Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour News

This season saw the British Snow Tour being updated to be able to include all UK freeski and snowboard events in a similar concept to the World Snowboard and Association of Freeskiing Professionals tours. Events are awarded a star ranking based on the environment and number of competitors, with the best 4 results from the season being averaged to give riders their national ranking.

This season has started to see more coming on board with the system and with the new wave of events happening around the country there is plenty scope for more to get involved. To help support the local events then there is no charge for event organisers for up to two 1 Star events a year.

Every event is free to choose their own age categories, but for consistency through the system then the categories of U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 and Open have been adopted. A rider's age on the 31st December of the competition calendar year is used to determine their category for the season. The calendar year runs from the 1st May until the 30th April to include all the artificial slope events in preparation for the upcoming snow season.

The rankings is administered by Snowsport Scotland on behalf of the British freestyle community and all interested event organisers should contact Neil at Snowsport Scotland for more information and to register events for the 2013/14 season.

The full rankings can be found on the Snowsport Scotland website.

British Men's Snowboard Rankings (PDF)
British Women's Snowboard Rankings (PDF)

Saturday night saw the largest crowds of the week with the heart of Whistler village packed for the final event of the Monster Energy Shred Show: Snowboard Big Air.

Of the ten men who qualified for the finals earlier in the night, it was Canada’s Maxence Parrot who took the win with an impressive 96.50 for a near perfect backside Triple Cork 1440 Mute grab; and will be going home with $15000. Parrot who also placed 5th in Friday’s 5Star Slopestyle contest commented on his winning trick, “I was really surprised to stomp the triple the first try, I brought it around very fast but it was difficult.” said Parrot, “I am only use to doing it on a lot bigger jumps than this one.” He added. Parrot won a silver medal in Slopestyle at the 6Star X Games Aspen this past January as well as taking first place at the O’Neill Evolution Big Air the week before.



Standing next to Parrot on the podium was Kim Rune Hansen from Norway who executed an impressive switch backside double cork 1260 mute grab on his second run that scored a 93.25. Hansen took 3rd place at Austria’s 5Star Spring Battle last month. Rounding off the podium was Justin Morgan from the USA. Morgan scored a 90.25 for a switch backside double cork 1260 stalefish.

The 5Star Monster Energy Shred Show has come to and end and we look forward to seeing the sponsors, athletes and crowds in Whistler this time next year for what will surely be another spectacular showing of snowboarding talent.

Kim Rune Hansen: “The event was super sick this year and the jump was super nice, conditions were great, a little rain the speed was still consistent so everything was good.”

Justin Morgan: “I thought the jump was perfect, it was such a good jump for progression, all night everyone was having fun, I was having fun, it could not have been better. I got to say, I look forward to this event every year because this event is so big, the jumps are huge and the riders are so much fun to ride with, I love it.”

Maxence Parrot: “I think the event is great, Big Air is always a show, there is a good crowd, the music is right there which is pretty insane. The crowd is pretty nuts, they’re screaming, that is what makes the contest really fun. Big Air is always fun because you only have one hit so its all in, you give all you have. This being a 5Star event really gets all the pro riders here evolving the contest and making it harder, for me whistler is the best place ever, maybe in Canada.”

1. Maxence Parrot 96.50
2. Kim Rune Hansen 85.75
3. Justin Morgan 90.25
4. Sage Kotsenburg 87.00
5. Matts Kulisek 80.25
6. Carlos Gerber 79.25
7. Emil Ulsletten 77.00
8. Darcy Sharpe 62.50
9. Eric Willett 23.25
10. Nicholas Julius 12.75

To follow the World Snowboard Tour 2013-2014 season visit: www.worldsnowboardtour.com

Friday marked the wrap up of the Monster Energy Shred Show Slopestyle, the first Canadian 5Star World Snowboard Tour event of the 2013-2014 season. Weather made it difficult for riders to fully utilize the massive Slopestyle course located in the Blackcomb terrain park. As the day went on, the weather cleared up enough for riders to throw down some impressive runs to try and claim the $15000 top prize.

With an 84.50 it was Norway’s Emil Ulsletten who was atop the podium. His run consisted of a blunt 270 on the down rail, 50/50 frontside 360 with a tuck knee grab on the step down, a frontside double 10 on the first kicker, a backside 360, and a back 9 to cab double 9 on the last feature. Ulsletten Qualified in 10th place with a 68.8; just sneaking into the finals.

In second was Eric Willett from the USA with an 83.33. Willett’s run consisted of a front 270 on the down rail, a boardslide front 270 on the Pole, a front double 10 to front board to fakie out on the rail, and a switch- back 9 to back 7 on the last jump.
Willett won the 6Star Billabong Air & Style Innsbruck earlier this season.

Tyler Nicholson from Ontario, Canada was able to round off the podium. He did a Gap front board on the down flat down, a nose tail 450 off, a cab double 10 on the first jump, a switch tail 450 on the up rail. On the second jump he did a back 10 double to a front 10 on the last jump. His run scored him a 78.33.

The Snowboarding Action will continue tomorrow night in the heart of the village with the Monster Energy Shred Show Big Air. Accompanied with live music on the main stage, this event will no doubt have the largest crowd of the festival. Make sure to watch the live scoring at http://live.eim-solutions.com/mss2013



Emil Ulsletten: “The jumps and rails were really, really good, but the weather made it tough to complete a whole run, it was really fun. I am really really happy! This year has not been the best for me for contests, I needed this one!”

Eric Willett: “The Slopestyle course was good, we definitely had to deal with some interesting weather all day but it worked out, finals turned out really good, it was a bit slushy but that’s that springtime is all about. I am stoked on my run and am glad I ended up on the podium. “

Tyler Nicholson: “This slope contest is by far the best I have ever entered, just because of the organization was so good, it was more based on what the rider’s wanted, they were willing to switch it up if we didn’t like it. The course is just unreal, the jumps were so good and the rails were Gnarly.”


