Montgomeryville Meltdown Rail Jam (presented by Burton)

[johnnypowder]

Hey all -

I'm with Buckman's and want to let you in on a killer event we have in the works!

 

What: Buckman's Montgomeryville Meltdown presented by Burton

When: Saturday, February 17, 2007

Where: Buckman's Montgomeryville parking lot (925 Bethlehem Pike, Rt309)

 

Sponsors: Oakely, Burton, Camelback Resort, Skull Candy, K2 (skis and boards), Salomon (skis and boards), Forum, Ride, Atomic, Dakine, Nitro, Drake/Northwave, and others jumping on board daily!

 

Rail Jam open to skiers and riders.

Open class competes for CASH! Over $1500 total.

Grommet class (12 and under) competes for prizes

Entry Fee = $25 if registered in advance online at Active.com keyword Oakley

Open to first 125 competitors

 

We will also have over $5000 worth of product which will be given away to the competitors in a raffle. So even if you don't place and take home cash, no one should walk away empty handed!

 

We are trucking in 40+ tons of snow, building an 18' high scaffolding tower and ramp, bringing in a couple of different features from Camelback, bringing in a DJ and MC from Skull Candy, setting up lights, bringing in a big screen video truck, hiring a video crew to do a live feed to the video truck and to record the event, and many other things to make this a huge event!

 

Did I mention that we are bringing in pros? Oakley, Burton, Ride and some of the other sponsors are going to be bringing in some big names. Riders who are 90% confirmed as of today include Travis Rice and David Audbrey. (The pros won't be competing but will do an exhibition jam session under the lights and will be available for autograph signings.)

 

Event schedule:

 

2/17/07

Competitor check in = Noon - 1:30pm

Practice session = 2:00pm

Qualifying round = 3:00pm

Pro Exhibition = 5:00pm

Finals (top 16) = 6:00pm UNDER THE LIGHTS!

Awards = Immediately following finals (approx. 7:30pm)

 

We expect to fill all 125 slots so if you are interested sign up now! Want to see the two plankers step up!

 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly at johnl@buckmansinc.com

[snorovr]

Nice! Its good to see you guys got this thing goin. I was talking to the boardshop manager at the Montgomeryville store for a while about this a month or so back. Good luck with everything!

[ThinkSnow]

Hey John, Welcome to PASR! Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

[Papasteeze]

My only concern is the Camelback Jibs... Dude..... Have you seen thier jibs?.. Unless they are making something during winter, Don't do yourself like that. You have time to get something decent. Contact the Park Logic guys to make you something you can reuse or Big Boulder, they have literally tons of stuff sitting in the parking lot..

 

 

 

I'll check nips schedule.. UHHH I might also suggest that since you are limiting the comp to 125 that you change the age bracket, I dont think you want to have kids dropping in from that height at that age, besides there aren't many who can handle it. and those who can handle it will likely be on the slopes. Try 14 or 15 and under.

 

Trust me this schedule WILL NOT WORK FOR 125 competitors. Just trying to help!

 

My son was just in a large invite only for 50 competitors in Boston. It won't work.

 

 

Event schedule:

 

2/17/07

Competitor check in = Noon - 1:30pm

Practice session = 2:00pm

Qualifying round = 3:00pm

Pro Exhibition = 5:00pm

Finals (top 16) = 6:00pm UNDER THE LIGHTS!

Awards = Immediately following finals (approx. 7:30pm)

 

We expect to fill all 125 slots so if you are interested sign up now! Want to see the two plankers step up!

 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly at johnl@buckmansinc.com

[Papasteeze]

Here is a video from that Jam in Boston

 

http://media.putfile.com/Boston-Rail-Jamma

[kragan]

Thats fantastic! My new house is just around the corner from you guys ... I'll def be there to check this out!

[snorovr]

My only concern is the Camelback Jibs... Dude..... Have you seen thier jibs?.. Unless they are making something during winter, Don't do yourself like that. You have time to get something decent. Contact the Park Logic guys to make you something you can reuse or Big Boulder, they have literally tons of stuff sitting in the parking lot..

I'll check nips schedule.. UHHH I might also suggest that since you are limiting the comp to 125 that you change the age bracket, I dont think you want to have kids dropping in from that height at that age, besides there aren't many who can handle it. and those who can handle it will likely be on the slopes. Try 14 or 15 and under.

