News for Snowboard.com by Snowboard.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Online competitor registration is now open for the first-ever Burton Canadian Open, taking place from December 1-7, 2008 at the Calgary Olympic Development Association’s (CODA) Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. CODA has been providing world-class sport facilities for Olympic development for 20 years and Canada Olympic Park is home to the exact duplicate of the halfpipe that will be built for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The third stop on the 2008/2009 Burton Global Open Series and a SWATCH TTR 5Star event, the Canadian Open will include slopestyle and halfpipe competitions, offering riders the chance to earn a piece of the $50,000 USD prize purse and gain valuable points towards Burton Global Open Series championship titles and the Swatch Ticket To Ride World Tour championship titles.
Here’s how to register to compete:
Head to www.opensnowboarding.com, go to the Canadian Open homepage and click on Registration in order to register online for the Registration Waitlist. Registration will be open until October 20, 2008. If we receive more registrations per format than the number of pre-qualification spots available, riders will be selected from the Registration Waitlist based on their BGOS standings/results and their TTR standings/results, with priority given to the riders with the best standings/results. On or before October 27th, you will be notified VIA EMAIL (and only email) if your registration has been successful and that your entry for the Canadian Open Halfpipe and/or Slopestyle Pre-Qualifiers is confirmed. At that time, your credit card will be charged a non-refundable $75CAD per discipline as applicable. If your name is not selected, you will automatically be added to the waitlist (which shall be selected at random). Top pros will receive special invites to compete. For complete details/rules on the registration process, visit the Canadian Open home page on opensnowboarding.com.
With events scheduled year-round and in six countries, the Burton Global Open Series boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in snowboarding – over $900,000 – with equal prize money to men and women. All six Burton Global Open Series events offer riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding. Following this summer’s New Zealand and Australian Opens, Luke Mitrani (USA) and Jamie Anderson (USA) are in the lead for the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series Championship title.
The Burton Global Open Series is also part of the SWATCH Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns the TTR World Champions at the US Open. The current leaders for the TTR titles are Chas Guldemond (USA) and 2007/08 TTR world champion Jamie Anderson.
For more information on the Burton Global Open Series head to www.opensnowboarding.com
For more information on TTR, visit www.ttrworldtour
If you can’t make it to Canada, watch the semi-finals and finals live on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event is over.
Burton would like to thank CODA, Red Bull, Go211.com, Coors Light, Alberta Snowboard Association and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Canadian Open.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The season kicked off this past weekend with the freestyle.ch in-city event in Zurich, Switzerland. For the snowboarding part of the action sports show, the biggest names in the game gathered on the lakeside of "Downtown Zurich“, including Burton shreds Mikkel Bang, Chris Sörman, Marko Grilc, Peetu Piiroinen, Wang Lei and last year's winner Stephan Maurer.
The Burton Euro Squad was busy all weekend throwing it down on the 37 meter tall ramp, the signing session marathons and the late night parties. And everybody scored at some point!
We will stick to talking about the official competition on snow here: Peetu Piiroinen opened his season like he ended the past one – on the podium! He only got beaten by Stephan Gimpl and Hampus Mosseson, and landed himself in the third spot with high scores for his Backside Rodeo 7 Tailgrab and Cab 1080.
Great atmosphere also at the LAAX booth on Saturday during the Burton Euro Team Signing Session – all dressed up nicely in the “10 years BEO” Birthday shirts. On duty for the Signing Session were Mikkel Bang, Marko Grilc, Chris Sörman, Stephan Maurer, Sina Candrian and Peetu Piiroinen.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Freecaster will be bringing all this action live and in high quality straight from the Oakley booth on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and be sure to watch out for the interviews and highlights before and after from our team on site.
Timing
Friday 26 September 19:00 - 22:00 CET
Saturday 27 September 14:00 - 22:00 CET
Sunday 28 September 14:00 - 18:00 CET
Monday, September 22, 2008
Everyone knew the first crossing of the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola’s Sky Cabins was going to be a momentous occasion. We just didn’t know exactly when it would happen. The Sky Cabins were on the mountain, the carriages were installed and the only thing left to do was wait for the okay from the mechanical and electrical teams.
On Thursday, September 18 a press event was held to announce the official opening date of December 12 as well as to show off the Blackcomb terminal building and all of the Sky Cabins. There were even a few cabins out on the line! To our surprise, Thursday was also the day we found out it was very likely the first twelve cabins would be making their way across the 4.4km/2.73 mile span to Whistler Mountain the very next day on Friday, September 19.
