Straight form the 6Star Burton European Open, many young riders crossed the boarder to Italy to compete against snowboarders of their age at the Protest World Rookie Fest in Livigno. This competition always proves that the gap between pro and amateur is not as big as someone may guess. Names like Staale Sandbech, Rocco Van Stratten and Dimi de Jong are certainly well established names in major contests on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour already.



DUTCHS DOMINATE QUALIFICATION DAY AT PROTEST WORLD ROOKIE FEST 2009

Rocco Van Stratten stomped a bs10 on the 22m jump in the pro line

Swatch Mottolino Snowpark in Livigno saw one of the best qualification ever seen in a World Rookie Fest. The scandic riders were all extremely good conquering 12 of the 16 spot for the rookie finals, but the ducthes Rocco Van Stratten and Dimi De Jong resulted the best in both Rookie and Grom qualifications. Rocco hitted the pro line with an amazing run including of bs9, cab9 and bs10, while Dimi killed the large line with a progression from 720 to 1080 resulting the best Grom with the 2nd overall score of the quali. Alicia Bonnaud from France resulted the best among the girls. Protest just announce that a 300'' vaucher for travel costs will be offered to the winners of the 6 Protest Surf Camp in France increasing the prize money value of the event of 1.800'' .


One of the 12 scandic rookie finalists: Sondre Tiller from Norway

Even if the finalists are defined, a huge snowfall attacked Livigno on monday evening and the finals planned for tuesday 20th january are post poned to the reserve day, wednesday 21st ... the whole Protest World Rookie Fest crew will focus today's program on ... powder!


Staale Sandbach hitting one of the biggest jump in the Alps

Follow the event with daily videos on www.freecaster.tv starting from monday 20th evening.

Qualification Results at Protest World Rookie Fest


Boys Rookie
1 ' " Rocco van Stratten (NED)
2 ' " Aleksander Oestreng Mihailovic (NOR)
3 - Nuuti Niemela (FIN)
4 - Tiller Sondre Fossum (NOR)
5 - Even Solbraa (NOR)
6 ' " Anton Bilare (SWE)
7 ' " Zebastian Landmark (SWE)
8 ' " Kevin Backstrom (SWE)
9 ' " Teddy Koo (JPN)
10 ' " Tor Ulm Lundstrom (SWE)
11 ' " Niklas Mattson (SWE)
12 ' " Morten Kleivdal Skogheim (NOR)
13 ' " Darek Bergam (CZE)
13 ' " Roope Tonteri (FIN)
15 ' " Ruggero Naccari (ITA)
16 ' " Staale Sandbech (NOR)

Boys Grom
1 ' " Dimi De Jong (NED)
2 ' " Thomas Hunt (GBR)
3 ' " Marco Grigis (ITA)
4 ' " Leandro Eigensatz (SUI)
5 ' " Benjamin Lastage-Konig (SWE)
6 ' " Lewis Courtier Jones (GBR)
7 ' " Martin Mikyska (CZE)
8 ' " Tobias Oberg (SWE)

All girs are admited to the finals.

The Protest World Rookie Fest is organized by the World Snowboard Federation in collaboration with Board Riders, and is made possible by Protest Boardwear, Ride Snowboards, Adidas Eyewear and Snowpark.it, with the support of Pirate Movie Productions, the Aesthetiker Waengle Taengle, the Swatch Snowpark Mottolino, Livigno Tourist Board and Skipassion, spiced up by RedBull. You can follow the Protest World Rookie Fest on www.freecaster.tv , Onboard European Snowboard Magazine, Tacky, Board.TV, Entry, Snowboard Mag and What's Up.

International Rookie Fest heats:


Protest World Rookie Fest - Livigno, Italy - 3Star ' " 17.21 january 09
North Face Korean Rookie Fest - Phoenix Park, Korea - 2Star ' " 4-6 february 09
Protest Balkan Rookie Fest - Kopaonik, Serbia - 2Star ' " 20.22 february 09
Protest East Rookie Fest - Splinderuv Mlyn, Czech Republic - 2Star ' " 6.8 march 09
Protest World Rookie Finals - Ischgl, Austria - 4Star ' " 15.19 april 09
In addition, rookie 1Star regional contests will be organized all over the world by the national associations of the WSF. More information on the page www.worldsnowboardfederation.org