 

Trust me this schedule WILL NOT WORK FOR 125 competitors. Just trying to help!

 

Papa, c'mon man. Get off Big Boulders/PL's piece for two seconds. What makes you think no one contacted Big Boulder? They have already publicized that Camelback is sponsoring it, obviously someone put work in and felt that Camelback would be a good resort sponsor.

 

I do agree that 125 seems a little ambitious for a cap. Thats 2 riders every 60 seconds if you give everyone 1 run. People are getting pretty frustrated that at jams they tend to get like 1 or 2 runs to practice on the setup.

[johnnypowder]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

In response-

 

Our rails are being hand picked out of Camelback's stock this week and we are confident that they will be up to snuff. If for some reason we don't like what we see, we will use other options. Camelback is kicking off the Oakley Rail or Bail Series (of which our event is the series finale) with a rail jam on Sat, Jan 6th. The second event is going to be Sun, Feb 11th at Amateur Athlete in Bethlehem. There will be series prizes at the end in addition to the event prizes. There is no doubt that our event will be the biggest and best of the 3!

 

Our set up is going to take up an 80' x 70' footprint complete with sponsor tents, spectator area, and the scaffolding/ramp/rails. We have people from Oakley and Burton involved in the set up and you know those companies put on great events. Based on the distance competitors will have to travel to ride the rail and finish with a wall hit we need to start at about 18' up. The down ramp is going to be 14' wide and pitched at angle which should allow all riders interested in competing to do so.

 

We will have to see what the make up of competitors ends up being and will evaluate if the ages need to be changed. Take note that the Grommet division is an optional division, other words, if there is a 12 year old who thinks he(or she) can hang with the big boys, they can enter the open class and go for the cash.

 

There is flexibility with our event timing. Bill VanGilder of MASS is overseeing the competition and we are confident that all will run smoothly.

 

I have been in the ski/snowboard industry for almost 15years, Joe Palaia our snowboard buyer has been with us for over 10 years, and the others involved have many years of experience as well. We are confident that we will put on a top notch event.

 

Please don't mis-interprete my statement above, I am open to suggestiions! Am glad to hear what you think and will incorporate those ideas that seem to make the most sense into our event.

 

thanks,

[johnnypowder]

Papa, c'mon man. Get off Big Boulders/PL's piece for two seconds. What makes you think no one contacted Big Boulder? They have already publicized that Camelback is sponsoring it, obviously someone put work in and felt that Camelback would be a good resort sponsor.

 

I do agree that 125 seems a little ambitious for a cap. Thats 2 riders every 60 seconds if you give everyone 1 run. People are getting pretty frustrated that at jams they tend to get like 1 or 2 runs to practice on the setup.

 

I do a ton of stuff with BB/JF and have so for the last 12+ years. We were involved in the Rail Jam at BB last year (January) and have worked closely with a lot of the guys there.

 

This year they brought Shawn and PL in and we began our talks for the Oakley Series with them. We assumed that since we held the mountain event at BB last year that we would do so again. Even with all the manufacturer sponsors we brought to the table, and the history we had with the mountain, Shawn convinced Jesse that our event, which was to be geared towards local riders and not as much towards pros was not world class enough to hold at BB. Their focus (JF/BB & PL) was supposedly going to be on large regional headline grabbing events.

 

I heard a little from insiders about Shawn being let go and don't think for a minute that it was all JF/BB's fault. I had also heard that his leaving MC was some what mutual. It's unfortunate because he is talented. The problem tends to be that the talented park/pipe guys just can't seem to mesh with Management. It happens all the time all across the country.

 

Short of it is that JF/BB wasn't interested and we moved on to Camelback who jumped at the opportunity. They are providing the snow and the rails for both of the parking lot events.

[Papasteeze]

Papa, c'mon man. Get off Big Boulders/PL's piece for two seconds. What makes you think no one contacted Big Boulder? They have already publicized that Camelback is sponsoring it, obviously someone put work in and felt that Camelback would be a good resort sponsor.

 

I do agree that 125 seems a little ambitious for a cap. Thats 2 riders every 60 seconds if you give everyone 1 run. People are getting pretty frustrated that at jams they tend to get like 1 or 2 runs to practice on the setup.

