Spring Break
Winter event helps benefit RI Community Food Bank, first 'Rail Jam' on Quadrangle
Hillary Brady
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: News
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At the "Rail Jam" event, students could test their skiing and snowboarding skills on the Club's handmade course, created from snow brought in from Boss Arena and snow piles around campus.
This unique event was a first for the club.
"Champlain College in Vermont has been doing [a similar event] for 15 years," Cristina Bourassa, a club member, said. "It sets the stage for the Snowboard Club."
The organizers began bringing in snow by the truckload at 9 a.m. Students shovelled snow onto large tarps and dragged the piles to the center of the quad, where they formed the event course. In all, the snow took more than two hours to transport.
The course began with a 10-foot drop off of a ramp. It also included a "flat box feature," Matt Reynolds, a club member, said. Participants would slide their boards across the "flat box," which was a 15 foot long table approximately three feet off the ground. There was also a corrugated pipe, made of plumbing material, which was 25 feet long and more than a foot in diameter.
To ride the rails, all students needed besides their guts and glory was a helmet, a waiver-release form and a can of food.
The Rail Jam supported the Rhode Island Food Bank by asking all riders to donate a can of food to participate. Spectators could also enter a prize drawing by bringing canned goods to the event. For every can students donated, their name was entered into a raffle for free snowboarding gear.
"We thought it would be cool to have an entry fee that we could actually donate," Nikki Heidt, club president, said. "One kid even brought in 24 cans."
The prizes for competitors and raffle winners were all donated by local and national sponsors. Local retailers, such as Warm Winds, Smith Optics, Enemy and Ride Snowboards donated ski and snowboard equipment.
Red Bull was the event's major sponsor, and their logo could be found everywhere around the quad-from the inflatable advertisement in a shape of an arch over the course, to the free drinks arranged on tables that were shaped like Red Bull cans.
"Red Bull's awesome, they've done a lot," Heidt said. "They're really into sports like this."
The event kicked off with a ski and snowboard tuning clinic, where club members could help students adjust the bindings on their equipment.
There was also live music throughout the night, from the Connecticut punk band Bloodshot Hooligans, and DJ's Swagger Jackers and Vaughn Guess.
Later, there was an "open jam" where snowboarders and skiers could ride through the course. The more experienced riders could participate in a competition, judged by the local sponsors.
Heidt said the number of people that showed up to participate impressed her.
"We had to cap it at 60 people, we couldn't allow more people [to ride]," Heidt said.
Around the course, more than 100 spectators watched the action, cheering on fellow students as they hit the rails.
Onlookers could also watch professional snowboarding highlights on the projection screen provided by Red Bull, or shop for new gear at the booths set up by the event's sponsors.
"I think it's awesome to see this all set up on the quad," freshman Lindsay Sutherland said. "The snow's kind of melting, but it's cool."
Overall, eight snowboarders and three skiers were awarded prizes. Winners received packages made of assorted snowboarding and ski equipment donated from the local sponsors.
For the Snowboarding Club, the Rail Jam was considered a huge success.
"We were blown away by the turnout," Heidt said.
The club was also able to collect a large amount of canned food for the Rhode Island Food Bank. By the end of the night, the group had collected hundreds of donated items from students.
With the success of this year's Rail Jam, the club is looking forward to next year's festivities.
"We'd like to keep making [Rail Jam] bigger and better," Heidt said.
