Time for skiing ... on Temple's campus

WHILE HIS classmates were easing back into the college lifestyle after the holiday break, Jason Dolla spent Wednesday night leading the construction of the city's only ski resort.

"This took quite a bit of planning," said Dolla, who hopes his hard work will help propel him into the job market this spring. "Talking to people in the [winter sports] industry has really helped me get my name out there."

Dolla, president of the Temple University Snowboarding Club, organized the annual Bell Tower Rail Jam, held yesterday underneath the chimes for which it was named. The competition drew 25 skiers and snowboarders to Temple's campus, some making the trek down from the Poconos.

One such traveler was Jen Kurman of Moore Township, Northampton County, who leaped at the chance to strap into her board during this warmer-than-average winter.

"The course is a little small, so it makes planning my runs difficult," she said, "but I'm just happy to be able to get out and ride."

The 100-foot course, which featured a 6-foot drop-in and two rails - upon which snowboarders perform maneuvers - couldn't have been too difficult for Kurman. She placed second in the women's division. Top honors went to Chris Fredett, from Schwenksville, who went home with a new snowboard, a case of Red Bull energy drink and other swag.

Corporate sponsors Subaru of America and Big Boulder Park helped pay for the event's prizes and course (made from 40 tons of shaved ice from the Blue Cross RiverRink on Penn's Landing), but Guido Martelli, Big Boulder's communication coordinator, said the Temple students deserve all the credit.

"We get our name on this thing, but these kids did all the hard labor," he said. "They have a lot invested in it and do everything they can to make it a success."

Martelli, a Temple grad himself, helped organize the first Rail Jam in 2008. Like Dolla, he used his position with the Snowboarding Club to launch his professional career.

"I did more for my resumé by putting this event together than I did with four years of classes," he said. "It got my foot in the door with Big Boulder and validated my interview with them after graduation."

The theme of students' running the show extended to Subaru's presence at the Rail Jam. Megan Fleck, a senior at La Salle University and one of the company's marketing interns, coordinated Subaru's prescence at the event.

"It's great that, as a 22-year-old, I can say I was responsible for something like this," she said. "I'm definitely going to put this on my resumé."