Sunday, February 11, 2001 -- Champion, PA
WTAE Winterfest & Dummy Ski Race
Photos by Laura Dulaney and Mike McCagh

[Details] [Coverage] [Overall Results] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2]

This Dummy is going down...

WTAE's annual Seven Springs Winterfest was held on Sunday, February 11th, a beautiful sunny day. iPlayOutside was there with cameras in hand to capture all the fun. From the wacky "Ski Dummy Race" to the big hits in the halfpipe at the Ski and Snowboard Freestyle competitions, the resort was going wild.

With a wonderful display of ski dummies showcasing their creators imaginations, the Most Creative Dummy award was given to the Shenango Valley Ski Club for their rendition of Snoopy. He came ready to fly down the slopes as he sat in the cockpit of his airplane. However, his sleek good looks weren't enough to earn the Fastest Dummy award.

You gotta love that mean old Grinch

This distinction went to Allegheny Ski & Sport for their most interesting creation, the Cast Away. Cruising down the slope in 5.49 seconds, it beat out the Grinch. But the Grinch definitely attracted a bigger crowd of fans.

The Dummy Race wouldn't be complete without crowning a Best Dummy Crash champion. That award went to the Keener Ski Group's Ultimate Ravens Fan. It crashed so hard we didn't even have a chance to get a picture. Then, again, we did catch a shot of Dave Ott's headless Ski School Jester going down. It was good enough to grab second place.

Just as all this lunacy was coming to an end, it was over to the halfpipe to see the hardcore action in the freestyle competitions. Hitting backside 540's and McTwists, grabbing this and crossing that, the boards and skis were flying.

Just try and hold on...

Doing the most to impress among the snowboarders, and winning their respective classes, were Chuck Lengle (15-Under), Michael Frey Vogel (16-21), Aaron Brown (21-Over). Among the skiers it was Matt Webb (15-Under), Andrew Hanks (16-21), and Erica Hopperman (16-21 Women) taking top honors.

The winter season excitement at Seven Springs is still not over. We'll be back soon to their slopes to see just what's in store. And, we hope our cameras find you there joining in all the fun.