Banff (AB), Canada –When the ski community gathers in Banff this weekend to remember former Canadian national team racer Rob Bosinger, the memories will come flooding back for Rob’s older brother Pete.

“I do look forward to it. It’s an emotional time,” said Pete, a coach with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and also a former racer, ahead of the 7^th annual Rob Bosinger Memorial Race Weekend. “It brings back all the fond memories but you also realize he’s not here anymore. It reminds us that he’s a part of us and that’s what it’s all about.”

Rob Bosinger – known to many as BoZo – was an alpine skier and coach who died suddenly in his sleep on May 20, 2005 due to cardiac arrhythmia. Rob, who was 38 when he passed away, was the married father of a then seven-month-old boy, Mats.

“He was married to a fantastic lady named Janet Carswell. They spent 18 years together and had their first son and only son. Being a part of their family, knowing that a piece of my brother is still there, is very (special),” Pete Bosinger said.

“Rob was my younger brother but the bigger brother so he kept me in line. We ski raced together so I have a lot of great memories growing up and being at various ski hills. My fondest memories are of skiing in Rossland, B.C. We got up in the morning and went to the hill with my father. We were just skiing together every day.”

As well as being a much-loved father and brother, Rob Bosinger was a talented ski racer who competed in downhill at the World Cup level. He was known for his big heart and warm sense of humor.

“He had a little more relaxed outlook on life. He had this aura of confidence,” said Pete, who was born a year before Rob. “People respected him and he had a great sense of humor. He kind of gave us a foundation as a family as a great athlete and a great person.

“We did everything together. He was more creative. He had an incredible instinct for art and had some businesses that he ran.”

The Rob Bosinger Memorial Race Weekend grew out of a head to head race series that Rob was involved in prior to his passing. In honor of Rob and his love of skiing a head to head dual slalom Pro-Am race was created which is now known as the BoZo Cup. This year’s race weekend at Mount Norquay ski area comprises today’s “BoZo Fest,” which includes head to head challenge races, auctions, a barbecue, live music and a bib draw for Saturday’s BoZo Cup. The BoZo Cup Pro-Am, featuring defending champ and World Cup star Jan Hudec, goes on Saturday. And the weekend wraps up with Sunday’s Miele Kinder Cup, for K1 and K2 racers, which is hosted by Rob’s former teammate Felix Belczyk.

“Since we started this event we built it around what he would enjoy,” Pete said of his brother. “He loved the times on the ski hill spent together as a family, as a skiing community, where everyone was out there – nothing too formal. Originally it was a head to head racing series. He was a big part of that. People have a great time and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.”

The memorial weekend is run by a host of friends, family and volunteers including Carswell and longtime ski community supporters Candace and Lorne Webber.

“For me, it’s more about me being my brother’s brother and being there to support the great people who put on this event,” Pete said. “It’s been as successful as the first year we ran it. It’s only going to get better. We are not trying to create a bigger event, we just want to make it more successful. Candace and Lorne have been instrumental at looking at ways of creating a more festive atmosphere on the mountain. With their knowledge of running events and their commitment it’s going to be around for a long time.”

The race weekend raises money for several good causes, including the Canadian SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome) Foundation and Alberta Alpine.

Pete says this year’s event won’t just be about remembering his brother. He says that two other Canadian skiers, freestyle skier Sarah Burke and ski cross racer Nik Zoricic, both of whom died in tragic accidents earlier this year, will also be in everyone’s thoughts.

“It’s particularly hard when we see other members of our ski community pass away. It brings back all the emotions,” he said. “It (reminds us) how dear these people are to all of us and how much we miss them. It’s healthy for all of us to remember them in this way.

“I do think about the others who have been lost this year. This event is about remembering my brother but it’s also about the other members of our ski family that we’ve lost.”