If you are looking for photos, permissions, or if you have any questions about the Hair Freezing Contest please contact us below. If you are interested in sponsoring our contest for the winter of 2020/2021 please contact us as soon as possible. Our contest runs from November to end of March each year, weather depending.
Andrew Umbrich (owner and operator)
867-456-8004
Press Release:
Local Hair Freezing Contest Offers More Than 10, 000$ in Prizes
The Hair Freezing Contest at Takhini Hot Pools started in 2011. The early years of the contest had humble beginnings, with $100 of prize money given to the best frozen hairdo and just a few dozen participants each year. Over the years, the contest gained momentum and in 2015 an image from the contest went viral. Since then, Takhini Hot Pools has increased the prize money to $750 and added several new categories. But this year, the contest has reached new heights.
With a total of $10,000 available in prize money, the Hair Freezing Contest has seen an incredible surge in participation this winter season. Backed by two large sponsors, the contest has expanded to offer five categories: Best Male, Best Female, Best Group, Nongshim’s People’s Choice, and Tim Horton’s Most Creative. The winner for each category will receive $2000 in addition to an “unlimited” pass for the current hot springs (until its closure later this year) and some passes for the new hot springs facility currently under construction.
“This year everything changed. We were contacted by two companies who wanted to sponsor the contest, so we called Mammoth and asked for their help” Andrew Umbrich, owner and operator of Takhini Hot Pools. With two sponsors and a marketing agency on board, they increased the prize money, built a website for the contest, and added infrastructure to streamline the process. “We installed a wireless doorbell outside so participants can let us know when their frozen hairstyle is ready to be photographed, and we added an iPad to the front desk for people to sign up and upload the photo they liked best.”
The contest has received 288 entries to the website hairfreezingcontest.com, a figure that is more than double the number of entries received since the contest started in 2011. “It’s all due to our two sponsors: Nongshim Instant Noodles and Tim Hortons. We couldn’t have done it without them” says Umbrich.
Umbrich also explains that he asked both sponsors to give back to the community by adding two different types of donations this year: “For every entry into the contest five (5) packs of Nongshim’s instant noodles will be donated to the Whitehorse Food Bank and Tim Horton’s has agreed to donate a portion of each entry fee into the hot springs to The Outreach Van, managed by Blood Ties”.
To enter the contest, one should visit Takhini Hot Pools on a day when the temperature is below -20°C and pay for a regular admission to the hot springs. Once a frozen hairstyle has been perfected, participants can ring the wireless doorbell to have their photo taken by Takhini Hot Pools staff. After exiting the hot springs, participants must complete the contest signup form in the lobby in order to officially enter the content.
The contest ends on March 8th. Finalists for the Nongshim People’s Choice will be selected by Takhini Hot Pools and announced on March 15th. Online voting will begin March 15th with all winners to be announced on April 1st.