Jasperites chosen for Canadian game show

Two adventurous Jasper residents are off to Argentina to get punched, mud-soaked and knocked over – all for the chance at a $50,000 prize. 

Andrew Pearson and Vicki Garford were two of 260 people chosen for the first season of Wipeout Canada, out of 44,619 applicants from all over Canada. Pearson leaves for Argentina, where the show is filmed on Oct. 15, while Garford will leave on Oct. 27. The two will each take on 20 contestants for the $50,000. 

Garford said she didn’t think much of it when her daughter entered her in the competition last spring.

“I honestly didn’t think I would get picked,” Garford said. “I never really thought anything of it.”

Pearson thought the same – even wagering with his friends and co-workers at the Emergency Services Building, where he is an EMT, on what he would wear. Having been selected for the show, Pearson said the outfit that has been selected for him to compete in is a Speedo. 

“Not in a million years did I think I’d get on to it,” Pearson said. 

When Pearson got his first call from the TV network about competing, he declined to participate in the Calgary auditions, thinking it would be a waste of a trip for something that wouldn’t pan out. He submitted an audition video, which can be seen on Youtube under Andrew Pearson Wipeout Canada. Pearson had help from friends in Jasper with his video, which includes a cameo from Parks Canada’s K-9 unit, Starsky. Garford did head to Calgary for the auditions and was selected. 

Garford is an avid snowboarder, mountain biker and kayaker, all experiences she hopes will help her on the notoriously difficult Wipeout obstacle course. 

Pearson is also an active Jasperite. He is a paramedic, volunteers with the Jasper Fire Department and is a ski patroller. He says his occupations give him a “high tolerance for risk,” which will help him navigate the course that includes the “Sucker Punch” wall that throws boxing gloved-punches at competitors as they try to slide along a wall. 

Pearson said the fact that himself and Garford will be going from Jasper is huge, considering the number of people from across Canada who were chosen. 

“Per capita, that probably means people in Jasper are 2,000 times cooler than everyone else,” he joked. 

He is happy to represent Jasper at the competition. 

“It’s not me that I’m representing. I’m going to try to represent Jasper,” he said. He also hopes to make his fellow EMT, fire fighters and ski patrollers proud. “It’s a pretty amazing opportunity. I’m representing so many different lifestyles.”

“It’s going to be pretty good for Jasper,” Garford said

When he first saw the American version of Wipeout, Pearson thought it would be a blast to try. 

“The first time I saw the TV show I said, ‘I wanna do that’,” he said. “It just looks like fun.”

He admits that one person’s definition of fun may not be the same as others. Besides the Sucker Punch wall, Garford and Pearson will tackle the “Big Red Ball”, a series of inflated, trampoline-like balls that a contestant must hop across, not unlike a lily pad. 

The 12 fastest competitors will advance onto “The Sweeper”. Contestants stand on a platform while a large arm swings around to try to knock them off. They must jump over it and stay on the longest. Six are eliminated in this round. The person who remains on “The Sweeper” the longest moves on to the final round, while the others advance to the third round, “The Dizzy Dummies”.

In this round contestants are strapped to a spinning machine and spun until they are released all at the same time to try to tackle the “Toppling Towers”, and be the first to cross the finish line. 

The final round is the “Wipeout Zone”, where contestants compete, one at a time, at night on a giant obstacle course. The winner, the person who gets to the end fastest, will win the $50,000 prize. 

Pearson has big plans for the money if he reaches the buzzer first. He plans to pay off his student loans and put some money on his mortgage, then treat his wife to a nice vacation, contribute to a few of his favourite local charities and finally, “buy the guys I work with breakfast.”

“I am ecstatically excited,” Pearson said. 

Both Garford and Pearson lead active lives already, and haven’t really changed up their fitness regimens in anticipation of Wipeout. 

“I consider myself quite fit. I don’t think you need to practice when you live a lifestyle like people in Jasper do,” Pearson said, adding that the Wipeout course will require “balance, legs and lungs”, and lots of running. “I think I’m pretty much as well prepared as I could be.” 

Pearson still heads to the gym every morning, and Garford said she has been trying to prepare her mind for the crazy course.

“I think it’s going to be a combination of how you are mentally and physically,” she said. “Sometimes it comes down to luck.”

Garford doesn’t have a set idea of where she’d like to end up on the show, but says the icing on the cake would be a spot in the finals. 

“For me it’s the challenge. I want to see if I can get to the end.”

The course will feature parts that have been on the American version of the TV show, but Garford said they don’t get a trial run before filming begins. 

“It’s not like you get a dry run through,” she said. 

The two have been sworn to secrecy about the show once they arrive in Argentina, up until the day it airs in March 2011. 

“All we’re allowed to say is stay tuned to March 2011,” Pearson said. He is happy to agree with the publication ban to protect the secrecy of the show. “I want to make sure they have as good a product as possible.”

Both Garford and Pearson will get an all-expenses paid trip to Argentina for filming, but aren’t allowed to bring a guest due to the secrecy and costs. 

“Just a week down in Argentina alone would be pretty awesome,” said Pearson. 

Garford agrees that the trip itself is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

“I’m thrilled to be able to go down to Argentina, let alone this,” she said. 

Wipeout Canada will begin airing on TVtropolis in March 2011.