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Guildford, UK and Park City, UT (March 16, 2022) – Raccoon Media Group (Raccoon) and Snowsports Industries America (SIA) are delighted to announce a long-term partnership in conjunction with the B2C event Snowbound. The partnership is a huge win for consumers and exhibitors alike and combines Raccoon’s proven success as a consumer show organizer with SIA’s know-how and reach as the leader of the winter outdoor industry. Set to take place at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, on 18 – 20 November 2022, The Snowbound Expo will be an oasis for winter outdoor enthusiasts providing a comprehensive retail experience, a first-class speaker line-up and a plethora of impressive interactive features.

Industry excitement is high, with the following exhibitors already confirmed, including 686, Burton Snowboards, Darn Tough, Deuter/Ortovox, FERA, Helly Hansen, Hestra Gloves, Jay Peak Resort, Killington Resort, Kulkea, Phunkshun Wear, Salomon, SCARPA North America, Seirus Innovations and Tecnica Group brands of Blizzard, Nordica & Tecnica.

While SIA members will still have access to preferential pricing, all exhibitors will benefit from Raccoon’s consumer-oriented approach to winter outdoor shows both in the US and in the UK. Raccoon’s guiding principles are based on sustainability, inclusion and a premium in-season retail experience.

The three-day event is set across 112,000 sq ft of space. It will play host to some of the snow scene’s biggest names, including six-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller, ski legend Dan Egan, alpinist Philip Henderson, ice climber Lindsay Fixmer, mountain athlete and storyteller Dani Reyes-Acosta, downhill World Cup racer Douglas Lewis and backcountry adaptive skier Vasu Sojitra, who will lead a packed schedule of talks on the Seirus Inspiration Stage. There will also be a series of workshops in the Snow Skills Theater, providing new and experienced winter enthusiasts with an armory of information and advice to get started or advance in their chosen winter sport.

The Expo, which is expected to play host to over 10,000 winter outdoor consumers and over 140 exhibitors, will provide brands and retailers with the perfect opportunity to speak directly to consumers, helping kit them out with the right gear for the winter season ahead. In addition to the latest gear and kit, resorts, destinations and tour operators will be on-site to help plan, offer advice and book the perfect winter adventure.

“This is an exciting development for our US business and is a sign of our continued ambition to deliver exciting and engaging B2C events for specialist self-identifying consumers passionate about health and well-being,” says Raccoon Media Group CEO Mike Seaman. “SIA is the perfect partner in this venture and shares our vision to create an inclusive event that is environmentally sensitive and built around a premium start-of-season retail experience.”

SIA President Nick Sargent adds, “Consumers are a major initiative for SIA. This partnership allows us to serve our members with best-in-class consumer show opportunities both here and abroad and offer a premium experience for the consumer and the entire winter outdoor community. We are excited to partner with Raccoon to grow and evolve the Snowbound experience.”

For more information about The Snowbound Expo, please visit snowboundexpo.com. To discuss opportunities to exhibit or partner with the Expo, contact stephen.morgan@raccoonmediagroup.com.

About Raccoon Media Group

Founded in 2016, Raccoon Media Group is a dynamic UK events business run by a group of exhibition and digital marketing experts with experience in organising consumer expos worldwide, including the successful National Snow Show held annually in the UK. The company is headquartered at 2 Bell Court, Leapale Lane, Guildford, GU1 4LY, UK. info@raccoonmediagroup.com, +44 0203 770 9303, www.raccoonmediagroup.com @snowboundexpo

About SIA

Snowsports Industries America (SIA) is the trade association of the winter outdoor industry. Through SIA membership, brands, destinations, retailers, service providers and non-profits solve urgent business problems, adapt to changing pressures, save and grow. Together SIA and its members spot trends that matter, facilitate industry-wide strategy and innovate to ensure the winter outdoors thrives for future generations. Founded in 1954, SIA is based in Park City, UT. We are #UnitedByWinter. For more information and to become a member, visit snowsports.org.

