Anton Bilare, Mattias Nyberg, Nils Arvidsson and Thomas Feurstein hang out their for a couple of days and got some nice shots in.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From March 11^th through 14^th, 2010, the second to last stop of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup will take place in Italy. After 2008 and 2009, Valmalenco once again hosts decisions in three different disciplines. In the snowboard cross (March 11^th and 12^th), in the parallel giant slalom (March 13^th) and in the halfpipe (March 14^th), the second to last contest of this winter is scheduled - and thus maybe some preliminaries in the battle for the World Cup titles and Crystal Globes. More than 100 ladies and 150 men from more than 20 countries have applied to enter the competitions.

However, after the big air title had been awarded to Stefan Gimpl (AUT) already in January, also the race for the men’s snowboard cross title is no longer an issue as Pierre Vaultier has gained an unbeatable lead with 4.800 points already by winning four out of five races plus also adding a runner-up finish. On the ladies side, there is more enthralling excitement as three riders are all within reach: besides current World Cup leader and reigning Olympic champion Maelle Ricker (CAN, 3,960), Helene Olafsen (NOR, 3,050) and Dominique Maltais (CAN, 2,860) are still able to bring home the Crystal Globe.

However, the race for the ladies’ parallel title is an even closer one. 2010 Vancouver Gold medallist Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED, 3,800) is only 90 points ahead of Doris Guenther (AUT) who comes to Valmalenco with the momentum of having won the parallel slalom held in Moscow last weekend. And as Amelie Kober (GER) took a competition break due to pregnancy, Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli (SUI, 3,420), Alena Zavarzina (RUS, 3,166) and Marion Kreiner (AUT, 2,940) might be able to intercede in this duel.

On the men’s side, it looks like a team-intern Austrian match-up between Benjamin Karl, who comfortably sits in first with 5,600 points and Andreas Prommegger (4,450). Olympic champion Jasey-Jay Anderson (CAN, 3,800) might only have some theoretical chances of adding another World Cup title to his belt.

China keeps halfpipe firmly in hand

In the halfpipe, it is more than likely that a Chinese rider will be awarded with the Crystal Globe again - on the ladies’ side: while defending title holder Jiayu Liu (1,500) sits in fourth, her fellow countrywomen Xuetong Cai (3,040), Zhifeng Sun (2,805) and Xu Chen (1,840) own 1-2-3.

On the men’s side of things, Janne Korpi (FIN, 1,730) is in front. But several riders are breathing right down his neck: Kazuhiro Kokubo (JPN, 1,600), team mate Antti Autti (1,360), China’s Xiaoye Zeng (1,320) as well as Justin Lamoureux (CAN, 1,300) and France’s Mathieu Crepel and Arthur Longo, both with 1,200 points, are all within a range of only 530 World Cup points.

World Cup time schedule Valmalenco, Italy - All local times:

Thursday, March 11^th:       Qualifications                Snowboard Cross M                   at 11 AM

Qualifications                Snowboard Cross L                    at 2:50 PM

Friday, March 12^th:            Finals                            Snowboard Cross L + M             at 12 PM

Saturday, March 13^th:       Qualifications                Parallel Giant Slalom L + M        at 9 AM

Finals                            Parallel Giant Slalom L + M        at 1 PM

Sunday, March 14^th:         Qualifications                Halfpipe M                                  at 8:25 AM

Qualifications                Halfpipe L                                    at 11:45 AM

Finals                            Halfpipe L + M                            at 2:30 PM

Nikita are offering two places for two special senoritas to feature as a model in the forthcoming prized look book for next Spring Summer’s streetwear collection.  You will be picked from the piñata, contacted and flown out to join everyone on the shoot.  Only enter if you’re free to travel from 23^rd April to 8^th May 2010!

Sophia Metzler (Germany), Angelisa Hollick (Canada) and Stefanie Suchy (Germany) entered the last contest and found themselves on location with Nikita in New Orleans.  Their photos will feature in next season’s Winter 2010 / 2011 look book and you can check out some photos of them on the shoot here - www.nikitaclothing.com/events.

Conditions of Entry

Senoritas!  Please enter by e-mailing Nikita as many photos / images as you like (to include profile and lifestyle shots) but the total file size must not exceed 2MB.  We need your full name, address, date of birth and contact details included in the e-mail to michelle@nikitaclothing.com before 15^th April 2010.  You must be free to travel to the photoshoot from 23^rd April to 8^th May 2010.  Winners will be announced on 16^th April.

* Please note that ALL entrants must be 18 years old or over and have a valid passport.  Your entries may also be showcased via Nikita’s website, Myspace and Facebook

With a unique set up and format, this event saw riders from 7 nations competing in a very difficult slopestyle consisting of  halfpipe, kinked box and a 15m final jump, in order to allow patecipants to express all their freestyle skills.

