– Two free skiers traverse the U.S. in a 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek and capture footage of their journey

– Champlain College film students serve as producers, editing the footage for fan viewing online

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Subaru of America, Inc. and Nordica USA will team up to kickoff snowsports season with the XV Crosstrek Run. Two talented free skiers will journey from coast-to-coast hitting major mountain resorts and events along the way, while piloting the all-new Subaru 2013 XV Crosstrek. Digital content will give fans a look into the free skiers lives, their slope side skills, and the versatility and capability of the XV Crosstrek.

Fans can follow the journey on Subaru & Nordica social channels. Bloggers and journalists can cover the XV Crosstrek Run at http://www.multivu.com/players/English/59476-xv-crosstrek-run/. The media site features the schedule of XV Crosstrek Run stops, background on the free skiers and photos/videos which can be easily embedded into any blog or website.

“The XV Crosstrek Run is a great collaborative effort and comes at the perfect time as we are celebrating our 10th anniversary of the Subaru-Nordica Service Team,” states Tim Tagye, promotions and sponsorship manager, Subaru of America, Inc. “Through the eyes of social media, we are able to capture how our relationship with Nordica and their loyal fans has grown over the past decade, and how the go-anywhere capability of the XV Crosstrek is an excellent fit for the skiing enthusiast.”

Luke aka ‘Lupe’ Hagearty and Liam McKinley will set out on a journey hitting ski slopes and events throughout the United States. Twenty year old Luke Hagearty will be the featured skier throughout the XV Crosstrek Run. Luke is no stranger to Subaru, as his everyday driver is a 2002 Subaru Forester. Filming Luke’s incredible runs will be twenty-one year old Liam McKinley. The two free skiers were handpicked by Nordica as participants.

Over the past 10 years, Subaru and Nordica have partnered together bringing common philosophies to adventure enthusiasts. Subaru and Nordica formed the Subaru-Nordica Service Team (SNST); technical reps that travel the country visiting hundreds of ski-related consumer facing events in Subaru Outback models. The Subaru-Nordica Service Team is able to master snowy conditions on and off the hill thanks to Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive technology and Nordica’s technology and unparalleled skiing history.

“Subaru and Nordica have worked together for a decade to help build their brands and grow consumer awareness of the incredible products each offers,” said Andy Hare, director of product and promotions, Nordica USA. “When Subaru announced the unveiling of the all-new XV Crosstrek and explained the target audience, it was instantly clear we could help because it is one that we have been targeting for a few years now.”

Students from Champlain College in Burlington, VT will receive footage from the free skiers and package them into short videos. These will then be sent to Subaru & Nordica for distribution on their social channels. Champlain College is a private, coeducational college located in Burlington, Vermont with enrollment of just over 3,000 students.

“A major component of our Champlain College curriculum has always been for our students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life work experience within their major fields,” said Tom Myers, associate professor international business and management, Champlain College. “Nordica came to me last February with their new marketing vision for the younger generation. Naturally, we assembled the most talented students-skiers we could find in international business, marketing, graphic design, and digital film to help drive this initiative.”

Follow along with Subaru and Nordica

Subaru
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/subaruofamerica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/subaru_usa
Instagram: http://instagram.com/subaru_usa/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Subaru
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/subaru/
Tumblr: http://subaruofamerica.tumblr.com/
Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/subaru_usa

Nordica
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NordicaUSA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NordicaUSA
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nordica_ski/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nordicavideo
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/channels/132736
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nordicausa

Twitter and Instagram users can follow along at #XVCrosstrekRun; the official hashtag.
For more information and a schedule of the stops, visit the XV Crosstrek Run site: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/59476-xv-crosstrek-run/

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

About Nordica USA
Nordica is dedicated to relentless product innovation for the benefit of all types of skiing. We are in the perpetual pursuit of creating products that perform better, more reliably and ultimately make the sport more fun. Our passion is for the progression of the sport and shows through new products that make the experience more enjoyable. Nordica USA has been the country’s premier winter sporting goods supplier for over 50 years. Founded 1938 in Italy, Nordica soon became the World’s leading ski boot producer. Nordica USA is currently a leading equipment supplier to the United States Ski Team as well as the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Nordica USA is a subsidiary of Nordica Spa and is located in West Lebanon, NH.

About Champlain College
Since 1878, Champlain College has provided career-focused education to students from its hilltop campus in Burlington, Vt. Champlain’s distinctive educational approach embodies the notion that true learning only occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain offers traditional undergraduate and online undergraduate courses, along with online certificate and degree programs and eight master’s degree programs. Champlain offers study abroad programs at its campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain College will be included in the Princeton Review’s “best colleges” guidebook, “The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition.” Champlain was named a “Top-Up-and-Coming School” by U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” and was ranked in the top tier of 2013 Regional Colleges in the North. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.