A FIS Para Snowboard World Cup event is coming to Mt. Sima.

It will be the first Para Snowboard World Cup ever held in the Yukon and the second World Cup event overall.

The only other World Cup event that took place in the Yukon was a cross country event in the 1980’s.

The event is one of many that will be held on the ski hill March 25-31.

The main event, the “Lost in Paradise” Banked Slalom, consisting of two races, will take place March 28 and 29.

The banked slalom will consist of wide, U-shaped turns, and various dips, rollers and bumps where athletes will be timed as they race around gates through the course.

Lost in Paradise is a component of the Shred the North 2023-24 World Cup Series.

It will feature 60 athletes from 20 countries competing on the slopes of Mt. Sima. They will be supported by 20 team staff. 15 event staff and officials will also be on hand. Participating countries include France, Germany, Australia and Japan.

Canadian national team members Tyler Turner, Alex Masie and Sandrine Hamel will be competing.

“I am super stoked to finish our World Cup season on home soil this season. To have World Cup finals hosted in the Yukon at Mount Sima is going to be such a cool experience at an amazing venue,” said Turner.

Festival activities include a public bib toss, learn to snowboard activities, and a sliding hill. Event organizers will also connect with local schools and programs.

Canada Snowboard, Mt. Sima, Snowboard Yukon and Sport Yukon are staging the event.

They held a joint press conference at Mount Sima Wednesday morning.

Maggie Dekking, event pathway and stakeholder manager at Canada Snowboard, spoke at the press conference.

She said the event was “a long time coming.”

“Our para-national team has called this their training home for a long, long time. They started to develop the dirt work on the hill and then their vision kept growing. ‘What if we start hosting an event? What if we bring the Para World Cup to the Yukon?’ And then the rest of our team got involved and here we are. We’re making it happen.”

Dekking said it “means a lot” to Snowboard Canada to hold the Para World Cup at Sima, since it follows another World Cup event at Big White in Kelowna.

“It strengthens our offer, which will result in more athletes, which makes the competition better for our athletes.”

Dekking said that increases their potential for medals as they prepare for the Paralympic Games.

She added because of the collaboration with Canada Snowboard’s partners, the Yukon feels “special” compared to other places that have hosted World Cup events.

Yukon Tourism and Culture Minister John Streicker also put in an appearance and spoke at the press conference. He said he was “super-proud” to be involved in hosting the event.

Mount Sima General Manager Sam Oettli spoke at the press conference as well.

The president of the Mount Sima board of directors, Tom Luxemburger, joined Oettli at the podium and said he was “pretty stoked” about Lost in Paradise. He also spoke about making Sima a “global destination” through events like the Para World Cup races.

Snowboard Yukon’s Sarah Marsh listed events happening during the festival, including a “big top” at which the public can meet the para-athletes, the bib toss, a mini-shred park for young riders, and the banquet dinner following the banked slalom on March 29.

Marsh also mentioned there will be a viewing party at the bottom of the hill for those not wanting to venture onto the slopes during the races.

Snowboard Yukon will also host the Yukon Champs which take place on the back end of the events on March 29-31.

The Champs will include a race through the Para World Cup course, as well as snowboard cross and a style jam in Pokey Park and Coyote Park.

In addition, Snowboard Yukon is offering an officials’ training course in partnership with Canada Snowboard.

Marsh said they have been working closely with Mt. Sima over the years to enhance terrain, to train riders, to work with officials and host events at the venue.

“All of these years, we’ve been building all of these foundational pieces … now they’re bringing a World Cup event here. I think this is a great opportunity to showcase the Yukon, showcase our winter sport facilities, and to celebrate para-athletes from around the world.”

Marsh added, “We are hoping to offer a week long series of events to showcase the sport, to bring the sport to people who may not have seen it before and to celebrate our existing athletes in our sport community.”

Sport Yukon Executive Director Tracey Bilsky said the Para World Cup is “really big for us. Sport tourism is an initiative that we’re really hanging our hat on these days. We’re trying to expand. We know that it has such a large community effect and such a monetary benefit to the territory, so we’re concentrating on things that benefit more than just sport, more than just Sport Yukon, so we know it benefits lots of different organizations, businesses, government. So having an event as big as this one – we’re very proud.”

Bilsky explained Sport Yukon’s role in the upcoming event.

“Amanda Deuling is our manager of sport tourism and she connects with all sorts of national sport bodies and when this idea came that this event could come to the Yukon, we did what we call a ‘Fam (familiarization) tour’, where the group comes up, takes a look, sees whether the hill will be suitable, whether the community’s suitable, whether our amenities will work, and they were excited to state that they wanted to make this their last stop on their tour.

“So now what Amanda does then is she manages the relationships between governments, between sport groups. She’s basically the conduit to make sure that the event goes off seamlessly.”

Bilsky added she’s looking forward to the athletes experiencing the Yukon.

“It’s more so our local kids, our skiers, our snowboarders, people that frequent Mount Sima that call this their home, to see an event this large, and to see athletes that skilled, and see what para-athletes can do, is, I think, really important for people’s perspective. And that’s what I’m most excited about.”

Deuling said that Sport Yukon’s role is a supportive role for the Yukon’s sport organizations.

“Mount Sima and Snowboard Yukon are doing a phenomenal job of visioning this event and we’re here to support their vision.”

Deuling said the event came about through relationships with Mt. Sima and Canada Snowboard, who, according to Deuling, have had a great relationship over the years.

“Bringing Maggie (Dekking) on board, they presented this idea last spring, saying, ‘What would the Yukon think about this?’ and now we’re at the point where it’s moved quickly and we’re on the map.”

Deuling added, “I’m very excited about this whole thing. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a World Cup here in the Yukon.

“I’m looking forward to showing the world the amazing place that the Yukon is.”

Oettli ended his speech by saying, “Let’s get Lost in Paradise.”

He said it’s “pretty amazing” to be hosting the Para World Cup.

“it’s cool to see us at this point after multiple years of talking about it and preparing. There was a three-year window where things kind of stopped happening, so it’s nice that we’ve been able to pick up the pieces from before and move forward together. It’s gonna be great.”

Oettli explained how the seeds for the event were planted.

“Years ago, I met Mark Fawcett, who’s a big name in the world of para-snowboard for the Canadian team and him and I started the idea of having pre-season up here and the para team was one of the first ones to come. Ever since then, we’ve been working together on different ways to bring more folks up. The climate is changing, there’s a lot less places for early season training, so more eyes are on the North and looking at what we can offer as we grow and have amazing facilities that people can go to.

“Being in the Yukon helps a lot. Folks are like, ‘I’ve always wanted to go there. I may as well come up and check it out.’ So I think there’s a very high level of stoke about what’s going to happen here. The athletes are gonna have a great time.”

The athletes will fly up from Big White on Air North.

Since it’s the last stop on the Para World Cup tour, an awards ceremony will take place after the races.

Oettli said many of the para-athletes will stick around for the Yukon Champs as well.

“They’re gonna be there with the kids and other athletes and locals to ride with them. Having it all mix together is just awesome. I’m really excited about it.”