Laax, Switzerland - January 15th, 2009: Another spectacular battle ensued today in the Halfpipe at the 6Star Burton European Open. Again, 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points were on offer as well a big part of the total prize purse of $125,000 USD, motivating riders to up the ante. As in 2008, Kevin Pearce (USA) narrowly snatched victory from Shaun White (USA) moving him up to World No.4 on the Swatch TTR Ranking. White finished the competition in second, the Swiss local and fan' (TM)s favourite Iouri Podladtchikov in third. Also Kelly Clark (USA) repeated her victory from 2008 and claimed first place in the women' (TM)s Halfpipe battle. She now sits in World No. 9. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (NOR) and Paulina Ligocka (POL) took second and third place.

A monster Halfpipe and blue bird conditions proved to be the perfect combination for the riders to lay down mind boggling tricks that pushed Halfpipe progression to unseen levels. 07/08 Swatch TTR World Tour Champion Kevin Pearce was looking to repeat his 2008 BEO Halfpipe victory, boosting large and spinning big with a Stalefish to McTwist, followed by back to back 10s and a Frontside 9. ' It' (TM)s amazing to win this title a second year in a row and after not performing that well yesterday its good to get some TTR points today' , he said. White' (TM)s second place finish has put him into TTR World No.12, setting him up well for the rest of the season. Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) came in third, jumping 26 positions into World No. 21 in the ranking.

Kelly Clark was doing what she does best - impressing the judges with her smooth style and solid tricks. Her winning run consisted of back to back 7s followed by back to back 5s, with a monster double overhead Frontside Air to finish it off. She has now moved up to World No.9 and was super stoked on the results ' It' (TM)s great to do so well at a 6Star event here in Laax. I' (TM)ll be at all the big events and if I do well and jump up a few spots in the TTR that would be a great bonus for me' , stated Clark.

As predicted the Swatch TTR rankings now look very different with a number of key movers and shakers. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) has moved into World No.2, continuing to narrow Chas Guldemond' (TM)s lead. Aguirre (USA) stormed into the TTR Top 10 and now sits in World No. 8 while Finnish rider Markus Malin takes the final spot in the TTR Top 5 and now sits in World No. 5. Danny Davis (USA) and Antti Autti (FIN) performed well over both contests and are now both in the TTR Top 20 (World No. 13 and 14), eager to further improve their rankings.

Jamie Anderson still has some breathing room in Swatch TTR World No.1, however the other girls are in hot pursuit. Sina Candrian (SUI) is behind her in World No. 2, followed closely by Kara Rennie (CAN) in three and Cheryl Maas (NED) in four. Sarka Pancochova (CZE) continued to climb the ranking today, moving into World No.7. Tailing her are today' (TM)s top finishers Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas in World No.8 and Kelly Clark in World No.9.

Season 08/09 is shaping up to the most tightly contested yet, with all the previous Tour Champions and new comers hungry for victory. Log on to www.go211.com to watch the replay from both days of competition and stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for fresh videos, news, blogs, and rankings. The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is building momentum and the race continues January 17th 2009 at the 3Star Protest World Rookie Fest in Livigno, Italy, where the young guns will be looking to impress.

Burton European Open Halfpipe Top Ten Results - Men

1 Pearce Kevin (USA) Norwich 95.50
2 White Shaun (USA) Carlsbad 92.3
3 Podladtchikov Iouri (SUI) Z rich 89.33
4 Crepel Mathieu (FRA) Anglet 86.83
5 Piiroinen Peetu (FIN) Hyvink 86.50
6 Aguirre Mason (USA) Bishop 77.67
7 Koski Markku (FIN) Helsinki 74.83
8 Malin Markus (FIN) Lahti 73.33
9 Simmen Gian (SUI) Krattigen 72.00
10 Kleivdal Roger (NOR) Geilo 66.83

Burton European Open Halfpipe Top Ten Results - Women

1 Clark Kelly (USA) West Dover94.17
2 Oestgaard Buaas Kjersti (NOR) Trondheim 85.33
3 Ligocka Paulina (POL) Cieszyn 81.17
4 Haug Linn (NOR) Trondheim 78.33
5 Thost Nicola (GER) M nchen 68.17
6 Pancochova Sarka (CZE) Uh 65.50
7 Wiik Lisa (NOR) Trondheim 63.50
8 Sadar Cilka (SLO) Ljubljana 56.33
9 Miwa Akiko (JPN) Saitama 66.00
10 McKenna Lesley (GBR) Aviemore 65.33