Bad weather with snowfalls, clouds and very low temperatures signs the training and qualification days. But the final day saw a blue sky with perfect conditions of snow. Riders from Slovenia, Czech Republic, Island, Norway, Finland, Italy and Slovakia landed in Splinderuv Mlyn to compete for the last 3 wild card avaible for the upcoming World Rookie Finals 2010 to be held in Ischgl, Austria, from 7 to 11 april 2010.

With 2 qualification runs and 3 final runs, many riders had the opportunity to get the attention of all media and industries rapresentatives: finnish shredders Vesa Makarainen and Henri Laakkonen, rising italian star Marco Grigis as well as the local young hero Martin Mikyska and the Czech twins Daniel and Ondrej Porkert. Among the girls big up for Kristina Nisula from Finland with huge bs3 on the big jump as well as the unknow slovakian Klaudia Medlova with perfect bsrodeo5 on the 10m jumps.

In finals the level increased. Henri Laakkonen took the first place in the rookie section with huge fs7 in pipe and fs9 on the kicker. Italian Marco Grigis got second followed by Czech Martin Mikyska. Jakub Cral won the grom girl section while Kristina Nisula resulted the best girl of the event and took the last “all inclusive” ticket to the rookie finals in Austria.

Protest East Rookie Fest ranks

Rookie Girls (rank-bib-surname-name-nat)

1 29 R NISULA KRISTINA FIN

2 25 G SVITIALA SILJA FIN

3 10 R MEDLOVA KLAUDIA SVK

4 19 G VANKOVA MICHAELA CZE

Grom Girls (rank-bib-surname-name-nat)

1 17 G AUGUSTINOVA DIANA CZE

2 38 R VOJACKOVA KATERINA CZE

Boys Rookie (rank-bib-surname-name-nat)

1 27 R LAAKKONEN HENRI FIN

2 9 G GRIGIS MARCO ITA

3 11 R MIKYSKA MARTIN CZE

Boys Grom (rank-bib-surname-name-nat)

1 26 G KRAL JAKUB CZE

2 37 R PORKERT ONDREJ CZE

3 24 R HAGEN OLE NOR

Picture by Vaclav Pavlecka

Next International Rookie Fest Stops 2009.10
Protest World Rookie Finals - Ischgl, Austria - 4Star - 7.11 april 2010
Summer Rookie Camp - Val Senales, Italy - 3-10 july 2010 - www.rookiecamp.eu
Freeride Rookie Fest - Valle Nevado, Chile - 2Star - august 2010
In addition to these, the Oceania Rookie Fest in Australia is next to be confirmed for summer 2010. Many local rookie stops 1Star will be organized by WSF National Snowboard Association.

Lisa met Runar and Heida at IPP camp in May 2003 at the time when she was filming for snowboard movie Dropstitch.  She got onto Nikita’s International Team in 2005 and since then has had a lot of good times in Iceland.  The last few years has seen her travel to many different places.  “I was with Helly Hansen outerwear since 2005, which was a great experience and I am where I am now because of them.  Now its time to move on and I am just super stoked to ride for Nikita Outerwear also!”

It’s no secret Lisa is a top female snowboard talent, with appearances in a lot of movies in the last few years. She has been part of Dropstitch, Transfer, Last Winter, Float, Whiteever, more recently Stance alongside the likes of Jenny Jones, Gretchen Blieler and Hana Beaman and a feature part in La Famiglia movie ‘Serious…not’.  Most of the movies she has worked on were all girls.  She loves to work with both girls and movies involving guys.  “I don’t care if it is girls or guys I ride with as long as everyone is motivated and fun to ride with.  Sure there is a difference between girls and guys crews; with girls I can just do all the girls talk and have fun with them, with the guys I like their fast approach to get stuff done on the mountain but I honestly love both.”

She’s on the filming and shooting train again working on a new filming project with True Color Films.  Alongside Alvaro Vogel, Rene Schnöller, Filippo Kratter, Nicholas Wolken and more friends, they will be headed on a series of four trips to countries like Italy, Japan, Austria and Argentina.  “Four short snowboard movies with legit riding and good editing, without forgetting the fun we have on the snow. Each video will have a run-time of around 10 to 15 minutes per movie.”

Check out www.truecolorfilms.com for more info, little videos and photos on the blog.  The movies will also be available as free downloads online, so watch out for them!  Lisa is currently in Japan after her first trip with them to Italy.  Read about it on the Nikita Blog - http://www.nikitaclothing.com/blog/page/1#7

She has a great attitude and has an enviable style powering through park or busting out moves in big mountain terrain and powder.  Picking her dream day out riding Lisa says “it has to be with powder and friends.  If it’s super fun treeruns in snowy weather, a kicker or hiking session in backcountry, its all super fun and satisfying.”