Finally, the day we had all been waiting for (besides the official opening) was here! We were told it would happen after 8am so we made sure to be on the mountain early. Time passed with no action until finally around 10:30am we could make out a faint red blob against Blackcomb’s flank.
My cell phone rang and I was told by Construction Manager Rick Temple that we should watch for the first Sky Cabin and its passenger, Mathias Zundrell. Passenger….WHAT!?
Apparently, it is normal procedure for a Doppelmayr engineer to ride the carriage of the first gondola across, never mind if that puts him 436m/1,427ft above the valley floor with just a harness and a hardhat!
Mathias looked very nonchalant from his perch on Sky Cabin No. 5 and he waved as he glided by high above us. At each lift tower the PEAK 2 PEAK stopped so he could check the gondola’s mechanisms. The remaining Sky Cabins followed and now Whistler’s terminal is housing twelve Sky Cabins so the remaining 16 can be put on the line over at the Blackcomb terminal.
Construction on the terminal buildings is still ongoing but we are getting close to the end of this two year construction project!
Friday, September 19, 2008
As early as 8 a.m. on Friday, September 19, twelve PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola Sky Cabins will make the very first, epic journey across the 4.4km/2.73 mile span between Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains. With the official opening day of December 12, 2008 announced this milestone is all the more exciting.
“To finally have Sky Cabins move from one mountain to the other really crystallizes what we have accomplished here through two summers of construction,” says Rick Temple, PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola Construction Manager. “It is going to be an awesome sight for the entire PEAK 2 PEAK team, our employees and for the whole community of Whistler.”
Whistler Blackcomb’s PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola will officially open to the public December 12, 2008. This engineering marvel is set to become a new Canadian tourism icon, and will forever revolutionize the way visitors experience this all-season resort.
Friday, September 19, 2008
This is what they had to say...
"Who wants to see some sick snowboarding action for cheap?! Well, First Tracks Productions is offering a special deal to friends of Snowboard.com If you click on the following link, you'll get to a hidden page on First Tracks' site where you can purchase their new movie, "Knock on Wood" for $10 off retail!
http://firsttracksproductions.com/knockonwood091317257375.html
If you haven't seen the trailer for Knock on Wood, check it out for free
Check it out!
Cheers.
Friday, September 19, 2008
SNOWBOARDERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD SEX SLAVERY
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Wouldn’t it be rad if you could help make someone else’s life better by doing something you love? While you’re out shreddin, making turns and having a good time with your friends, someone’s life is making a turn for the better. We have come up with something pretty epic and it’s called the ZION POP Program (People of the Planet). The POP Program is people driven and is all about Social Justice. We have made it our mission to help out our fellow humans who have been dealt a bad hand. This is the part of ZION Snowboards that we call “serious fun.” There are some hardcore issues happening in our world and we thought it would be rad to involve core snowboarders in making a difference. With the POP program we will be donating 10% of the sale of our participating products to charities that help make people’s lives better. Cool thing is - you can do this while you’re doing your switch backside 10’s or Tindy’s!
ZION is stoked to announce that our first partnership for the POP Program will be the Ratanak Foundation! ZION will be donating 10% of the sale of POP Products sold in our Flagship Online Shop to the Ratanak Foundation's New Song Project. The New Song Project is dedicated to
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fighting child sex trafficking in Cambodia. We had a chance to meet up with Brian - the Founder of the Ratanak Foundation and we literally had our jaws on the floor after hearing about what was going on in the brothels of Cambodia with children as young as 5 years old. These children are being violated 10-20 times a day for a cost of 2 dollars per customer. Young virgins however, can go for up to five hundred dollars because customers that have AIDS believe they will be cured if they have sex with a virgin. You can imagine the devastation that this brings. The New Song Project is all about rescuing these children and rehabilitating them so that they can learn what if means to be a normal human being. The children that are rescued are brought to a top secret, high security location where they are in rehab for about 2 years. They are taught to be children again - most of them do not know what being a child is - they never got the chance. This stuff is not a cake walk - this is secret mission James Bond and Chuck Norris kind of stuff because the children need to be extracted from the brothels and pimps and then secretly brought to a safe location. As you can imagine the pimps do not want to lose their "product" so this is a very dangerous job for the rescuers whose lives are at risk every time they do a rescue operation.
