Now’s your chance. Formerly known as “SOFA KING New England,” the 2013 Video Games snowboard series is scheduled to stop at Sunday River on Saturday, March 2. The 2013 Video Games combines fun, video, and a little competition. Basically, any snowboarder can join. Just pull together a team, grab a video camera or smart phone, pick up your list of things to film—such as riding through a glade, hitting a particular rail, or simply slapping a Video Games sticker on your helmet—edit your video, and submit it for peer review. You’re going to want to ask your hammiest of hammy friends to do this with you.

Overall Competition

There are four Video Game stops in all. Earlier this season, the future film stars were at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Massachusetts and Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. The final stop will be Saturday, March 23, at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vermont. Competitors must complete two of the three stops to qualify for the Grand Prize.

To give it a video game-like appeal, competitors will compete with their friends by voting for their favorite final edit online. Point totals will be tallied for final Grand Prize at Okemo and online voting will determine the ultimate winners.  

Sounds relatively simple, right? Just wait—there’s more.

"Scavenger Hunt"

Teams will compete in the scavenger hunt, you must form a team of at least two people and no more than five people.To keep things fresh, Video Games will also provide a “task force list” that outlines required places and tricks that must be completed per stop. Similar to an on-hill scavenger hunt, tasks could (in theory) range from “front side board slide pyramid box” to “find a natural object to jib.” Competitors must then include their given tasks in their final edits. Teams must pre-register on www.videogamesevent.com  registration is $40 person.

“The goal is to get competitors to think outside of the box, ride the whole mountain, formulate a strategy, and accomplish some goals all while working together as a team,” says Andrew Mutty, owner and operator of Reel Theory, the company behind this new series.

Mutty’s own involvement in snowboarding events roots itself on the East Coast with more than 15 years of experience. He developed and supported the Main Event Snowboard Series since 2002 and according to Mutty, “There is a real opportunity to involve East Coasters in a new event series that speaks to a national audience, and this is what we hope to do with Video Games.”

Workshop

On March 2, while others are creating their video edits for online voting, you can also join the fun by joining a digital media workshop with Reel Theory, open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Participants will receive coaching on the best practices of etiquette, angles, and practices that focus on the basics of creating good media. All participants will receive a personalized edit from that day's activities. Final videos are available for personal “sponsor me” reels or personal use on YouTube for friends and family to see. Entry will be limited to a preregistration, and on availability or first come/first serve basis the day of the workshop. The workshop is $100 per person and you must pre-register at www.videogamesevent.com.

To add some serious cred to the event, media partners include Steez magazine, Snowboard magazine, and Yo Beat.

To learn more or register visit www.videogamesevent.com.  Day-of-event registration and team check-in will be at Barker Lodge from 8-9:30am.