Flow Snowboarding kills it. They are the perfect example of a little company that makes big moves. Their team has always been something that I've been super impressed with. I mean, they could of just stopped with Scotty Lago- he's heavy hitting enough. Shit, his part alone in Travis Rice's "That's It That's All" makes him untouchable.

But no, the team is way more than just Scotty. You've probably heard of Tim Humphrey's, slopestyle killer and the geekiest, smartest pro snowboarder out there. (Seriously, he even fixed my laptop for me at the bottom of the course at the X Games. True Story.)

And then there is Olympic Superpipe shoe-in Antti Autti from Finland. He got 5th in the last Olympics and has been consistently landing himself on the podium at major pipe competitions since. He will be in Vancouver this winter.

I can't go without mentioning 19 year old female phenom Sarka Pancocohova. She's a mystery, that one. She comes from the Czech Republic (they snowboard there?) and Snowboarder Magazine Editor, and general snowboarding authority, Pat Bridges recently called her, "The best overall female rider in the world today.". That's a big statement for a little girl everyone's barely heard of, but it really comes as no surprise that Flow had the smarts to snatch her up before anyone knew about her.

Anyway, The important this is that Flow has a movie featuring their aforementioned team (plus more riders that weren't mentioned) they are releasing this year as a free download... (FREE DOWNLOAD!!!)

It's a documentary style film (looks like plenty of debauchery and exciting riding) that follows the Flow Team as they travel during the most intense six weeks of competition. From Mammoth to Switzerland and everywhere in-between. And It will be free to download. In case you missed that part.

We think it looks sick, but you decide for yourself. Watch this trailer. We've got trailer number two coming in a wee bit so stay tuned.

Go to the Flow site for more info... (*INSIDER TIP*... or check out their Flog Blog. Its actually updated a lot and pretty entertaining.) We'll let you know when and where you can download the whole movie. For Free.

Did we mention the whole movie will be for free?

Photos by Phil Erickson courtesy of Burton

The first few days of any of the Burton Global Open Series stops are brutal. They have to whittle fields of hundreds of riders down to just 10 men and 5 women. They do this for the men with a pre-qualifier (25 men get in) and then a qualifier (the 25 dudes compete against each other for the 10 spots.) The 45 women vying to even make it in the even don't get a pre-qualifier. They cut them down from 45 to 5 in one foul swoop. Harsh.

They do this in two days. One day for Slopestyle, and one for Halfpipe. They are long-ass days. Take it from me, I've been at plenty of them- including a couple in New Zealand.

They are even longer when the weather is crappy. And insider reports claim that the weather was not only crappy on the first day during the Slopestyle knock-out rounds at Cardrona Resort, but that it was downright shitty. And, as fate would have it, the shitty weather got shittier after the men finished competing, just as the girls stepped up to the plate. Poor darlings really got the blunt end of the stick this day.

The girls took their first run and the weather got so bad that they postponed the second run until the next day, a rare occurrence at any snowboard competition. The girls are slated to battle out the final run on Friday morning. The top five will go straight into Finals that afternoon.

Here are the Men's results from Slopestyle Qualifications. These lucky few will go on to compete against the riders that are previously qualified from last year's BGOS rankings for Semi-Finals (Semi-Finals and Finals happen this weekend), and the fields are STACKED. The mens start list is boasting riders like Torstein Horgmo, Chas Guldemond, Antti Autti, Danny Davis, Peetu Piiroinen, and Tim Humphreys. On the Women's side slopestyle slayers like Chanelle Sladics, Jamie Anderson, Silvia Mittermuller, and Spencer O'Brien. It's gonna be a good one.

Slopestyle Qualification Results

MEN
1 Atsushi Ishikawa JPN Flow
2 Sergey Tarasov RUS Burton
3 Christian "Hitch" Haller SUI Burton
4 Tore Holvik NOR Sweet
5 Arthur Longo FRA Volcom
6 Sage Kotsenburg USA Quiksilver
7 Eric Beauchemin USA DC
8 Gjermund Braaten NOR DC Shoe Co USA
9 Johann Baisamy FRA Billabong
10 Jye Kearney AUS Burton


Check back for more results and other random crap from the 2009 Burton New Zealand Open.

The time has come to crown the men's Swatch TTR Tour Champion at the prestigious 6Star Burton US Open. After a highly charged season, Shaun White (USA) and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) have emerged as the two Title contenders, but only one can walk away victorious. Saturday's Halfpipe finals, which offer up the first of two batches of 1000 Swatch TTR points, will set the stage for the ultimate Slopestyle showdown. On Sunday, March 22nd, 2009, ten months of competition, dedication and hard work will culminate when a victor is crowned and the Tour defining contest decides the TTR Top 5.

Riders will descend upon freestyle snowboarding's holy ground where they will chase Halfpipe and Slopestyle glory in search of the final 2000 crucial ranking points. Now in its 27th year, the Burton US Open will give riders a chance to etch their name into Swatch TTR history and earn part of the $200,000 USD prize money.
Piiroinen has been defending the World No.1 position since the 6Star Billabong Air&Style in Austria and Shaun White will need to perform strongly in both formats in order to knock him off and claim his second Swatch TTR Title. Both riders have what it takes in Halfpipe and Slopestyle contests, ensuring this year's finale is too close to call.

The leading TTR ranked riders are fighting to secure a position in the coveted Swatch TTR Top 5, which brings with it huge cash prizes and invites to major events next season. World No.2, Chas Guldemond (USA) has had a dream-like tour and will be fighting to defend his position at the US Open. He is going into the race with confidence from his first Halfpipe win at the recent 5Star Asian Open. Last year's Tour Champion, Vermont native, Kevin Pearce (USA), comes into the contest with the hometown advantage and has the ability to improve on his World No.4 ranking, especially after winning one of the most prestigious 6Star Halfpipe contests of the season, the 6Star Burton European Open. Further down the ranks in World No.8, sits Kevin's FRIEND, Mason Aguirre (USA), who recently has been charging up the ranking. The American contingent will be locked in a battle for the TTR Top 5 with World No.3 Risto Mattila (FIN) and World No.6 Antti Autti (FIN). Both these riders have won competitions with their technical smooth style and are hungry for a Finnish finish on the podium.

The women's race is also hurtling toward a climatic end and with 2000 ranking points available at the Burton US Open the gaps between contenders will close further. It is the rider's last chance to move up the ranks before the Women's Tour Champion is crowned at 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam US. Current World No.1, Jamie Anderson (USA) has a good leeway and remains in her spot on the rankings; however, after the US Open it will be possible for a number of riders to take her down. World No.2, Silvia Mittermueller (GER), World No.4, Sarka Pancochova (CZE) and World No.5, Lisa Wiik (NOR) are going head to head for the No.2 ranking in the Halfpipe ' " all of them viable threats. In what is a truly international race, World No.7, Sina Candrian (SUI), World No.9, Spencer O'Brien (CAN) and World No.12, Cheryl Maas (NED) are all vying to earn points in both formats in an attempt to make a play for the Swatch TTR Tour Champion Title one week later. Kjersti Buaas (NOR), who is currently sitting in World No.15, can with four strong results also remain in the title race. America's favorite Queen of the Halfpipe, Kelly Clark has won her last two major Halfpipe events and will be going for the hat-trick in front of the home crowd. A win here will bolster her position in the TTR Top 10 so expect to see some serious amplitude.

Log on to www.ttrworldtour.com and read the news, watch videos and get the low down before the Tour draws to a close this weekend. Live coverage begins March 20th on www.go211.com so tune in and brace yourself for a showdown packed finale.