Raccoon Media Group’ CEO Mike Seaman spoke at COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference on Wednesday (10 November), setting out a pathway for a more sustainable industry. Speaking at the event, Seaman put forward a strategy that emphasised the need for forward motion and a conscious approach to meet the industry’s net zero aspirations.

Raccoon Media Group, which employs 22 staff in the UK and US, has set the ambitious goal to get the company and its UK and US events to net zero by 2025. Seaman spoke as part of a panel discussion about the JMIC event industry net zero pledge and explained that the first step in the company’ process was to set up a sustainability working group comprising internal and external organisations including ecollective, sustainable travel partner Ecolibrium and Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol). Together the consortium is working to assess and reduce the environmental impact of Raccoon Media Group’ own business practices, its suppliers and exhibitors and to develop tools to support visitors in reducing their environmental impact before exploring offsetting opportunities.

Speaking at COP26 Seaman set out that the company is currently finalising the ‘measurement’ phase of the plan: “It’s quite frustrating as a small business that just wants to act, but actually the measurement phase is the most important and we have put a lot of time, effort and money into measuring the total impact of our events. We’ve now measured our first two events and are already actioning the ‘reduce’ part of the strategy.

Seaman continued: “There is a lot of fear out there – fear of costs and fear of getting it wrong. This can sometimes cause paralysis – if something feels too big and too hard then it’s almost impossible to tackle. I certainly don’t have all the answers and as a business we’ve had to accept that whatever solution we come up with will be an imperfect one. But we didn’t want to sit still either, so we made a collective decision that we would just start, do something now, learn as we go and keep evolving.

“What we have learned so far gives us insight that we can share with our suppliers and stakeholders so that we can follow a pattern of measuring and then reducing the impact of our actions. We then develop a process of continuous improvement, every year measuring and reducing until we get to 2025. Once we get to 2025, we will then offset whatever the remaining balance is, but we continue the process of measuring and reducing every year and the hope is that we continue to reduce the amount we have to offset.”

Seaman continued: “I’m sure our strategy isn’t perfect and the danger of speaking on a platform like this is that people might pick holes and criticize the mistakes you make along the way. That is inevitable but my main focus is to create a business that has an ethical consideration for the planet and I think we are starting to get towards that.”

To learn more about Raccoon Media Group’ sustainability plan visit the website or contact mike@raccoonmediagroup.com

 

Sports Tours International has partnered with Raccoon Media Group as the official tour operator for its flagship event The National Running Show at Birmingham’s NEC, plus The Run Show Los Angeles and The National Outdoor Expo in 2022.

Founded nearly 50 years ago Sports Tours International is the UK’s leading mass participation travel operator. The Manchester based team specialise in taking runners, cyclists and triathletes to leading events around the world, including the world famous TCS New York City Marathon and the Tour de France.

With travel and events making a triumphant return with the recent success of the BMW Berlin Marathon and the Virgin Money London Marathon, the tour operator is looking to the future with optimism as 88% [1] of customers having said they would like to take part in an overseas sporting challenge by the end of 2022.

Chris Bird, CEO of Sports Tours International said: “Travel is back, and we are already seeing an enthusiastic return from our customers. So we are really excited to be teaming up with the team at Raccoon who share our values and purpose to bring more awareness of the benefits of an active lifestyle, and it is great to be working with them not only on events both here in the UK but also at the Running Show in LA.

“We can’t wait to share our passion for travel and events with the Raccoon events’ community.”

The partnership with Raccoon Media Group will include the National Running Show 22-23 January and National Outdoor Expo 18-19 March, both at the NEC Birmingham; and Run Show USA held in Los Angeles 24-25 September. The partnership will also include content collaboration on Raccoon’s digital platform www.outsideandactive.com.