RESULTS:
1. Emil Ulsletten 84.50
2. Eric Willett 83.33
3. Tyler Nicholson 78.33
4. Spencer Link 73.50
5. Maxence Parrot 72.50
6. Eric Beauchemin 66.83
7. Brett Moody 58.83
8. Jeremy Thompson 46.33
9. Jon Versteeg 37.17
10. Charles Reid 15.00

To follow the World Snowboard Tour 2013-2014 season visit: www.worldsnowboardtour.com

The BRITS 2013 showed Tignes a week to remember with record-breaking crowds, a sprinkling of celebrity freestylers, more parties than you can shake a stick at and of course a huge helping of irreverent après ski. As a weeklong party on snow with a discounted price tag, it’s no surprise The BRITS is fast becoming the winter festival of choice for a thousand happy campers… Roll on 2014.

Moving from the small hillside town of Laax in Switzerland, the Brits packed its bags and swapped the schnitzel for fondue to set up home in one of Europe’s most popular resorts; Tignes, France. With a huge selection of bars and clubs and an extensive ski area, Tignes proved to be the perfect move to offer BRITS wristband holders the best a winter holiday has to offer.

By day, festival goers hit the 350-kms of the Espace Killy while the British Championships showcased some of the UK's world class talent. Team GB riders Ben Kilner, Aimee Fuller, Billy Morgan, Katie Ormerod and Murray Buchan, were joined by 100 UK hopefuls for five days of competition across the three Olympic disciplines of Protest Slopestyle, Dare 2b Halfpipe & Trespass Cross, as well as the brand new rail event, Bangers & Cash.

Easing revellers in to the night Skullcandy were on hand to provide the beats for the most cherished of beverages, the apres beer. With daily DJ sets from the BRITS residents, a Reggae BBQ, The Whitelines Rail Jam and the BRITS Air Time Team Challenge, festival goers barely had time to re-fuel and brace themselves for the night’s shenanigans.

With a demo village packed with some of the top hardware brands wristband holders had all the latest kit at their disposal for the ultimate in “try before you buy”, while UK ski and snowboard wax company Butta were on-hand offering free waxing to keep skis and snowboards in top notch condition throughout the week.



Proving they are anything but lazy, seven piece live hip hop band Lazy Habits kicked the week off in style, storming the first of what was quickly to become a week of hedonistic parties. Hailed as the “the most entertaining hip hop band in the country” Lazy Habits captivating on-stage energy kept the four hundred strong crowd buzzing well in to the early hours.


Lazy Habits

For all the exhibitionists out there the infamous BRITS fancy dress party rolled back the years for a night of memory jerking dance floor anthems with a show stopping spectacle from live six piece band Club Classics. With a 100% live line-up that could fool even the most educated of ears the Protest ‘Back to the 90s’ party saw everything from the Spice Girls (all men!), to some remarkably convincing 90s throw-backs running to the dance floor for a rendition of ‘You Got the Love’ that was good enough to fool you in to thinking perms were back in and Vanilla Ice was a break-through act!


Club Classics

With remnants of fluoro paint still evident on faces it was time to shake off the fatigue and head up to a giddy 3400 meters via an underground train to a stunning mountain top location to witness the party DJs The Nextmen weave their way across four turntables and two time MOTY (mix of the year) winner DJ Irk churn out tune after banging tune, whipping over 600 festival goers in to a sweaty mosh pit frenzy. Surrounded by towering mountain peaks the turntable dream team bought their unique blend of dancehall, drum’n’bass, dubstep, hip hop and soul to one to the most unique venues in BRITS history for a night that had the rapturous crowd begging for ‘one more tune’!


The Nextmen

To secure your place at next year’s number one winter festival keep your eyes on the official BRITS website for more information and ticket sales. Check out all the latest webcasts and images via our website or the official BRITS Facebook page...
www.the-brits.com
www.facebook.com/britsfestival

Check out all the videos at www.the-brits.com/latest/video

See you in 2014!

The BRITS would not have been possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

For competitive snowboarding, 2013 has been a year for reminiscing and good times; from legends’ sessions at O’Neill Evolution and the historical 20th Anniversary of Air&Style, to a genuine retro look and feel etched all over the Burton European and US Open. We also saw legends like Gian Simmen saying goodbye to the competition scene and moving on to new chapters in their lives.

Why have we felt so nostalgic this season? It might have something to do with the insane amount of progression the sport is currently witnessing; but we would like to stop for a minute, catch our breath and take five from concerning ourselves with the future and dive deeper into the marvellous tale of snowboarding.

It’s a rich narrative, filled with some illustrious characters, such as Tom Sims and Jake Burton who wrote and starred on the first pages. It moves on, with adventurers and immortal heroes like Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen and Shaun White. And the story does not end there…

The British Dare 2b Snowboard Halfpipe final drew the curtain on the first ever BRITS Championships in Tignes. GB Olympic hope Ben Kilner (24, Aberdeen) and budding talent Katie Ormerod (15, Brighouse) took home gold medals despite facing a stiff field of competition.

Tignes’ monstrous 22-foot superpipe played home to the X Games and the finest pipe riders in the world last week but today it was time for the best of British. Even though weather conditions made things harder than usual for competitors, with snow clogging up the transitions of the pipe, a solid level of snowboarding was on show. The contest threw up an array of awe-inspiring tricks including, McTwists, Haakon Flips and a bunch of 5s and 7s.


Ben Kilner

Ben Kilner showed just why he is on course for next year’s Olympics in Sochi with huge amplitude out of the pipe, killing both qualification and the finals. His winning run was simply bolts, going huge off the first hit and continuing with a legit frontside 7, followed by an effortless Haakon flip, a nice backside 9 and finishing his run with a backside 5. Chasing hot on his heels was Dan Wakeham (31, Plymouth) with a very impressive qualification run and claiming silver with a huge method straight off the bat, followed up by a Crippler and a McTwist. Last year’s champ Henry Shackleton (18, Thatcham) picked up bronze this year with front and backside 5s, a front 7 and finishing off with a steezy seatbelt grab.

Ben’s been in hard training for next year’s Olympics, and was over the moon with his win today: “I’m feeling good and it’s good to be back. I’ve missed the last two BRITS as I separated my shoulder so I’m glad to come back, win it and get the title again. I’ve just come from a world cup in Spain so it was a bit hit and miss as to whether I would be able to make the BRITS but I’m here and it’s great to ride with these guys.”