The goal of the ZION Snowboards POP Program is to put as big a dent as possible into the beast of child sex slavery. Partnering up with the Ratanak Foundation is going to change children’s lives one at a time and give them a chance to be normal humans after everything has been brutally stripped from them.
ZION is a company founded and run by snowboarders. Our office is the mountain and the only suits we wear to work are snowsuits. We hope that building boards with maximum fun factor, offering products that set you apart at your local scene, and involving you in making other people’s lives better will get you stoked on ZION.
Please visit www.zionsnowboards.com and click on the shop online link to view our latest POP Products. More Products will be added on a regular basis.
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Published by snowboard.com: 11:56 AM
Updated On: 9/19/2008 at 11:58 AM
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Friday, September 12, 2008
Forum Snowboards launched their new 08/09 site
as well as
Union Binding Company.
Cheers.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Cardrona New Zealand hosted the start of the 2009 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup and Japan showed the world that when it comes to halfpipe, they have the skills. Kohhei Kudoh schooled the field beating out Ryoh Aono. As for the womans, Nakashima took gold.
Kudoh is 18 and has already had two second World Cup finishes. 2010 in Vanouver is going to be interesting for this young fellow.
Canadian Crispin Lipscomb came in third.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Whistler Blackcomb news - Peak 2 Peak update
The completion of the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola ropework and the arrival of 28 Sky Cabins set the stage for what will be the biggest construction milestone of the lift installation – the first Sky Cabin to cross the record-breaking 3 kilometre/1.88 mile, unsupported span between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
“With the haul rope spliced and all 28 Sky Cabins transported to the Blackcomb terminal, our next objective will be to get the cabins on the line and to send 12 across the span to Whistler,” says Rick Temple, PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola Construction Manager. “We are aiming to send them over by mid to late September, and are on track for the upcoming December grand opening.”
The Sky Cabins were shipped across the Atlantic from Olten, Switzerland where they were manufactured by CWA, global leader in design and construction of cableway vehicles. The Sky Cabins were then loaded onto ten trucks for the journey through Canada. Two cabins feature glass floors, enclosed by a railing, for a bird’s eye view of the Fitzsimmon’s Valley 436 metres/1,430 feet below.
Another significant milestone was the splicing of the haul rope to create a continuous loop, which took place August 29 and 30. The splice was 68 metres/220 feet long, and took a crew of 14 people over 15 hours to complete. Norm Duke, a FATZER AG certified splicer from Wyoming, lead the team of seven Whistler Blackcomb employees and six Doppelmayr/Garaventa employees to complete the job. Duke has spliced many of Whistler Blackcomb’s FATZER AG ropes and spliced the Symphony Express rope in 2006. The splice was achieved by untwining strands from each end of the steel cable and then re-braiding them together to ensure a perfect bind that maintains the haul rope’s diameter of 46mm.
Doppelmayr’s unique 3S gondola technology has each cabin traveling along two 56mm track ropes which bear the weight of the Sky Cabins, with the haul rope pulling in the middle of the two tracks. The haul rope was the only splice needed for the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola since the track ropes are stationary and do not loop from Blackcomb to Whistler.
The terminal buildings are nearing completion with cladding installation in the final stages and station set-up taking place. Construction progress of the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola is captured daily via webcams, and weekly via photography and construction blogs on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola microsite at www.whistlerblackcomb.com. The PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola will open in December.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
11 year old snowboarder, Kyle Mack is added to the Infamous team?
British Columbia - September 8, 2008 - Infamous Management is proud to announce the signing of young snowboard phenom, Kyle Mack to a multi-year contract.
Kyle has been a force on the Burton Smalls since his introduction to the team in 2005. As a part of the Smalls crew he has shot, filmed and competed with some of the sports' most influential riders, photographers and videographers. Recently Kyle was featured in two back to back issues of Snowboarder Magazine, a feat for snowboarders twice his age. With his career on the upswing Kyle's parents sought honest representation for their son, and found it in Infamous Management.
