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The entire Sun Bowl will be transformed for this first ever post-Open bash with fun menu, music, commemorative gear...  plus more surprises in store.

Stratton spends weeks creating and preparing the US Open venue and now this year the Superpipe and Slopestyle course will be OPEN to all from March 28-April 6 (weather permitting). This park is world-class and is designed for pro & top level riders; expert ski or snowboard skills are essential and so is a Safety Education Session which will be offered at the Sun Bowl Base Lodge. A special park ticket will also be required in addition to your lift ticket.

Everyone's a VIP at the US Open After Party. Stay tuned to www.stratton.com for all the details.

Park Pass Rates:

Day Visitors Park Access Pass - $15 for first day, $10 2nd or half day

College Lift Ticket with Park Access Pass - $49 per day

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Playstation Big Air

1st place, Matt Belzile  $5,000 

2nd place, Dave Fortin  $2,000 

3rd place, Craig Beaulieu  $1,000 

SuperPipe Results

1st place, Ishihara Taka 

2nd place, Aono Ryo 

3rd place, Fujita Kazuumi 

SUPERHIT WINNER - Ryo Aono 

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ATHLETES HAVE UNTIL MARCH 8 TO THROW THEIR NAME IN THE RUNNING FOR A SPOT IN THE WHISTLER COMPETITIONS 

WHISTLER, BC, February 23 2007 –

For 10 days in April, skiers & snowboarders will gather for five competitions and the classic end to an incredible season in Whistler.

Snowboarders and skiers will again join forces for the 2007 TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival, with the Old Spice World Snowboarding Classic and the World Skiing Invitational taking place simultaneously April 12 - 21.

Over 150 riders and skiers will take on the Stompede, Rail Session, Superpipe and TWO Big Air competitions throughout the festival week. In addition to $100,000 in cash & prizes on the line, athletes will be motivated to go big by the opportunity to win the inaugural Pontiac Peak Perfomer Award and the keys to a brand new Pontiac G5 GT.

The Canadian skier or rider who out-spins, out-jumps and out-grinds their competitors across four events and receives the most votes at the on-site Pontiac display will receive the Peak Performer award and will squeal out of town in a slick, black Pontiac G5 GT after the April 21 Big Air.

A newly introduced lottery format will give the opportunity for emerging athletes to secure a spot in the World Skiing Invitational and Old Spice World Snowboarding Classic competitions, so fresh contenders can mix it up with established pros and previous champions.

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WHISTLER BLACKCOMB’S 9^th ANNUAL SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN CONTINUES WITH INNOVATIVE PIPESTYLE EVENT

Sapient-Showcase Showdown To Hand Out $60,000 In Cash and Prizes, February 23-24 

The Sapient-Showcase Showdown is back February 23-24, 2007 at Whistler Blackcomb. The Pipestyle format will continue with its hybrid construction of spines, rails, boxes and hits, all within the confines of the Night Superpipe at Base II on Blackcomb Mountain. 

Continuing from last year, and with the success and progression of the previous years, the Showdown is set to push the boundaries of competition venues once again. “We had some great feedback about last year’s event from the athletes involved. We want to build on last year’s success, so we listened to what the riders had to say,” says Zoltan Katchanoski, Sapient-Showcase Showdown Promotions Coordinator at Whistler Blackcomb.

The Sapient-Showcase Showdown is about the advancement of the sport of snowboarding and strives to keep things fresh and original. “The passion for snowboarding you sense when you enter Showcase Snowboards is the same passion that pushes us to make this event for the riders and for the sport,” continues Katchanoski.

 

Sapient Snowboards is back as the lead sponsor and is dropping $25,000 in prize money to prove it. In addition to the cash, additional sponsors Anon, RED, Bakoda, Volcom, Dakine, Vans and Nixon are kicking in with another $35,000 in prizes. With $60,000 in cash and prizes on the line, this year’s event is shaping up to be the biggest yet.

It is said history repeats itself, but there is always the exception to every rule. The Sapient-Showcase Showdown has been fresh and exciting every year since its inception in 1998. This event is always a crowd pleaser with local and international riders showing their skills and throwing down.

Tons of prizes and swag supplied by the event sponsors including Sapient snowboard giveaways will keep the crowd pumped. The Sapient-Showcase Showdown is truly an event for the riders and spectators.

