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Media anarchist, film guru, surf addict and web video blogger!
Showing posts with label slopestyle snowboard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slopestyle snowboard. Show all posts
I see Kickers! Snow Park NZ, got to love the place. (Photo: TTR)
Finnish snowboarder Roope Tonteri (FIN), 19, has defeated a field of more than 50 international riders to claim the Open Men's division of the Billabong Slopestyle 4Star TTR World Snowboard Tour event which wrapped up at Snow Park near Lake Wanaka, New Zealand yesterday. The reigning European Open Champion dominated Qualifying on Friday and then did everything necessary on his first finals run to ensure the top-spot on the podium ahead of the USA's Sam Hulbert (USA), 2nd, and fellow Fin, Antti Autti (FIN), 3rd. Tonteri's winning run included a frontside boardslide to front 360 tail tap, a back 900, a cab 900 and a backside 540 over the final feature dubbed the 'Monster Volcano'; a channel-gap nipple jump over a giant inflatable Monster Energy can. The judge's score of 89.40 (out of 100) saw Tonteri walk away with 500 valuable TTR World Tour ranking points, $5,000 in prize money and a swag of prizes that included a state-of-the-art Nex5 Sony Camera. Third placed Antti Autti (FIN), may only be 26, but joked about being the oldest guy in the finals. Autti decided to enter at the last moment, and found himself on the podium. Autti's best run consisted of a cab 900 nose grab, to frontside 1080 tail grab to frontside 720 over the Monster Volcano; with the 1080 being the first he'd pulled successfully in competition.
Two-time TTR World Champion Jamie Anderson left nothing to chance in the Open Women's, bagging yet another first place Slopestyle finish. Tw enty year-old Anderson is recognised as being at the forefront of women's slopestyle progression. Isabel Derungs (SUI) finished 2nd with Jordie Karlinski (USA) in 3rd. Queralt has been proving herself as a force to be reckoned with in the halfpipe and now she has landed the first TTR slopestyle podium of her career.
I think every snowboarder has been quietly waiting for Slopestyle to make the Olympics. Its not that the racing events are boring, its just pretty removed from our everyday lives riding on the mountain. Most of us have a crack at park riding from time to time and that is what Slopestyle is - hence why we want to see the best in the world riding for Olympic glory.
Shaun White wants to represent the US at Slopestyle.
Yesterday the IOC debated which new sports would be at the winter Olympics in Russia, 2014. There was a major push for Slopestyle to be included. Riders such as Shaun White even declared they would only really want to support the games if Slopestyle was one of the events. (See this Article) Unfortunately for us, the decision on Slopestyle has been tabled to later in the year, while crap events like Figure Skating Team event and Luge relay, were included. On the plus side, Ski Halfpipe was also included, which at least extends the participation at the Winter Games for action sports. Sooner or later the IOC is going to have realize that Slopestyle is the real crowd and media pull. Lets hope they do before the end of the year.
I found the following by FUSE marketing very interesting:
IMPLICATIONS OF SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE AND FREESKIING AT THE GAMES
So what does the inclusion of snowboard slopestyle and freeskiing mean for brands - Olympic sponsors and others - wanting to target to teens and young adults? In competitive snowboarding, new opportunities exist within a part of the sport that has not been recognized at the Olympic level before. Snowboard slopestyle will attract a new audience of 13 - 25 year-olds along with those already involved in the sport. Snowboard halfpipe and many of the athletes are already stars on the world’s stage. With Olympic recognition and a new roster for the U.S. Snowboard Team and Grand Prix snowboarding events, snowboard slopestyle is next to gain massive exposure. Freeskiing provides an immense opportunity for brands to enter the sport as a new and upcoming Olympic event, which caters to the 13- to 25-year-old audience as well. Just as snowboarding popularity has increased, with many of the athletes reaching star status after much Olympic recognition, freeskiing athletes are next to gain massive exposure. To be involved with both sports during their initial exposure to the world gives brands an opportunity to show that they are tapped into the next big thing within action sports, snowboarding, freeskiing and youth culture in general.
For more check out FUSE marketing
This is why Slopestyle would be so cool as an Olympic Sport -
