The annual end-of-season gathering hits Sunshine Village.
words: Ally Watson
photos: Stephan Jende
When Snowboy Productions announced that this year’s “IT’S TITS!” was to be held in Banff, Alberta, at Sunshine Village Resort, there was a shift in frequency amongst Canadian boarders. “IT’S TITS!” was heading north, and the buzz was hypnotic. It was the final event of Snowboy Productions’ Space Creators Tour, and the third installment of 2023 Snowboy x Sunshine Village events following Tales from the Village and Holy Bowly.
On May 8th, riders turned up to an immaculately shaped course that had been regrettably graced with a storm and covered in snow. Everyone grabbed their shovels and started digging out the set up with the Quality Hand Jobs Crew to help get things rolling. Once the course was manicured back to its original form, we joined in a semi-circle above the course, centring Snowboy’s head honcho, Krush Kulesza. Krush gave a warm welcome, set the tone for the week, and began calling on key players of the event to address the crowd. Starting with local Abby Furrer, who graciously introduced Elder Verna Powderface from the Stoney Nation to welcome us to the land and share indigenous wisdom while her son Dallas Powderface smudged our circle, blessing all participants for the week to come.
Krush proceeded to call upon the pioneers of the event Jess Kimura and Barrett Christy, as well as Megan Pischke of B4BC, and Laura Rogoski of the Snowboy crew and creator of We are All Mental. As intros wrapped up under swirling skies, riders began to strap in and session pockets of the course with enough visibility to work with. The Tenjin bowls, butterpads, and boobs saw heavy traffic, while a hip session went off at the bottom of the course in the signature “IT’S TITS!” bowl, which was shaped into a double featuring opposing hips.
There was an immense Canadian presence at Sunshine this year including local and distant crews from YVR Shredcatz, Nothing in the Pantry, Unlimited Skate & Snow, The Source, Riders On Board, and Rude Girls. The CAPiTA, DWD, Lib, GNU, and Bataleon teams were all boosting through the course day-in-and-day-out. And the Girls of Darkside turned up from the East Coast, rounding out a stacked roster of riders from all over the map.
Day one led into the aptly named Poutine Panel sponsored by The North Face. Jess Kimura and Sharalee Hazen passed around never-ending baskets of Canadian national identity (poutine) before introducing a Q&A session. The session was a casual meeting of minds that allowed participants to share ideas, find answers, and hype each other up, injecting a sense of community to be carried through the whole week.
As the week proceeded, the weather windows came and went, always blessing the course with sunny skies and slushy conditions throughout the day. Lily Calabrese found a fence gap that led to endless sessions sending riders out of the course. Egan Wint took the fence gap further by gapping up and over the bottom bowls and hips. Hike sessions were the staple of the week moving from feature to feature as days went on, while riders like Lauren Nelson, Baily Birkkjaer, Laura Rogoski, Rel Friedman, and Jessie Broster were lapping through the course catching every piece of transition in their path.
Kayla Dedio and Georgia Nicholls-Austin got rightfully upside down on both bottom hips sending onlookers into an uproar. The energy stayed high and with almost every hike up the course, you’d overhear someone wanting to learn something new, and successfully doing so. The sense of collaboration and connection that emanated from the course was infectious. Everyone was hyping their peers, lending a hand, working closely with photo and video, offering tips, and encouraging more laps. Kayla Dedio and Sarah Van Der Zweep nailed doubles handplants into the boob bowls, while others trained, followed, and high-fived their way through the course.
The extracurriculars didn’t end with the poutine, either. On Tuesday, an impressive number of riders met at the base of Sunshine Village for Laura Rogoski’s Mental Meet Up, co-hosted by Billy Taylor and featuring guided breathwork from Megan Pischke of B4BC. The topic, reading, and prompts circulated around negative self-talk which established lengthy and intimate conversations within various smaller groups. Wednesday was games night at High Rollers with bowling, arcade games, and karaoke. Thursday was a skate session, followed by kickball, at the Banff recreation grounds, and Friday was a DJ night with “IT’S TITS!” riders Cori Stevens and Michelle Kazami at the Dancing Sasquatch.
The sheer amount of photos and videos that was produced over the week was a testament to the connection made at this event. It truly felt like any rider involved in a session was earnestly rooting for everyone around them, gassing them up and giving them recognition. Riders from all disciplines, styles, and ages were flowing through the course with their own unique style, solidifying the community that has been forged through snowboarding.
Thanks to Snowboy Productions, B4BC, The North Face, Sunshine Village, Gnu Snowboards, Airblaster, CAPiTA, Sun Bum, Smith, and Diecutstickers.com for making it happen, to all the diggers for staying committed to the cause, and to all the riders that made it to Banff and rode the course! Until next year.
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