December 9, 2007

The 24h de Tremblant achieves a million! Record participation of 1360 skiers raised $ 1 021 386. Team Mélanie Turgeon faster than Steve Podborski and Roch Voisine…

Mont-Tremblant, December 9, 2007 – The 7th edition of the 24h of Tremblant was a huge success and $1 021 386 was raised, surpassing the $750,000 objective that was set. With the massive participation of the 177 teams totalizing 1360 skiers and snowboarders, the performance of Team Mélanie, who raised $160 000 alone, and with the incredible support from our partners, the organizing committee is happy to say: mission accomplished! Even though nobody got much sleep, the spirits were high when the checks were handed to the beneficiary foundations: Fondation Centre de Cancérologie Charles-Bruneau, the Ottawa Senators Foundation and the Tremblant Foundation.

"We are so happy to give a million dollar to the kids to help them heal and have a better quality of life, said Simon St-Arnaud, producer of the event. It's amazing that all the conditions were fulfilled to achieve such a good result: dedicated ambassadors, artists and teams, record participation, perfect ski conditions and so many people dedicated to the children's cause."

Dedicated teams give everything they can
Every year, some teams really stand out with their remarkable involvement in the fundraising activities. This time, it's the Team Mélanie, a group of 16-18 year-olds supported by ski champion Melanie Turgeon, that raised the most money, with a contribution of $160 319 to benefit the children. This amazing effort has earned the team a trip to Switzerland with Swiss International Air Lines to participate in the Grand Prix 24h de Villars. The North Face Team, a great donator from the last editions followed with $151 000. The kids acknowledged that they were an inspiration and a motivation to set their goal at $125 000, what it takes for a kid to have a bone marrow transplant.

As for the celebrities racing, let's mention that they spared no efforts and the Telus team, supported by world champion Steve Podborski and singer Roch Voisine handed a $60 000 cheque to the foundations.

In the performance category, the pink dressed skiers from La Vie en Rose were first for the distance they skied with 393,8km. They were followed closely by Team Rossignol de Claude Séguin with 392,4km Centre Dentaire Daneault with 390,6km.

Thanks to our partners
For the second year in a row, Volkswagen powered the 24h of Tremblant and significantly contributed to the fundraising with their lottery offering contestants a chance to win a 2008 Passat Wagon for 36 months. All funds collected went to the Charles-Bruneau Foundation. On their end, TELUS, collaborating partner, formed a team with members of Charles Bruneau's family, supported by high profile personalities such as Steve Podborski, one of the renowned Crazy Canucks.The organizing committee would also like to thank their proud partners who also contributed to the fundraising during the event: Bordeaux Bordeaux Supérieur who organized on-site wine tastings to benefit the foundations; Swiss International Airlines who are graciously providing 6 airline tickets to the team who raised the most money and who will be going to Grand Prix 24h de Villars; Molson Dry, BULA, Van Houtte, Rossignol, Vacances Transat et  l'Artographe.

The organizing committee would like to extend a heartfelt invitation to all participants, celebrities and to the general public to come and join in the festivities again next, at the 2008 edition of the 24h of Tremblant!

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Source : Virginie Barbeau – Supervisor, Public Relations – 819.681-2956 / Cell. 819.808.1705 | vbarbeau@intrawest.com |