Once again, the girls upped their game this year and the amplitude being shown out of the pipe by some was a sight for sore eyes. Katie Ormerod won with a styley frontside 5 and generally rode bigger and smoother than the rest of the competition. Kate Foster (27, Haywards Heath) is no stranger to the pipe and just missed out on gold. Unfortunately for Foster she had a much better qualification round than in the final, as both her and Ormerod had similar runs with Ormerod keeping it together in the final. Taking bronze was Nathalie Silkstone (16, Belper) showing a neat technical run displaying all grabs; indie, method, stale, nose and tail with a frontside 5 thrown in for good measure.


Katie Ormerod

Katie’s who is one of the most improved snowboarders on the British circuit was stoked out on her win: “I’m really, really happy that I won today. I was nervous at first because I haven’t ridden a full size pipe since the last BRITS but I was really excited for it as well. I’m really surprised I beat Kate Foster as she’s such a great pipe rider. I’m just so happy.”

Tignes has been a fantastic host to the BRITS, and despite snowy weather conditions for a large part of the week, a star-studded field impressed crowds and showed what a force Britain is becoming in freestyle snowboarding. Best of luck to all riders bidding to qualify for the Olympics, and we’ll see you in Tignes next year.

British Dare 2b Snowboard Halfpipe Championships Results

Men
1st – Ben Kilner
2nd – Dan Wakeham
3rd – Henry Shackleton


Women
1st – Katie Ormerod
2nd – Kate Foster
3rd – Nathalie Silkstone

Don’t forget to check out the BRITS 2013 daily webcasts and picture galleries at www.the-brits.com, where you will be able to check out the Snowboard and Freeski action from the previous day’s competition.

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

The Protest British Snowboard Slopestyle Championships went ahead despite the snowstorm that battered the Tignes snow park today. Sam Turnbull (22, Yorkshire) and Katie Blundell (28, Devon) both took home gold in a contest throwing up both super stylish and technical tricks which let the blizzard-hit crowd forget just how wet they were.

The original format of the slopestyle course was made up of four kickers and a rail section, but due to the horrendous visibility and snow conditions event organisers made the decision to move the contest to the bottom kicker with two rail sections below.

With snowboard slopestyle making its Olympic debut next year, all eyes were on today’s event as spectators looked on at the talent that will be on show in Sochi. GB athletes riding the competition included Tomski Robinson (12, Manchester), Sam Turnbull and Jamie Trinder (18, Perth).


Sam Turnbull

Turnbull rode to victory with an emphatic run, stomping a ridiculous backside 9, switching up on the first rail and riding 50-50 to front 3 out of the second rail. New kid on the block George Scott (17, Tonbridge), a fella spending the season in Mayrhofen picked up silver with a stylish backside 7 and the steeziest back nose of the day, landing halfway down the second down rail. In third place was Monday’s Bangers & Cash event winner, Andy “The Captain” Nudds (25, Halifax) showing off an effortless frontside 7 and in a previous run slammed down an incredible front lip Danish.

Sam Turnbull entered the comp last minute, but was definitely stoked on his decision. “I didn’t really expect to take the win. I turned up pretty late last night from Sierra Nevada where I was competing at the World Cup, entered the slopestyle and won it! I think going big got me the win. I overshot one of the jumps but stomped it and I think that might have won it for me.”

Silver medallist from Tuesday’s Bangers & Cash Rail Jam, Katie Blundell showed just how her jet-setting across the Atlantic has paid off, picking up first place. Katie rode the course faster than any other girl, stomped a back 3 and owned a back nose on the final down rail. Natalie Silkstone (16, Derby) impressed all day and came second with a backside 3, while Tignes local Kate Wood (29, Derby) jumped on the podium with the only girl’s frontside 360 of the day.


Katie Blundell

Katie Blundell, coined the ‘nicest person in British snowboarding’ by MC Scott Penman, had this to say on her victory. “I’m really, really happy. I’m not sure what clinched it for me, but with the weather being so tricky it was just a matter of staying on my feet and landing things. The course was good though considering, with a really good rail section.”

The riding was incredible, with plenty of other notable mentions. Ben King (36, Lincoln), riding in the Masters section stomped the biggest backside 1 of the day over the kicker, which had both MC’s and the judges clapping their hands to his sheer awesomeness. Young Will Gilmore (10, Northampton) once again represented and showed a lot of promise for a kid half the age of most riders. Rich Jonas (30, Tignes) also returned from his hiatus and showed he’s still got some skills in his old kit bag throwing down 5’s on the kickers and typically rad rail skills.

British Protest Snowboard Slopestyle Championships Results

Men
1st – Sam Turnbull
2nd – George Scott
3rd – Andy Nudds



Women
1st – Katie Blundell
2nd – Natalie Silkstone
3rd – Kate Wood

Don’t forget to check out the BRITS 2013 daily webcasts and picture galleries at www.the-brits.com, where you will be able to check out the Snowboard and Freeski action from the previous day’s competition.

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

The BRITS Bangers & Cash Rail Jam made its debut today in a snowy, windy Tignes. Event organisers created the jam in order to celebrate the high standard of rail shredding talent coming out of the UK at the moment. Heavy hitter Andy Nudds (25, Halifax) picked up a cool £1,000 and an impressive Becky Menday (14, Hemel Hemstead) took home the women’s prize.

This new event was designed to inspire creativity and innovation in a loose ‘jam’ style, and it exceeded all expectations. The UK’s finest rail riders brought their ‘A’ game and made full use of the course. Qualifications took place in the higher rail section of the Tignes snow park with the final taking place on the lower section. Every rider that qualified for the final received £50, but the prize everyone was gunning for was the cold, hard £1,000 cash.


