Words & Photos by Zack Barwin

Returning for its eighth year, Capitalize at the Clocktower continues to be one of

Ottawa’s biggest ski and snowboard events of the year. Each fall; skiers,

snowboarders, and fans gather at the Clocktower Brew Pub to celebrate Ottawa’s

love for snow.

Setup for the event starts days in advance with the scaffolding on order, the rails built, and the Half Cab

Productions crew out hunting local arena’s for snow. This year’s course

featured two down rails, as well as a butter box in between, allowing riders to

hit both rails from each side.

The almost one hundred riders are broken up into five heats of eleven male

snowboarders, two female snowboarders, and five skiers. The top two

snowboarders, top female, and top skier from each heat move onto the finals.

Riders are judges on overall impression based on style, consistency, and

technicality; Capitalize is not a best trick contest. Well-known athletes are

invited to compete, with a number of spots opening up to new comers each year.

The Half Cab Crew puts the finishing touches on the setup as riders wait to drop in

Qualifiers:

Philippe Clairoux

Sandy Boville

Jessy Desjardins

Justin St-Laurent

Sean Mcelligott

Leo LaRiccia

Seb Eaves

Geoff Lovelace

Liam Upton

Marc Dandurand

Justin Mallory

Josh Harris

The Half Cab Girls getting the crowd stoked with a product toss

After an intense five rounds of qualifications, five riders moved onto the finals; Philippe Clairoux, Carlo Mion, Jessy Desjardins, Kevin Desjardins, and Seb Eaves.

Finals:

Jessy Desjardins

Kevin Desjardins

3rd Place: Carlo Mion

2nd Place: Philippe Clairoux

1st Place: Seb Eaves

The Podium

Special thanks to Craig McCallion and the crew at Half Cab Productions for putting on such an awesome event each year, as well as Tommy

& Lefebvre, Rossignol, and The Clocktower Brew Pub who have been supporting

the event all these years.

For more information on Capitalize at the Clocktower check out: http://halfcab.ca/