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World Snow Day (www.world-snow-day.com), a global initiative from the International Ski Federation to attract more children in to snowsports, will nearly double in size for its second staging this weekend with 435 events confirmed in 39 countries to take place this Sunday 20th January.

The first World Snow Day last year brought over 200,000 people to snow sports with 225 events across 39 countries and this year has nearly doubled the number events. Organisers aim to reach 500,000 participants by the third year of the event.

"By the end of October, the number of registrations had tripled compared to the same time last year. The record number of Organisers shows a fantastic commitment worldwide to 'bring children to the snow' and to have healthy and active children," said the FIS's Bring Children to the Snow Coordinator Andrew Cholinski.

Planned events include a "Mountain in the City" in Quebec, Canada where a hill has been constructed in the city and ski and snowboard lessons will be offered for children.

The "World Snow Forum" in Siberia will create a snow city with games and activities for all children. In Raponghi, one of the busiest areas of Tokyo, Japan, a huge a freestyle skiing demonstration will take place and a snow play area will be constructed giving children the chance to play in the snow.

In Norway, 99 ski resorts will be opening their doors for free skiing and snowboarding throughout the day.

All five Scottish ski areas and the indoor Snow Factor centre in Glasgow have events planned, although The Lecht has just announced they're cancelling theirs due to unpredictable weather conditions,

"We have free taster sessions at some ski areas for people who've always wanted to try but have never stood on skis or a snowboard before, fun events ranging from snowman-building and snow-animal-sculpting competitions to free sledging and tubing, and from tours on piste grooming machines or snow cats to transceiver park search and rescue practice sessions for experienced skiers and boarders.
All the events are, of course, subject to conditions and we advise checking the conditions page on www.ski-scotland.com before leaving home and on your mobile when you stop en route," said Chair of Ski-Scotland Heather Negus.

Just as it seems every imaginable sliding device must have been invented by now, along comes the Dual Board. Founded in 2011, Dual Snowboards are, the manufacturers tell us, already "a recognisable part of the snowsports scene in the United States" and they're now moving in to Europe.

The basic concept is that riders travel sideways just like on a snowboard, but have two separate boards, just like skis. Dual boards (£225 per pair) are proving particularly popular in freestyle parks and on urban obstacles and some riders have already evolved into performing bigger tricks like frontflips, backflips and rodeos, all on dual boards.

Dual boards are suitable for all ages and are compatible with snowboard boots and bindings and you don't need to unstrap when getting on a ski lift, unlike most snowsports gear they can also fit in your backpack!

"Duals have opened up a whole new world of riding and tricks for me," said reviewer Jake Kirkwood, team rider, professional ski instructor and freestyle coach from Scotland, "We shot some urban stuff recently in the Alps and riding the duals in this environment was sick! We spent some days going to resorts and not even going up on the mountain, just shredding what we could find. We then hit the main slopes and it was so much fun playing about with them on a big mountain. I love the way in which I can take elements of snowboarding and skiing and transfer them to dual boards giving me a totally different way to enjoy the snow, everything opens up and there are just no rules. If I can give one bit of advice, just go out and give them a go. I was a sceptic at first but once I jumped on them for half an hour I was hooked!"

The Dual is distributed by StickYourTrick - you can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stickyourtrick

It has been the usual roller coaster of weather conditions for Scottish ski areas since the season started at the beginning of December

Although challenged by gales, blizzards and, according to one Cairngorm posting, wind chill down to -50C earlier this week, all five areas were able to open through the busy Christmas/New Year key business period, although there has not yet been enough snow for full top-to-bottom skiing at Cairngorm.

Last week's very warm temperatures led to a serious thaw on the slopes and four areas were forced to suspend operations and all but upper runs on Cairngorm were closed.

This week's cold temperatures have led to a reversal of fortunes however and four of the five ski areas have re-opened.

Unusually for Scottish ski areas however this is in good part due to snowmaking. Most of the Scottish ski centres now have snowmaking but temperature fluctuations make their use intermittent. However despite limited natural snowfall in the current cold snap Caoirngorm, Glenshee and the Lecht report snowmaking at maximum over Tuesday night in a bid to open more terrain.

Cairngorm reported Wednesday 16 Jan was an 'amazing day' with no wind, 4 inches of fresh powder on top and an increasing amount of terrain open (1,300 feet of vertical).

On the West Coast Nevis Range say they've had fresh snow but "it's like starting the season again" and Glencoe, a fourth area busy snowmaking, is open for sledging but needs more for skiing, hopefully by the weekend though with more snow forecast.

Anyone looking to see something a little different on the snow this Easter should head to St Anton in Austria where the 'Snow Volleyball Tour" rolls in to town on 5th and 6th April.

What the resort describes as, "the international volleyball elite" will be competing in customary style at the top station of the Rendl lifts at 2,030m above sea level for the 'King of the Snow' title.

Hundreds of fans and spectators are expected in town to witness this unusual extreme sport event and then party through the night – the competitors kit appears slightly more substantial than for beach volleyball.

Prof John Brewer new Chair of British Ski and Snowboard (BSS)

Professor of Sport at the University of Bedfordshire, John Brewer, has been announced as the Chair of British Ski and Snowboard (BSS). In addition Professor Brewer, along with Mr John Foster and Mr Mark Lund will all become Independent Directors of the British National Governing Body for Snowsports.

Professor Brewer will take the Chairman's position vacated by Lord Moynihan in the autumn of last year. They will bring a wealth of experience to the leadership of an organisation that is striving to put elite British Snowsport athletes on the podiums of top international events including World Cup and Olympic competitions.

