NZsnowboard.com

14th May 2008

BURLINGTON, VT The Burton Global Open Series announced dates for its 2008/2009 international snowboard competition series, which will kick off in New Zealand this summer. Below are final dates and locations for all 2008/2009 Burton Global Open Series competitions.

Burton New Zealand Open    
July 29 August 2, 2008    Snow Park, New Zealand

Burton Australian Open        
Sept 2 6, 2008        Perisher Blue, Australia

Burton Canadian Open        
December 1 7, 2008        CODAs Canada Olympic Park 

Burton European Open        
January 9 16, 2009        Laax, Switzerland     

Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open   
February 24 March 1, 2009      ALTS Bandai, Japan     

Burton US Open        
March 16 22, 2009        Stratton Mountain, USA

The all new BGOS website is launching this week and will include new features such as rider profile pages featuring rider snapshots, bios, current BGOS standings and event results per rider. Riders can now register for both the New Zealand Open and Australian Open, visit opensnowboarding.com to check out the new site and for more information about both of these events.

Heading into our third year of the Series, weve got some great momentum, said Liam Griffin, Director of Events and Entertainment for Burton. It has been amazing to watch the level of riding at the Opens around the world increase over the past few seasons.  All the riders are really pushing the sport to new heights and were really looking forward to seeing what this next year of competition brings.

With events scheduled year-round and in six countries, the Burton Global Open Series boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in snowboarding.  All six Burton Global Open Series events offer riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in snowboarding.

Last seasons BGOS series championship title was a nail-biter with four women and six men all in the running for the $100,000 payout and series championship title at the US Open, the final BGOS competition of the season. Only a handful of points separated the top runners for the title, proving that competing and earning points at all six BGOS events can make the difference between winning the $100,000 or giving it up.

Finlands Peetu Piiroinen and top Australian snowboarder Torah Bright had to work hard to take home the 2008 Burton Global Open Championship titles last March at the US Open Snowboarding Championships held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

Peetu, who has never won a major title in his snowboard career prior to this win, said, I never thought I had a chance to win the BGOS title. Riders are encouraged to attend all of the BGOS events in order to maximize their points towards the overall title.

Last seasons Burton Global Open Series champion Torah Bright had this to say about her second BGOS title and $100,000 title win, I had tears coming down under my goggles. I just couldnt believe that I could win the title twice. Im really very happy.

The Burton Global Open Series is also 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.

Go211.com is the official webcaster of the BGOS and home to live scoring, standings, rider bios and more for each Burton Global Open Series stop. Check out Go211.com for more information.

For more information on the Burton Global Open Series head to  www.opensnowboarding.com

For more information on TTR, visit 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 Canada, Europe, Japan, the United States, New Zealand and Australia, the Opens set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe.

About the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour
The Burton Global Open Series is part of the Swatch 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 Swatch TTR World Champion at the US Open. For more information, visit www.ttrworldtour.com

About Go211.com
Go211.com is the leading community and video site for lifestyle sports created by and for action sports athletes and enthusiasts. Its the place to hang with the pros and friends to get behind-the-scenes video, blogs, photos, webcasts and podcasts from featured contributors along with other action sports fans.  Go211.com offers a broad range of exclusive content submitted directly from the athletes.  The current Go211 Pro Team roster includes Keir Dillon, Keegan Valaika, Danny Kass, Hannah Teter, Kevin Pearce, Kelly Clark, Jack Mitrani, Ben Watts, Donny Robinson, CJ Hobgood, Christian Hosoi, Holly Beck, Sarah Burke and Mike Losness, among others.