Snowboard Tradeshow Season Kicks Off With Winter Pro
Introducing Winter Pro: A brand-new b2b on-snow demo in La Rosiere, France. Organised by Act Media, Winter Pro is replacing the annual Rock On Snow Pro, formally held in La Clusaz. Since 2010, Act Media, the publishers of Act Snowboarding, have been involved in organising events including Ride The Snake and Enjoy The Glacier in Les Deux Alpes, as well as having forged long-term relationships with many snowboard brands.
La Rosière resort, renowned for its snowfall and ideal location, is nestled in the middle of Haute-Tarentaise, just above Bourg Saint Maurice and offers a 2,000m vertical drop (850m – 2850m). It’s part of the San Bernardo area with 170 km of slopes distributed between La Rosière in France and La Thuile in Italy. In addition, there will be a marked and secure splitboarding trail starting from the test village, open to Winter Pro participants and a snow test area (jam-packed with a table, box, woops, carving zone and a hip).
This will be the first on-snow demo of the year, with retailers meeting up to test out the 2022/23 product ranges from over 46 brands. At the time of going to press, the hardgoods brand list includes: Amplid, Arbor, Bataleon, Bent Metal, Borealis, Burton, Capita, Deeluxe, Drake, Fjell, Flow, Furberg, Gnu, Goodboards, Jones, K2 Snowboarding, Karakoram, Lib Tech, Nidecker, Nok Boards, Nitro, Now, Plum, Raiden, Ride, Rome, Rossignol, Roxy Snowboards, Salomon, Sandy Shapes, Slash By GiGi, Thirty-Two, Union, Weston, and Yes.
Outwear and accessory brands will also be in attendance, with 686, Dakine, Volcom, Quiksilver, Roxy, Saxx Underwear, PAG, VonZipper, Electric, Spy and Mammut confirmed to be presenting their product offerings. Test boards can receive a free wax over at the Dakine stand. Mammut are offering to service customers’ bippers and on the snow near the test village, will they’ll also be providing avalanche research and first aid training.
Winter Pro will be based across three sites right next to the slopes:
- The Test Village: A 700 sq. metre space containing all the exhibiting hardgoods brands, located in front of the departure point of the Roches Noires chairlift, 30m from the car park.
- The Reception Hall: Next to the test village, the 200 sq. metre space will be occupied by the exhibiting accessory and textile brands. It’s also where the Winter Pro receptions, breakfasts and conferences will be held. Next door to the reception room in Le Boréal restaurant, a further brand exhibition area has been reserved.
- Le Sky Residence Showrooms: Additional exhibition space has been reserved in the apartments above Le Boréal restaurant.
The demo will take place between 8am and 4pm every day; for the first hour of each day, the Roches Brunes chairlift is reserved exclusively for Winter Pro participants.
Full Winter Pro Program
Set-up will take place on Saturday, followed by a Welcome drink at 19.00 and dinner at 21:00 in Le Boréal. In the evening, Safety Shred Days will welcome brands to their closing party at the Comptoir bar with JS Saint James on the turntables.
Sunday, January 9
09:00 – Opening of the test village and indoor area
12:00 – Restaurant at Le Boréal16:00 – Closure of the test village
16:00-18:00 – The Reception Hall will host Vans Aperitif Vans, free beers, film screenings of “Elles” & “Oasen”, a DJ set and a photo exhibition by Mathieu Georges and Perly
19:00 – Aperitif hosted in Le Boréal, a projection of photos taken during the day and an awards ceremony, presenting awards for the most tested board, most tested brand, and best tester store, as well as for SSD’s Banked Slalom and a Special “Industry Member” Award.
20:30 – Dinner at Le Boréal
22:00 – Winter Opening Party at Le Boréal with Leopard Ale (Olivier Gittler & Arthur Longo), rock band The Climbers and a DJ Set.
Monday, January 10
07:30 – Opening of the test village and indoor stands
12:00 – Restaurant at Le Boréal
16:00 – Closure of the test village
16:00-18:00 – Reception room for film projection, aperitif, and DJ set
19:00 – Le Boréal will host an Aperitif, a projection of photos taken during the day and an award ceremony for most tested board, most tested brand, and best tester store.
20:30 – Dinner at Le Boréal
22:00 – Winter Closing Party at Le Boréal
Tuesday, January 11
07:30 – Opening of the test village and indoor stands
12:00 – Restaurant at Le Boréal
16:00 – Closure of the test village
To participate in the “Unusual” Banked Slalom Safety Shred Days Contest on Sunday, its 8€ registration (preferential rate for Winter Pro participants). To enter, contact Marine at [email protected]
Transport
There are regular shuttle buses between La Rosiere and the Bourg Saint Maurice station, which is served by TGV, providing high speed trains direct to Paris, Marseille, and Geneva. Nearest airports are Chambery, Lyons, Grenoble and Geneva. The station’s partner, Mont Banc Automobile, is providing Winter Pro with a 7–9-seater vehicle to transport customers arriving at Bourg Saint Maurice station. If necessary, transport can be extended to Geneva or Lyon. This is free for industry and retailers.
Accommodation reservation:
Remember to book your accommodation if you haven’t already done so, or submit a request to the reservation centre, contact: [email protected]: (0033) 04 79 06 83 92, ask for Christine and remind her that you are part of Winter Pro.
Sanitary protocol:
Access to the various Winter Pro sites is authorised through presentation of the accreditation badge, which itself is issued on presentation of a valid health pass. All participants are asked to get tested (Anti-Genic) to ensure that the virus does not circulate during the event. A negative test of less than 24 hours will be mandatory for non-vaccinated people. This request does not apply to people who are up to date on the vaccination pass or have been cured of Covid within the last 6 months. But we recommend that all vaccinated participants take the test, it is free and helps protect against unintentional contamination.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there for the opening event of the snowboarding trade season. Winter Pro will also be the first snowboard business event in Europe since spring 2020!
For more info, visit www.actsnowboarding.com
