The finals for the Burton NZ Open just ended. I got this from Burton Marketing Manager Chris Boadle “the soupy conditions didn’t deter riders and I can safely say that this was the first time I have ever seen a double front flip into a double back flip. Ridiculous.” So I’m taking that it wasn’t a double backflip into a double frontflip in one trick, rather two jumps in a row!
For the quick results, Christian Haller took first in the men’s with Jamie Anderson winning the women’s. Full press release below. No idea how the Australian’s fared, I will let you know when I do.
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PRESS RELEASE:
BURTON NEW ZEALAND OPEN SLOPESTYLE FINALS
WANAKA, New Zealand (13th August, 2010)
The Burton New Zealand Open Slopestyle finals took place today at Cardrona Alpine Resort with Burton rider Christian Haller (SUI) taking first place in the men’s event and Jamie Anderson (USA) winning the women’s competition. Haller and Anderson both walked away NZ$6,000 richer for their performance on the challenging Slopestyle course which was even more tricky with today’s variable weather conditions.
Due to the snow conditions and morning delays, the competition format was condensed, with all 37 men and 19 women semi-finalists going straight into a single final round, where the riders took two runs, best of which counted for their final score. The low visibility and variable snow didn’t seem to hinder the best riders, with some amazing runs being thrown down regardless. The first feature of the course offered a choice between a down-flat-down round bar or a round down bar, the second feature was a choice between an up box or a gap to flat box, followed by three jumps measuring in at 45-feet, 55-feet, and 75-feet, then finishing with a quarterpipe to goalpost / hip.
Christian Haller put it all together in his second run to score 80.84 points with a backside lipslide on the down-flat-down bar, tailslide on the gap to flat box, switch backside 720, Cab 900, frontside 720 tailgrab. But the margins were tight with current TTR tour leader Gjermund Braaten’s (NOR) first run score of 80.64 points holding top spot until then. Gjermunds run consisted of a frontside 270 gap over the down-flat-down rail, frontside 270 on the gap to flat box, frontside 540, Cab 720, and double back rodeo 900. Coming in third with 79.00 points was 2010 Burton US Open Slopestyle winner Mikkel Bang (NOR). Mikkel’s run started with a gap to switch backside lipslide on the down-flat-down rail, backside lipslide on the gap to flat box, backside 540, Cab 720, switch backside 900.
In the women’s competition, Jamie Anderson (USA) took her third straight New Zealand Open slopestyle title and had this to say about her win, “I can’t believe it, I love the Burton Opens and winning this event three times in a row is amazing, so I’m ecstatic and so stoked to start of the year with a good result.”
Jamie’s winning run earned her a score of 79.20 points and consisted of a boardslide-to-tailpress on the down bar, a frontside 180 out on the up box, switch backside 180 mute, backside 360 mute, and a backside 180 mute. Coming in second place behind Jamie was Burton rider, Shelly Gotlieb (NZL), who held it down on her home turf with a great second run earning her 74.56 points. Rounding out the podium in third place was Kjersti Buuas (NOR) who also had a good run that scored 73.60 points.
The newly developed Snowboard Live Scoring system (SLS) was used today by the judges, which gives scores for each individual hit during a run that is then combined with a flow score to provide a more transparent final score. Viewers of the live webcast on GO211.com were able to see this system in action and watch real-time ranking changes, among other features of the site. The live action at the Burton New Zealand Open culminates tomorrow with highlight event, the halfpipe.
The Burton New Zealand Open marks the first stop on the prestigious Burton Global Open Series and is also a 5Star event on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. Semi-finals and finals of tomorrow’s halfpipe event will be webcast live from New Zealand on www.GO211.com <http://www.GO211.com> and full results and details will be available at the completion of each day on 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 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 at the end of the season are crowned Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.
About GO211.com
GO211.com is the leading community and video site for action sports created for and by athletes and enthusiasts. It’s the place to go for behind-the-scenes videos, blogs, and photos from pro athletes and featured contributors along with other action sports fans. GO211.com is proud to offer a broad range of exclusive content submitted directly from the athletes and is proud to host interactive live webcasts of the top events in surf, skate, snow and bike. The current GO211 Pro Team roster includes: Hannah Teter, Andy Finch, Mimi Knoop, Andy MacDonald, Alise Post, Donny Robinson, Holly Beck, Mikes Losness, among others.
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 three halfpipes, a gravity cross and a range of beginner freestyle features. For more information, visit www.cardrona.com