Established in 1989, Showcase Snowboards is the oldest and largest snowboard shop in Whistler, BC. With the addition of the Burton Women’s Store it is the epicenter of snowboard gear in Whistler. Other Showcase locations include Banff. AB; and Winter Park, CO. For all the latest gear and apparel, shop online at www.Showcasesnowboards.com.

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"Last year was more about polishing than progressing. Instead of learning new tricks, we focused on dialing the ones we already had. It was something we had to do. The world isn't tuning in to watch people fall at the Olympics."—Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic Silver medalist and two-time Winter X superpipe winner.

If the 2006 snowboard competition season would have taken place in the world of fashion, it's safe to say that serious was last year's theme. Since the Olympics have come and gone, however, the '07 season's runway hit will be evolution as the new black, and accessorizing with fun will be the latest handbag.

"Girl's pipe events last season were a battle of the frontside nines," says two-time Olympian and seven-time X Games competitor, Natasza Zurek. "She who did hers the best that day would win. It was a natural response to judging criteria. Torah Bright had the most creative runs, but she was often penalized because they lacked a 900."

Judging criteria in competition, being largely bureaucratic and thus a slower-moving beast, have never been able to keep up with the progression of snowboarding, and controversy over which tricks score higher and lower, and why, is an old story. Breaking news this year, however, is that more girls will be putting behind them the stress that comes with pleasing the judges. This time around, winning or losing isn't as big a concern as making a mark by trying new things—pushing aside the "safe" skill sets in the name of boosting expectations for female riding.

"When you focus so strongly on something, it's nice to take step back to change your perspective," says Gretchen of her outlook of the upcoming season. "If I keep trying to win contests with the run that I have, eventually, I'll fall behind. Instead, I am going to huck myself more, fall more, and probably not win as much. But this is what I need to do to get to the next level."

So what does this mean for this winter? Anything goes. Not only will we see new tricks, combos and carnage in the Winter X pipe, but there's a chance that some pipe-only beauties, like Gretchen, may branch out and try their hands at slopestyle, too.

 

"Slopestyle requires balls and confidence much more than it requires technique," adds Gretchen. "Halfpipe is like golf—you can't just swing as hard as you can. I actually used to be better at just hitting jumps, and I feel like this is the case for most riders. That's what drew me to pipe in the first place—it was a real challenge. I'm not the type of person who wants to be good at only one thing. I've always pushed myself in all areas of snowboarding."

Will the pipe masters be able to unseat the slope dominators anytime soon? They contend that that's not the goal. "I like to mix things up and push myself in different ways," says Elena Height, who along with Torah, regularly competes in both pipe and slope. "I compete in slopestyle do something different. It keeps snowboarding fun."

"Slopestyle challenges me," agrees Torah. "I don't focus on beating anyone, I want to be a good all-around rider."

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LOS ANGELES - ESPN Winter X Games 11 announces new sports, new athletes and more coverage going into the eleventh annual event. In addition to Skiing and Snowboard and ESPN‚s announcement last month of Snowmobile Freestyle being added to the sports lineup, Winter X Games 11 will include its first ever disabled discipline, Mono Skier X. First introduced as a demo event at Winter X Games Nine, this year‚s event will be modeled after Winter X mainstays, Skier X and Snowboarder X. It will feature the top 16 disabled men and women racing in individual sit-skis in heats of four. Snowboarding will add the discipline of Snowboard Best Trick Showdown, and Moto X will not be in the Winter X Games lineup but remain a pillar in summer and international events. Fifteen hours of live programming on ESPN and ABC will be offered as well as Winter X Games 11 coverage on ESPN International, EXPN.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN360, SportsCenter and ESPN2‚s X Center.

“As we move into the eleventh Winter X Games, we couldn‚t be more excited with our lineup of sports and the new group of athletes we have participating with Snowmobile Freestyle and Mono Skier X,” said Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment. “We are dedicated to bringing a variety of original and compelling content to the sports fans and confident with these sport additions we will do so at Winter X Games 11.”

The annual Winter X Games is the premier action winter sports event in the world and showcases more than 250 of the world‚s top athletes including 28 Olympians who competed in last year‚s Winter X Games 10 prior to traveling to Turin, Italy. In addition to Snowboard SuperPipe (added in 1998), the Olympics added Snowboard Boardercross an event that has been part of Winter X Games since the beginning. Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Skicross, known as Skier X in the Winter X Games, would be added to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Skier X was introduced to Winter X Games in 1998 with 30 competitors and was the first competition of its kind for the sport of skiing.

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