Portfolio
Success Stories
GRIT ‘N SNOW
This 2023 NSAA Award Winning collaboration was started at Mountain Creek when they collaborated with The “Y” in Lakeland Hills, NJ, the Mental Health Association (MHA), and Peapack-Gladstone Bank to develop a unique twist on the Riglet program that incorporated Mental Health components. The inspiration and goal was to help youth build resiliency (GRIT = Growing Resilience In Time) and to introduce kids to snowboarding, first inside the Lakeland Hills “Y” gym, and then take them to Mountain Creek’s slopes so they could apply those learned skills on the snow. Going into it’s second year, all GRIT Instructors received training from the MHA as Youth Mental Health First Aiders.
RIGLET
Burton Riglet products and programs are a game-changer for kids snowboarding. The Burton Riglet Reel, Riglet Park, Hover Cover and the Riglet K-2nd physical education program, kids snowboarding has never been easier! This was Boliba’s mission when he got to Burton in 2000, to break down as many barriers as possible for kids and to carve a path for creativity and innovation to happen globally. By empowering parents and teachers to introduce kids to snowboarding as soon as they fit into the Toddlers’ Mini Grom 7C kids boot, the smallest of kids are able to be introduced to snowboarding anywhere at anytime.
THE STASH
In 2003, Jake Burton Carpenter asked Boliba to help bring innovation and creativity to the way resorts were building terrain parks. His vision was to inspire more riders to explore the entire mountain and for resorts to utilize more of the natural features and habitat at resorts. This innovative Stash program launched in 2006 at Northstar at Tahoe and helped resorts progress park building, run design & the utilization of more natural materials. Stash Parks are located at a few select resorts globally and blend components of freestyle riding with flowy all-mountain lines for a snowboarding experience like no other. Learn more at the Discover section of the Burton website. The Woods are the Goods!
ONBOARD SNOWBALL EFFECT MOUNT SOUTHINGTON
In 2024, Snowball Effect launched ONBOARD Snowball Effect in collaboration with Mount Southington, a community-driven initiative connecting youth sports, outdoor access, and sustainability. In its first full season, the program diverted 5,007 lbs of food scraps from landfill, eliminated 57K+ single-use items, engaged 400+ students in hands-on sustainability learning, and achieved a 30% refrigeration efficiency gain. The model proved that ski areas can deepen their roots in local communities while driving real participation and measurable environmental impact. Mount Southington and Snowball Effect were awarded the 2025 NSAA Golden Eagle Award for Community and Partnerships, the ski industry's most prestigious recognition for innovative programming.
SNOWBALL PARK
Snowball Effect built Snowball Park to solve a problem every resort faces: how do you reach families before they ever think about coming to the mountain? Snowball Park is a turnkey, mobile, play-based learning environment that travels to schools, gyms, stadiums, and community events, introducing kids to snowboarding and outdoor sport through movement, play, and imagination. Rooted in the belief that the first experience is everything, Snowball Park creates a direct pipeline of new families to resort partners while keeping the mountain top of mind year-round. Currently delivering programming in snowboarding, volleyball, biking, and golf, Snowball Park is the gym-to-slopes model the industry has been waiting for.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, SUPPORTING AUTISM TOGETHER, MARTHA'S BARN
In 2024, Snowball Effect partnered with Martha's Barn, a Vermont-based nonprofit supporting individuals with autism, to transform a traditional golf fundraiser into a full community day. Sixty-three golfers competed at Catamount Golf Club in Williston, VT, while kids received free introductions to snowboarding, volleyball, and golf alongside a Ben and Jerry's ice cream activation. Catamount donated all proceeds to Martha's Barn's $1M campaign to build a new facility in Essex, VT. Community-first partnerships like this are exactly what Snowball Effect was built for.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL OAKLAND ATHLETICS - 2015
Community driven partnership between the Oakland Athletics Coliseum, Sierra at Tahoe & Burton Global. Bring snowboarding and baseball to the school, store and stadium to meet families where they naturally go. Increased parent and youth engagement, participation and excitement for Snowboarding, Burton, A’s and Sierra.
TERRAIN BASED LEARNING (TBL) BURTON SNOWBOARD ACADEMY - 2008
Collaboration between Northstar at Tahoe Resort & Burton Global. Innovate Indoor training with progression onto terrain-based learning (TBL) followed by immersive outdoor experience, ensuring first-day success. TBL revolutionized features, terrain and instruction, boosting retention rates and first-time experiences; highest intent-to-return scores in resort-wide survey & inspired industry-wide adoption, innovating learning terrain.
WINTER OLYMPICS SEOUL TO PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA - 2018
Collaboration between Waikiki Kids Sports Center, YongPyong Resort & Burton Global. Grassroots marketing campaign to help the local community & gain global exposure for Burton’s Kids initiative. Achieved millions of impressions for Burton through media coverage and digital marketing. Leveraged the Olympics to boost global awareness of Burton's Kids initiative.