Nov 6, 2019 | News

Judges Announced For Second Annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards

Entry deadline for products and retail services extended to November 13, 2019

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California – (November 6, 2019) – Outdoor Retailer introduced the judges for the second annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards presented by PayPal Credit. This panel of experts will vote to determine the finalists and winners, with the winners announced during a live ceremony on the second night of Outdoor + Snow Show, Thursday, January 30, 2020 in Denver. The deadline to submit a product or service for the awards has been extended to Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

“We’re thrilled to welcome a remarkable panel of judges for our second annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards,” said Marisa Nicholson, Outdoor Retailer senior vice president and show director. “They bring a broad range of expertise to the judging process, covering product and service development from idea to implementation, from academia to use in the outdoors. We’re grateful for their support of these awards and looking forward to seeing the outcome of their work.”

A combination of returning and new judges, the 19-member panel carries a cross-section of experience in design, development, strategy, leadership, and field testing. Collectively, they will evaluate all submissions based on the criteria of Spark, Design, Function, and Impact. The panel will be joined by additional student judges for the final round and all will review the finalists in-person in Denver to decide the winners.

The judging panel:

Ryen Anderson, design director at Stitch Fix
Richard Bangs, adventure travel pioneer, co-founder and chief adventure officer for Steller.co
Patrick Brown-Hayes, faculty member at Washington State University in the Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles and consultant
Andrew Deceuster, faculty member in the Outdoor Product Design and Development program at Utah State University
Michael Dill, partner at Holland & Hart LLP
Tracy Gray, founder/managing partner of The 22 Fund; executive in residence at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator; Founder of We Are Enough; formerly a systems engineer on the Space Shuttle program
Tyler Gutierrez, director of marketing at Teton Gravity Research
Amy Horton, senior director of sustainable business innovation for the Outdoor Industry Association
Gayatri Keskar, head of research at Material ConneXion
Yvonne Lin, designer and founder of 4B Collective and the Femme Den
Erin MacDonald, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, Design Group Company
Jennifer Nolfi, executive director of the Center for Retail Leadership at Portland State University’s School of Business
Philip Powers, chief executive officer of the American Alpine Club
Scott Rosenfield, site director at WIRED
Susan Sokolowski, founding director of the Sports Product Design Graduate Program and Associate Professor at the University of Oregon
Brandon Stoddard, director of the Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center and professor at Weber State University
Tony Valtos, co-founder of the boutique ad agency Clove Hitch focusing on performance fabrics
Ed Viesturs, high altitude mountaineer, author, speaker, and a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year
Eric Yang, founder and editor in chief of Gear Patrol

The Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards recognize achievements in outdoor products, materials and retail services. The deadline to enter has been extended to Wednesday, November 13, 2019. Entry categories cover the full gamut of outdoor products and include outdoor specialty retail operations and support services: Accessories, Apparel, Backpacks / Bags / Luggage, Cycling, Books / Electronic Applications / Electronics, Camping, Climbing, Consumables, Footwear, Materials, Retail, Support Services, Sleeping, Water Sports, and Winter Sports. Complete rules and the entry form are available online at outdoorretailer.com/innovationawards.

Winning products and services will be revealed live at Outdoor + Snow Show. The Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards ceremony will be held in the Four Seasons Ballroom at the Colorado Convention Center on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 6:30 pm. The ceremony is open to all Outdoor Retailer attendees, and all finalist product and services will be on display throughout the tradeshow.

Outdoor industry and event veteran Liz Ferrin is working with Outdoor Retailer once again to produce the awards. Ferrin has also facilitated the production of Outdoor Retailer’s Inspiration Awards and Sundance Film Festival activation, among other programs.

For information on sponsorship opportunities around the Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards and Innovation Gallery, as well as to exhibit at the show, contact Krista Dill, director of sales, at Krista.Dill@www.outdoorretailer.com or an Outdoor Retailer account executive.

Outdoor + Snow Show runs January 29-31, 2020, at the Colorado Convention Center – registration and housing are open. The show is followed by the SIA/WWSRA On-Snow Demo at Winter Park Resort, Colo., from Feb. 3-4, 2020, and is co-located with Winter Sports Market (January 26-28, 2020) the annual trade show for specialty retailers and invited suppliers co-hosted by Snowsports Merchandising Corp. (SMC) and Sports Specialists Ltd. (SSL).

About Outdoor Retailer

Outdoor Retailer, the largest U.S. tradeshow and premier business event for the outdoor industry, brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through trade shows, Outdoor Retailer Magazine, product demo events, media events and web-based business solutions. The Outdoor Retailer trade shows are the premier outdoor industry events for North America, providing platforms for critical face-to-face business initiatives, line previews, innovations, launches, networking and retailer education. Visit outdoorretailer.com for more information.

Outdoor Retailer is owned by Emerald Expositions, a leading operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States. The company currently operates 60 trade shows, as well as numerous other face-to-face events. In 2018, Emerald’s events connected over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupied nearly 7 million net square feet of exhibition space.

Media Contact:

Lisa Ramsperger
Outdoor Retailer
lisa.ramsperger@www.outdoorretailer.com
(949) 225-3329