"I'm looking forward to being part of the Infamous crew! It's going to be great working with Roberta and getting to meet the other team riders. My sponsors believe that this is a great step in my career, and I just keep thinking that I'm only 11, what is a career? I'm just having a great time shredding. But seriously, I do believe that being part of this crew is going to be an awesome experience all around, both personally and professionally." -Kyle Mack
At just eleven years old Kyle has begun to make his mark in the snowboard industry because of his raw talent and good style. Infamous has taken note of Kyle's athletic ability and achievements, and wants to provide him with direction as he makes the first and most vital decisions in his snowboard career. Infamous will ensure that he becomes a well-rounded and highly marketable athlete, and that his snowboarding will continue to stand out among his peers.
"In an era where there are more followers than leaders Kyle stands out, not just with his talent and style, but also with his knowledge and passion for snowboarding. Kyle knows what a real pro snowboarder is and doesn't let the mainstream market dictate that to him. He respects the riders that are doing real tricks and pushing the sport. In the near future Kyle will be the one setting the standard, I have no doubt about that. He has talent, maturity, and passion, plus the support of a loving family behind him. With the added support of Infamous and our athletes he will succeed." -Roberta Rodger
Kyle's ultimate goal is to become one of the best snowboarders in the world, which is why he wants to develop experiences in heli-boarding, the backcountry and at rail events. Not to mention he would like to have continuing success in halfpipe and slopestyle competitions.
About Infamous
Infamous Management Inc. represents only the best athletes in the action sports industry. Our riders are professional, talented and highly marketable. IMI believes there is a balance between the rider and the company and that by working together they can profit equally from each other. At IMI we want to work with the companies as much as the riders to maximize marketing potential of both the athlete and the company. Roberta Rodger 's vast knowledge and experience in the action sports industry helps IMI's athletes reach their full potential in the market. "I believe that, with us, an athlete can grow, have a successful and lucrative career, and still maintain our ethical guidelines which are: loyalty, respect, trust, integrity and of course true love and dedication to improving their sport and their talents. The Infamous crew is JP Walker, Seth Huot, Chris Haslam, Simon Chamberlain, Stevie Bell, Leilani Gryde, Spencer O'Brien, Stian Solberg, Meghann O'Brien and Joe Sexton. For updates and profiles on our athletes check out both our website: http://www.infamousmanagementinc.com and myspace page http://www.myspace.com/infamousmgmt
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Overcome the elements with UV activated X-Ray stealth
Westbeach is proud to introduce the industry’s first UV-responsive jacket. The YVR’s discreet white design features a default suitcase print; as UV exposure ncreases, so does the visible contraband in the suitcase. Just like the variety of planes that pass through Vancouver’s International Airport, the YVR is available in a wide array of sizes, from S -XXL. Westbeach does not condone the use of contraband substances… unless it’s maple syrup.
Westbeach exclusive custom UV reactive print
RPL pocket = cell radiation reduction
Classic pocket package: Music, goggle, cell and key clip pockets
Pit Zips with mesh lining
Passholder pocket.
Fixed waist gator with GCS
Peripheral hood adjustment
Inner lycra cuffs with thumbhole
Hem adjustors in front pockets
Westbeach Peak to Creek Thermostat Jacket
Westbeach Introduces Temperature-Regulating Jacket
Named after the legendary Peak to Creek run which stretches 7 km from mountaintop to valley floor, the Peak to Creek is our highest performance jacket, boasting built-in climate control. The shell is comprised of C-Change, a revolutionary fabric from Schoeller, which reacts to body heat, becoming more breathable when you sweat, or sealing in warmth when it’s cool. Tested and triumphant at Whistler, this jacket will deliver optimal comfort anywhere you ride, important when you start in knee deep pow, come down through a fog band and end up in rain—four times in one day.
RPL pocket
Classic pocket package: Music, goggle, cell and key clip pockets
Pit zips with mesh lining
Passholder pocket
Fixed waist gaiter with GCS
Fixed hood
Peripheral hood adjustment
Inner lycra cuffs with thumbhole
Hem adjustors in front pockets.
Laser cut waterproof zips on cuff and left chest
“Blow Me” Whistle
RPL pocket – cell radiation reduction lining
Safety whistle to make noise
Fixed powder skirts
GCS – gaiter connection system
Fixed hoods.
Inner lycra cuff with thumbhole
Classic Series inner pocket package: RPL, mesh goggle, cell phone, music pocket with key clip
New and improved peripheral hood adjusts
Pitt zips with mesh lining
Hand warmer pockets
New and improved hem adjusts through front
Mesh lining
Friday, September 05, 2008
Sound the didgeridoos, the 2008 Burton Australian Open has come to a close and Torstein Horgmo (NOR) and Jamie Anderson (USA) have come out on top, winning the men’s and women’s slopestyle competition today at Perisher Blue Resort. After a week of dodgy weather, the sun broke through this morning, illuminating the 400m long slopestyle course that featured a downrail, battleship rail and three massive kickers.
