Sinister 7 one of three finalists
in the prestigious Alto Awards
Linsday Goss photo
One of many teams participating in the Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay 2012
LINDSAY GOSS
Pass Herald Reporter
Blairmore’s Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay was one of the three finalists at the Alto Awards for the first time ever last week.
Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump won the award in the Sustainable Tourism category, competing against the other two finalists, Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay in Blairmore and Rocky Mountaineer in Vancouver.
The Alto Awards was presented at the 12th Annual Alto Awards Gala on Monday, October 22nd, in conjunction with the Tourism Industry Conference at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Conference Centre.
“We’ve looked at it for many years and we thought that the awards were for big players in the tourism industry,” said Brian Gallant, co-organizer of Sinister 7. “But this year we thought it was time to speak up for ourselves and to speak up for our community and be proud of what we’ve accomplished. Obviously the panel agreed.”
Individuals and organizations were to nominate themselves and submit their own applications for the Alto Awards in order to be a recipient of an award.
The Sustainable Tourism Alto Award honours organizations that meet the needs of visitors and local communities while protecting and enhancing the environment.
The management of resources focuses on maintaining environmental sustainability, and social and cultural integrity while contributing to the overall well being of the local community.
“We were up against some pretty stiff competition,” said Gallant.
It’s hard to imagine us competing against the likes of Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, which is a world heritage site.
This was the first year Sinister 7 was nominated in the Alto Awards Ceremony.
“We were very humble and honoured to be a part of it,” Gallant said. “It was emotional, but we were glad to be there.”
The applications for the Alto Awards were up 50 per cent this year from previous years.
“It’s important to be a finalist in the Alto Awards because it gets us on the Alberta Tourism website and it give us, our company and the community itself a lot of visibility on the website.”
Gallant said that Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay will be entered in the Alto Awards next year, perhaps even in two categories.
