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Post tags: jibb contest, jibbing, Laax, snowboarding, snowboarowe wyjazdy szkoleniowe, Switzerland, szkolena na snowboardzie

In the fall of 2009/2010, Rukajärvi began to stir up the noise outside her home country making international headlines with her win at the 4Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam 2009 in Austria, beating the likes of former TTR World Champion Cheryl Maas (NED). Carrying over an end-of-season bonus, from a World No. 46 position in the 08/09 TTR season, she jumped into World No.43 with her first result and caught up with the pack who had got a head start at the southern hemisphere TTR events.

The big bang on her career came along with her slopestyle victories at the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam in Saalbach, Austria and the 6Star Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland. By this point it was clear that she was no one hit wonder, but a serious contender for the Swatch TTR top spot. After the two 6Star events, she had climbed into World No. 6 and spoke about her experience at the BEO explaining; “I was really nervous in the semis because I wanted to get to the finals, but once I got in I was able to just ride”. Her determination showed in the finals where she reached top scores with her second run consisting of a 50-50 Boardslide to Fakie, Cab 360 Slide, Cab 270 Boardslide, 50-50 on Downbox, Stalefish Frontside 360 Indy, Backside mute 540 and a stylish Cab 720.

After her success in January, Rukajärvi made quick calculations and came to the conclusion to include a 5Star event in her schedule to allow her a few more crucial results for her Swatch TTR ranking total. She accepted an invitation to compete at the 5Star Burton Canadian Open, despite her original plans to only do a few events this year. Her efforts paid off and once more she shone on the top spot of the slopestyle podium, and also showed that she could stomp a solid run in the halfpipe.

Sitting in World No. 4 prior to the 6Star Burton US Open allowed Rukajärvi to relax a bit and she returned to her home mountain to regain her focus. At Stratton she walked away with another nice result, barely missing the podium with 4th place in slopestyle and 15th in the halfpipe and was awarded the Burton Global Open Series title. Now in the Swatch TTR ranking lead Rukajärvi was in a great position for the Roxy Chicken Jam USA, however, with seven other contenders able to overtake her rank she was still in for a tight battle. She managed to hold her own and place 6th in slopestyle and 21st in halfpipe. “I feel awesome. I am so happy and stoked and also surprised. I did not expect to be Tour Champion at all at the beginning of the season.” Rukajärvi has certainly showed that one can make her way through the various Star rated events on the TTR Tour and participate in the open events to make a success story and we can expect to see a lot more of her in the future.

The Swatch TTR Top 3 of season 2009/2010 were rounded up with Sina Candrian (SUI) in World No.2 and Sarka Pancochova (CZE) in World No. 3. The men’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion, Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), was crowned at the Burton US Open. More information and videos of Enni Rukajärvi’s 09/10 World Champion Title are available on www.ttrworldtour.com.

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Post tags: 50-50 Boardslide to Fakie, 50-50 on Downbox, 6star event, a stylish Cab 720, Austria, Backside mute 540, Burton Canadian Open, Burton Global Open Series, Cab 270 Boardslide, Cab 360 Slide, Enni Rukajarvi, Enni Rukajärvi’s 09/10 World Champion, Finland, halfpipe, Laax, men’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion, Saalbach, Sarka Pancochova, slopestyle event, slopestyle podium, snowboarding world, southern hemisphere TTR events, Stalefish Frontside 360 Indy, Swatch TTR Ranking, Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion 2009/2010, Switzerland, the Roxy Chicken Jam US, TTR ranks

Peetu Piiroinen made history at the 11th BEO, claiming both the slopestyle title and the halfpipe title and his 4th BEO title in total. He had this to say: “I had an amazing week here at the BEO. I was hoping to stand on top of the podium here in LAAX and I am more than happy that I’ve won both the slopestyle and halfpipe events. I’m looking forward to hearing “The Sounds” tonight, one of my favourite bands!” Paulina said after the finals: “This is my first ever victory in a TTR event, I can’t even describe how big this is for me!”

The halfpipe competition today was an exciting one to watch with newcomers like Ilkka-Eemeli Laari, who made his way into the finals all the way from the pre-qualifications. He was the rising star of this week, making his first and really strong impression at an international event. Throughout the week he was riding very consistently and landing all his runs. Next to newcomers like Ilkka-Eemeli and Stale Sandbech (NOR), were also some of Europe’s top riders like Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) and Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI). The event also saw legendary riders like Gian Simmen (SUI) – the first ever Olympic Halfpipe Champion – and Xaver Hoffmann from Germany, make an appearance in the finals today. The 8th and final day of the BEO received another sunny day, which secured a perfect setup to wrap up a great event week.