With a field comprised of an Olympic gold medalist, the men’s and women’s New Zealand Open slopestyle winners, two TTR World Champions, six Winter X-Games medalists and some of Australia’s best, the day promised some serious riding and it didn’t disappoint. While the standard was high in both the men’s and the women’s fields, both winners were stand outs with Torstein Horgmo nearly ten points clear of Danny Davis (USA) and Jamie Anderson an impressive 15 points clear of her nearest rival, Raewyn Reid (CAN).
Horgmo’s $7,500 AUD winning run featured a fakie backside tail 270 on the downrail, into a switch 50/50 Cab 180 on the battleship, followed by a backside 720 melon, into a frontside 900 indy, finishing with a ridiculously big switch backside 1260 melon. “I feel really good right now,” said Torstein. “It’s crazy, I thought this course was so much fun, better than last year; you could do bigger tricks and have way more flow through the park. Everybody killed it today so I feel really fortunate to end up on top.”
Danny Davis landed 2nd place with a run that included back-to-back 900’s, riding away with $3,500 AUD. Eric Willet (USA) took home $1,500 AUD for his 3rd place finish, his winning run featured a switch backside 900 mute and frontside 1080 tailgrab.
Women’s slopestyle champion Jamie Anderson continued to be unstoppable in her pursuit for perfection with another podium win. She started her winning run with a tailpress on the downrail, followed by a noseslide-to-fakie on the battleship, sticking a switch backside 360 stalefish on the first kicker, into a Cab 540 mute on the second, finishing with an frontside 540 melon. “I am so stoked to win, it was a really fun day and we had great weather,” said Anderson. “The other girls were sweet; everyone was riding so well, it was an awesome day.”
Raewyn Reid had an impressive showing for the ladies with a backside lipslide on the downrail and a 50/50 frontside boardslide on the battleship, taking home 2nd place and $3,500 AUD. Kara Rennie (CAN) won $1,500 AUD and the third place title by styling it out on the rails with a backside lipslide and 50/50 to boardslide.
With the Burton Australian Open over, it’s on to the Canadian Open, taking place at CODA’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary from December 1-7, 2008. The Canadian Open is the third stop on the 2008-2009 Burton Global Open Series. Jamie Anderson and Luke Mitrani are currently in the lead for the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series Championship title. The BGOS boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in snowboarding – over $900,000 – with equal prize money to men and women
After today’s Swatch TTR 5Star slopestyle event, Jamie Anderson continues to defend her 2007/08 TTR World Tour Champion title, while Chas Guldemond maintains his tour lead. For more information, visit www.ttrworldtour.com.
RESULTS
1 Torstein Horgmo NOR DC 90.33 $7,500
2 Danny Davis USA BURTON 81.50 $3,000
3 Eric Willett USA VANS 79.50 $1,500
4 Chas Guldemond USA DC 79.00 $700
5 Kevin Pearce USA BURTON 78.00 $350
6 Mason Aguirre USA BURTON 77.67 $175
1 Jamie Anderson USA BILLABONG 96.17 $7,500
2 Raewyn Reid CAN DC 80.50 $3,500
3 Kara Rennie CAN NIKITA 63.83 $1,500
For those that missed the live webcasts on Go211.com, highlights of the winning runs and the complete webcasts will be available for on-demand viewing. In addition, the full webcasts will be replayed in their entirety on www.Go211.com at the following times:
For US and European Time Zones
Tuesday, September 9
Halfpipe semifinals and finals webcast REPLAY 11:00am EST/8:00amPST/17:00CET
Wednesday, September 10
Slopestyle semifinals and finals webcast REPLAY 11:00am EST/8:00amPST/17:00CET
For Australian and Japanese Time Zones
Wednesday, September 10
Halfpipe semifinals and finals webcast REPLAY 10:00amAU/9:00amJPN
Thursday, September 11
Slopestyle semifinals and finals webcast REPLAY 10:00amAU/9:00amJPN
Burton would like to thank Go211.com, Corona, APN, Perisher Blue and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Australian Open.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
VBS and Burton have partnered up to create Powder & Rails... History lesson of how snowboarding came to be...