Finally, Lisa had this to say; “I am super stoked to be on the Nikita Outerwear Team now too!  The clothes just stand out, by design and comfort and all the passionate people that are behind it!  I just love Nikita!”

The feeling is mutual and Geiri, Nikita’s International Marketing Man is super happy to welcome her…“We love Lisa and we love the fact that she is now also part of our Outerwear team. She is an awesome, talented, beautiful human being and it is our great privilege to welcome her to our outerwear family.”

Burlington, VT (March 8, 2010) The 28^th annual US Open Snowboarding Championships will once again host thousands of fans and many of the world’s top snowboarders for a weekend of slopestyle, rail jam and halfpipe competitions. Taking place at Stratton Mountain Resort from March 15-21, the Open is the first US event since the 2010 Olympics where snowboard medalists Shaun White, Peetu Piiroinen, Scotty Lago, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark will compete.

In addition to all three men’s 2010 Olympic halfpipe medalists, the US Open rider roster includes 2009 Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) Champion Chas Guldemond (USA), two-time Olympian and US Open podium threat Kazuhiro Kokubo (JPN), Luke Mitrani (USA), Mikkel Bang (NOR), current BGOS points leader Christian Haller (SUI) and Mason Aguirre (USA).

The entire women’s US Olympic halfpipe team will compete at the US Open, including Hannah Teter, Kelly Clark, Gretchen Bleiler and Elena Hight. Jamie Anderson (USA), Ellery Hollingsworth (USA), Spencer O’Brien (CAN), Kjersti Oestgaard-Buaas (NOR), Jenny Jones (GBR), Lisa Wiik (NOR), Cheryl Maas (NED), Sarka Pancochova (CZE) and Sina Candrian (SUI) are also on board to compete.

This year’s US Open kicks off with slopestyle finals on Friday afternoon, March 19 followed by the invitational ‘Black & Night Jam’ on Friday evening. Rahzel and JS-1 will play a free concert at 9:00 pm right after the rail jam wraps up. The legendary US Open halfpipe finals take place on Saturday, March 20 with Shiny Toy Guns playing a free show directly after the awards ceremony. On Sunday, the Open’s youngest riders take to the halfpipe for the Junior Jam, where girls and boys 13-years-old and under compete for a US Open title.

Over $500,000 in prizes will be given away at the US Open, including a new Volvo to the top male and female rider. As the final event in the fourth annual Burton Global Open Series, the US Open is the last chance for riders to make a play for the women’s and men’s 2010 Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) championship title, each worth $50,000. European riders Christian Haller (SUI) and Lisa Wiik (NOR) are currently in the lead for the BGOS titles. The US Open is also honored to be the event where the men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Champion is crowned, with Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) clinching the title for the second straight year.

If you can’t make it to Stratton, you can watch the US Open on ABC on March 27 at 5:00 pm EST and 3:00 pm PST. Also be sure to check out the US Open live on GO211.com.

Burton would like to thank GO211, Stratton Mountain Resort, Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, Volvo, Amp Energy, Paul Mitchell, Nature Valley, Totino’s, Kodak, Shiseido, SteelSeries and Corona for their support of the 2010 US Open. For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com.

The resort has 30km of slopes and the highest mountain is on 1760m. One of he longest slopes is famous FIS super G terrain. On the top of this famous slope small chapel is waiting for all the guests who want to find one peaceful moment for themselves.

All the slopes were opened, but due to the lack of the snow, they were a bit icy. The resort is for everybody, it has slopes for a different level, from white and almost straight till red and black ones for the bravest ones.

On the end of the day when we were searching way to go back home we ended up in a small tunnel… It reminded me on airport transport, but this unordinary ski lift is a perfect for baby beginners and maybe too slow for us… but if you don’t like it, you just can take off your board and pass through it on your feet.

Reaching the longest slopes is mostly by gondola which is really good during cold and windy days, you get protected for a moment to take a short snap, between two rides.

Unfortunately, Lana lost screw in her binding on the beginning of the day. We came slowly down in front of the first gondola and got into the rental store. They were so nice, found screw which fitted in and repaired it so she can continue riding. In those situations we are capable of paying really high prices, but they took from her decently only 3 Euros.

After 4pm we started packing our stuff. It was end of the day and time to close our eyes to come faster to our homes… waiting for another trip from our favorite agency. Check out www.izazov.net

Written by Nelly Mance, photos Petar Dubokovic J.