 

 

First of all Props to Buckmans for putting this event on. They got the ads in national snow rags, the website, now they are stepping it up with this type of event. My apologies. However........ You know what? I typed as I was reading, it was a reaction based on reeeeeaaaaal experience. I'll admit I am jumpy. It is still dumping in BC, CO has got a decent base. meanwhile freakin daffodils are coming up here. I know where our sport is heading. It's heading for rail jams and indoor parks and that sucks.

 

Second: I sent a separate email to John. The problem is the timing of the schedule categories. The biggest complaint of the 50 contestants in Boston was that there was no time to practice and the qualifying heat was too short. 12 contestants were given 45 mins in each heat. - they got 3 hits each. Do the math, even if they can stand in line and drop (which I doubt cause of scaffold) they will not get through 125 in one hour. (we attended 6 jams this season, including the 2 at Chris's) This comp was invite only ran by Seth Warner he now runs Boston Ski Market and appeared in Corduroy

 

Third: The jib itself. Camelback just recent named thier fabricators as SlideInk, now maybe they have been keeping all thier new jibs that they advertised hidden, but why in heavens name would they do that? Isn't the idea to sell tickets? Secrets don't sell tickets. This fall when we were trying to decide on where to call home we traipsed and tresspassed the resorts to get up close to see what they were building for this season. We only found one new butter thingy and last years jibs repainted. None of them are made from tubular steel. Camelbacks jibs were at the bottom of quality.

 

Lastly: The age group, the younger kids' patience will not hold for that long of a jam that you can't hit it repeatedly. Trust me I know LOL!

 

I am posting all this to help make it a successful event that is on a day that has an opening in our schedule. Sorry that it reads so rough.

Edited December 15, 2006 by Papasteeze

[johnnypowder]

First of all Props to Buckmans for putting this event on. They got the ads in national snow rags, the website, now they are stepping it up with this type of event. My apologies. However........ You know what? I typed as I was reading, it was a reaction based on reeeeeaaaaal experience. I'll admit I am jumpy. It is still dumping in BC, CO has got a decent base. meanwhile freakin daffodils are coming up here. I know where our sport is heading. It's heading for rail jams and indoor parks and that sucks.

 

Second: I sent a separate email to John. The problem is the timing of the schedule categories. The biggest complaint of the 50 contestants in Boston was that there was no time to practice and the qualifying heat was too short. 12 contestants were given 45 mins in each heat. - they got 3 hits each. Do the math, even if they can stand in line and drop (which I doubt cause of scaffold) they will not get through 125 in one hour. (we attended 6 jams this season, including the 2 at Chris's) This comp was invite only ran by Seth Warner he now runs Boston Ski Market and appeared in Corduroy

 

THANKS for the props!

 

I sent you an e-mail as well. We will look at the timing and see if it needs to be adjusted. We have pros running the competition who specialize in putting on and judging competitions. We will make sure that all competitors get enough practice and judged runs to be fair. I don't know what that exact number will be right now, but it will be fair.

 

Let's talk about the scaffolding:

It is being designed and assembled by a professional scaffolding company that does nothing but build scaffodling. We are not renting some pieces and building it ourselves. It will be delivered, assembled, and maintained during the event by the scaffolding company.

To ensure minimal delay between drop ins - our set up will have a 10' x 14' platform (with all of the required OSHA railings and inspections) which will accomodate multiple competitors being staged and ready to drop. Our stairs set up will accomodate multiple competitors as well (again, with all of the required OSHA railings and inspections). It will be as easy as walking up a standard set of steps.

 

Our event is the Saturday of President's weekend - unless you have plans to go West or to New England, who wants to be on the slopes in PA that day? Even though I get to go free, you couldn't pay me enough to battle the long lines and crowds. Unless we get dumped on and you can't get to the slopes without a 4x4.

 

I personally guarantee that this event is going to be off the wall. A quality set up, well run competition, media coverage, professional video & photo, pro DJ & MC, tons of prizes and giveaways - all the key elements are in place.

[Papasteeze]

What ever happened to the video? I searched youtube using various keywords. I thought they were going to release something. I have a lot of film and we were watching it the other night, lots of sick tricks thrown. That jam was worth documenting.... arghh any help?

[Papasteeze]

What ever happened to the video? I searched youtube using various keywords. I thought they were going to release something. I have a lot of film and we were watching it the other night, lots of sick tricks thrown. That jam was worth documenting.... arghh any help?

 

anyone?