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10 Apr 2019

Ice cool brothers carve out a win in De Beers Canada contest

Two Canadian brothers have won the seventh annual De Beers Inspired Ice International Ice Carving competition with a record score in their first appearance.

Brothers Ross and Tony Baisas with the winning ice sculpture.

Ross Baisas from Montreal and brother Tony from Ottawa scored 99.1 out of 100 with their sculpture ‘Balance’ to take the 2019 title in a strong field of seven teams.

This is the second year of a five-year C$150,000 commitment by De Beers Canada to the Long John Jamboree as the title sponsor of the ice carving competition, attracting competitors from Canada and the US.

Allan Rodel, General Manager of Gahcho Kué mine, said: “The competition continues to attract the best carvers from around the world year after year, which is a testament to the volunteers and people in Yellowknife who run an incredible event.”

‘Balance’, the winning carving, was a female figure with flowing hair and gown holding a balance scale in one hand and a sword in the other. It also captured the People’s Choice Award, voted on by spectators attending the Jamboree in the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife.

The competition this year – at the end of March - faced warmer than average temperatures and one work of ice art, Little Nap by Mowafak Nema from Ottawa and Don Lowing from Philadelphia, collapsed shortly after the last support was cut away, just before it was to be judged.

Lead Judge Ken Diederich, from Cleveland, Ohio, said of ‘Balance’: “You really have to be a master sculptor, a master of the craft, to be able to bring fabric to the table, to bring hair to the table. [The sculpture] invokes emotion, you can see the eyes, you can see how the jaw comes together. Every part of it looks so real. It’s amazing, spot on.”

Second place went to Americans Aaron Costic of Ohio and Matt Stoddart of Kentucky, who were just 3.37 points behind the record score.

The unseasonably warm weather forced a last-minute change of venue from the ice of Yellowknife Bay to ensure the safety of the carvers and those in attendance.

The two-person teams of carvers work on natural ‘Crystal Blue Aurora’ ice blocks from the Great Slave Lake, making it one of just two ice carving competitions in the world that uses natural ice. Each block is about 4ft by 8ft by 3ft, and the carving time allowed is 30 hours.

De Beers Canada helped found the competition in 2012.