Baisamy Shines Despite Difficult Weather Conditions
Due to difficult weather conditions, the decision was made to run one super final instead of semi finals and finals which then saw 18 athletes, 10 qualified and 8 invited riders, competing for the Nescafe Champs title.  After the first run, the young Swiss prodigy, Patrick Burgener, occupied the top spot, but was soon to be unseated by the audacious riding of Johann Baisamy, who would go on to win the 2010 edition in his first appearance at the event.

“It’s the first time that I’ve competed in this contest. When I saw that I was 2^nd after the first run, I really let loose in my 2^nd run. I had nothing to lose!”, said an ecstatic Johann Baisamy. Patrick Burgener, who had slightly injured one of his knees during training the day before, didn’t want to take too many risks, which ended up costing him the top spot. Maxence Tevelle, another French rider, secured the last place on the podium, finishing 3^rd.

Hailing from Bern, another rising star of Swiss snowboarding, Jan Scherrer, finished 4^th. Only 15 years old, he was awarded the “Dani Lötscher Award” that recognizes the accomplishments of the best young rider in the competition.

Piiroinen Will Be Crowned World Champion next at the US Open
Up next on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is the men’s final Tour crowning event, the Burton US Open in Stratton/ Vermont. It is there where Peetu Piiroinen will be crowned Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion after he took an unassailable lead in the world ranking list with his win at the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge. For more information and video check outs of the world’s top riders, visit www.ttrworldtour.com.

Final results NESCAFÉ CHAMPS Leysin 2010 :
1. Johann Baisamy (FRA), 2. Patrick Burgener (SUI), 3. Maxence Tevelle (FRA), 4. Jan Scherrer (SUI), 5. Sergio Berger (SUI), 6. David Djité (SUI), 7. Anthony Holland (AUS), 8. Rafael Imhof (SUI), 9. Dan Wakeham (GBR), 10. Matthias Meyer (SUI), 11. Levi Luggen (SUI), 12. Jonas Zbinden (SUI), 13. Thomas Ruegg (SUI), 14. Daniel Premand (SUI), 15. Darius Heristchian (SUI), 16. Petja Piiroinen (FIN), 17. Aurel Anthamatten (SUI), 18. Thomas Delfino (FRA)

Swatch TTR World Ranking List as of 08.03.2010

The first Off-Alps Wir Schanzen tourstop that took place on Feb 20^th at the Snowpark Haubach/Thuringia was a great success. 46 riders from Germany, Austria and Switzerland presented a top-class snowboard and freeski show to the visitors and the judges.

The Snowpark Heubach was perfectly shaped thanks to many working hours of the shaper crew of Orange Jungle and the lift carrier “Eiszeit” and waited to be thoroughly tested. And it passed the test with top marks. The setup consisting of rails, boxes and kickers left nothing to be desired and the girls and boys could really run riot. 750 spectators came not only to watch the contest but also to take part in different “Jungle Games” - amongst other prizes a snowboard could be won. The Chill Out Lounge offered a little break with snow furniture, Hot Bull and of course: Thuringian bratwurst. In the relaxed atmosphere the riders could really show their bag of tricks at a very high level.

First the snowboard and ski kids (both U16) stepped it up. The snowboarder Florian Lehmann (GER) and the freeskier Lukas Csauth (GER) offered the best action and won their age groups. Afterwards the girls showed what they are made of: Sandra Ryser (CH) starting in the snowboard class and freeski girl Sabrina Cakmakli (GER) stood on top of the podium. The job of the judges was not easy especially in the men’s class. The snowboarder Christoph Weberhofer has dominated the qualifying for a long time but in the finals Lukas Scherneck (GER) topped all and won the contest. The Allgäuer freeskiers showed awesome tricks and did some educational work in terms of freeskiing in Thuringia. Alexander Kneifel (GER) came out as winner. The winners did not only cream off cool prizes from Quiksilver and the Orange Jungle, but also important points in the overall Wir Schanzen ranking as well as snowboarders´ TTR points.

After the contest the motto was: lights off - spot and torches on! At the Red Bull Best Trick Session a very special obstacle waited for the motivated riders: An old construction site trailer has been designed with graffiti and equipped with a flatbox on top. The riders appreciated the effort of the organisers and paid tribute with snowboard- and freeski tricks in a class of their own. Jule Seifert (GER) spared no one and shredded this big obstacle with her skis and won the Red Bull IPod Touch. Christoph Weberhofer (AUT) is getting a specialist in Red Bull Best Trick Sessions: After Nesselwang he could also win this session with a nice 270 to Frontside Boardslide 450 out.

As you can see it was a perfect day at the snowpark Heubach which compares favourably with snowparks in the Alps. The Wir Schanzen setup will remain for the rest of the winter and is waiting for all Thuringian riders.

It is certain: the experiment was successful - the Thuringian Forest rocks!

