Garmin International said Thursday it has signed on with Burton Snowboards as the official action sports camera sponsor the 32nd annual U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships.
The event, which will be presented by Mini at Vail Mountain in Vail, Colo., March 3-8, will feature a Garmin tent in the Sponsor Village at the base of Golden Peak, in the heart of Vail.
The on-site Garmin team will offer a "Try Before You Buy" program, where attendees can test out a Virb Elite camera for a few runs on the slopes.
When the camera is returned to the tent, the Garmin team will upload the footage to a jump drive for testers to take home and share with friends and family.
"We are extremely excited to announce this partnership with Burton and be a part of such a prestigious snowboarding event," said Jon Cassat, Garmin communications VP. "With the rugged housing, extended battery life, and the ability of Virb Elite to capture GPS data like elevation, speed and G-force on the mountain, Garmin VIRB and Virb Elite are the perfect HD action cameras for any snowboarder, and we're eager to showcase them at the event."
The Garmin video team will be on-site capturing behind-the-scenes content, including interviews with Burton athletes, for posting on Garmin.com/Snowboarding.
Attendees will also be encouraged to share their own content using the hashtag #GarminVirb to help populate the site, and provide a steady flow of content to fans and followers.
Garmin said it will be hosting daily giveaways over social media throughout the competition.
Viewers watching the footage on the Garmin site at home will have an opportunity to win their own Virb prize packages, including a Garmin Virb, VirbB Elite, mounts and a custom Burton snowboard.
In its first year as a sponsor of the event, Garmin will be looking to educate consumers on the snow-specific features of the Virb cameras. The Virb Elite is equipped with a built-in GPS and has a dedicated ski/snowboard mode that helps the camera tell the difference between going up the lift and down the mountain, so that only wanted point-of-view action is captured automatically. It can also capture data such as elevation, distance, speed, G-force and heart rate (monitor required), which can then be embedded into the video with free Virb Edit software.
The data can also be embedded into Virb footage when paired with a compatible handheld device or smart wristwatch like the GPSMap 64 or Fenix 2. Compatible Garmin devices will also serve as remote controls for the cameras.