Andy Nudds

Andy Nudds flew in from Finland especially for this event and simply bossed it, landing a switch backside 270 gapping onto the wall ride and blowing minds with his transfer from wall-ride to down rail – which, to most looked impossible. Coming in second was the steezy Lewis Sonvico (23, Morzine) who got the most creative with the setup, landing hardway backside 180’s and one of the scariest tricks in snowboarding; the caveman (boardsliding towards the rail before jumping on) to a variation of boardslides. Jamie ‘upside down’ Trinder (18, Perth) came third stomping a backside rodeo onto the wall-ride. A special mention goes out to little William Gilmore (10, Northampton) who, in the words of judge Colum Mytton was “riding like an adult” with perfect style and landing 270 onto rails.

Nuddsy was stoked on his win. Here’s what he had to say: “I really didn’t expect to win as it is hard to know how everyone else is doing. I thought I did as much as I could though and pulled out all the tricks I wanted to. I think I rode some different lines to the other guys and overall I am really happy with how it went.”

The girls showed up in force and it was Protest rider Becky Menday who took home the bragging rights, gapping onto the wall-ride and 270’ing onto the down rail. Katie Blundell (28, Devon) flew back from the States for this comp, and despite being mega jet-lagged, she busted out a signature tail grab to wall-ride and locked on a legitimate backside 180 onto the bottom down rail to claim second place. Sabrina Burnham (24, Truro) got third spot with some nice switch-ups and front 1’s onto rails.


Becky Menday

Here’s what Becky had to say on her win: “It is amazing, I’m so stoked. There were a lot of boxes but they were actually really good fun and I really enjoyed the course. I love being here in Tignes at the BRITS and can’t wait for the rest of the week.”

This event had everyone seriously stoking, and represented not only how the UK scene wants to ride, but also how good at riding rails us Brits have become thanks to the indoor snow domes and dry slopes across the country.

British Snowboard Championships Bangers & Cash 2013 Rail Jam Results

Men
1st – Andy Nudds
2nd – Lewis Sonvico
3rd – Jamie Trinder


Women
1st – Becky Menday
2nd – Katie Blundell
3rd – Sabrina Burnham
4th – Katie Wood

Don’t forget to check out the BRITS 2012 daily webcasts and picture galleries at www.the-brits.com, where you will be able to check out the Snowboard and Freeski action from the previous day’s competition.

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

For competitive snowboarding, 2013 has been a year for reminiscing and good times; from legends’ sessions at O’Neill Evolution and the historical 20th Anniversary of Air&Style, to a genuine retro look and feel etched all over the Burton European and US Open. We also saw legends like Gian Simmen saying goodbye to the competition scene and moving on to new chapters in their lives.



Why have we felt so nostalgic this season? It might have something to do with the insane amount of progression the sport is currently witnessing; but we would like to stop for a minute, catch our breath and take five from concerning ourselves with the future and dive deeper into the marvellous tale of snowboarding.

It’s a rich narrative, filled with some illustrious characters, such as Tom Sims and Jake Burton who wrote and starred on the first pages. It moves on, with adventurers and immortal heroes like Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen and Shaun White. And the story does not end there…

We're out in Tignes right now and stuck in a hut in the middle of nowhere... Whitelines have done a great job "discussing" how Jamie Nicholls got a whopping 30 points lower than Torstein Horgmo’s run.

whitelines.mpora.com

The 2013 British Snowboarding Championships kicked off in its new French home of Tignes with the Snowboardcross hosted for the 11th time by Trespass. Competitors had to be on their finest form with poor conditions presenting flat light and moderate snowfall, with Maisey Potter (16, Llandudno) and Snowboardcross legend James Foster (32, Redhill) claiming the overall titles for men and women.

The weather made for a difficult day and resulted in competitors having one qualification run instead of two. Still, the crowd turned out in force and there was strong support for all age categories. James Foster rode strongly all day and never looked in doubt of regaining his title with Ross Taylor (25, England) taking second and Kyle Wise (23, Edinburgh) claiming third. Last year’s male champion, Thomas Bankes (22, London) qualified with the fastest time of the day but failed to make the podium. Tomski Robinson (11, Manchester) raced aggressively all day but was pipped at the post in the kid’s men’s final by Kelean Venning (11) who took the title. There was also an impressive showing by nine year-old Koby Cook (9, South Yorkshire) who placed third.


James Foster out in front

James Foster, winner of the Snowboardcross and coach of the GB Snowboardcross team had this to say of his win: “I’m stoked to get back on the podium after being out for a while, especially taking first place. Moving the BRITS from Laax to Tignes is a refreshing change especially coming straight off the back of the X Games.”

In the women’s section Maisey Potter from Wales qualified with the fastest time and proceeded to regain her title with Ro Kealey (21, London) coming in second and thirteen year-old Ayla Thidling (13) picking up the bronze. The Women’s Masters section was dominated by local Tignes seasonnaires Corinne Mayhew (30, Tignes) and Amy Butler (34, Tignes) who came in first and second respectively rousing a huge ovation from the local crowd.


Action from the girl's heats

Maisey’s becoming quite the regular on the BRITS podium, and here’s what this future star thought of her victory: “I’ve now won three years in a row which I am so happy about. It feels brilliant. I’m loving the new resort and being in Tignes, there’s just so much to see here. I thought the course was great today, it’s just a real shame about the weather.”

British Trespass Snowboardcross Championships Results

Men
1st – James Foster
2nd – Ross Taylor
3rd – Kyle Wise



Women
1st – Maisey Potter
2nd – Ro Kealey
3rd – Ayla Thidling



Don’t forget to check out the BRITS 2013 daily webcasts and picture galleries at www.the-brits.com, where you will be able to check out the Snowboard and Freeski action from the previous day’s competition.

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

It was a full day of Slopestyle competition here in Tignes France on the final day of X Games. The day started off with women's Slopestyle then moved straight into men's making it an action packed morning to bring the games to an end.

Norwegian rider Silje Norendal won X Games gold today, disrupting X Games Aspen 2013 gold medallist Jamie Anderson's attempt at a Tignes Women's Snowboard Slopestyle three-peat.

"I couldn't be happier," Norendal said, after the event. "[This] is such a good event for girls to progress and show what we really can do."

Norendal led after the first of three runs, then improved in her second run with technical rail tricks like a switch 50-50 to fronstide boardslide in the top section of the Jeep Slopestyle course and huge kicker tricks including a switch backside 540, a frontside rodeo 540 and a Cab 720, which Norendal says she landed for the first time ever in practice just before the competition.