But there is not much time to catch breath because on March 13^th the Quiksilver Wir Schanzen moves on to the Stubai glacier. For the “Stubai Jam” the Moreboards Stubai Zoo will be called up from its “winter sleep” and will wait for all riders with a big and diversified setup. There will also be a special Red Bull Best Trick Obstacle - you can watch this space. We recommend applying online - there are only 80 much sought-after tickets for this contest.

But of course the legendary Stubai Jam Afterparty may not be waived. This year everybody who is anybody will again meet at the Blue Chip in Innsbruck to celebrate the contest day. DJ Em (Kicks&Snare) and the Swiss Clast Sound will provide a decent hurly-burly. With “Super Power Mash Up Disco” the Swiss will serve an explosive mixture which regularly puts the cat among the pigeons in Switzerland. You can really look forward to the next tourstop!

23.01.2010             The 5ive Barbecue                      O´Neill Alpspitzpark (GER)

20.02.2010             The Jungle Fever                        Heubach/Thüringen (GER)

13.03.2010             Stubai Jam                                      Moreboards Stubai Zoo (AUT)

27.03.2010              Happy Shred                               Quiksilver Crystal Ground (AUT)

17.04.2010               Quiksilver Wir Schanzen Finale         Surprise Spot

Eventlocation         Moreboards Stubai Zoo                Partylocation

Stubaier Gletscher                           Blue Chip 

Mutterberg                                     Wilhelm-Greil Str. 17

A - 6167 Neustift                            A-6020 Innsbruck

Timetable Stubai Jam Samstag, 13.03.10

Dreierkickerline + jib, 4 Obstacles in Line

Double Up Judging

Kids und Girls: 2  Runs, best counts, end result

Men: 2 Runs in Qulifications, best counts

Final best 8 , 2 runs, best counts, end result

Ten team riders, among them the Squad Pros Chris Kröll, Keiji Okamoto, Alex Schmaltz and Simon Schweiger as well as the SQD Youngsters, went on a trip to the ski resort Hochkönig in Austria by train. Of course they were accompanied by their team manager Jens Anselstetter, two photograhers and one cameraman to get some nice footage for the Völkl Podcast and the product photos.

They purposely chose this ski resort as the Livingroom Snowpark at the Hochkönig completely renounces snow guns and therefore energy and CO2 is saved. Luckily, half a meter of snow came down that night so the conditions for their project were just perfect.

The international team with riders from Austria, Germany, Japan, Poland and New Zealand was not only sold on the good conditions in the backcountry but also the perfectly shaped park thanks to Daniel “Gama” Qamar from One Big Park and his team. After they got enough footage they went to the “Schweizerhütte” for a cheese fondue and the team had enough power and motivation to go back to the park for a Night Shoot Session to have some spectacular shoots in the floodlight.

Back home they calculated the exact amount of CO2 that the crew had saved during their trip. The result was striking: Compared to a car ride, the team saved over one ton of CO2 by choosing the train and that ski resort.

Doing this trip, the Völkl team proved that we can definitely do something for our environment if we just want to! Furthermore, traveling with the new Railjet of the ÖBB was not only relaxing but also a lot of fun!

Peetu Piiroinen Securing his Second TTR World Champion Title The young Fin has earned himself $35 000 USD today with his Arctic Challenge win. This season, Piiroinen has shown his nerves of steel, consistent technique and a seemingly untiring ability to tackle the various formats on the Swatch TTR Tour by taking podium placements at every 6Star event on the Tour. He took 2^nd place at the 6Star Billabong Air & Style in Innsbruck, Austria, 3rd places at both the slopestyle and halfpipe at the 6Star O’Neill Evolution in Davos and victories in both formats at the 6Star Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland. The deserving Piiroinen has shown his exceptional talent and caught the eye of the fans and media worldwide by successfully balancing his commitment on the TTR Tour even while excelling at events outside the Tour. He comments on his season; “It has been the best season ever. Silver medal at the Olympics and now the TTR title. I have got so many podium places and I have had no injuries, it could not have been better.”
The exiting Arctic Challenge final saw Piiroinen stomp an incredibily clean last run that nudged Peetu into the top podium spot. His smooth run consisted of a switch cab 270 to fakie on the top rail, frontside 540 melon on the canon rail, backside 1080 late cork, backside rodeo 720 and a gigantic frontside crail on the hip. Piiroinen remains modest as always about his win, “I really didn’t expect to win here at the Arctic Challenge, but I knew that I had a good chance to take the title here. It feels so good to take both. And it is the second title in a row. Now I can take it easy and maybe drink a beer.”
The founder of the TTR tour and owner of the Oakley Arctic Challenge, Terje Haakonsen (NOR) praised Piiroinen’s ability to ride all formats on the TTR Tour, ”That is why he is a good snowboarder. He is not specialized, but can ride all of them, also when it comes to quarterpipe he can ride really big. He had a lot of second and third places but he is always the guy that can win. He is just a really solid and inventive rider.”

