Outdoor Weber is a three-month long business pitch competition open to any qualified student worldwide. Students submitted a nine-second pitch video explaining their outdoor recreation based concept.
All videos were displayed on the Outdoor Weber website for two weeks so students could accumulate as many votes as possible.
The top 25 with the most votes moved on to the semi-final round. More than 35 judges from across the country watched and scored the videos and selected an additional 10 to move onto the semi-finals.
A panel of around 20 judges scored the 35 semi-finalist videos and selected 10 finalists who were invited to Ogden to work with a team of mentors face-to-face for two days.
The finalists will then present their ideas to a panel of judges who will select the winners.
First, second and third places take home $45,000, $20,000 and $10,000, respectively.
The Tuesday night Outdoor Weber event showcased the movie “Mountain” that shows extreme skiiers and bikers taking advantage of nature and shows what humans are capable of.
The film festival, which features Steve Hawk, is part of the second annual Outdoor Weber competition.
“This film was so inspiring. It made me realize how amazing nature is and makes me more driven towards my goal of climbing Mt. Everest,” Elizabeth Hatch, a student, said.
The finalists arrived on March 20, to start working with their mentor team and make their pitches to the judges on March 22 to finish out the Outdoor Weber events.
This year’s event provided the community with a film festival centered around outdoor recreation.
“We thought this would be a great way to bring the community together, support our students and promote entrepreneurship and outdoor recreation,” Brandon Stoddard, director of Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center, said.
Cass Morgan, of the Outdoor Community and Recreation Education program, and Nicola Corbin, of Ogden Peak Communications, have worked closely with this program for the last two years.
“Outdoor Weber has created a wonderful opportunity for various colleges and programs to work together,” Stoddard said.