"We saw a 10 today and so much progression it's just sick," Norendal said. "It's the whole atmosphere, everybody coming out here watching, really nice weather and a great course ... it's just a good combination of everything."

It was a big day for progression in women's slopestyle, with the UK's Aimee Fuller landing a double backflip and a Cab underflip tail grab and Sina Candrian attempting 1080s.

Anderson, the 2012 World Snowboard Tour Slopestyle Champion finished in second place with 85.66. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas stepped onto the podium with an 82.66, bumping up from last place in her third run with a 50-50 to frontside 360 and a 50-50 tail press in the rails and a frontside 720, backside 540, and switch backside 540 in the jump line then a 50-50 to finish her run off. Buaas now adds a bronze medal to her collection, which also includes a silver medal from X Games Tignes 2010. "I'm stoked everyone is riding so good," Anderson said. "It's the best contest of the year."


Silje Norendal

For the men, it was a World Snowboard Tour Champion podium, with Sebastian Toutant, Mark McMorris and Peetu Piiroinen standing atop it.

Toutant led after the first of three runs, in his second run he landed the first clean triple cork of the competition as well as super-smooth rail work to earn him a score of 95. Toutant did a switch hardway backside 270 and a switch lipslide 270 out in the rail section then a cab 1260 double cork a flawless backside triple cork and frontside double cork on the jumps. On the bottom of the course he completed a lipslide to fakie and a cab 270.

"It wasn't my best season so far but I'm stoked to end up with a win here in France, stoked my backside triple cork worked out today, and stoked to ride with all my friends," Said Toutant.

He then had to watch as defending X Games Aspen Gold medallist and 2013 Slopestyle Tour Champion Mark McMorris take a good shot at grabbing it back from him. McMorris came extremely close with a score of 94.00 for a run that included a backside 270 on/270 out a cab 270 switch up to 270 out, then a cab double 1260 on the first jump then a backside triple cork and frontside double 1080 on the final jump. On the bottom rails he did a frontblunt 270 to frontside 270. But it wasn’t enough to knock Seb out of first place.


Seb Toots

"I was stoked for Seb already and he absolutely killed it," McMorris said. "It was my last slopestyle run of the year contest-wise, and to end it like that I'm happy. That's the way I wanted to ride and whatever happened happened."

Third place belonged to Peetu Piiroinen from Finland who was recently crowned with the prestigious title of World Snowboard Tour Overall Champion. Piiroinen's run consisted of backside 270 in 270 out to cab boardslide 270 his jumps were a switch backside cork 1080 a cab 1260 and a backside double cork 1080. To finish off his run he completed a smooth boardslide to fakie and a cab 270. Torstein Horgmo, the top qualifier from Thursday's elimination round, fell in Run 2 and injured his ankle and couldn’t make a third run.

The second day of competition here at the 6Star X Games Tignes, was blessed with perfect weather and perfect riding conditions. We saw the men's Slopestyle elimination's take place this morning and there is no doubt is was an incredible prelude of things to come in finals. With a course that riders have said was rail heavy and has smaller than usual jumps, it was still a tight battle to make the top 8 that would ultimately move onto finals. It was Norway's Torstein Horgmo who's first run scored the highest of the day with an impressive 92.00. Qualifying second was the 2013 World Snowboard Tour Slopestyle Champion Mark McMorris with 90.00 points and in third was the Tour's Big Air Champion, Sebastien Toutant with an 89.33. Another familiar name who will be fighting for a spot on tomorrows podium is Peetu Piiroinen, who was recently crowned the World Snowboard Tour Overall Champion. We will also be seeing Eric Willett, Gjermund Braaten, Sage Kotsenburg and Stale Sandbech.

But it was the event in the evening that brought out the largest crowed so far this week, Men's snowboard Halfpipe finals.

Louie Vito carried on his success from qualifiers and once again came out on top, but this time taking the gold in the 6Star finals. His third run consisted of a frontside double cork indy to a backside 540 melon to a frontside double cork 1080 indy to a cab double cork 1080 indy and a Frontside 1080 tail for his last hit, which scored him an impressive 92.66.

France's home town boy Arthur Longo was holding onto the top spot with his first run until Vito's final run which only scored Longo a mere .66 points ahead of the American. Longo's run consisted of a huge cab cork 1080 indy on the first hit to a frontside 900 to a backside 720 tail to a backside double cork 1080 and finally a very clean alley-oop backside rodeo 540 nose on the last hit.

The bronze went to Japan's Taku Hiraoka with a 86.00; his run consisted of a frontside cork 1080 tail on the first hit into a cab 1080 indy to a frontside 1080 to a backside 900 and frontside double cork indy with a butt check on the last hit.

At only 17 years of age he has accomplished a lot including a fourth place at the 6Star Arctic Challenge earlier this month. America's Scotty Lago was unable to land a run during tonight's competition and ended up not taking his third and final run due to a crash in his second.

Tomorrow promises more snowboard action with men's and women's Slopestyle finals bringing the snowboarding portion of the games here in Tignes to an end.

Louie Vito commented: "When I got my score I didn’t realize I had won because Arthur's run was so good. So I was very surprised and hope we can party tonight."

Men's Halfpipe Results

1. Louie Vito (USA) 92.66
2. Arthur Longo (FRA) 92.00
3. Taku Hiraoka (JAP) 86.00
4. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) 82.33
5. Luke Mitrani (USA) 80.00
6. Christian Haller (SUI) 43.33
7. Benji Farrow (USA) 30.00
8. Scotty Lago (USA) 12.66

www.worldsnowboardtour.com

It was a thrilling day for the snowboarding here at X Games Tignes; the first 6Star event on the 2013-2014 World Snowboard Tour calendar. With two days of practice behind us, it was Wednesday that the events kicked off. The weather made it a challenge this evening for both men's halfpipe eliminations and women's halfpipe finals; but even with the wind and snow that graced the Tignes halfpipe venue, the competition was still spectacular to watch.

