NZsnowboard.com

4th July 2007

Sydney/AUS (22 June, 2007) Burton Australia (Expression Sports Australia) is bringing the biggest international event in Australian competition snowboarding history to Perisher Blue from 21 ? 25 August 2007 - The Garnier Fructis Australian Open 2007.

The Garnier Fructis Australian Open is the second event of the 2007/08 Burton Global Open Series and the third (4-star) event on the prestigious Ticket To Ride World Series, via which riders are ranked internationally. Competitors in the adult slopestyle and superpipe competitions will earn points toward the men?s and women?s Burton Global Open Series championship titles each worth US$100,000, the largest single payout in snowboarding contests.

Winners of the men?s and women?s slopstyle and superpipe will also receive wildcard entries into the Burton Canadian Open, including complimentary airfares and accommodation to the event.
The inaugural 2006/07 women?s Championship title ?and US$100,000 cheque - was claimed in March this year by Australia?s Torah Bright (NSW), who is set to lead the charge of her title defence at Perisher alongside Sydney?s Holly Crawford, who in January stunned crowds in Switzerland with a huge technical run at the Burton European Open to take first place despite riding with cracked ribs.

The 2007 Australian Open will kick off with the men and women?s slopestyle finals and the Junior superpipe finals on Friday 24 August followed by the men and women?s superpipe finals on Saturday 25 August. Practise and preliminary rounds kick off from Tuesday 21 August.
More than 140 male, female and junior amateur and pro riders are expected to attend the Garnier Fructis Australian Open including many of Burton?s own local and international team riders Mason Aguierri, Kevin Pearce and 2006 Olympic Silver Medallist Danny Kass.

Registrations for men and women halfpipe and slopestyle and junior halfpipe are open 22 June ? 30 July (17:00pm AUS EST) 2007 at www.opensnowboarding.com

For the men and women slopestyle and superpipe competitors seeking to enter the pre-qualifiers must register online for lottery and will be notified on or before 17 July confirming entry, or otherwise, into the Australian Open. There are 70 spots for male competitors and 35 for female in each of the slopestyle and superpipe competitions.

Registration for the junior superpipe is on a first come first served basis for the sports available - 20 boys and 10 girls. The event will also feature an Invitational Big Air event presented by Garnier Fructis.

2007 Burton Australian Open Schedule
Tuesday 21 August Practice
Wednesday 22 August Superpipe Men?s & Women?s Qualifiers
Thursday 23 August Slopestyle Men?s & Women?s Qualfiers
Friday 24 August Slopestyle Men?s & Women?s Finals
Superipe Junior Jam
Saturday 25 August Superpipe Men?s & Women?s Finals
Invitational Big Air event
Sunday 26 August Weather Day

About the Burton Global Open Series, Presented by Motorola
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 Europe, Japan, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the Opens set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe. For more information, visit www.opensnowboarding.com.

The Burton European Open is part of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns a TTR World Champion at the US Open. For more information, visit www.ttrworldtour.com.