Last year saw the first all female snowboard video premiere in Toronto with the WSF presentation of Peepshow Films Let’s Make Better Mistakes. This year BABC and the WSF … along with some great sponsors… are bringing you Peepshows latest masterpiece Snow Wars. So, if you are in Toronto, or will be in Toronto, on October 7th keep it aside for the return of the gnarliest ladies in snowboarding.
Until then, feast your shred-hungry eyes on this:
We are leading up to official summer time here in Ontario. Â The weather has been amazing this week and really inviting for the active people to get out and skate, ride bikes, SUP and wakeboard. Â With summer comes the sun and the sun brings some pretty gnarly UV radiation that can hurt the unprepared.
Growing up my mom constantly had to nag to get me to put my sunscreen on. Â I hated being greasy from sunscreen; it felt like smearing butter all over delicious corn on the cob. Â This distain of sunscreen lead to a lot of sunburns and a lot more freckles (especially in my mid to late 20′s). Â Looking back on my sometimes un-ruly teen years I wish someone had explained UPF to myself and to my parents.
UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor and just like sunscreen’s SPF it measures protection from nasty UV radiation, only UPF refers specifically to protection provided by fabric. Â So, a UPF rating of 50 means 1/50th of UV radiation falling on garment is actually penetrating the fabric. Â For all you percentage people out there, that means 98% of yucky UV radiation is BLOCKED. Â I like those odds!
So what does all this UPF stuff mean to the water sports aficionado? Â Well super companies like Roxy and Quiksilver (and many others) use specially treated fabric in the making of their rashguards that provide protection from UV radiation. Â Though you’ll still need sunscreen for your face (nose, cheeks and ears especially), wearing a Surf Shirt or Rashguard can really prevent you from burns and cancer causing UV rays AS WELL as eliminate that greased up feeling of so much sunscreen.
Because being happy and comfortable is so important to enjoying an active life we have selected our favourites for this summer that have a 50 or higher UPF rating. Â Please note the amazing pink and black colour ways 
Any woman who will shred a big mountain like Lake Louise WITHOUT a shirt, let alone a jacket, is worthy of praise and recognition. The ladies who participated in Bikinis For Breast Cancer bared it all… well almost…. for the cause. Participants doned their bikini top and snowboard gear and carved sweet ‘s’ shaped carves for the cause. Participants raised more then $125 each to enter into the awesome day of fun culminating in a total donation of $10,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  Check the photos out on facebook. To donate, head to www.cbcf.org.Â
Way to go ladies!
Indie Map is an on-going Toronto-based web series that documents up and coming independent bands while showcasing various entertainment and food outlets across the city.
SO, because of our connection with Parks & Rec and Human Bodies, Indie Map got in touch with us to see if they could do a webisode about Boarders Against Breast Cancer 2011!
We’d love to thank Eytan, Amanda, Cassandra, Romaine, Ashlee and Diane for being such a welcome and fun addition to the creative aspect of our fundraiser. Â They’re still in the process of finishing their first episode (we totally understand, there was a lot of amazingness to capture from that night), but their teaser to their episode is up on their facebook page, and also RIGHT here!
Check it out!
We are moving to a new facebook page  found here. Our old facebook group will be coming down at the end of the month.  Switch over to stay up to date with BABC!
Thanks to SBCwomen.com’s article we connected with Karen Guidos, owner of Three, Two, Done (an event planning and management company based out of the Rockies). Karen is the woman in charge of Bikinis for Breast Cancer.
Bikinis for Breast Cancer has moved to Lake Louise for its third year and will be taking place on April 30th amidst the season wrap up weekend festivities. Participants will be riding in their bikini tops and have been asked to raise a minimum of $125 in pledges. For more info check out the SBCwomen.com article or head to the Bikinis For Breast Cancer facebook page. Contact Karen (karen@threetwodone.com) for more information on how to get involved and how to pledge.
New Circles is what happened!!!
All the bras we used in our art projects were donated to an agency called New Circles Community Services. We wound up donating over 120 bras of all shapes, sizes, colours, and designs to help out this fantastic group! Have a read below… and the next time each of you decide to clean out your closet you now know where you can donate your items!
Clothing drop-off times are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and until 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays. New Circles is not open on week-ends.
Here is some info about this great group!
New Circles is a not-for-profit social service agency that strives to help residents of the City of Toronto, with a focus on residents in the Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park and Victoria Village communities who need our support. Their primary service is a clothing program which provides new and gently used clothing for men, women and children. New Circles is located in Flemingdon Park, a neighbourhood bordered by Eglinton East, Don Mills Road and the Don Valley. Flemingdon Park was first developed in the 1960s as one of Canada’s first low-income housing development. Its purpose was to provide housing for the influx of immigrants who were coming to Toronto. To this day, Flemingdon Park is the home of many of Toronto’s newest residents and the neighbourhood has a proud tradition of diversity. A study of the area found that its 20,000 residents speak over 80 different languages! Over 70% of Flemingdon Park’s residents are immigrants and of these, almost 40% have come to Canada in the past 5 years.