The 6Star Burton European Open halfpipe semifinals saw high level riding. Shaun White the Swatch TTR Tour Champion 06/07 whooped out an amazing second run in the first heat. Fellow American and last years TTR Tour Champion Kevin Pearce scored an even higher result so the finals will be fierce on Friday. Out of the ladies Kelly Clark showed off her solid pipe riding skills with Japanese Linn Haug qualifying second.



Thursday there is the slopestyle semifinal and final and Friday is the halfpipe final.

Results Men Heat 1:
1. Shaun White 91.83
2. Christian Haller 89.33
3. Markus Malin 84.17
4. Peetu Piiroinen 77.67
5. Mathieu Crepel 72.83
6. Danny Davis 72.17

Results Men Heat 2:
1. Kevin Pearce 95.00
2. Christophe Schmidt 80.67
3. Iouri Podladtchikov 77.50
4. Patrick Burgener 76.50
5. Roger Kleivdal 73.83
6. Mason Aguirre 73.00

Results Women:
1. Kelly Clark 91.17
2. Linn Haug 82.33
3. Cilka Sadar 79.50
4. Nicola Thost 74.67
5. Sarka Pancochova 72.50
6. Paulina Ligocka 68.50
7. Lisa Wiik 68.33
8. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas

Towering airtime, technical tricks and fearless snowboarding were the order of the night at the 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution Quarterpipe stomp fest. After two nights of thrilling excitement, Chas Guldemond (USA) has narrowly managed to defend his Tour lead spot with a 81.98 point lead in front of Janne Korpi (FIN). At the end of the night though, it was Finland' (TM)s Peetu Piiroinen who finished on top of the podium and in World No. 5. He was followed by his fellow Finn, Risto Mattila in second and Steve Krijbolder (NED) in third.

The brightly illuminated 10.2 m Quarterpipe proved to be the ultimate location for the world' (TM)s best snowboarders to amaze the awestruck crowd. A new judging format for 2009 was in place and served to ensure that the snowboarders demonstrated a variety of tricks. ' It creates variation and pushes the riders to show us their bag of tricks. It lifts the level of snowboarding and makes a better show for the crowd' , said Dani ' Kiwi' Meier, Head Judge of the competition.

Riders such as Arthur Longo (FRA), Janne Korpi (FIN) and Antti Autti (FIN) launched mega McTwists, Rodeos and huge Backside Airs, proving their dominance on the Swatch TTR Tour. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) snatched first place in a climatic finale by pulling off a 5.9 m BS 5 that was smooth as smooth can be. With the first ever 6Star title of his career, he earned himself 1000 TTR rankings points and took home the $15 000. ' Fifth, woah! That' (TM)s really great! This was only my third TTR result this season, so it doesn' (TM)t mean too much as you need to have 7 results. So, you don' (TM)t quite know yet until the US Open, but it is great to be in the Top10 at this point!'

His close friend and countryman, Risto Mattila took out second place with a slightly lower BS 540, however, took out the Swatch Highest Air with a 7 m BS Air. ' Second place feels awesome, and to be able to improve on my riding each run. I' (TM)m super stoked about winning highest air, too!!'

Third place finisher, Steve Krijbolder (NED) was the most surprising rider of the night standing strong against the Finns with a stylish BS 5 and 6.9 m lofty BS Air. Current World No. 2 Janne Korpi (FIN) performed consistently all night but had to finish the competition due to an injury to his knee during the Quarterfinals.

As always, the 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution double dosage of TTR Ranking points has caused some serious moves on the Swatch TTR World Ranking list. Peetu' (TM)s win has put him into World No.5 and he will have the chance to move into Swatch TTR World Nr. 3 at the upcoming 6Star competition across the valley. Seb Toots (CAN) sits right behind him in World No.6 and will also be heading to Laax. Risto' (TM)s efforts have moved him up into the TTR Top 20 with Arthur Longo (FRA) in World No. 25 and Antti Autti (FIN) in World No. 23 ready to strike.

