Sport events : US, Second Annual Bring a Friend Challenge Starts December 1 with Trip and Product Rewards Worth Thousands

Washington, DC (November 25, 2013) -- The second annual national Bring a Friend Challenge for snow sports features thousands of dollars in prizes for skiers and snowboarders who help newcomers sign up for lessons from professional instructors. Prizes include an unprecedented number of trips to the Topnotch Resort in Vermont, Mt. Bachelor and HooDoo in Oregon, and trips to all three U.S. Winter Olympics host sites – Lake Placid, Squaw Valley and Salt Lake City (and nearby resorts).

Product prizes range from accessories to skis and snowboards from Armada, Burton Snowboards, Dynastar Skis, Echelon Snowboards, Flow Snowboarding, HEAD, Lange Ski Boots, RAMP Sports, Rossignol, The North Face, White Sierra, Zeal Optics and others.

The Bring a Friend Challenge starts Sunday, December 1, 2013 and runs through Friday, March 14, 2014. The Challenge is hosted at bringafriend.org. Entry rules and registration are on the website. This year, organizers added a new element called Ambassadors and Champions.

Lessons can be taken at any ski/snowboard area in the U.S. Winners will be selected weekly starting December 23, 2013. Find Lessons at skiandsnowboardmonth.org.

“Skiers and snowboarders just need to help one newcomer sign up for beginner lessons from a professional instructor to win in the Bring a Friend Challenge,” said Mary Jo Tarallo, director of the snow sports industry’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month/Bring a Friend initiative. “They can go the extra mile and sign up to be Ambassadors or Champions for a chance to win the prizes from Head, Flow, The North Face and Ski Utah.”

Those who help at least three newcomers can become Ambassadors (adults age 18 and up) or Champions (youths ages 13–17) of snow sports. Ambassadors and Champions have better chances of winning the weekly Bring a Friend prizes and they also can qualify to be named the Ambassador or Champion of the Year. Those winners will receive a season pass to a selected venue for the 2014-5 season, a pair of skis from HEAD or a snowboard set-up from Flow Snowboarding. The Ambassador of the Year also will win a four-day trip to Utah, site of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The trip includes airfare from a major airport.

“The Bring a Friend Challenge is a way for current skiers and snowboarders to win great prizes and it motivates newcomers to learn from trained instructors,” added Tarallo. “It’s a win-win for everyone”.

Participate in the new social media campaign to kick off the program - 30 Day, Photos a Day - Get Ready to Ski/Ride Challenge - on Twitter and Instagram @learn2skiboard, Facebook.com/learntoskiandsnowboard and by using the hashtag #winteriscool.

For more information about Ambassadors and Champions you can also visit skiandsnowboardmonth.org.

By press release