BITE Announces Canada's Eight Elite Skateboarding Competitors for West 49
Ambition Skatecamp, Premiering November 2nd

    
    Ambition Fan Experience Includes:
    BITE TV, Bite.ca/Ambition, West49.com, Facebook, and Mobile
    

TORONTO , Oct. 21 /CNW/ - BITE launches eight of the nation's most highly accomplished young skateboarders into an intense competition designed to push their skills to extremes and propel their skateboarding careers to new heights in West 49 Ambition Skatecamp. This new 8-part competition series spotlights incredible young talents who put their bodies on the line for a shot at a dream come true. Fans can access the excitement through TV, online, and mobile. It's all about athleticism, grit, and stamina when this high-flying BITE original production premieres Monday, November 2 at 9 p.m. ET . "We're supporting and helping to develop a gifted group of rising Canadian skaters," said Jeffrey Elliott , Founder & President of BITE and Co-CEO of GlassBOX Television. "There's no fabricated drama - just jaw-dropping skill and action throughout."

MEDIA NOTE: Watch the Ambition promo at http://www.bite.ca/ambition/watch.html

    
    Canada's eight elite skateboarding contenders are:
    Gabby Ivanov, 16, Port Coquitlam, BC
    Sean Lowe, 18, Salmon Arm, BC
    Micky Papa, 19, Coquitlam, BC
    Mike Bell, 18, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
    Colin Findlater, 18, London, ON
    Bobby de Keyzer, 13, Whitby, ON
    Jon Cosentino, 15, Oakville, ON
    Kirk Harriott, 17, Mississauga, ON
    

World-class pro skater Paul Otvos, skateboarding filmmaker Pasi Posti, and SBC Skateboard magazine editor Owen Woytowich are the industry experts set to judge the competition. Each week the riders face off in challenges testing their abilities in all core disciplines of the sport - everything from daring ramp jumps and white-knuckle street courses to fast-action photo shoots. The judges dish candid feedback in every 30-minute installment as they mentor the sponsored skaters toward a huge prize.

The winner of West 49 Ambition Skatecamp receives a profile in SBC Skateboard magazine and a coveted spot to compete against the world's top amateur skaters at the esteemed Maloof Money Cup, which boasts the largest purse in the history of pro skateboarding with more than $450,000 in prize money.

Fans can immerse themselves in an online television experience called West 49 TV by visiting www.west49.com. The new video service is powered by the fully-featured GlassBOX Video Player. West 49 TV features hundreds of distinct videos including entire episodes of West 49 Ambition Skatecamp, West 49's own Web series titled Soo Not A Model Model Search, a mix of action sports clips provided by BITE and West 49, and music videos from AUX, GlassBOX Television's newly launched multi-platform music channel.

The official West 49 Ambition Skatecamp microsite is available at www.bite.ca/ambition. It's ripe with all kinds of relevant content. Beginning November 2 , an exclusive online video mash-up tool lets fans create their own skateboarding videos using footage and music provided on the site. Exclusive outtakes, behind-the-scenes clips, profiles on all the skaters, judges, and hosts, and strategic inter-site video sharing through West 49 TV are all part of this online skateboarding universe. Weekly episodic playlists are too. Young emerging artists provide the musical soundtrack for adrenaline-charged skating sequences in every weekly edition of West 49 Ambition Skatecamp. Each rundown includes a list of the tracks played in a given episode along with the names of the corresponding recording artists. The playlists also appear on screen at the end of every show. On top of all this is the official Facebook page for the series where fans can sign up to access exclusive photos, breaking updates, and more. It's all online at www.facebook.com/ambitionskatecamp.

West 49 Ambition Skatecamp is hosted by action-sports industry veterans Andrew Singleton and Michelle Sullivan . It was taped at the prestigious Muskoka Woods resort on Lake Rosseau. The show broadcasts on mobile through Rogers Wireless in addition to its airings on BITE and on www.bite.ca/ambition and www.west49.com.

BITE (www.bite.ca) is an award-winning playhouse for all things funny, irreverent, and unpredictable. Launched as Canada's first truly interactive, multi-platform channel, it airs and covers comedy, pop culture, and music. BITE holds the distinction of being the first Canadian broadcaster to win an International Interactive Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Channel. As a leader in audience engagement, BITE engrains viewers into the very fibre of the network through a multitude of platforms - including www.bite.ca, mobile, and social networking sites, featuring the latest in on-screen interactivity. The network proudly services a mischievous and edgy core audience of 18-49s who are distinctly 2.0, with a strong focus on 18-34 year olds. BITE debuted in April 2005 and it is currently available in 1.3 million homes across Canada . Viewer Discretion Despised.

GlassBOX Television Inc. (www.glassbox.tv) operates multi-platform broadcast and VOD channels that engage audiences across the globe with targeted, multiple content streams. GlassBOX's first channel BITE (www.bite.ca) has led the way in defining a new generation of multi-platform interactive television services. Winner of the coveted International Interactive Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Channel, BITE is now available on cable, satellite, IPTV, and mobile carriers. Newly launched AUX (www.aux.tv) is Canada's first and only interactive, multi-platform channel dedicated to musical groundbreakers in Canada and from around the world.

West 49 Inc. is a leading Canadian specialty retailer of fashion and apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment related to the youth action sports lifestyle. The Company's stores, which are primarily mall-based, carry a variety of high-performance, premium brand name and private label products that fulfill the lifestyle needs of identified target markets, primarily tweens and teens. As at August 1, 2009 , the Company operated 131 stores in nine provinces, under the banners West 49, Billabong, Off The Wall, Amnesia/Arsenic, and D-Tox. The Company's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WXX. The Company has approximately 64 million shares outstanding.

ATTN. EDITORS: Art and bios available upon request.

For further information: Graham Machacek, Acting Manager of Media Relations & Communications, GlassBOX Television, [phone], [email protected]