Nicolas Meuller, BEO 2002 © Curtes
Riders from all over the world will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Burton European Open (BEO) from January 9-16 in LAAX, Switzerland. Here’s a look back at ten years of one of the best snowboard competitions in the world.

• Since the first event in 1999, the BEO has taken place at four different resorts in three countries. The BEO started in the Innsbruck area in Austria, then travelled a bit east to Fieberbrunn, Austria, on to Livigno, Italy and found its current home in 2005 at Laax, Switzerland.
  
• In ten years, 64 BEO titles have been awarded to 45 different riders from around the globe. Canadian Natasza Zurek can claim more BEO first place titles than anyone else, as she won the BEO four times, including the halfpipe event at the very first BEO in 1999, the 2003 halfpipe competition in Livigno and slopestyle wins at the 2005 and 2006 BEO in Laax. Americans Ben Watts and Luke Mitrani both have three BEO Junior titles.
  
• The Junior events, one of the key elements of the BEO, showcase tomorrow’s stars. Since the third BEO, young and upcoming riders have surprised many people year-after-year with their outstanding skills and success stories. Peetu Piiroinen, the 2008 Burton Global Open Series Champion, impressed judges in several BEO Junior competitions before he became the top pro he is today.
  
• Freestyle snowboarding dominates the BEO. The 2001 BEO in Fieberbrunn was the only exception when alpine snowboarders took part as well. Since then, the focus has purely been on progressing freestyle events at the BEO.

Peetu Piiroinen, BEO 2006 ©Laemmerhirt

Current World Rankings Top 10 Men 1. Peetu Piiroinen 963.81 2. Iouri Podladtchikov 880.24 3. Markus Malin 779.38 4. Gjermund Braaten 760.37 5. Janne Korpi 756.57 6. Stale Sandbech 746.56 7. Marko Grilc 746.27 8. Roope Tonteri 737.69 9. Christian Haller 734.52 10. Mikkel Bang 732.55 Top 5 Women 1. Enni Rukajärvi 841.39 2. Sina Candrian 840.58 3. Lisa Wiik 819.97 4. Sarka Pancochova 813.63 5. Cilka Sadar 741.50

Current UK Rankings Top 10 UK Men 1. 31. Jamie Nicholls 513.82 2. 120. Lewis Courtier-Jones 269.13 3. 147. Dan Wakeham 240.07 4. 151. Jack Shackleton 236.72 5. 233. Cody Hierons 176.78 6. 244. Richard Hooks 173.02 7. 282. Rowan Coultas 159.59 8. 287. Gary Greenshields 158.06 9. 301. Jake Terry 149.56 10. 303. Andy Nudds 149.33 Top 10 UK Women 1. 14. Aimee Fuller 531.78 2. 38. Claire Frost 378.11 3. 47. Lesley Mckenna 339.77 4. 95. Katie Ormerod 260.82 5. 115. Samantha Rogers 216.09 6. 125. Lynsey Ashdown 192.04 7. 138. Nathalie Silkstone 177.30 8. 171. Sophie Nicholls 154.38 9. 195. Gilly Seagrave 134.02 10. 196. Kathryn Miller 133.71