NZSnowboard.com - The home of New Zealand Snowboarding

9th March 2010

Shaun White, Peetu Piiroinen, Scotty Lago, Hannah Teter & Kelly Clark to Compete

Burlington, VT, USA - The 28th annual US Open Snowboarding Championships will once again host thousands of fans and many of the worlds 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 mens 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 womens 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 OBrien (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 years 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 Opens 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 womens and mens 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 mens Swatch TTR World Tour Champion is crowned, with Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) clinching the title for the second straight year.
 
If you cant 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, Totinos, 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.








LINK:   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. 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.