World Heli Challenge – Team Mates claim victory at the 2014 WHC
Team Mates, enjoying the spoils of their victory. From left, Ryan Tiene, Jake Koia and Mitch Ayers. Image:: Kit Rundle
Mountainwatch | Chris Booth
The World Heli Challenge really lived up to its name this year. First, there was the “World”; with “Team Vacation” from USA/Canada with skiers Essex Prescott and Dylan Siggers filmed by Leo Zuckerman, and “Team Mates” consisting of Jake Koia (Queenstown NZ) and Australia’s Ryan Tiene, with Mitchell Ayers filming.
Second, there was the “Heli”. Team Mates and Team Vacation were given three days of heli-accessed filming in Aoraki/Mt Cook, New Zealand.
And then, there was a “Challenge”. The two teams had to shoot and create a five minute edit each, telling a story of ‘Big Adventure, Big Rewards’, for the chance to take out $10,000.00 in cash. Sounds simple enough, it wasn’t.
With only seven days to deliver their edits, the teams were under some serious pressure to perform. Ryan Tiene explains, “The World Heli Challenge was a completely new experience, to film a part in only a week was really demanding compared to the four months we usually have.”
And then there’s the competition going on over the other side of the lens, with the third team member, the filmer, being the critical link between the athletes’ performances and winning the prize money. “It was great to see behind the scenes and see what goes into making an edit, from an idea all the way through to the end. Hats off to Mitch [Ayers] he absolutely killed it,” says Tiene.
The two teams did an amazing job. Either team deserved to win, but in the end it was Team Mates who came out on top, earning the most votes from an international panel of 12 judges.
On the win, Team Mates’ captain Jake Koia was humble; “I can speak for both Ryan and myself when I say it’s been a while since we’ve been on a podium. We had a blast making our video and we’re honestly really proud and stoked it’s been received so well.”
