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Posted on Tuesday July 13th at 6:20 p.m.
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The invites are out, and those confirmed to attend so far include defending women's Slopestyle Champion Jamie Anderson, and women's defending Halfpipe Champion Kelly Clark, both of USA.
Other top international riders on their way include Seppe Smits (BEL), Christian Haller (SUI), Marco Grilc (SLO), Norwegians Tore Holvik, Stale Sandbech and Gjermund Braaten; Canadians Charles Reid, Mark Sollors, Mark McMorris and Matts Kulisek; Americans Chas Guldemond, Sage Kotsenburg, Jack Mitrani and Louie Vito; as well as Japanese rippers Kazuhiro Kokubo, Ryo Aono, Daisuke Murakami and Kohei Kudo. Some of the women to confirm include Kjersti Buaas and Lin Haug (NOR), Sina Candrian (SUI), Enni Rukajärvi (FIN), Rana Okada (JPN), and Elizabeth Beerman (USA). Kiwis Stef Zeestraten and Shelly Gotlieb, both strong contenders in the Slopestyle, have also confirmed their attendance.
The field is growing daily, and all will converge on Cardrona Alpine Resort from 10-14th August to compete for a chunk of the NZ$50,000 prize purse, which is spread equally for both men and women in Slopestyle and Halfpipe. Official training starts on Tues 10th, followed by an opening party at Lonestar Wanaka. Pre-qualifiers and Qualifiers start on Weds 11th. Invited riders are seeded directly to the Semifinal stages which start on Friday 13th. The event culminates with the Halfpipe Semifinals and Finals on Saturday 14th August.
This event marks the first stop on both the prestigious Burton Global Open Series and TTR World Tour for the 2010/2011 season. Full event details including a comprehensive gig and party line up will be published soon. All updates will be available via www.opensnowboarding.com
About the Burton Global Open Series
The Burton Global Open Series events are the pinnacle snowboarding events of the season. Founded by Jake Burton, the Opens have grown from grassroots events to global spectacles attracting tens of thousands of spectators and riders from around the world. Since the beginning, the Opens have been driven by riders, for riders evolving with snowboarding and riders' needs over the years. With events held in New Zealand, Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States, the Opens set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe. For more information, visit www.opensnowboarding.com.
About the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour
Founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit, rider-driven organization with the mission to create the highest quality competitive snowboard environment in the world, using authenticity, accessibility, and innovation as guiding principles. Since its foundation, the Swatch TTR Tour has been developing into the most respected snowboard tour worldwide featuring global grass root and key independent freestyle snowboarding events over a ten-month period from Southern to Northern Hemisphere locations. Events are rated via a 1-through-6Star system, with points allocated accordingly, a 6Star event holds the highest (1000 Swatch TTR points). Any rider participating in these events, from up-and-coming to professional talent, earns ranking points and a position on the Swatch TTR World Ranking List. The top male and female rider is crowned Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.
About Cardrona Alpine Resort
CARDRONA is located in the Crown Range between Queenstown (57kms/60mins) and Wanaka (34kms/35mins) in the South Island of New Zealand. With consistently good weather and reliable snow conditions Cardrona offers superb terrain suited to all ability levels. Cardrona is renowned for its wide open, undulating terrain that is perfect for beginners and intermediates, whilst the Arcadia and Tulips chutes offer extra challenge for more advanced riders. Cardrona is home to New Zealand's premier terrain parks, with up to four half pipes, a gravity cross and a range of beginner freestyle features. For more information, visit www.cardrona.com