The evening started off with men's eliminations and saw USA's Louie Vito qualifying first with a 90.66. His run included a powerful frontside Double 900 indy to a backside Rodeo 540 Melon to a frontside double 1080 indy to a cab Double 1080 indy and an ally oop indy 720 for his last hit in the pipe. Of the sixteen invited athletes only seven others would be seeing the lights of the pipe with Vito in the finals, familiar names such as Lago, Podladtchikov, Haller and Mitrani made the cut, as well as the World Snowboard Tour's 2013 Overall Champion Peetu Piiroinen from Finland. Although it was an important night for the men, the women's event is what the crowd was here to see.

With high winds and heavy snow accumulation in the pipe, the women battled to get onto the podium this evening and the U.S.A. was able to claim all three spots on the podium. With her 62nd career win it was the World Snowboard Tour's Halfpipe champion Kelly Clark who took gold with an 87.66. Her run consisted of her signature frontside 1080 indy, cab 720 mute-grab, frontside indy, backside 540 mute-grab and finally a frontside 540. This was Clark's second gold this season with her win at the 6Star X Games Aspen. Clark also recently won the 6Star Burton U.S. Open in Vail Colorado, claiming her 3rd World Snowboard Tour title here.



Kelly commented: "Tonight was a very challenging night, in the midst of the snowstorm…I was pleased with how I rode and got the win. It's great that at the last event of the season for us, we get that head start on the World Snowboard Tour for next season, it brings confidence. I was hoping to dig deeper into my bag of tricks tonight, but conditions didn't permit it. To me it was a great way to end winter and let's see what the next one will bring!"

It was the second time that Elena Hight has won silver this season, with her first at X Games Aspen where gain she stood next to clark and gain tonight. She received an 85 for a method air to a frontside 720 to a cab 720 to a frontside 900 and a backside 900 on her last hit. Even with the the lacklustre conditions "The halfpipe was awesome. Frank [Wells] and SPT did a really great job of building it." said Hight, "The wind and the snow were definitely a factor and I am just happy that I put down a run. I am so happy and I am stoked to end my season on a good note. I didn't do the run I wanted to do with conditions like this just to be able to land a run clean and I was able to land a front 9 which I haven't done all season in a contest so that feels good."

Arielle Gold won bronze with an 83, and was only her second X Games appearance; she recently won a bronze at the 6Star X Games Aspen earlier this year when competing as an alternate. Her Tignes run this evening consisted of method to a frontside 540 melon to a backside 540 mute-grab to a frontside 720 stale and a backside 720. "I am really excited about this" said Gold, "I think I might have been a little bit more excited in Aspen, just the vibe of being in my home state and everything. The weather was better so I was a bit happier with my riding there. Under the tricky circumstances I think it all went really well. I am stoked to be on the podium with these two amazing girls."

The 6Star, X Games Tignes continues tomorrow with Men's Halfpipe finals starting at 6:30pm CET.

www.worldsnowboardtour.com

The BRITS Snow & Music Festival, 23rd – 30th March, Tignes

In just one week's time Trespass will be kicking off a week of competition and sounding the starting pistol for what will be their 11th consecutive year hosting the eagerly awaited Trespass British Snowboardcross and Skiercross Championships.



Typically a furious, no-holds-barred dash to the finish line, Cross has arguably become one of the most highly spectated winter sports. With the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics fast approaching Team GB are looking strong and ready to defend their 2012 BRITS podium domination, but with an abundance of Brits residing in Tignes and the neighbouring resorts we have a feeling 2013 could see a lot of new faces in the gates. Tignes shapers will be bolstering the permanent cross course, guided by the expertise of Team GB Coach James Foster, with a multitude of burns, rollers, banked turns and jumps that will push competitors to their absolute limit in a bid to become the 2013 British Champion.

The Trespass Snowboardcross kicks off on Monday 25th March, followed by the Skiercross on Tuesday 26th March. Off the mountain get set for a night of rock n’ roll classics both old and new for the Trespass live music night with local band The Cheerleaders on Monday 25th March. The BRITS welcomes all ability levels and is served up across five age categories, Kids, Youth, Junior, Master and Open. Competition registration is now open, for more event information and to register check out: www.the-brits.com



If you’ve left things right until the last minute, fear not as week-packages are still available and start from an amazing £279 (seven nights' accommodation, six day liftpass, festival wristband) or you can purchase liftpasses only with an exclusive 10% discount. For more information and to book check out www.the-brits.com

The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors: Title Sponsors: Protest, Dare2b and Trespass. Associate Sponsors: Skullcandy, iON & Penny Skateboards. Media Partners: Whitelines, Huck, Extreme Sports Channel, Downdays.eu, skiandsnowboard.co.uk, In The Snow, www.Snowboardclub.co.uk and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).

For competitive snowboarding, 2013 has been a year for reminiscing and good times; from legends’ sessions at O’Neill Evolution and the historical 20th Anniversary of Air&Style, to a genuine retro look and feel etched all over the Burton European and US Open. We also saw legends like Gian Simmen saying goodbye to the competition scene and moving on to new chapters in their lives.



Why have we felt so nostalgic this season? It might have something to do with the insane amount of progression the sport is currently witnessing; but we would like to stop for a minute, catch our breath and take five from concerning ourselves with the future and dive deeper into the marvellous tale of snowboarding.

It’s a rich narrative, filled with some illustrious characters, such as Tom Sims and Jake Burton who wrote and starred on the first pages. It moves on, with adventurers and immortal heroes like Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen and Shaun White. And the story does not end there…

Tough conditions descended upon Flachauwinkl’s AbsolutPark today, seizing the riders' opportunities to run finals in the World Snowboard Tour 5Star contest. But the event staff and riders evaluated throughout training and the first two runs of the day, and then unanimously decided that results would be taken from these 3 runs. The eight best riders were able to choose one of today's runs, to put up for the video judging event in the evening.

With these 8 runs counting for the video judging, it was Seppe Smits who took the win with his Backside 1080 Double Cork Nose Grab, taking 17.000 from the 50.000 USD prize purse, the handmade gold medal plus 850 World Snowboard Tour ranking points for the 2013-2014 season.