Mike Seaman from Raccoon Media Group said “Our team and our community enjoy living an active lifestyle, and many of our events, especially our flagship event, The National Running Show, aligns with everything that the team at Sports Tours offer customers; the world’s biggest events delivered with fantastic customer service. We look forward to working with Chris and the team and sharing everything that they offer with our community.”

The Sports Tours International family of brands also includes Club La Santa in Lanzarote, Freewheel Holidays and Whereabouts active holidays.

 

Former European, Commonwealth and World Champion 400m sprinter Iwan Thomas MBE, is ditching the track in favour of the trails as he announces he is taking on his first ever 100-mile ultra-marathon in a bid to raise awareness and donations for Group B Strep Support, the world’s leading charity working to eradicate Group B Strep infection in babies.

 

Thomas has spent months training with endurance running legend Susie Chan and Mike Seaman, CEO of Raccoon Media Group Ltd (organisers of the National Running Show) and Running Mayor of Guildford to prepare for the 100-mile ultra in the South Downs Way Centurion in June 2021. His journey is being documented and will be released on the YouTube channel Run Show TV this Summer – the trailer is now available to view: https://youtu.be/ytLsIezzGCE

 

Stretching from Winchester, Hampshire to Eastbourne, East Sussex with about 4,150 m of elevation change, the magnitude of the challenge is not lost on Thomas who commented: “I suppose I should have known that being friends with Susie Chan would result in some crazy challenge at some point! The furthest distance I have covered to date is 26.2 miles and these days anything over 5 miles is a push! It is not lost on me that this challenge is 400 x 400ms and that is slightly unnerving! I have eight months to prepare myself mentally and physically for what I am sure will be one of the biggest challenges I have faced. I am doing this for Group B Strep Support after my newborn son Teddy was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition and spent 10 days in ICU. You will be able to follow my journey on Run Show TV and on my Instagram – I am going to need all of the support I can get!”

 

Iwan will also be speaking about his experience at National Running Show South held 17-18 July at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre.

Following the postponement of the inaugural National Outdoor Expo which was due to take place in March 2021, the company behind the Expo, Raccoon Media Group, has announced it is launching a new brand-new online hub for outdoor enthusiasts. Outside & Active will launch at 6pm on 27^th March 2021 with a week-long digital Festival, packed full of inspirational sessions, ‘how to’ workshops and all the latest kit, tech and gear from a host of the industry’s top brands.

The Festival, providing on-demand sessions available 24-7 with live sessions at 6pm each night for the first 8 days, is aimed at ramblers, hikers, climbers, runners, outdoor enthusiasts, families looking for new excursions and adventurers looking for fresh inspiration and new products. This is also an opportunity for those who are relatively new to exploring outdoors, who are looking for some practical advice. The Festival will provide informative and motivational content from famous faces including Ben Fogle, Roger Black, Anna McNuff, Susie Chan, Sean Conway, Ed Stafford and many more.

Mike Seaman, CEO at Raccoon Media Group commented: “The Outside & Active Festival will provide a much-needed opportunity for the outdoor community to come together and be inspired. We had more than 16,000 people register to attend The National Outdoor Expo at the NEC in March and felt we had a duty to provide an interactive dose of inspiration, timed perfectly for those starting to plan their re-entry into the world as lockdown eases.

“People can expect to hear from industry veterans over the course of the eight days, with informative how-to workshops, beginner 101s and community sessions. The timetable will be shared on the website soon so keep your eyes peeled! We look forward to bringing the community together in the best way we can at the moment so ‘bring a friend’ and let’s ride out the end of lockdown together.”

Ticket holders will have access to some of the top brands in the industry including Ultra X, Salomon, Cicerone, Fulfil Nutrition, Yamatune, Dometic, Splashmats, DryRobe, Cycle England, Arnicare, Andorra Travel Service, Biolite and Jetboil.

Tickets to the Festival are free of charge – to register for access go to outsideandactive.com/login 

If you are interested in being involved, please contact Addie Brake  addie.brake@raccoonmediagroup.com or tel. 07931 528418