This year's four-day ProAM and the following week of judging generated thousands of social media "likes" and hundreds of "shares", and many more impressions around the world.
In this difficult time for the Niseko community and the world, this event drew much attention to Niseko and the fantastic snow we're having here in an incredibly positive and uplifting way. It gave everyone involved here and abroad much to smile about.
Thank you to all the 10 judges who mostly took part remotely from around the world – Alex Yoder, Aline Bock, Eric Pollard, Lena Stoffel, Mattias Fredriksson, Neil Hartman, Taro Tamai, Torah Bright, Tsutomu Nakata and Yoichi Watanabe.
American freeskier Eric Pollard and Olympic snowboarder Torah Bright are among those who will cast their votes remotely for the prestigious ¥120,000 Judge’s Choice prize. The Public Vote winner will take home ¥80,000.
The Niseko Shootout ProAM is one of three categories under the 2020-21 Niseko Shootout photo and film competition banner.
A total of 35 professional and amateur athlete-photographer teams will take to the mountains in and around Niseko between January 7-10 with the aim of capturing the best photo of the period, with ¥200,000 (US$2,000) up for grabs.
Contest organiser Winstead Heyward said unlike last year there was plenty of powder around and possibly even a bit of sunshine around for teams to work with.
“That’s the beauty of this competition – it’s held on set dates so teams have to work with whatever conditions Mother Nature throws at them,” Heyward said.
“We’ve just come out of three weeks of non stop snow so the mountains are loaded with snow. I’m expecting to see a few mushrooms shots and more photos taken in resort due to the lack of peak-season crowds due to the pandemic. However photos can be taken anywhere in the Shirebeshi region of Southwest Hokkaido, so there is bound to be a few backcountry shots, maybe with some ocean in the background thanks to the nearby Sea of Japan. I’m excited to see what everyone produces!”
Grab your best partner and capture your Niseko moment between 7 - 10 January, 2021!
There are no barriers to entry for this year’s Niseko Shootout ProAM – Niseko Tourism has announced entry is free, giving anyone who wishes to enter a chance at sharing the ¥200,000 prize pool.
Two person photographer and athlete teams will compete over a 4-day window in January 2021. Each team will submit just one shot which will be posted on Niseko Tourism’s Facebook page. There are two categories to win – Judges Choice and Public Vote. Each winner shares from a cash prize pool of ¥200,000!
This year, we invited world-renowned riders and photographers to join us as guest judges, including Eric Pollard, Torah Bright, Taro Tamai, Tsutomu Nakata & Matias Fredrickson just to name a few. Full list to come soon.
Entrants may be sponsored by a company. The sponsoring company will be given credit along with photographer and athlete names.
The titles “photographer” and “athlete” are interchangeable amongst the team of two.
Shots may be taken at any time of day in the given window in Shiribeshi area.
Paid votes are not allowed. Niseko Tourism reserves the
right to disqualify and remove entries at their own discretion
regarding the suspicion of paid votes.
The high resolution Entry Shot must be submitted on January 11th by 10AM JST via email to [email protected]
Entry shot must be take from January 7th 12:00am to January 10th 11:59pm JST 2020.
Voting will be open from time of posting on January 15th (~10AM) to January 18th at 23:59 JST SHARP!
Contest winner will be announced on January 20th at
the Award Ceremony. If winners are not present in the Niseko area for cash prize pick-up at Niseko Tourism, winnings can be awarded via bank transfer.
Submitted photos must be original, created and/or taken
by the contestant. It must not contain any materials owned or controlled by a third party for which you have not obtained a license,
must not infringe the copyright, trademark, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or
entity.
Submitted photos must not depict scenes of
action deemed illegal by Japanese law. This includes, but is not limited
to trespassing and the damage of public/private property, i.e.
Avalanche barriers, rails, public/private structure, etc.
All entrants grant the Niseko Shootout presenters
permission to repost shots (along with a name credit) on social media, websites and blogs.
This winter, EZO offers new menus including burgers, pizza and beers!
In addition to the classic "Ezo burger", three new ones are available: "Black Burger" made by premium venison and Hokkaido Yama-wasabi, "Grilled Salmon Burger", and "Little Italy" vegetarian burger. A wide selection of Japanese beers can be enjoyed with Beer Flight or Tasters’ Choice - beer tasting sets that you can choose your favorite 4 beers. EZO serves a total of eight different Japanese beers.
Enjoy your Après-ski time at EZO with your friends and family. Open 4pm – 11pm, Last order: Food 9:30pm / Drink 10:30pm