Urban Rail Jam marks new era for the Dalhousie Ski and Snowboard Club

By: Amanda Wright and Ethan Hunt, sports editor

Dalhousie University’s Ski and Snowboard Club hosted its Urban Rail Jam at Gorsebrook Park on Feb. 27, transforming a Halifax hill into a freestyle setup complete with rails, a DJ booth and a crowd of bundled-up spectators.

In collaboration with the Maritime Jibbers, a snowboarding club run primarily out of Ski Wentworth, the Dal club brought two feature rails from Ski Martock, in Windsor, N.S., into the city. From 6 to 8 p.m., competitors lapped the hill performing tricks judged on difficulty, execution and landing.

“It’s exactly as it sounds, bringing Ski Wentworth to Halifax instead of us in Halifax constantly going to Wentworth,” said Isabel Andrews, the club’s co-president and a third-year marine biology student.

The club partnered with Red Bull, which provided a DJ booth, inflatable branded archway and free refreshments. Local businesses also donated raffle prizes, hot drinks kept spectators warm, and the Dalhousie Medical Campus Response Team set up a tent at the bottom of the hill.

Andrews and Marley Price, the club’s other co-president and a third-year political science student, described the event as leaning into the freestyle skateboarding culture within Halifax.

“It’s kind of just a celebration of communities, very unstructured,” Andrews said. 

The response to the event, the co-presidents said, exceeded expectations. 

“There was a lot of chatter about it … and we hadn’t even posted about it yet, or officially launched it yet,” said Andrews. “People were super stoked about participating.”

Club revival

Beyond the tricks and music, the event represented something much more special: the revival of a club that, until this year, struggled to stay alive.

The Ski and Snowboard club was first established in the early 2000s, but, according to Andrews, it kept running into structural issues that led to its disappearance.

“People who were running it would graduate,” said Andrews. “It would get picked up again, and then it would die out for a couple of years, and then people would come back in.”  

The club was last active in 2017-18, until it restarted in the fall 2025 semester.

Andrews first reached out to the inactive club’s Instagram account in September, hoping to get involved and attend an event. Instead, she learned the former president had graduated and was only occasionally checking messages.  

“He was like, ‘I graduated two years ago … but I would love to schedule a call with you if you are interested in taking over the society.’” Andrews said.

Then, she brought the idea to Price.

Due to administrative timelines, the pair had to ratify the DSSC as a completely new society just to be up and running for the winter season. They built an executive team that included five trip planners, a vice-president of growth, and a vice-president of finance. 

Since restarting, the club has hosted and promoted many winter events. Members attended Robbie Burns Day at Ski Wentworth in January and hosted an après-ski themed party at the Pint Public House on Feb. 6. The rail jam was its most ambitious event yet. 

The club’s central mission is to bring accessible downhill sports to students. Skiing and snowboarding in Nova Scotia often involve travelling to one of the province’s few ski hills, like Wentworth or Martock, both over an hour away from campus by car. On top of travel costs, Price and Andrews said students face barriers like expensive lift tickets, rentals and food. 

“It just is unbelievably ridiculous,” Price said.  

By organizing group trips and urban events, the club hopes to lower financial barriers for its members through group rates.

“Everyone is welcome, no matter who you are, what you look like or what your skill level is,” Price said.