Photo: Big White Ski Resort

Organizers are calling the Big White Ski Resort’s Freeride Days Mountain Bike Festival, a huge success. The three-day long event saw thousands of spectators, dozens of professional and aspiring mountain bike athletes, and perfect August weather.

“After two years without crowds, we are ecstatic with how the event went over,” said Trevor Hanna, vice president of hospitality at Big White Ski Resort Ltd.

“We had a fantastic team of employees and volunteers who put in many long hours to make Freeride Days a success, and I think it was evident from the number of people who showed up to watch that this will continue to be a popular summer event in the Okanagan for years to come.”

Nearly 2,000 people showed up to take in the action over the course of the weekend.

"Over the last five years, this event has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic tourism revenue for the Central Okanagan," said Michael J. Ballingall, senior vice president, Big White Ski Resort Ltd.

"Athletes travelling from all over the world, accommodation, food and beverage, sponsorships and spectator spending have all contributed to this world-class event."

There were seven events across three days including Men's Bronze Slopestyle, Women and Grom Slopestyle, Whip-Off, Best Trick, and Dual Slalom - all culminating with the Tom van Steenbergen Invitational FMB Gold Slopestyle event on Saturday.

While the pros definitely put on a show for the Saturday event, the team at Big White and the athletes who attended over the weekend were most pumped up about the Grom event on Thursday.

“This event's vibe as a whole is honestly so motivating,” said gold athlete and slopestyle legend Nicholi Rogatkin. “We've got the young groms shredding, we've got the girls on the Bronze course and we've got this huge Gold course with lots of young riders with so much potential coming up and absolutely killing it. It just makes you stoked on the moment and what's to come for the future of the sport.”