Snowboard Yukon did not celebrate their milestone fifth season; they did not celebrate their tenth riding season either.

That tradition ended Saturday, as Snowboard Yukon kicked off their 13th riding season in style, by first hosting a gear swap and tie-dye session, followed up by an awards banquet and season kickoff party in the evening.

The festivities started with the gear swap, where riders were able to bring their old gear to sell, and likewise shop for new gear. This was the second year that Snowboard Yukon has run a gear swap, the first year saw a medium turnout, but according to Mary Binsted, technical director of Snowboard Yukon, the gear swap sold over a $1,000 worth of gear.

“It was far and above what happened last year, which was just a couple of people standing in my driveway drinking Tim Horton’s in the snow,” said Binsted. “So to be in the Heart of Riverdale and have so many people come through, many who I didn’t know, it really, really excited me.”

The gear swap is not used as a way to make Snowboard Yukon money, as the people who brought the items were given the cash from their gear sold. Instead it was a way to bring the snowboarding community together, as well as bring in any one interested in the sport.

While people flipped through the racks of snowboard equipment, the Sandor Shredders, the clubs junior team, got to tie-dye their new season sweaters emblazoned with a big number 13 on the back. It got a little messy as the dye got passed around, as every shredder on the team created their original sweater to wear into their new riding season.

David Yule, the clubs former president was extremely pleased with the turnout of the young kids to the morning events, and then to the awards banquet afterwards.

“It’s great to see so many young kids, young families here,” said Yule. “I am happy they chose snowboarding, but it wouldn’t have mattered if it was skiing, snowshoeing, anything really, as long as it gets them outside.”

As the gear swap came to an end, the day shifted to the awards banquet. Five awards were handed out on the night to people who have influenced and contributed to the club in their 13 years of existence.

The first award, announced by MC Vanessa Brault, was the “OG” Award. The winner was Sandor Elek, who has been a supporter of Snowboard Yukon since the beginning, sponsoring the younger teams, the Sandor Shredders. The second award of the evening was the Veterans Award, presented to Sue Deforest, who went from founder, to coach to official.

“It means I’ve been around for a long time,” laughed Deforest. “I feel proud of all the things Snowboard Yukon has done. It’s come along way since being a small recreational club and now we are a full-fledged sport organization and we participate at local, national and international level. I think a good achievement moving forward would be to get more kids to the national level and hopefully make an Olympics.”

The third award of the evening was the Alumni Award, presented to a person who went from athlete to coach. The winner was Katrina Couch.

“This award means everything, I was caught off guard, because they like to surprise you with awards,” said a smiling Couch. “Halfway through the speech, I thought this sounds a lot like me. I’ve been here from the get-go, listening to the speech, from athlete to coach, to now being the vice-president, its been good being apart of this community.”

The fourth award handed out was the Disciple Award, given to Timmy “Two-Turns” Schirmer. Unable to accept his award, his parents accepted on his behalf. Schirmer was the first athlete at Snowboard Yukon.

The final award of the evening was a surprise to winner Mary Binsted, who had her hand in picking all the others. The award was the Active Duty Award.

“It was amazing, it was a surprise,” said Binsted. “I’m generally involved in all operations of Snowboard Yukon, so when something comes out of the blue, it’s nice that it is a positive thing.”

Despite winning an award, Binsted could not help but compliment the snowboarding community and share her excitement in the direction of the sport.

“It’s an amazing community,” said Binsted. “We have a great diverse board, all the way down to the riders, our membership keeps getting younger, and it’s cool to see snowboarding get passed down. We are seeing a second generation of snowboarders for the first time and I think the sport is primed for another resurgence.”

As the award ceremony ended a video of the club’s first 13 years was played. The younger riders were able to get a glimpse of what they can look forward to as they become even more skilled riders, and the older riders got to reminisce and reflect on the good times they already had, while looking to add even more memories in the season to come.