In the women’s field it was Ursina Haller from Switzerland, who just won the O’Neill Evolution last week in Davos, who took over the early lead after the first run. Then it was Paulina Ligocka, who secured the victory with her second run that started off with a frontside 900, followed by a backside air, a crail, a tailgrab, a frontside 720 and a cab 360 shifty. Paulina said: “It was a risk to do the 900 on the first hit, I was so happy I landed it.”

On the men’s side it wasn’t until the final runs that the podium was decided. It seemed that a double-cork was needed to place top 3 today. 3rd placed Iouri had this to say about the trick: “The double-cork is very important, since only a few riders can do it, but I think it’s still all about the whole run, about style, variety and amplitude.” Semi-Finals winner Ilkka-Eemeli Laari took the lead early in the contest with an insane first run that put him in 1st. His first run included a backside 540 mute, a frontside 12 tailgrab, a backside air, a frontside double cork 10 and finished with a haakon flip. Peetu went huge in his first two runs on the first hit, trying to stomp the cab double cork 10 on the 2nd hit. He brought some suspense into the finals when he fell during both of his double-cork attempts in the first two runs. Peetu proved he has nerves of steel when he dropped in for his third and final run and put it all on the line. He was first to drop in for the 3rd run and started off with a huge frontside 720 mute and then the crowd went wild when he finally stomped a massive cab double cork 1080! He continued his run with a frontside 9, a backside air and finished off with a backside alley oop 540 tailgrab. This set the stage for the rest of the riders who had to step it up on their last runs to try and take the lead. Swiss Olympic hopeful Iouri Podladtchikov jumped on to the podium with his last run, where he did a huge cab double cork 10 on the first hit, just edging out Stale Sandbech who had been sitting in 3rd. Peetu said: “I went big in my final run, it was hard to beat Ilkka-Eemeli and Iouri today.” Ilkka-Eemeli had the following to add: “I feel great! I’m very happy with the Finnish double-victory! I love this event, the atmosphere is so great, Laax has the best pipe I’ve ridden so far this year.”

Finalists earned important points towards both the BGOS title and the Swatch Ticket To Ride World Championship title. Sarka Pancochova is leading the BGOS standings after the Burton European Open and she also defended her Swatch TTR tour lead. Christian Haller managed to move into the No. 2 on the TTR rankings and is leading the BGOS men’s standing. Also Sina Candrian moved up to No. 2 in the TTR rankings, while sitting on No. 3 in the BGOS standings. Peetu Piiroinen defended his Swatch TTR tour lead and moved into the top 3 of the BGOS standings.

After eight days packed with thrilling competitions, we have seen new faces like Gjermund Braaten, Ilkka-Eemeli Laari and Enni Rukajärvi as well as well-known riders on the podium. The 11th Burton European Open is over and everyone is ready to hear “The Sounds” live-in-concert tonight at the Riders Palace Club to celebrate another great BEO here in LAAX. Thanks to all the riders who made this week unforgettable.

In other BGOS news, the third stop of the Burton Global Open Series – the Canadian Open – will take from Feb. 1-7, 2010 at WinSport Canada’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta.

To re-live the action from the 11th Annual BEO, tune in to Go211.com to watch event replays.

Halfpipe Final Results:

Women
1. Ligocka Paulina POL ROXY 87.33
2. Haller Ursina SUI K2 85.83
3. Miwa Akiko JPN ALLIAN 81.17

Men
1. Piiroinen Peetu FIN BURTON 94.17
2. Laari Ilkka-Eemeli FIN BURTON 93.83
3. Podladtchikov Iouri SUI VOLCOM 91.50

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Post tags: 2010 Burton European Open: Halfpipe Finals Results, Akiko Miwa, Alberta, BEO, BGOS, Europe, Finland, Gian Simmen, Haakon Flip, halfpipe, Ilkka-Eemeli Laari, Iouri Podladtchikov, Laax, Olympic Halfpipe Champion, O’Neill Evolution, Paulina Ligocka, Peetu Piiroinen, Poland, snowboard, snowboarding, Ståle Sandbech, swatch ticket to ride, ttr, Ursina Haller, WinSport Canada’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Xaver Hoffmann

At the champs, there will be free accommodation, more prizes to win and a chance to ride away with one of 4 plane tickets to the 2010 US champs at Mammoth Mountain (30.000$ prize purse).