While we are all trying to help save boobies, let’s also do what we can to help New Circles give their women self-esteem by wearing a bra that fits correctly; for further information, please visit www.newcircles.ca. If you are interested, please call 416-422-2591 for a tour of the agency. You will be amazed at all the programs they offer (not just clothing) to low income Torontonians!
The first batch of official photos are up on the event page, with LOTS more to come.
On top of being CRAZY generous and SUPER fun, you guys are pretty much the most beautiful people ever.
Check yourselves OUT!
We’ll be releasing details about how much money we raised for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation VERY soon.
Big thanks to Emily, our adorably dimpled genius who made this event happen!
In no order, the following are our 2011 Raffle Items generously donated by our boob-lovin’ sponsors.
- An Ambitious Skate longboard deck (value: $150)
- Bathing suit and cover up combo by Vitamin A by Amahlia Stevens (Value: $350)
- Les Ettes Love-Ette and peep show collaboration bag (Value: $100) –> you can’t get this in Ontario
- Oakley Elevate goggles and Quilted back-pack (Value: $200)
- Three bags, three winners from Crumpler … we are drawing three tickets from the same box for your choice of one of three bags (Value: $125 approx.)
- Nikita Package (value: $200 approx)
- GoPro Helmet Hero and accesssories (value: $450 approximately)
- Burton Women’s Feather Snowboard (value: $400)
- Von Zipper Woman Package… Runaway Sunglasses and Chakra Goggles (value: $200)
- Von Zipper Man Pacakge… Snark Sunglasses and Fubar Goggles (value: $200)
- Sector 9 Rincon Complete (value: $200)
- Sitka Apparel Package (value: $170)
- Roxy Apparel Package featuring the Cortina Jacket, Avalanche Hoodie, Roxy Headphones and a Womens Snowboard Federation Private Clinic Voucher (Value: $600)
- Roxy Luggage Set featuring the Go Abroad Suitcase, World Map Back Pack, Equinox Tote (Value: $300)
- Ride Limited Edition Shakedown Kink Snowboard (value: $420… but how can you put a price on LIMITED EDITION)
- Cappel Dublin Down Snowboard Jacket (Value: $370)
- Cappel Newcastle Waxed Denim Snowboard Jacket (Value: $420)
- Cappel Edenberry Snowboard Jacket (Value: $420)
Also… Our Door Prizes include:
- Sitka Bag stuffed full of awesomeness (crumpler bags, SBC subscriptions, Roxy Headphones, Sector 9 wheels, Escarpment Surfers Pink T’s and Boardsports $50 gift certificates) –> there are four of these bags
- Crumpler messenger bag
Freebies include:
- Sector 9 posters and stickers, Crumpler coupons, Crumpler Stickers, and SBC Magazines.
Erin McInnis has been snowboarding and taking photos for the majority of her life. Originally from Ottawa, Erin moved to Toronto to persue her Fine Arts degree at Ryerson where she graduated from in 2009. Since 2009, Erin McInnis has been involved with Boarders Against Breast Cancer as our official event photographer and generally our go to person for everything photo.Â
This year Erin put together a collection of six original works depicting the strength of women in the action sports community and the commitment each one of these ladies has towards the cause. The pink light trail, created by a hand held flashlight used by the subject, represents the iconic Breast Cancer ribbon and the fierce conviction the women display through participation in sport represents the energy and positive drive towards ending breast cancer.Â
The creative use of lighting and shutter speeds is just one component of these images. The creative energy from Erin and the passion she feels for photographing women lends to the success of this collection.  For more of Erin’s creations visit her website or jump into our photo booth on the 25th and be IN one of her creations. Â
Lydia MacIntosh, another Ryerson alum living in Toronto, got involved with BABC in January. With personal connections to Breast Cancer, the choice to be involved came easy to her and we couldn’t be happier 
Â
Lydia’s work depicts snowboarding enthusiasts posing in the urban landscape. The works bring together action sports and the city of Toronto with night time sky-scapes, graffitti and famous Toronto parks. The concealed faces detract one specific identity, but rather speak to the reality that breast cancer can affect everyone.
For more of Lydia’s work check out her blog and website which is updated frequently. Her portfolio boasts great portraits and incredible wedding photography. Lydia breaths fresh life into the stale world of wedding photography, make sure to look at that section of her website.