Calling all New Jersey ‘Twifties’ to the first-ever ski and snowboard winter games

BY BOB WILLIAMS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING

Calling all New Jerseyites! If you are age 50 or over, like to ski or snowboard and enjoy the company of other active people your age, the place to be next Wednesday, March 2, is Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, Mass., for the first-ever Twifties Winter Games.

“Twifty is a word to describe the active subset of Baby Boomers who are the bull’s eye of the target of consumers, but who have been largely ignored by product designers and marketers,” explains Twifties founder Lauren Traub Teton, a professional product namer and snowboard journalist. “The word Twifty is derived from ‘fifty is the new twenty. Twenty . . . fifty . . . Twifty.”

The games will include a super G and dual giant slalom in the morning and a non-competitive Twifties Ride in the afternoon. Competitors in the super G and slalom will be matched in age groups, while the 2 p.m. Twifties Ride will be skiing and snowboarding for fun as a group.

Registration takes place from 8 to 9 a.m. in Wachusett’s Granite Room. According to Teton, the first racers are expected to come out of the starting gate at 9:30.

Lunch for racers and riders, and an awards ceremony, will take place after the races. Discounted lunch vouchers will be available for all participants. Rain date is Wednesday, March 9.

The Twifties Winter Games are part of the Massachusetts Senior Olympics (www.MaSeniorGames.org.)

“I would still like to see a snowboard and ski jacket designed and marketed to Twifties, with a flattering shape, pattern and just the right amount of pockets in the right places,” says Teton. “There are more than 500,000 skiers and snowboarders over the age of 50, and that would be a tidy piece of business for companies astute enough to jump on the bandwagon.” For more information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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FAVORITE SKI FLICKS – Just what you’ve been waiting for: the nine best ski movies of all time. If you call yourself a skier, you should be fluent in these nine films, says SKI Magazine, which unveiled the listing. Some of them are legitimately great. Others are so bad that they’re, well, kind of good. And all of them are worth a viewing – for the first time or the tenth.

The list includes “Downhill Racer,” 1969; “The Spy Who Loved Me,” 1977; “Ski Party,” 1965; “Better Off Dead,” 1985; “Hot Dog . . . the Movie,” 1984; “Aspen Extreme,” 1983; “Deep and Light,” 1949; “The Performers,” 1972; and “Blizzard of Aahhhs,” 1988.

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MINOR MOGULS – Windham ski area in the Catskills hosts the United States Ski and Snowboard Association’s Big Air and Slopestyle event this Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26 and 27. … Here’s a gas of a promotion that Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl in the Catskills has with Getty and Lukoil gasoline stations. Purchase gasoline four times at any participating Getty or Lukoil station, get a “Gas Up for Winter Fun” card, get the card stamped each time you buy (there is no minimum purchase) and receive a buy-one-get-one free lift ticket, canopy tour or learn-to-ski or ride package valid Sunday through Friday. … This Saturday, Feb. 26, it’s the Denis Germain memorial race at Belleayre Mt. ski area in Highmount, N.Y., named for the fallen New York City firefighter. The fundraiser gives scholarships to young, deserving ski racers. … Whiteface Mt. in the Lake Placid, N.Y., area gets ready for spring with its Mardi Gras celebration next weekend, March 5-6. Whiteface boasts 172 inches of snow. … Award-winning Vermont author Karen Lorentz will be at the Book Nook in Ludlow, Vt., this Saturday, Feb. 26, to sign copies of her latest ski book, “Okemo, All Come Home,” that traces the story of Okemo Mountain Resort from inception to present day. The book’s 364 pages feature 40 pages of color photos and more than 200 black-and-white images of the area’s history, pioneers, workers and visitors. … Purchase a 2012 season pass to Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, N.H., in the next 30 or so days and you get to ski this March free. … Olympic skiers Ted Ligety, Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso of the U.S. Ski Team took top honors this week in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships at Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany. … Getting a bit tired of skiing and snowboarding? Head for the lodge at Mount Sunapee ski area this Saturday, Feb. 26, and watch magician Andrew Pinard perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.