The Peanut Butter and Rail Jam is Volcom’s amateur snowboard contest series. The goal of the series is to give something back to the kids. Deviating from the established way of running snowboard contests, they put heads together and came up with a fresh format. Instead of having three rails in a row, they put them side by side to create a rail zone. This boosts the energy level and fun nature of the contest because everyone is together, riding, hiking and watching in a big group.

There are 4 divisions; 15 & under, 16 & over, Open and Girls. Winners from every division go home with loads of prizes while the Open division winners receive prizes as well as cold hard cash. Plus Electric also rewards the “Gooeyest move of the day” with money.

The contest runs in a jam format so there are no scheduled runs. You can hit each of the rails as many times as you want during your 20 minute heat. Judges only score tricks you land, so you don’t need to worry about falling. The event is absolutely free to enter, on a first come first served basis, and boasts tons of free prizes, free drinks, free food and Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches! Also, everyone who enters walks away with some prizes!!

See you on the hill! more info on Volcom PBRJ

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Post tags: Europe, European PBRJ Championships, Laax, mammoth mountain, PBRJ, Peanut Butter & Jam, Switzerland, Volcom Stone, Volcom Stone Peanut Butter & Jam Europe tour 2010

After careful consideration, all parties agreed that the timing of the event would not be conducive to the athletes’ already busy schedules, especially in an Olympic year.

“Our first goal with any Global Open Series event is to provide riders with the best scenario possible,” said Burton Events Director Liam Griffin. “We had already made the decision to push the event into the first week in March instead of the normal dates the last week of February. This allowed a bit of time in the schedule after the Olympics, but made things pretty tight with the US Open.  After talking to riders, we decided it was better to just take a year off with the Asian event, rather than risk burning people out after such a hectic early season.”

The Burton Asian Open was scheduled to take place from March 2 – 7, 2010 at ALTS Bandai in Japan. With the cancellation of the Asian Open, the amount of results needed for riders to maximize their chance of winning the BGOS title has been reduced from five to four. This adjustment will allow more riders to have a shot at the title despite the busy Olympic season. New this year, the top three men and women finishers in the Burton Global Open Series will be awarded cash prizes, totaling $200,000.

The Burton European Open (BEO) is next event in the Burton Global Open Series. Taking place in LAAX, Switzerland from January 9-16, the European Open offers riders a generous prize purse of US $125,000, important points towards the male and female 2010 Burton Global Open Series Championship titles and points towards the Swatch TTR (Ticket to Ride) World Tour Ranking.

For more information on the Burton Global Open Series, head to opensnowboarding.com.

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Post tags: Asian Open Snowboarding Championships, Bandai, BGOS, Burton Asian Open, Burton Global Open Series, European Open, japan, Laax, Liam Griffin, opensnowboarding.com, Swatch TTR, Switzerland, The Burton European Open

Registration is now open for all riders from October 22, 2009 to November 27, 2009. Head to www.opensnowboarding.com, go to the BEO website and click on “Info”, and follow directions to register online for the BEO 2010. The BEO is a true open event for every rider out there – from juniors who want to gain their first contest experience to up- and coming riders and the world’s elite. LAAX is well-known for the amazing setup they prepare every year in both halfpipe and slopestyle.

Interestingly enough the LAAX Halfpipe is shaped with the Zaugg Pipe Monster Laax Edition, designed by Laax local Reto Poltera. The same version of the pipe dragon will be used to shape the Olympic halfpipe in Canada next February.

Make sure to register now to compete with the likes of reigning Swatch TTR World Champion 08/09 Peetu Piiroinen from Finland who won the BEO in the Junior category years before raising to fame. He set the mark in 08/09 and claimed nearly every title possible. Go and prove your skills in a field of the world’s top riders.

For more information visit www.opensnowboarding.com .