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Omatic has picked up Michael Casanova.
If you haven't heard of Casanova before, here is a quick fact about the guy. He really really likes to throw his board down on metal. Any kind of metal and he's really good at it. This past year he's been filming with the pirates and you can watch his part in their latest release 'overseas' http://www.pirate-movie-production.com/movies/overseas
and...
Sessons Canada has picked up E-Man Anderson. You might remember him from being in our Snowboard.com news for his success at the Showdown over the city in Vancouver in April where he won the riders choice award.
Congrats to both riders, make sure to slap them some love next time you see them.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
The land down under was taken over today as crowds flocked to watch the final men’s and women’s halfpipe competition at Perisher Blue Resort. Always a crowd favorite, the halfpipe finals were not to be missed as a field of impressive names threw down runs that were equally as impressive.
The men were first to drop and it was Mason Aguirre who showed strength early on with the highest first run score of 92.83. Fellow FREND Luke Mitrani topped Aguirre’s score with his second run that consisted of a frontside 900 tailgrab, followed by a backside Japan air, into a frontside 720 indy, finishing with a switch double backflip, the likes of which have never been seen at a halfpipe competition in Australia.
Not to be outdone, Aguirre rose to the challenge with a run that started with a Cab 1080 mute, followed by a frontside 900 melon, into a backside rodeo 540 indy, finishing with an alley-oop backside rodeo 720 indy, earning him the win and $7,500 AUD with a margin of less than one point. Aguirre had this to say of his win, “It was tough. Luke made me work for it but it was so much fun riding with the crew. The pipe held up really well and I’m stoked to win here in Oz.”
Mitrani held on to 2nd place and rode away with a big check for $3,500 AUD. Markus Malin, who landed 2nd place in New Zealand at the Burton Open last month, took home another podium win for Finland with 3rd place and $1,500 AUD.
In the women’s competition, Olympic gold medalist, Hannah Teter took the lead early on, with a technical run that combined back-to-back 540’s, into a 360 indy, followed by a Cab 720, finishing with a melon to fakie. “The pipe was really fun, everyone was riding super good considering the snow was a little slow,” said Teter of her win. “It was really motivating watching the guys and the girls throw down their tricks.”
Giving Teter a run for the money was Paulina Ligocka out of Poland, who has not competed in nearly a year due to injury. Ligocka showed no signs of struggle as she stuck a 720 on the first hit and landed a McTwist in her highest scoring run, taking home 2nd place and $3,500 AUD. New Zealand Open halfpipe champion Jamie Anderson won $1,500 AUD and the third place title. Anderson, the back-to-back X-Games slopestyle gold medalist and winner of the slopestyle competition at the New Zealand Open last month will take on her competitors tomorrow during slopestyle finals.
Luke Mitrani and Jamie Anderson are currently in the lead for the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series Championship title. After today’s Swatch TTR 5Star halfpipe event, Hannah Teter jumped 134 ranks into World No. 21, her highest rank ever. Jamie Anderson stays in World No. 1 as well as Chas Guldemond. Luke Mitrani and Stephan Maurer both entered into the Swatch TTR Top 5.
1 Mason Aguirre USA BURTON 94.17 $7,500
2 Luke Mitrani USA BURTON 93.50 $3,000
3 Markus Malin FIN BONFIRE 85.17 $1,500
4 Kevin Pearce USA BURTON 80.17 $700
5 Chas Guldemond USA DC 77.67 $350
6 Danny Davis USA BURTON 75.83 $175
1 Hannah Teter USA BURTON 91.67 $7,500
2 Paulina Ligocka POL BURTON 82.17 $3,000
3 Jamie Anderson USA BILLABONG 64.00 $1,500
The Burton Australian Open continues tomorrow with the men’s and women’s slopestyle semis and finals. For more information visit www.opensnowboarding.com. If you can’t make it to Australia, watch the semi-finals and finals live on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event is over.
Burton would like to thank Go211.com, Corona, APN, Perisher Blue and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Australian Open.
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Published by snowboard.com: 10:12 AM
Updated On: 9/4/2008 at 10:13 AM
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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Heavy snow resulting in poor visibility tested competitors today during men’s and women’s slopestyle qualifications at Perisher Blue Resort. Riders from all over the world took on the inclement weather during day three of the Burton Australian Open to earn a place in Friday’s slopestyle finals, alongside some of the world’s best snowboarders including Mikkel Bang, Chas Guldemond, Torstein Horgmo, Mason Aguirre, Kimmy Fasani and Jamie Anderson.