Valuable TTR ranking points handed out at The Oakley Arctic Challenge The race for the Top 5 spots in the Swatch TTR ranking is on fire with the final 6Star event, the Burton US Open, kicking off in just one week’s time. Eric Willett (USA) moved into the TTR World No.5 spot with a 9^th place today and up and coming rookie Roope Tonteri (FIN) moved into TTR World No.7 with a 7^th place. Seppe Smits (NED) made the move into the TTR World Top 10 a fourth place finish, today. With two more 6Star results on the menu at the Burton US Open the Top 5 is a desired place as all riders want a piece of the Swatch TTR end of season prize purse of $200,000 USD, as well as guaranteed invites to next season’s 6Star events.

Next Up on the Swatch TTR Tour The Burton US Open is only one week away with action kicking off March 15^th, 2010 in Stratton, Vermont. You can watch it live and follow as the news unfolds on www.ttrworldtour.com. Don’t miss the crowning of the 2009/2010 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion, Peetu Piiroinen, who will receive the TTR trophy and a check of $50 000 USD.

(Photos by Stubberud)

Swatch TTR World Ranking List as of 07.03.2010

Fortunately an alternative could be organized for the riders coming from all different parts of the world and for a big freeski fan-community. Late afternoon the so called „Stair Rail Battle” took off down in the valley at the rockresort. Many people were watching this jam session, in which every rider could go over a rail, consisting of a box, a downrail and a kinked rail connected by stairs, as often as he wants. The crowd was excited by a great show taking place for about 2 hours. Five judges observed the performances and gave the titles “Winner of the Stair Rail Battle” at the European Freeski Open by Swatch 2010 to JF Houle from Canada and Ashley Battersby from the USA. The Canadian winner got the most points for his trick combination showing a „nose butter 450 in pretzel 270 out” at the downrail, which means 5000 US$ prizemoney for him. US-rider Tom Wallisch got 2nd, followed by Samuel Favret from France. US-girl Battersby showed a very stylish „270 in 270 out” at the downrail and deserved her first victory in LAAX earning 2500 US$. Katie Summerhayes (England) as 2nd and Kaya Turski (Canada), Slopestyle Winner 2009, as 3rd completed the podium.

Tomorrow the Halfpipe Finals will take place at the 5th European Freeski Open by Swatch. International Freeski Stars like Winter Dew Tour Winner Jossi Wells (NZL), X-Games Winners Simon Dumont (USA), Kevin Rolland und Xavier Bertoni (FRA) are looking forward to a perfectly shaped 160m long superpipe. Swiss girl Virginie Faivre hopes to continue her winning series catching her 5^th victory in a row here in Laax.

The movie is going to show you the whole 5-0 team with some of the best Slovenian snowboarders Anže Suša, Matej Pavlič, Mitja Kodrič, Žiga Erlač and Rene Strgar. Somewhere in between those riders there will be two more riders, Jan Beguš, one of the best Slovenian skateboarders, and Domen Fekonja, our youngest team rider who has a lot of potential as a BMX rider. For now there are 7 riders, but our team is expanding pretty fast so there will be much more to come, mostly snowboarders. In the movie we will also feature some of our friends like Tadej Valentan and Marko Grilc, who both already have international appeal.

5-0 production consists of two main cameramen Aleš Kegl and Blaž Vizjak, who are directors, producers and cameramen of the movie. There is one more cameraman, Andraž Kadunc, and the photographer/producer Peter Perunovič who will help Aleš and Blaž at production and cinematography as well as providing professional grade photography for stills and promotion. Of course this material will be at your disposal for advertising purposes.

Shooting locations include Slovenia, France, Austria, Germany, Serbia, New Zealand and many more. Appreciation for your support will be shown in intro and outré of the movie with your logo, acknowledgments and the riders will promote you throughout the movie, our web video activities (Reports as well as TrickTips in Slovenian) with convenient product placement and also generally, while riding everywhere they go.

Since we also organize and co-organize some skate and snowboarding events we will of course also heavily promote you to a boarder audience at these events. We would be very happy if you were interested.

We would be very happy if you were interested. Check out our movie sponsorship promo

The official new teaser is coming out 17 of October. You can also check out other production material (Tricktips and Reports from the current and previous season) on our vimeo channel under

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

About US

It all started when Rene Strgar and Anže Suša opened the 5-0 Store last year and subsequently the 5-O Team was born. By that time there had been only one snowboarding movie produced in Slovenia in which both of them had a part. With a few friends Aleš Kegl, Andraž Kadunc, Blaž Vizjak and Peter Perunovič we started shooting. For starters it was just for fun. We produced short clips and little trick tips that should help with the progression of Slovenian freestyle sports like snowboard, skate and BMX. After that there came little reports and soon we found ourselves filming for our first big project - 5-0 The Movie.

