Okanagan Shred Sessions Presented by FH&P Lawyers: Building Community Through Freestyle Skiing

Welcome to the Okanagan Shred Sessions! This exciting new series, brought to you by FH&P Lawyers in collaboration with Freestyle BC, is designed to bring freestyle skiing enthusiasts together in a community-focused, supportive environment. With events spanning Silver Star, Apex, and Big White, the Shred Sessions offer athletes of all levels a chance to compete, grow, and enjoy the thrill of freestyle skiing. Join us in creating unforgettable memories on the slopes!

Brett:  Hi everybody, welcome. My name is Brett McClelland. I am a lawyer with FH&P Lawyers. We are here today at Twin Creek Media because I have hijacked Clay and Tanvir's Law Talk podcast. Clay has repeatedly told me I have a face for radio and a voice for print, so I had to get some help from my friend over here, Svin from Freestyle BC. 

Svin: So, like Brett said, I am Svin, from Freestyle BC. I was the one who picked the lock to get into the office here. Beautiful backdrop, very rustic, and very fitting for our talk today. I'm the events manager with Freestyle BC, so what that means is I am essentially kind of an overseer/coordinator of the event system or the framework that we have in BC from club events, regional events, provincial events, and a few national events as well.

I make sure everyone is running well, and we're providing good service to the kids. So I'm here with Brett. We're here to talk about the Okanagan Shred Sessions today, a new regional event structure that we've developed. FH&P Lawyers are kindly sponsoring this event. 

Brett: Sounds great. Thank you again for picking those locks. Cool!

What is Freestyle BC? 

Svin: I guess we'll start with discussing what Freestyle BC is? Why are we here? Why are we having these discussions? So right off the bat, Brett, what is freestyle? Why are you here?  

Brett: Freestyle to me is, it's my home. It's my safe space. It's where I essentially gained all of the intangible skills I needed to become the man I am today, which is obviously a lawyer. And why a lawyer is talking about freestyle skiing is probably an interesting question for a lot of people.

Svin, in his role, has actually been getting me to come out and judge timber tour events for the past few seasons. Part of that involved travelling all across the province, which is a bit burdensome for somebody with a full-time job. That kind of led us into discussing the series we have started up here. 

Svin: And they give you a fancy jacket.

Brett: I do get a fancy jacket!

The FH&P Lawyers X Freestyle BC Collaboration 

Brett: That leads me to a really good point, how did we come to approach Freestyle BC? As I mentioned, I have been involved in Freestyle for 25 years now, actually, now that the calendar turned over. And FH&P Lawyers is very, very, very keen on maintaining its support of community groups. That's part of our branding; is “Rooted in Community, Ready to Help”. 

I saw this need, we discussed this need for a more regional-focused series. In the past two or three seasons, I talked to the firm, I talked to the partners. The partners were ecstatic about the opportunity to dig in and help out, not only financially but in providing support by myself, being able to attend events, having board meeting space at FH&P made available to Freestyle BC and Freestyle Canada. And the financial donation was I think, very beneficial. We also have some sweet new bibs for the kids to wear. 

Svin: Don't forget these. They are very fitting, very flashy, and very prominent. And, I mean, Thank You, dude, for putting these together. This is awesome. I love the new logo. I love the look, it fits the kids. So thank you, FH&P!

Brett: You are very welcome. Sort of selfishly, as a judge, I was very keen on getting us a new tent, which is supposed to be delivered right away, so that we can have some protection from the elements. Because I think a lot of people forget that the judges are just sitting there with our little stenos. We're just writing by hand out there, no matter what the temperature is, no matter what the conditions are. Sometimes it's a little sleety, and your paper gets ruined, and that's kind of problematic when you're trying to figure out who won the event. So we now have a swanky new judges tent. 

The Freestyle Sport

Svin: So, to break it down, let's talk about the freestyle sport.

This is a sport that, for anyone that doesn't know is moguls, slopestyle, big air—essentially everything that's not racing or ski cross in the Olympics. My role, like I said, is kind of creating the entry point for athletes to get into the competitive stream. Brett, from his point, at the FH&P Lawyers, he's the supporting guy who makes it all possible. Makes it possible so that we can run, for the sake of this conversation, the Okanagan Shred Sessions that is in the Okanagan, as the name suggests, covering everywhere in the Okanagan: Sun Peaks, Apex, Big White, Baldy, Silver Star. We have KR Academy as well, a for-profit club. 