The slopestyle course challenged riders with a variety of features including a down rail, battleship rail, three kickers and a wall ride. Top men’s qualifier, Eric Willett (USA) landed a solid run that started off a front lipslide 270 out on the down rail, followed by a 50/50 gap to front 180, 50/50 out on the battleship, into a switch backside 540 mute, followed by backside 720 melon, finishing with a frontside 900 tailgrab.
“Practice was nice yesterday, but the new snow today made the course really slow. It was definitely a challenge, but it was super fun, the course is really nice and the jumps were well built, said Eric Willett. “Speed was kind of an issue but hopefully it won’t be too bad for Friday’s finals.”
Joining Willett in Friday’s slopestyle finals are Jaako Ruha (FIN), Halldor Helgason (ICE), Andreas Monsberger (AUT) and Markus Malin (FIN), in addition to fellow American, Sage Kotsenburg, who placed first in yesterday’s halfpipe qualifications.
1 Eric Willett USA VANS 69.33
2 Jaakko Ruha FIN KISSMARK 66.00
3 Halldor Helgason ICE DC 64.83
4 Markus Malin FIN BONFIRE 64.00
5 Sage Kotsenburg USA QUIKSILVER 62.83
6 Andreas Monsberger AUT K2 61.83
Although the snow continued to fall, the ladies braved the elements and took to the course. Kara Rennie out of Canada earned the top spot for the women in slopestyle quals this afternoon with a run that started off with a 50/50 to backside lipslide on the down rail, followed by a huge straight air on the first kicker, followed by a tailgrab, finishing with another straight air. Laurie Currier and Ashley Wendorf, both out of the US will be competing in Friday’s finals against back-to-back slopestyle X-Games gold medalist and New Zealand Open slopestyle winner, Jamie Anderson.
1 Kara Rennie CAN NIKITA 50.67
2 Laurie Currier USA OAKLEY 46.67
3 Ashley Wendorf USA --- 45.83
The Burton Australian Open continues tomorrow with the men’s and women’s halfpipe semis and finals. For more information visit www.opensnowboarding.com. If you can’t make it to Australia, watch the semi-finals and finals live on Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event is over.
Burton would like to thank Go211.com, Corona, APN, Perisher Blue and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Australian Open.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Today saw the second day of the Burton Australian Open go down at Perisher Blue Resort, where men’s and women’s halfpipe qualifications took place. Athletes from all over the world were vying for a coveted spot in Thursday’s semi-finals and a chance to grab a piece of the $50,000 AUD prize purse.
The men were first to drop into the pipe this morning under cloudy skies, where 14 men were boiled down to six. Sage Kotsenburg (USA) took the top spot in men’s halfpipe qualifications by putting down a solid run that started off with a frontside 900 melon into a backside 540 mute, followed by a frontside 720 indy, into a switch frontside 720 mute, finishing with a stylish melon to fakie. Aussies Scotty James, Samuel Murphy and Charlie Steinbacher, in addition to Chris Sörman (POL) and Marco Grilc (SLO) advance on and will be competing against invited riders Mason Aguirre (USA), Danny Davis (USA) and Kevin Pearce (USA), among others.
1 Sage Kotsenburg USA QUIKSILVER 90.00
2 Chris Sörman SWE BURTON 85.17
3 Marko Grilc SLO BURTON 80.17
4 Scott James AUS --- 74.50
5 Samuel Murphy AUS --- 73.67
6 Charlie Steinbacher AUS FORUM 55.67
The women’s field was dominated by Paulina Ligocka (POL) who stuck an extremely strong run, outscoring her nearest competitor by over 20 points. Ligocka, riding in her first competition after an injury set her back last year, proved that she is still a force to be reckoned with. Her second run, which scored her a massive 89.17 points, started off with lofty frontside air, followed by a method air, into a 540 tailgrab, followed by a backside indy, finishing with a 720.
Joining Ligocka will be two Aussies, Erin Tanner and Lauren Staveley who advance on to Thursday’s semis and will take on the likes of NZO halfpipe winner Jamie Anderson (USA) and Olympic gold medalist, Hannah Teter (USA).
