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9th February 2010

Esser and Rukajrvi Win Slopestyle Titles

CALGARY, AB, CANADA The second annual Burton Canadian Open (CANO) has come to a close and Brett Esser (USA) and Enni Rukajrvi (FIN) have come out on top, winning the mens and womens slopestyle competition today at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta.

After seeing optimal conditions during the week with bluebird skies, the weather took a turn for the worse with low visibility and frigid temps making for challenging riding during finals.

After finishing first in Fridays slopestyle semis, Jordie Karlinski wasnt able to pull out a winning run in finals, allowing European Open slopestyle champion, Enni Rukajrvi to ride away with first. Rukajrvi blew away the competition, scoring a whopping 96.17, nearly 20 points ahead second place finisher, Lisa Wiik (NOR) and third place Sina Candrian (SUI). Rukajrvis winning run featured a Cab-on to boardslide, followed by a gap to 50/50, into a frontside 360, a 50/50 on the downrail, followed by a 50/50 to indy along the wallride, nailing a smooth frontside 360 tailgrab, into a backside 540 indy, finishing with a big Cab 720 mute.
 
This is my first time in Canada and it was cool to win here right after the BEO win, said Enni. The course took a little time to get used to as I am not as strong on the rails but I am very happy about this win and will be back next year.

Canadians Jon Versteeg and Robby Balharry took home second and third respectively but it was Brett Esser, the second place finisher from semis, who stepped up his game to take home the win. Esser put down a run that started off with a Cab-on to back 180 off, followed by a switch 50/50, into a frontside boardslide through the kink, followed by a backflip, to a 180-on to switch backside 180 out, followed by a boardslide to fakie along the wallride. Esser then dropped into the jump line pulling a switch backside 900 mute, followed by a backside 720 tailgrab over the channel, finishing with a massive frontside 1080 tailgrab.
 
Im feeling good, this is my first Open win since the US Open junior jam when I was 13, I will for sure be coming back to the Canadian Open, said Esser of his win. It was a super good course, the weather didn't help but the course held up great.



Results Slopestyle Women      
1 Enni Rukajrvi            FIN       ROXY
2 Lisa Wiik                   NOR     ROXY
3 Sina Candrian             SUI       BURTON
 
Results Slopestyle Men
1 Brett Esser                USA     OMATIC
2 Jon Versteeg             NOR     NOMIS
3 Robby Balharry           SUI       WESTBEACH

Now that the Canadian Open is over, its on to the US Open, taking place from March 16 21, 2010 at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont, where an overall male and female Burton Global Open Series Champion will be crowned. The top three men and women will take home equal prize money, with first place winning $50,000, second place $30,000 and third place taking home $20,000.
 
With her second place finish in todays slopestyle competition, Lisa Wiik has now moved in to the World No. 1 spot on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour bumping Sarka Pancochova (CZE) to World No. 2. Sina Candrian now sits in World No. 3 closely followed by Enni Rukajrvi who has climbed the TTR world ranking list steadily over the last few months thanks to her unparalleled performance in all of the major women's slopestyle competitions on the TTR Tour. On the men's side, Marko Grilc (SLO) jumped back into third on the world ranking list right in front of Markus Malin (FIN).

If you didnt make it to Canada Olympic Park to catch the action live, webcasts and highlights of the competitions will be available for on-demand viewing at Go211.com. The 2010 Canadian Open halfpipe and slopestyle action can be seen on The Score on February 28 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Burton would like to thank WinSport Canada, Go211.com, Paul Mitchell, Amp Energy, Samsung, Travel Alberta, Tourism Calgary, Calgary Hotel Association, Alberta Lottery Fund, Snowboard Canada Magazine, Transworld Snowboarding Magazine, Sennheiser and Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour for their support of the Canadian Open.
 







LINK:   www.ttrworldtour.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 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. Its 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 BMX.  The current GO211 Pro Team roster includes: Hannah Teter, Nate Yeomans, Torah Bright, Mikes Losness, Kelly Clark, Jack Mitrani, Andy Finch, Donny Robinson, Christian Hosoi, and Holly Beck, among others.

 
About WinSport Canada
For more than 21 years, WinSport Canadas disciplined business focus has successfully built upon the foundation of the 1988 Olympic legacy assets. WinSport Canada has become Canadas leader in developing and sustaining world-caliber winter sport training facilities. WinSport Canada owns and operates Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, the Bill Warren Training Centre in Canmore, the Beckie Scott High Performance Training Centre on Haig Glacier, Camp Green on Farnham Glacier and funds two-thirds of the operating costs of the Olympic Oval in Calgary. These facilities give Canadian high performance athletes the ability to become the best in the world and recreational athletes the chance to discover and develop in sport. For more information about WinSport Canada, please visit www.WinSportCanada.ca.