In case you missed any of the action from 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution you can log onto on www.ttrworldtour.com, www.mpora.com, and www.freecaster.tv to catch all the action replays. The race for the Swatch TTR Title is getting tighter at every contest. The battleground now shifts to Laax, Switzerland for the 6Star Burton European Open, where a double shot of 1000 ranking points in Halfpipe and Slopestyle will increase the excitement. With a total prize money payout of over $2 million USD including event prize money available this season you know the race will intensify, so stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com

An incredible night of action has taken place on the 5Star Slopestyle course at the O' (TM)Neill Evolution. The Swatch TTR Top 10 saw a wide range of changes as uprising rookies and established riders fought for their chance to rise to the top and claim valuable 850 TTR rankings points as well as a big piece of the $100,000 USD. It was Janne Korpi (FIN) who won the Slopestyle title and now sits right behind Chas Guldemond (USA) in World No. 2 on the Swatch TTR World Ranking List. Guldemond was able to defend his Tour lead with a fourth place finish.


After two grueling rounds of competition that started in a Round of 32, only 8 Riders stood tall in the Quarterfinals, all ready to advance to the Semis. However, Janne Korpi walked away with the win, his calculated style and extensive trick selection of styled out BS Rodeo 7s, FS 10s and Cab 9s and more powering him into first place. ' It' (TM)s sweet to be TTR No.2, but I' (TM)m not really thinking too much about it yet, it' (TM)s the final result at the end of season that means the most. You know you had a good season when you are in the top 5' , he stated.


Upcoming Belgian rookie, Seppe Smits took out second place and was touted as the giant killer of the night when he came up against Swatch TTR World No.1 Chas Guldemond (USA) in a true David Vs Goliath showdown. Seppe' (TM)s controlled Cab 9s and stylish BS 7' (TM)s were enough to get him over the line and move him into Swatch TTR No.16. Chas finished the night in fourth position, still managing to hold onto his World No. 1 spot and already focusing on tomorrow' (TM)s 6Star contest, ' I' (TM)m just trying to hold my spot, cause I know there' (TM)s a bunch of guys biting at my heals. Just trying to keep up the consistency and try my best. ' However, it was definitely a night for the rookies to announce themselves on the Swatch TTR Tour as Kevin Backstrom (SWE), another up and coming rider, claimed third position, nailing a series of BS 7' (TM)s, a Cab 10 and a FS 10 Shifty.


Tomorrow night the riders will reconvene and attempt to tackle the 10.2meter Quarterpipe that is lurking ominously next to the Slopestyle course. Tonight' (TM)s action in the Slopestyle format has set up more possible ranking changes for tomorrow when we are expect to see the Swatch TTR Top 10 to be shaken up yet again. Both Seb Toots (CAN) and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) can potentially jump into the TTR Top 5, whilst Risto Mattila (FIN) and Tim Humphreys could find themselves in the TTR Top 10.


With the 5Star component of the contest now wrapped up, all attention turns to the 6Star Quarterpipe finals tomorrow, where once again we will see a host of new Swatch TTR ranking changes. If the spectacular show that was tonight is anything to go by, then tomorrow' (TM)s Quarterpipe action is going to one hell of a show.


The nail biting action from tomorrow' (TM)s 6Star Quarterpipe format will be broadcasted on www.ttrworldtour.com , www.oneilltv.com, and www.freecaster.tv from 15.45 ' " 22.30 h CET. For the latest video updates, news and ranking changes from the events going down around the world make sure you check out www.ttrworldtour.com.


Best 10 riders of the day:

1 Korpi Janne FIN Nummela 1986 Kissmark
2 Smits Seppe BEL Westmalle 1991 Burton
3 Backstrom Kevin SWE Geilo 1992 Burton
4 Guldemond Chas USA Truckee 1987 DC
5 Piiroinen Peetu FIN Hyvink 1988 Burton
6 Elhardt Elias GER Oberstaufen 1988 Rossignol
7 Hansen Kim Rune NOR Hamar 1988 Burton
8 Toutant Sebastien CAN L assomption 1992 O'Neill
9 Braaten Gjermund NOR Torpo 1990 DC Shoe Co USA
10 Gimpl Stefan AUT Leogang 1979 Ftwo 16