On Friday, March 7th, 2014, The Marketing Association of Plymouth State (MAPS) and the Snowboard Club collaborated and put together Plymouth State University’s first ever Rail Jam for skiers and snowboarders. The event was sponsored by Smith Optics, Cannon Mountain, Crab Grab, Coco-Cola, Be Easy, Rome Snowboards, Eastern Boarder and many more. It was free for all competitors, which would not have been possible had it not been for all the sponsors.
On the hill coming down from the side of the ice arena, rails were installed for skiers and snowboarders to use for the afternoon. Astounding amounts of people showed up to watch, take photos and videos, and to compete and win prizes.
Kevin Court, was a crowd favorite, with his shirtless backflip. There were countless creative and colorful clothing choices and homemade helmets. Justin Salinger with his video-hat, and Phillip Cotton with two different colored snowboarding boots. Chase Chicoine, Wesley Evans, Christian Buling, Ben Parrott, Sean Gamsjager, Tyler Thompson, Brian Burke, and many more people competed.
Posters made by Paul Osborne, PSU alum, were hung up around Plymouth and shared online to advertise the Rail Jam.
Colin McKenna, a member of MAPS, got the idea for a Rail Jam from UVM. Because PSU has just as much of a ski and snowboard culture as UVM, McKenna found himself asking, “Why haven’t we done this before, and why aren’t we doing it?”
Luke Giacopelli, a member of the Snowboard Club, went to the MAPS meetings and got in contact with John O’Connor, the President of the Snowboard Club. They have all been involved for over a month, making sure that the Rail Jam went smoothly and according to plan.
“My favorite part of this was just being able to show snowboarding…people got to finally experience it and see what a big deal it is to us at Plymouth, and see what a tightly-knit group of kids we are,“Giacopelli said.
The rails are soon hopefully going to become a permanent fixture. In order to save students money, gas, and time, bringing in a few permanent rails on the side of the hill near the ice arena would make it very convenient.
O’Connor said, “We’re really trying to show this school how much fun these people have…” With the wonderful turnout for this year, MAPS and the Snowboard Club are planning on collaborating again and having another Rail Jam for 2015.