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Post tags: BEO, BEO website, Burton Global Open Series 09/10, Canada, Europe, global snowboard circus, halfpipe, Laax, LAAX Halfpipe, Olympic halfpipe in Canada, slopestyle, Swatch Ticket to Ride World Tour title, Swatch TTR 6Star event, Swatch TTR World Champion 08/09 Peetu Piiroinen, Switzerland, Zaugg Pipe Monster

Hundreds of competitors from all over the world flocked to Cardrona Alpine Resort to compete, and action got underway on Wednesday with men’s and women’s slopestyle pre-qualifications and qualifications. Men’s and women’s halfpipe qualifications went down on Thursday, followed by men’s and women’s slopestyle semifinal and finals on Friday with Jamie Anderson (USA) and Sebastien Toutant (CAN) riding away with the top spots worth $6,000 each.

Saturday saw a field of 40 men and 21 women compete for the halfpipe titles worth NZ$6,000. In the women’s competition Kelly Clark and Jiayu Liu battled it out in semifinals with huge amplitude and clean spins, while Elizabeth Beerman just bumped Kiwi Kendall Brown from advancing on to final. Louie Vito placed first in the men’s semifinal competition, followed closely by Luke Mitrani in second and Shaun White in third.

Halfpipe finals consisted of three runs each for men and women, with the women first to drop. The Asian contingent finished strong taking four of the top eight spots in the women’s finals, with Zhifeng Sun from China taking third. Her winning run featured an impressive frontside 900. Jiayu Liu (CHN) rode away with second with a run that featured back-to-back 720s and back-to-back 540s. But it was Kelly Clark that pulled it out with a whopping score of 83.67. Her winning run started with a massive frontside air followed by a backside 540 indy, into a frontside 720 tailgrab, followed by a Cab 720, finishing with a frontside 540 indy. Clark had this to say of her win, “I felt really good today; I got to try new things. I like progressing, and when you ride against a solid group of competitors it pushes me to do more. I’m happy that I did well for my first contest of the summer, especially going in to an Olympic year.”

History was made today during the men’s halfpipe finals. The best and most progressive riding ever witnessed went down, the crowd and judges were blown away by the double cork and spin combinations they were seeing. Kazuhiro Kokubo finished in third with a run that featured a huge McTwist, a frontside 900 tailgrab, an alleyoop chuck nose grab, and a frontside 1080 indy. Luke Mitrani took second with a run that included a double inverted 900 melon, a frontside 720 indy, a Cab 720 mute and a frontside 900 tailgrab. But it was Shaun White who was able to come from behind in semifinals to win the $6,000 top spot. His winning run started with a frontside lien air, to backside 900 melon, followed by a frontside 1080 stalefish, into a Cab double cork 1080 stalefish, to frontside double cork 900. No one was more pleased with the win than White himself, as he had this to say of his victory, “I’m proud to win today. This was the heaviest event that I have ever been in. That’s saying a lot, as I have been in a lot of these. ”

With the Burton New Zealand Open finished, the next stop in the BGOS is the European Open, taking place January 9-16, 2010 in Laax, Switzerland. The European Open is the second stop on the 2009-2010 Burton Global Open Series.

For those who were unable to make it to New Zealand, highlights of the competitions are available for on-demand viewing at Go211.com.

Halfpipe Final Women
1 Kelly Clark     USA     Burton
2 Jiayu Liu     CHN     Burton
3 Zhifeng Sun     CHN     Burton

Best Trick: Elizabeth Beerman, Frontside 900

Halfpipe Final Men
1 Shaun White         USA         Burton
2 Luke Mitrani         USA         Burton
3 Kazuhiro Kokubo     JPN         Burton

Best Trick: Luke Mitrani, Double Michalchuk

Slopestyle Final Women
1 Jamie Anderson     USA     Billabong
2 Janna Weatherby     USA     Volcom
3 Shelly Gotlieb     NZL     Burton
4 Joanna Dzierzawski     USA     686
5 Silvia Mittermueller     GER     Oakley
6 Hana Beaman     USA     Vans

Slopestyle Final Men
1 Sebastien Toutant     CAN     O’Neill
2 Torstein Horgmo     NOR     DC
3 Eric Willett         USA     OMatic
4 Tore Holvik         NOR     Sweet
5 Seppe Smits         BEL     Burton
6 Stef Zeestraten     NZL     Oakley