Our aim is to show you all how much fun our sports are and to create something you will see and just say „WOW wtf was that”.

See ya on the mountaintrail somewhere in the BC 5-0 Production Team

Staff

Blaž Vizjak (director, camera, producer)

Aleš Kegl (director, camera, producer)

Peter Perunovič (photo, producer)

Andraž Kadunc (camera)

Anze Suša (owner)

Rene Strgar (owner)

As one of the biggest winter sports competitions in the world, the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup 2010/2011 competitions will take place across some 20 cities in more than 15 countries between September 2010 and March 2011. Broadcasters in more than 80 countries will cover the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup and the LG logo will appear on athletes’ uniforms, outdoor billboards and special product experience booths.

One of the key highlights of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup season are the Big Air events that take place in the heart of some of the world’s premier cities including London, UK, Seoul, Korea, Stockholm, Sweden, Barcelona, Spain and Quebec City, Canada. Organizers will build a large ramp similar to a ski slope for events in each city as competitors fly off the ramp performing aerial tricks. A number of other events including concerts and LG promotional events will take place around the Big Air events.

“LG Electronics has had two very successful seasons as the title sponsor of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup and we’re excited to extend the sponsorship for another season,” said Andrew Barrett, Vice President of Marketing and Global Sponsorship. “LG has created strong activations to support World Cup events including Big Air. I was particularly proud to bring Big Air to South Korea where it helped profile Korea as a winter sports destination to the world and supports South Korea’s bid to bring the 2018 Winter Games to PyeongChang. As a Canadian, I was personally pleased to host two World Cup events in Canada in 2010 leading up to the Games in Vancouver. I’m thoroughly looking forward to another successful season in 2010/2011.”

Gian Franco Kasper, FIS President said, “FIS is pleased to continue the excellent partnership with LG Electronics as the title sponsor for the global FIS Snowboard World Cup series. It is a real pleasure to work with such an engaged sponsor that keeps showing and growing its commitment to the sport from year to year. We look forward to further developing this relationship during next season.”

After an exciting weekend in Livigno at the 5Star Burn River Jump, that saw Italy presenting snowboarding at its best, the Swatch TTR Tour is heading to Oslo for the prestigious 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge (TAC). Not only will we see the TTR Top 20 battling out to improve their chances for a spot in the Top 5, we could also see 08/09 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion Peetu Piiroinen taking his second consecutive TTR World Champion title before the US Open!

History of snowboarding and the TTR (part1):

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you did not make it to Livigno last weekend, check out some of the best runs of the Slopestyle format below. Winner Eric Willett showed the most impressive run of the day included a Switch Backside 1260, Frontside Double Cork 1080 and a Backside Double Rodeo. He walked home with the Slopestyle title at the end of the day.

TTR Tricks - Eric Willett at River Jump Slopestyle

Click here to view the embedded video.

TTR Tricks - Janne Korpi at River Jump Slopestyle

Click here to view the embedded video.

TTR Tricks - Roope Tonteri at River Jump Slopestyle

Click here to view the embedded video.

After the race is before the race! Just one week after the Olympic snowboard decisions in the parallel giant slalom and one month after the last parallel race of the 2010 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup took place, it’s time again for the carving specialists to put on the best wax, get the ideal cut of the edges and find the fastest line - but this time on unknown terrain. For the first time ever in the history of the World Cup, Moscow hosts a parallel slalom on a massive ramp built right in the middle of the city in order to provide an unforgettable in-city spectacle on March 6^th.

The venue is located on the territory of the Moscow City Palace for Children’s and Youth’s Creativity, not far from the State University. On a gigantic steel construction a scenario becomes reality for the race boarders, which is a daily routine already for the big air participants: a ramp contest held downtown including night finals under flood light and a huge crowd to cheer for the athletes.

It took the local organisers about two months to build the world’s biggest ramp in the Russian capital - but the effort invested did pay off: the 60 metres high and 35 metres wide structure provides a slope length of 200 metres. This one of a kind consists of 156,000 single steel elements summing up to a total weight of 1,300 tons plus 4,000 m³ of snow.

Strong field at sole World Cup stop on Russian soil

Reasons enough for many top riders to experience another highlight of the World Cup calendar. Although reigning Olympic Champion Jasey Jay Anderson (CAN) will be missing the night finals, the second and third ranked athletes of the Olympic parallel giant slalom at Cypress Mountain, Benjamin Karl (AUT) and Mathieu Bozzetto (FRA), will lead a strong field of men.