Seppe was followed by Swiss Carlos Gerber with a stylish Frontside Doublecork 1080° Double Grab in front of Norway’s Kim Rune Hansen. His fellow countryman Brage Richenberg missed the podium but saved himself rank four with his second run.

Seppe Smits commented: "It was great to win Spring Battle again, I didn't expect it, it was close I felt... But am stoked and read to party!"

Anthony Smits injured himself slightly in training and was therefore not able to compete.

Big highlight of the event was the live-video-judging with the following after party at Festsaal Flachau, where the final ranking was determined. The best run of each rider was prepared as a short video-edit to then be reviewed live by the judges in front of the eyes of the party crowd, a very exciting and spectacular way to crown a contest winner.

It's ony a few days until the first 6Star event of the new season, the X Games in Tignes, France. To follow the World Snowboard Tour 2013-2014 season visit: www.worldsnowboardtour.com


Seppe Smits

As one of the favourites for the final men's Halfpipe event of the season, The Arctic Challenge, Iouri Podladtchikov took home the win. Second sensation of the evening was Chinese Yiwei Zhang from Harbin, China. Landing his final 6Star event as 3rd on the podium, Ayumu Hirano casually picked up the trophy for his already awarded World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe title, happy as ever.

All but perfect conditions as 16-Year Old Ty Walker (USA) confirms her status as the Über rookie taking out the 22nd Edition of the NESCAFÉ CHAMPS building slopestyle points for the 2013-14 season.

Clean sweep of Woman’s Podium as American’s stamp their Authority

For the first time in it’s illustrious 22-Year history of the NESCAFÉ CHAMPS it was an American clean sweep of podium places in today’s Woman’s finals. Contribution points towards the 2013/14 Slopestyle and Overall titles, it was the 16-Year old Ty Walker who out powered compatriots Jordie Karlinski and yesterday’s Semi Final winner, Phoebe Novello to etch her name into the historical thread of Europe’s Oldest competition. Walker, who lead from the front, stomped a Frontside 50 50 to Backside 180 out to Half cab Mute air off the hip into Backside 540 Mute to Frontside 540 combo in the pipe to Backside 720 to tailslide to finish up. Touted as the future of Woman’s snowboarding, Ty Walker (USA) left nothing to the imagination as she powered to a well deserved victory.

Finland’s Janne Korpi holds off strong American Challenge

As if to order, bright sunshine greeted the men’s finals and the massive crowd who had congregated for the Men’s Finals at the “Place to Ride”. Switzerland’s rising stars, Pat Burgener and Max Buri looked in the running to place on the podium, however, the riding proved too hot as the finals moved towards their conclusion. With the American’s pressuring all the way to the line, it was the 2006 NESCAFÉ CHAMPS Champion, Janne Korpi (FIN) who slammed a Halfcab to 360 out, huge Backside 540 Mute to Frontside 1080 Tailgrab to Switch Backside 1080 of the kicker into a Cab to Frontside Boardslide to finish. Sailing the heroics of Janne Korpi, it would have been a clean sweep of the podium both Men and Women for Team America.



As a sign of respect for a fallen comrade, the Danny Lötschner memorial trophy went to Boris Mouton who places fourth demonstrating and respecting a long legacy of young talent who have won this award.

Simply better than the rest

With 5 Star World Snowboard Tour points for the 20013/2014 season in the bag, leaving Ty Walker (USA) and Janne Korpi (FIN) powering to the front of next season’s rankings, the celebrations leave the mountain and the ‘Place to Ride’, and head to the Village and head to the “Place to Be”. The snowboard celebrations meet live Art performance form Billy the Artist and live performances from Chinese Man, DJ Idem and JP.

www.nescafe-champs.ch

For competitive snowboarding, 2013 has been a year for reminiscing and good times; from legends’ sessions at O’Neill Evolution and the historical 20th Anniversary of Air&Style, to a genuine retro look and feel etched all over the Burton European and US Open. We also saw legends like Gian Simmen saying goodbye to the competition scene and moving on to new chapters in their lives.



Why have we felt so nostalgic this season? It might have something to do with the insane amount of progression the sport is currently witnessing; but we would like to stop for a minute, catch our breath and take five from concerning ourselves with the future and dive deeper into the marvellous tale of snowboarding.

It’s a rich narrative, filled with some illustrious characters, such as Tom Sims and Jake Burton who wrote and starred on the first pages. It moves on, with adventurers and immortal heroes like Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen and Shaun White. And the story does not end there…

www.worldsnowboardtour.com/historyofsnowboarding

The World Snowboard Tour 12/13 came to an end at the Arctic Challenge today, but at the same time the 5Star Nescafé Champs marked the first slopestyle event of the new 2013/14 season!

Men

1. Janne Korpi
2. Spencer Link
3. Scott Moline

Women

1. Ty Walker
2. Jordie Karlinski
3. Phoebe Novelle

Riders have the chance to stock up on World Snowboard Tour points in different disciplines early this season, giving them a head start before a packed winter schedule and the Olympics in Sochi, Russia is on the horizon.

With the 5Star Spring Battle in Flachauwinkl, Austria on next weekend, and the first 6Star event X Games Tignes from 20th until 22nd of March, the best action in snowboarding is guaranteed for spring.

www.worldsnowboardtour.com

At the final men’s Halfpipe event of the season, The Arctic Challenge, Peetu Piiroinen was crowned World Snowboard Tour Overall Champion in Oslo Vinterpark today. “It feels so incredible of course that I was still able to win the Overall title after Ståle got it last year. It’s just so hard nowadays, because the riding level in both slope and pipe is getting higher and higher. It’s a lot of work, if you want to be good in both disciplines. Ståle and I had a really good battle, unfortunately he didn’t make it to the final here at the Arctic Challenge, it would have been nice to battle it out till the end.” Peetu commented on his 4th World Snowboard Tour title.