Ultimately, these event sessions are open to anybody who has a membership with Freestyle BC and is an active participant within our community to come on down and have a good old time.  

Brett: And Svin, you want to take it away on the dates? 

The Okanagan Shred Sessions 

Svin: Yeah, again, this is purely Okanagan-based. We have one coming up real soon at Silver Star Mountain Resort. That is my home mountain, so I'm super excited about this one. On January 18th and 19th, there will be a free ski, kind of a big mountain event, followed by a big air event, which is super cool. The Free Ski world is really starting to grow. So we're excited. We're making sure that our kids are getting opportunities to ski within those kinds of situations. 

Following up is the Apex Moguls competition on February 8th and 9th, and then Big White has the finals, the Championship, if you will, on March 14th, 15th, and 16th. I'm glad I wrote those down because I probably would have forgotten. 

Big White, I believe don't count me on this one, but Slopestyle and Moguls might be Slopestyle and Big Air – either way, all these events are going to be an absolute blast and a great opportunity for judges – new judges as well as old. Sorry, not old but middle-aged(?) People who are trying to become judges or new coaches or new athletes, as we said, new officials as well. Everyone can get involved, everyone can learn, and everyone can start using these opportunities as a progression through the pathway, right?

So, from a regional level, you go to the provincial level, and from the provincial level, you can take on national, whatever those positions may be, and get involved that way. Right. As you said, rooted in community, this all stems from the community of sport. And I think that's why I love the ski industry and working here anyways. It's just not here specifically, but working in the ski industry is all about community. And I think that's what's making it fun for everybody. 

The Big Picture

Brett: One of the things that I like about this session series that we're going to be putting on is the fact that in my first competition ever, I grew up in Northern Alberta skiing on a tiny little river Valley. And that's where I started honing my skills. And the first competition I had to go to was an eight-hour drive away. So you're sleeping in a hotel that is not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. You wake up, you go to a strange Hill you've never been to. You're sleep-deprived, and you're just thrown right into it. You've never been in a competition before, you're nowhere near your home, you're kind of thrown off, and it can be a very overwhelming experience for not only the athletes themselves but their parents who had to try and support this kid to get there, try and drive them down, or coordinate with other people.

So we wanted this session to be more like a traditional freestyle skiing session where you're just out with your friends. It's more laid-back and a nice, gentle intro to getting your competitive legs underneath you.  

Svin: I agree. Well put. Well put. From my side of things for Freestyle BC,  exactly what you said is about creating that fun and welcoming introduction to competition, right? Competition can be scary for some kids, especially if they're new to the sport. We're creating an opportunity for them to, to some degree, and to most degrees, safety is a big concern. So feel safe within these environments where they can really perform and push their limits, and you know, when you guys came to us, that was the perfect opportunity.

I think it’s pretty fitting that a law firm now supports the safety and accountability and the credibility of our event system here. So it’s perfect! 

So, that's about it. We are a wrap here. I've got a bunch of work and planning to do. I'm sure you're a busy lawman with your jacket.

So we'll wrap it up, but thank you for, I guess, the listeners. Thank you, Brett. Thank you for (don't tell anyone we'll catch them in the alleyway here), but thank you, Twin Creek Media, for letting us use the office, FH&P Lawyers - can't say enough great things like this is amazing! Again, thank you to all volunteers: the listeners, the officials, the judges, the coaches of Freestyle BC, the parents, the kids, and the entire community!  

From my side of things, anyone who wants to get involved is absolutely welcome.

Silver Star, on the 18th and 19th of January. Silver Star is the event that is coming up, just a couple of weeks out. Athletes will need to register, they can register at freestylebc.ski, that's the website, just track down the regional event, and you'll find the Okanagan Shred Sessions in there. 

Brett: Yeah, come on out to the Okanagan Shred Sessions presented by FH&P Lawyers!

We have a Big Mountain and Slopestyle competition happening at Silverstar on January 18th and 19th. Apex will host Slopestyle and Moguls on February 8th and 9th. And then, up at Big White, my home mountain, we're going to have the championships on January 14th, 15th, and 16th. That will be a Slopestyle and Mogul competition.

We are also hoping to have another fun little night event, but we can't confirm that yet. It's TBD. It's weather-dependent. Mother Nature. Thanks, everyone!