Covy Christmas. Definition; a term created by Covy Moore in relation to those summer months in which many outdoor sports and fun activities are held. See Cowboy Christmas.
When you are reading this, the 2012 edition of Covy Christmas will be underway. I will be spending the next week down in Salt Lake City, to celebrate my birthday… and speed.
Many people have asked me, “Why are you going to Salt Lake City for your birthday? It’s not that much of a party town!”
I am going down not just to celebrate a birthday, but to celebrate motorsport, a vice that I cannot let go of.
The World Superbike Championship (WSBK) brings its travelling circus to a track in Tooele, Utah, to show the American fraternity of motorheads the racing talents and technologies of European Motorcycles.
They will be racing a double header, and I am so excited to go, and more excited to photograph.
Each year, I look forward to these summer months.
The month of May is especially special, as there are a multitude of local and international racing events I can choose to attend to kick off Covy Christmas. There is the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina and the WSBK race in Utah.
In addition to those, there are local events like the Rocky Mountain Rally in Calgary, and the Edmonton Road Racing Associations opening race weekend at Stratotech Park in Edmonton.
I hope to one day say I have attended them all or even make a living at shooting these events, but until then, I am chopping them off my list one by one.
The rest of my summer is also going to be a blast. Rodeo season has kicked off, and I look forward to the five days of the Airdrie Pro Rodeo, and the 10 of the 100th Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. There is no Airdrie Air Show this year, but plans are in place to shoot both IndyCar races that take place right here in Canada in Toronto and Edmonton. My job sends me every which way in the county, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store.
For me, there is nothing like the smell of racing fuel, burning rubber, and the high-pitched whine of racing engines for hours upon tiring hours of photographing the world’s best racers, running back to the always over-air-conditioned media centres and uploading images to whomever has hired me for the weekend, sharing my experiences with the world.