Professor Brewer has almost thirty years of sports science and sports administration experience including most recently Chairing the British Handball Association and taking the British team to their first ever Olympic games. He will combine his role of Chairman of BSS with his executive role as Director of Sport and Head of the Sport and Exercise Science Department at the University of Bedfordshire.

"I am indebted to the tremendous hard work of my predecessor as Chair, Lord Colin Moynihan, and the Interim Chair Robin Kellen. I thoroughly enjoyed my time as Chair of the BHA, and was sad to step down at the end of 2012, so when offered this new role and challenge, I was delighted to accept," he said. "There are some similarities between handball and skiing, with many of the competitors based overseas, and the need to manage finances tightly and sensibly."

"However the four BSS disciplines of alpine, nordic, freestyle and snowboard have the chance to compete for almost half of the medals on offer at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, and I believe that we have some genuine medal prospects, along with the chance to continuously develop and excel at World and European level on a regular basis."

Professor Brewer is a passionate skier, and aims to make the slopes of Saint Gervais in France on at least three occasions each year along with his wife and two teenage daughters. He is also a keen runner, racing frequently over a range of distances, and last year completed the London Marathon for the 14th time.

Of the other newly appointed independent directors John Foster has thirty five year experience in advertising and accountancy including nearly fifteen years as Group Finance Director for Aegis, the world's leading focused media and digital communications specialist. John will become Treasurer of British Ski and Snowboard.

Mark Lund has spent around thirty years in financial services and is the former Chief Executive Officer of St James's Place and Virgin Direct. Mark will become BSS's Senior Independent Director and will combine this role with his other non-executive positions including his directorship of My CSP Ltd, the major government pensions administrator.

Commenting on these appointments David Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of British Ski and Snowboard said, "we are delighted that we have been able to attract three very capable people to join our Board. The calibre of applicants for these posts was high and the selection panel had a tough job but were unanimous in selecting John, John and Mark for the powerful combination of skills that they will add to our Board processes. Raising money and managing it appropriately is obviously very high on our Agenda but we will now be better equipped for many of the aspects of good Corporate Governance that one should expect from a British Sports National Governing body."

Six day lift passes covering Vail's four resorts in Colorado are currently being sold online at $510 on the company's snow.com site. The site says this advance online purchase price represents a $204 saving on the price you'd need to pay if you bought the ticket in resort at a ticket window for $714 which equals £440 This is believed to be the first time a six day ticket has gone above $700 (US)/£400 (UK)

Vail resorts lift ticket pricing has long been very fluid, changing frequently and at short notice particularly for a one day pass. This model does bring some of the highest lift ticket prices in world skiing for those who don't buy in advance online, although at the other end in low season at the start and end of the season prices drop to among the lowest in the world for major resorts for those who DO buy in advance online.

In recent years the company has offered increasingly large discounts for online advance purchase and its Epic Season Pass, when purchased in the spring and summer ahead of the following season, increasingly costs much less for unlimited access to the slopes all season than buying a standard six day pass for fixed holiday dates.

The 2013-14 Epic Passes, covering 10 resorts with Vail's count reaching nine having purchased two more areas in the Midwest to add to their four in Colorado and three in California, with the pass also covering separately owned A Basin, will be released in March/April at their lowest price.

The team behind the UK's biggest ski magazine InTheSnow has announced they're launching a new ski show this autumn which will replace the old British Ski and Board Show after 24 years.

InTheSnow Live (www.inthesnowlive.com) is coming to the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham from 25-27 October 2013.

"A live event is the natural progression for InTheSnow Magazine to build on our phenomenal growth since launching the magazine six years ago and bring our readers a new live snowsports event. The NEC is the perfect venue being within two hours' drive of over 40% of the UK's population," said Show Director Dominic Killinger.

"Our desire is to create a national snowsports show for everyone from first timers to seasoned skiers and snowboarders and InTheSnow Live will be a truly innovative and exciting new event bringing a new level of interest and engagement for the snowsports market."

"We have some exciting features planned, from our unique luxurious après ski bar to our Christmas wonderland and the multi-purpose skills slope, to surprise and delight visitors and really deliver an exceptional day out, whilst offering great value for everyone who loves snowsports."

InTheSnow Live will showcase the biggest names in wintersports and give enthusiasts everything they need to know, see, feel and experience to help them plan their holidays and get excited about their time on the slopes.

"There's no better place to really get to know the new season's equipment and novelties first hand, and also to meet fellow skiers and boarders, than by going to a live event," added Kathryn James, Managing Director of the NEC.

Tickets are already on sale for the show via its website priced at £15 for adults and £7 for children (6-16 years) and senior (60+).

Nova Scotia has become what's believed to be the only geographic region in the world to legally enforce the wearing of ski helmets on the slopes of its three small ski areas.

The Eastern Canadian province introduced the law this winter as we previously reported it intended to. Other than the fact that the proposal has become law, the previously unknown fact of the penalty for non compliance has also become known – a $250 (Cdn) fine (about £156).

"It's a world-first, designed to keep our noggins safer on Nova Scotia's ski and snowboard hills. Brain injuries are the leading cause of death among skiers and snowboarders of all ages, and helmet use reduces the severity of injury by up to 60%," says a Nova Scotia government statement.

Anyone aged over 16 is responsible for their own helmet, parents or guardians are responsible to ensure anyone under 16 in their care is wearing a helmet.

Elsewhere in the world laws on helmet wearing are increasingly complex and fragmented, but countries including France and Italy and some regions in Austria and elsewhere insist children wear ski helmets on the slopes.

Some ski resorts, particularly larger destination resorts in North America, require their staff and people taking ski lessons to wear helmets too.

There's now an official site about the Nova Scotia law: www.helmetmatch.com