After a steady season with 7 top 10 results and 2 podium places, Peetu beat his rival Ståle Sandbech, who had trouble with his flow in the first heat of the semi-finals. He couldn’t land as clean as we usually see him do in Pipe. Peetu came in 5th overall; he was surpassed by Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI), Chinese surprise Yiwei Zhang (CHN) and World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe Champion Ayumu Hirano (JPN).

www.worldsnowboardtour.com


Peetu Piiroinen

After an evening filled with outstanding riding, it was finally last year's World Champion Iouri Podlatchikov who won the Arctic Challenge title, ahead of Chinese Yiwei Zhang and the Japanese rising star Ayumu Hirano.


Iouri Podlatchikov

When Iouri "iPod" Podlatchikov returned to Oslo this week he was determent to defend his title as the World Champion, and so he did. His winning run was highly technical, combined with great hight and style consisting of a skyhigh frontside 900, followed by a backside 900 mute, frontside 1080 tailgrab and with the finale hit of a giant cab doublecork 1080 mutegrab, a run which gave him a total score of 90.2 points.

Ipod stated he was very happy to win, and spoke warmly of the superpipe in Oslo, "This is where I became World Champion one year ago and I have loved this pipe since the first day. My goal was to ride higher than last year, which I did, and that makes me very happy."

He describes the pipe; "The pipe is really awesome and I would like to do some more training here. It really has everything you need to improve as a pipe-rider."


Ayumu Hirano

Chinese wildcard surprised everyone with second place at the podium

The boy on everyone´s lips was obviously the Japanese shooting star Ayumu Hirano, however the Asian sensation of the evening was Chinese Yiwei Zhang from Harbin, China. With the next World Championships of Snowboarding moving from Oslo to Yabuli in 2016, Yiwei received a wildcard to ride the Arctic Challenge and fully exploited the opportunity to show his amazing ability here. With a very impressive final run consisting of a huge Backside Air to Frontside 1080 Double Cork Frontside Grab - Cab 1080 Double Cork Stalefish -Double Crippler Frontside Grab, he captivated the Vinterpark crowd.

Landing his final 6Star event on the podium, Ayumu Hirano casually picked up the trophy for his already awarded World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe title, happy as ever.

www.thearcticchallenge.com

The World Snowboard Tour meets up with Norwegian Stale Sandbech and Finn Peetu Piiroinen at the Arctic Challenge 2013 who share their thoughts about winning the prestigious event and their chance for the glorious Overall World Snowboard Tour Champion Title.

TTR Pro Snowboarding and WSF World Snowboard Federation announce host city of next World Championships of Snowboarding: Snowboarding and its lifestyle set to expand in China

After the great success of the first World Championships of Snowboarding (WCS) 2012 in Oslo, the next edition will take place in China’s most renowned winter sport resort Yabuli, in the Northeast of the country, between February 21 and March 13 2016, in the disciplines Slopestyle (F/M), Halfpipe (F/M) and for the first time, Big Air for men. TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) announced this in conjunction with the 6Star event The Arctic Challenge in Oslo today. In a 12-month bidding process, Yabuli resort was able to convince TTR and WSF of its capability and commitment to realize the event in 2016. TTR and WSF are both the event's organizer and rights owners. Yabuli resort received a unanimous positive vote from the board members of TTR/WSF. The currently existing sportive, touristic and technical infrastructure in combination with the unsurpassed know-how of the World Snowboard Tour’s execution of Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air events, will ensure optimal conditions for athletes, media and spectators on-site and worldwide.


Yabuli, China

Yabuli is China’s major winter sports resort. It is located in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, a two hour train ride away from the province capital of Harbin, a city of 3.5 million inhabitants, world famous for its annual ice sculpture festival. Thanks to its high snow reliability, Yabuli is blessed with a rich tradition in winter sports, especially considering that China is a country rather new to winter sports. Yabuli has all necessary facilities lined up for hosting the World Championships of Snowboarding, a vivid snowboarding community and substantial experience in hosting major international sport contests, such as Winter Universiade or World Cup events.

Reto Lamm, President of TTR Pro Snowboarding commented "The decision in favour of Yabuli in China represents a major step forward in our ambition to establish the World Championships of Snowboarding as the world´s most respected snowboarding contest and bring back full control over snowboarding to snowboarders. To have our next World Championships in China is a great chance for snowboarding and a great opportunity to develop one of the most promising growing winter sports markets. As WCS company, and in the name of TTR and WSF, it is important for us to spread the authentic spirit of snowboarding globally – to Yabuli and the Heilongjiang province, and beyond. I am very excited to see snowboarding’s youth lifestyle blend with Chinese culture and I am sure that the WCS 2016 will become a great showcase event for our sport.

"Snowboarding has changed winter sports and the youth’s lifestyle around the globe massively and in a positive way over the years. We are aiming to continue that journey in China and other countries still new to the sport. We feel that Yabuli is the best spot in China to start this venture."

Marco Sampaoli, President of World Snowboard Federation commented "The second edition of the World Championships of Snowboarding will showcase the full spectrum of contemporary freestyle snowboarding at the highest competitive level, also by adding the Big Air discipline. It will be amazing to watch the best riders of our times pushing the limits even further in Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air. Every rider coming from all around the world to China’s northeast will undoubtedly have a memorable experience. We expect riders from at least 20 countries to make their way to the World Championships. Yabuli winter sports resort’s topography, as well as the enthusiasm and commitment of the responsible people at Yabuli and in the government of Heilongjiang province will make for an awesome Snowboarding Championship environment."

Mr Zhou Yi Yun, General Manager of Yabuli Resort: "We have full confidence that our skill and enthusiasm, combined with the guidance and assistance of TTR and WSF will result in a splendid event in 2016. We would like to say welcome to all the riders, snowboarding fans and everyone present today, to come to Yabuli and witness this great event."

Chas Guldemond, World Champion Slopestyle 2012 and Member of the TTR Pro Snowboarding Board, commented "I am very excited to go to the WCS in Yabuli! Not only do I get to defend my Slopestyle title, but I can help push the sport of snowboarding in China in a major way. Snowboarding is growing really fast in China. I was able to witness that myself, when I visited for the 3rd edition of Oakley Air & Style in Beijing. With that experience in mind, I don’t see any better place to have the WCS than Yabuli. They have the terrain, support, and are very eager to show this awesome sport to Chinese youth and the rest of the world!"