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Post tags: BGOS, Burton Global Open Series, Burton New Zealand Open Snowboarding Championships, Cab double cork 1080 stalefish, Cardrona Alpine Resort, double inverted 900 melon, Elizabeth Beerman, frontside double cork 900, Go211.com., halfpipe, Jamie Anderson, Jiayu Liu, Kazuhiro Kokubo, Kelly Clark, Laax, Louie Vito, Luke Mitrani, new zealand, Sebastien Toutant, Shaun White, Swatch Ticket To Ride World Snowboard Tour, Switzerland, Zhifeng Sun

NIKE 6.0 ‘Who’s Got Pop’ Highest Ollie Challenge
The NIKE 6.0 crew have joined forces with the BRITS to challenge the UK’s snowboarding community to see who has the ‘Greatest Pop’ and set a new UK highest ollie record. The challenge is open to all BRITS wristband holders and will take place at the bottom of the hill in the Après Session Arena on Wednesday 1st April. A slap up Swiss feast for the winner and their crew along with the fame and glory is up for grabs and there’s even free 20th birthday cake for everyone taking in the action.

Red Bull Home Run Returns
The cherry on the top for the BRITS extracurricular activities comes in the form of the Red Bull Home Run. Back by popular demand for 2009 the en masse elbows out race from the top of the mountain to the Crap Bar five miles below brings a whole new definition to the term, thigh-burn! The Home Run is open to all BRITS wristband holders and will finish the BRITS week off in true ‘Chinese Downhill’ fashion on Friday 3rd April.

Demo Village
Leading hardware brands Ride, DC, Salomon, K2, Lines Skis and Volkl will be laying on their full range of ski and snowboard hardware to test throughout the BRITS week. The offer is FREE to all BRITS wristband holders, with no obligation to buy. Simply stroll through the Demo Village of tents at the après sessions to see what takes your fancy and the helpful crew will set you up for the next day’s riding.

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Post tags: brits 2009, Chinese Downhill, DC, demo, iconsnowboards, K2, Laax, Lines Skis, nike, Red Bull, Ride, Salomon, signslsnowboards, Switzerland, VÖLKL

The Quiksilver Big Air Championships is a major draw at the BRITS, with the UK’s top riders including, Jenny Jones, Nate Kern and Quiksilver rider Jamie Nicholls along with freeskiers, Paddy Graham, and Murray Buchan already confirmed to be competing. 2008 witnessed newcomers Richard Hookes, Claire Frost and freeskier Joe Murrell throwing down World class tricks over Laax’s incredible kickers to secure the 2008 Quiksilver Big Air Championship titles. So if last year’s BRITS and this year’s line up is any indication, then the 2009 Quiksilver Big Air Championships promises to push the envelope further and provide an opening for more new stars to emerge.

For all the funk brothers and sisters the Funk Royale crew featuring DJs, Mr Chex, Ben “Sneaker” Bailey, Matt Smooth, MC Tukka and Depp Sax will be bringing their classic blockparty sounds and carnival vibes to the BRITS for the Quik Sessions Funk night, in association with Whitelines on Tuesday 31st March. Their mission, to bring booty shaking funk to party loving crowds – .all nightlong baby!

The Quiksilver Big Air Championships will be lifting the BRITS Snowboard competition off the ground on Tuesday 31st March, offering competitors prestigious TTR World ranking points, with the Freeski Quiksilver Big Air Championships taking place on Thursday 2nd April.

The BRITS 09 would not be possible without its highly supportive sponsors:Animal, Quiksilver, Trespass, SNO!zone, Cushe, Suso, TSA and Ellis Brigham. Demo partners: Ride, K2, Line, Clif, and DC. Media partners Whitelines, Extreme Sports Channel, Metrosnow.co.uk,Snowboardclub.co.uk and Skiclub.co.uk. Destination partners: Switzerland Tourism and Laax

For more information please visit Britishsnowtour website.

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Post tags: big air, brits, Jenny Jones, Laax, Nate Kern, Quiksilver

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Post tags: BGOS championship, big amplitude, Burton European Open, Chas Guldemond, Dannn, Danny Davis, Gallery, Gian Simmen, Halfpipe results, Iouri Podlatchikov, Kelly Clark, Kjersti Buaas, Laax, McTwist, Nicola Thost, Paulina Ligocka, photo, photography, photos, pics, pictures, Rider's Palace, Shaun White, smooth style, stalefish, Swatch TTR World ranking, Switzerland, The Streets, Volvo XC 60s