Best Skier on the Internet title goes to Nikula

They say we’ll all have our 15 minutes of fame. Some of us will take longer than others to achieve it, but it didn’t take long for Sun Peaks freeskier Kieran Nikula to gain his 15 minutes, especially with the help of all his skiing buddies and the Internet.

Nikula entered “The Best Skier on the Internet” contest last fall as a way to progress his freeski career. Being surrounded by film-making friends who also happened to be roommates and ski buddies certainly helped his cause.

“The Best Skier on the Internet” contest featured seven rounds of Backyard Jib Jam, Urban Rails, Park Rails, Park Jumps, Backcountry/Big Mountain, Halfpipe and Slopestyle. Skiers uploaded videos of their best skiing in each specific category, and the Newschoolers ski community voted to determine the most well-rounded skier.

To win, skiers needed to enter at least five of the seven rounds. The contest was run in the same format that the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) uses to crown their champions, where the skier’s best five results count towards the win.

Nikula, entered six of the seven rounds, and won five of them. That earned him a pre-qualified spot for both slopestyle and halfpipe at the AFP World Championships during the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C., and gives him a full gear setup from The House, one of the contest sponsors.

“It was a ton of work,” said Nikula. “We were out filming every day we could and it burned up my winter season really quickly. All the filming and editing we did was insane and I really want to thank the crew, Caleb Weston, Andrew Paul, Cory Baker and Liam Hall for all their hard work and support.”

See Nikula’s videos at: www.newschoolers.com