On the ladies’ side, all three Winter Games medallists will compete in Moscow. Besides title holder Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED) and Bronze medallist Marion Kreiner from Austria also Ekaterina Ilyukhina will start. The 22-years-old Russian, who finished as a surprising runner-up at Vancouver, is looking forward to enjoy the home turf contest in Europe’s biggest city.

All five race boarders will be accompanied by some 40 ladies and 50 men coming from 17 countries in order to battle for World Cup points in the season’s second parallel slalom, the eighth parallel race out of ten this winter.

PSL World Cup time schedule Moscow, Russia - All local times:

Saturday, March 6^th:              Qualifications                                                               at 2 PM

Finals                                                                            at 6:30 PM

One week before spring break there is no reason to stow away skis and snowboards, because you are called to the Freestyle Feast Reloaded on the 13th of March 2010 at the Swatch Snowpark Sölden - spring has definitely to wait! On that weekend the beautiful Ötz valley and its surroundings will be traded as an insider-tip of the Austrian ski and snowboard scene. Park designer Rudi Wyhlidal and his crew of highly motivated shapers are already looking forward to the new event and give the park the perfect shape. But the Freestyle Feast Reloaded 2010 also has some improvements. The “Lifestyle Spectacle” for example has been converted into a snowboard and freeski contest in slopestyle format. The categories Men, Ladies and Rookies appeals to each winter sports enthusiast, regardless of age or if they are freeskier or snowboarder.
The schedule starts early in the morning with the registration of all competitors. The warm up and training session follows, where you can fight off the remaining feeling of tiredness with spectacular tricks and jumps. At 10:30 a.m. the fight begins, when the riders first compete in the qualification rounds and afterwards in the much anticipated finals. The happy winners will be awarded at the prize giving around 4:00 p.m. where a prize money of EUR 1000.- is paid out. The best freeskier and also the best snowboarder of the day of the category Men will be invited to a QParks Special Obstacle Shooting in the Swatch Snowpark Sölden in calendar week 11/12.

Another specialty for all those interested freestylers is the Swatch Shoot-your-Ride Goodies Session at the beginner line, where everybody, regardless if rookie or pro, has the opportunity to present his special jump and win non-cash prizes sponsored by the partners.
Beside the competitions, there will also be a varied supporting schedule: A speaker will put people into good humor during the contest. A Live DJ may also not fail. He is one of a party and will take his responsibility of entertaining participants and spectators until the end, damn serious! To have something for absolutely everybody, there will also be a tasty barbeque and cool drinks within the chill area.
Who wants to get into a mix of a cumulative contest action and a comfortable park party, joins us this weekend at the Swatch Snowpark Sölden!
Additional info and accreditation for the event at www.snowpark-soelden.com!

Timetable, Freestyle Feast 13th of March 2010:
Registration/Accreditation: 08:30 - 9:30 Chill Area
Training: 09:15 - 10:00 Swatch Snowpark Sölden
Ridersmeeting: 10:00 - 10:15 Chill Area
Qualification: 10:15 - 12:15 Proline Swatch Snowpark Sölden
Ridersmeeting: 13:00 - 13:15 Chill Area
Finale: 13:15 - 14:15 Finale
Goodies-for-Trix Session: 14:30 - 15:15 Swatch Shoot-your-Ride Line
Prizegiving: 15:45 Chill Area

RESULTS:

Women

1) Urška Pribošič

2) Marta Jekot

3) Anja Štefan

Men 15-

1) Tim Kevin Ravnjak

2) Andrej Marinčič

3) Filip Kavčič

Men 16+

1) Tim Korpar

2) Matic Zavodnik

3) Aljaž Gnezda

Men Open

1) Žiga Rakovec

2) Erik Harc

3) Nejc Ferjan

Denis Bobik won Electric Move of the event with backflip to 50/50 to backside 180 out on kink box(sick!!!). Event ended with an easy night session and party in fun park till morning.

Text and more photos: Miha Matavž, www.matavz.si

The venue is located on the territory of the Moscow City Palace for Children’s and Youth’s Creativity, not far from the State University. On a gigantic steel construction a scenario becomes reality for the race boarders, which is a daily routine already for the big air participants: a ramp contest held downtown including night finals under flood light and a huge crowd to cheer for the athletes.

It took the local organisers about two months to build the world’s biggest ramp in the Russian capital - but the effort invested did pay off: the 60 metres high and 35 metres wide structure provides a slope length of 200 metres. This one of a kind consists of 156,000 single steel elements summing up to a total weight of 1,300 tons plus 4,000 m³ of snow.