“The men and women’s halfpipe qualifiers showed a glimmer of brilliance with the inspired riding of Sage Kotsenburg of the US and young Scott James of Australia leading the way,” said Competition Director, Greg Johnson. “Paulina Ligocka showed that she is back in a big way by locking in the top spot, truly an outstanding effort.”
1 Paulina Ligocka POL BURTON 89.17
2 Erin Tanner AUS BILLABONG 68.33
3 Lauren Staveley AUS --- 47.83
The Burton Australian Open continues tomorrow with the men’s and women’s slopestyle qualifiers. For further information visit www.opensnowboarding.com.
If you can’t make it to Australia, watch the semi-finals and finals live on www.Go211.com, where webcasts and highlights of the competitions will also be available for on-demand viewing once the event is over.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Mammoth Mountain Unbound Terrain Parks Undergo Big Improvements in Preparation for 2008/09 Winter Season
Mammoth Mountain, CA – Although it is Mid-August and there are no signs of snow on the ground, the Unbound Park Crew is as busy as ever preparing for the upcoming season. In keeping with its vision of creating the best terrain parks in the world, Mammoth Mountain has made $750,000 in capital investments including improved grading and expansion of current terrain, new “Adventure Zones,” enhanced snowmaking and two brand-new Piston Bully 400 Park Bully Snowcats.
Leading off the improvements for the upcoming season is the massive amount of grading and shaping being done to enhance the existing terrain in Unbound Main. 25,000 cubic yards of dirt are being moved which doubles the useable area of Thunder Road, the site of Lower Unbound Main Park. With the addition of this new terrain, the Unbound Park Crew will have more freedom than ever to create the best jump and jib setups possible.
Another big change for the upcoming season is the enhanced snowmaking capabilities for the Superpipe and Unbound Main Terrain Park. Instead of simply adding new water and air pipes into the ground, Mammoth Mountain decided to recycle underutilized snowmaking systems that were already in place to create a more efficient layout. “We thought it was more environmentally friendly to rearrange what we already had with better placement and layout, rather than putting more metal in the ground,” said Oren Tanzer, Director of Youth Action Sports Marketing at Mammoth Mountain. “This will allow us to have the best selection of features and an earlier opening of Mammoth’s world-famous Superpipe.”
Mammoth Mountain prides itself on offering terrain parks for every level of rider to allow for smooth progression from beginners to seasoned professionals. With this in mind, Mammoth Mountain is excited to announce the addition of four new “Adventure Zones” to complement their Family Fun Parks. These new runs will be fun tracks built into the trees featuring a variety of berms, rollers and small bumps. “For years, the Ski and Snowboard School and Race Team kids have been exploring these ‘secret spots.’ We just decided to share these well kept secrets with all our guests in the hope that everyone will have more fun,” said Finlay Torrence, Director of Eagle Lodge Ski and Snowboard School at Mammoth Mountain. “Adventure Zones” will be located near Disco Park, Forest Trail Park, Wonderland Park and Eagle Express Lift.
Rounding out the list of major improvements for the Unbound Terrain Parks will be the addition of multiple new jibs for the 2008/09 season, some of which are signature features for Vans and Dragons to complement the popular 2007/08 Quiksilver signature jib – a large skate-inspired pyramid made of 100% steel and coated in clear Lexan plastic. Mammoth Mountain is consistently ranked as having some of the best terrain parks in the world by multiple industry publications and these new additions reinforce the commitment Mammoth Mountain puts into its world-famous Unbound Terrain Parks year after year.
The Mammoth Mountain Unbound Terrain Parks lead the industry in innovation and quality with seven parks, three pipes, 65+ jibs and 50+ jumps on 90 acres of California’s favorite mountain resort. Using state-of-the-art equipment to provide a progressive environment for all levels, from beginners to a team of 13 professional athletes, the Unbound earns consistent ratings among the top parks of the world. For more information on the Unbound and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, visit mammothunbound.wordpress.com or call 800.MAMMOTH.
Monday, September 01, 2008
September is always the start for North America to start thinking about the winter season. San Diego, being a place that has amazing surf, beaches, babes and tan lines also is the first place that we get to see this years new winter fashions.
Agenda San Diego is celebrating their 5th Annivrsary this year. The show is held at the San Diego Community Concourse, downtown San Diego.
Doors open 10am thursday september 4th and close Saturday September 6th at 6pm. Come check out the lastest fashions.
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