Five out of eight ain't bad. Yesterday during the first stop of the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix 50 ladies dropped in to the 22 foot tall Superpipe during two heats of qualifications. At the end of the day only eight will move forward into Saturday's Finals. Five of those eight girls were U.S.A's own sweethearts.

Gretchen Bleiler (1st), Kelly Clark (2nd), Maddy Shaffrick (4th), Ellery Hollingsworth (6th), and Clair Bidez (8th) will go up against three other riders from Spain, Australia and Japan on Saturday's Finals.

This first stop out of five in the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix Series is an important proving ground for our United States Halfpipe riders. Not only are the five Grand Prix competitions the U.S.'s main determining factor for who will go to Vancouver to represent us in the the 2010 Winter Olympics, but because America's riders are typically "the one's to beat", many other of the top nationally competitive teams travel to the five Grand Prix's to see how they measure up against the American powerhouses.

It's safe to say that the same field of riders you see at the U.S. Grand Prix series will be fairly similiar to the riders we will watch compete against each other in February at the Vancouver Olympics.

Gretchen Bleiler leading the pack came as no surprise. Gretchen's been on the top of her game consistently the past few seasons, and after narrowly missing the gold at Torin's 2006 Olympic's it's obvious that she's hungry for it.

The big surprises of the day were who didn't make it into Saturday's Finals, including the favored to win, Australia's Torah Bright. Torah sat down on both her runs, ending the day in 11th place- not enough to move forward. Another girl missing in the line up was Burton's Hannah Teter, who chose to step back for the day and watch her fellow competitors while she nursed a bruised shoulder injury she sustained during training.

Official Results for Thursday's Qualifiers:
Women who will move into Saturday's Finals

1. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 47.10

2. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 45.70

3. Soko Yamaoka, Japan, 43.50

4. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 43.20

5. Quera Castellet, Spain, 43.00

6. Ellery Hollindsworth, Stratton, VT, 41.40

7. Holly Crawford, Australia, 41.10

8. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 41.70




Competitive friends Torah Bright and Kelly Clark will not be going head to head in Saturday's Finals.

Temperature's topped out at a balmy 13 degrees here at Copper Mountain's Superpipe today for day one of the first stop of the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series.

The glacial temps haven't stopped the world's halfpipe die-hards from showing up for training every morning at 8 a.m. for the past couple weeks, where team U.S.A. has had private access to the pipe until 10:30 in the morning. In fact, the bluebird skies and high of 13 degrees was welcomed with open arms by the riders after multiple training days of blowing ice, stormy weather and sub-zero temps.

Much of the hype around this first major contest of the winter lies within the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Olympic seasons are milestone's every four years for the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series, as the five stop tour is the major deciding factor for the United States Olympic Halfpipe team.

That being said, all eyes are on Copper to see who has actually shown up for the first Olympic Selection competition.

The two most notable names not on the starting list as of today are former Olympians Danny Kass (Silver, Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006) and Hannah Teter (Gold, Torino 2006). Both are out due to minor injuries.

Danny and Hannah's absence from the first stop of the Grand Prix doesn't eliminate them from their chances for going to Vancouver in February. There are still four more stops and ample room for growth (and mistakes) in these U.S. Halfpipe proving grounds. In fact, Danny domineered both the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Grand Prix series after "leisurely" starts to each of them.

On the other end of that spectrum, of course, is Shaun Roger White. When Shaun took home the Olympic Gold in 2006 he had "The Perfect Year". He literally won every single professional competition including all of the Grand Prix's and both the slopestyle and pipe comp's at both the X Games and the Burton U.S. Open, an impossible feat.

And, judging by the way Shaun's been riding here in Copper during training, he could very well be on his way to his second perfect season. It's no secret after his showing at this summer's New Zealand Burton Open that Shaun has set the bar when it comes to halfpipe riding. Any competitor will tell you that he's had a one-up with closed night-time resort access and secret backcountry halfpipe sessions, but that doesn't change the fact that Shaun's riding abilities are noticeably pushing the progression of the sport daily.

Bottom line, the man to beat this weekend is Shaun.

And of course the trick the do that is everyone's favorite new variety of trick, the double-cork. Shaun's got them (back to back), Louie Vito has them, Luke Mitrani, Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce, Greg Bretz, Matt Ladley, the list grows longer every day.

Friday morning will be the first chance for the boys to throw down, and it will be our first chance to see who really has what it takes to win with the pressure of an Olympic year bearing down on them. Stay tuned...

The Billabong Air and Style in Innsbruck... it's kinda a big deal. It's a 6 Star TTR event (as highest ranked as they come) and this years showing of big names like Travis Rice, Peetu Piiroinen, Andreas Wiig, Iouri "iPod" Podladtchikov and Torstein Horgmo made it even that much bigger of a deal.

But it was the modest Slovenian kid with the dimples who dropped those "big" names down on the results list and came out on top with the always heartwarming underdog story.

You may not have heard of Marco Grilc but any friend of his, especially any friend of the European type, will tell you that this is a much deserved win for the unassuming Slovak.

Here's the bottom line in results, but for more impact check out the bottom line in video courtesy of TTR (Ticket to Ride) If you can't get your fill here make the jump over to www.ttrworldtour.com for even more eye candy.

1. Marko Grilc SLO 281 Pkt. Switch Backside 1080 Double Corked Mute Grab

2. Peetu Piroiinen FIN 268 Pkt. Backside 1080 Double Corked Mute Grab

3. Andreas Wiig NOR 251 Pkt. Frontside 1080 Double Flip

4. Iouri Podladtchikov SUI 54 Pkt.

5. Eero Ettala FIN

6. Werner Stock AUT

7. Elias Elhardt D

8. Torstein Horgmo NOR

9. Antti Autti FIN 10 Marc Swoboda AUT

11. Chas Guldemond USA

12. Stefan Gimpl AUT

13. Risto Mattila FIN

14. Tim Humphreys USA

15. Travis Rice USA

16. Gigi Rf AUT


This is what Marco did to win:


Here is the overall breakdown:


And here is what Rice did:
For more footy of each rider head over to TTR's profile and scope out all the different edits from one of the biggest nights Innsbruck will see this winter.

www.frendsvision.com


Danny, Jack, Luke, Scotty, Keir, Kevin and Mason have just put a new way to kill time up on the wide world of web.

Also, we're hearing rumors of an 8th member being added to the infamous Frends crew. We won't say anything until it's official, but we will say that if this transaction happens he would be the shortest member of the crew.

Stay tuned for more info and exclusive video about "Frends Vision". In the meantime, go surf the brand new site and tell your own friends about it.

We don't know who's going yet... but we know what they'll be wearing.

Burton just unveiled the new 2010 U.S. Snowboard Team Uniform. Check it out. Thoughts?



Here's the official word on them from the big B.

After much anticipation, Burton unveils today the US Snowboard Team Uniforms for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. This February, as the US Snowboard Team steps onto the World's stage in Vancouver, they will look and feel unmatched with designs that speak to both individuality and heritage, key hallmarks of the Burton brand and the snowboard culture. Building on their long-standing relationship with Gore, Burton has enhanced their own unique designs with the Gore-Tex brand.



The Olympic uniforms feature a fresh and progressive style while also managing to pay tribute to more classic Americana fashion staples. The pants seamlessly integrate the look of real, worn, vintage denim, and the jackets feature preppy plaids adorned with leather patches and chenille crests with both pieces incorporating the performance benefits of Gore-Tex fabric. All product development at Burton is rider driven and this Olympic outerwear is no exception. Burton held a roundtable discussion with top pro-snowboarders and Olympic hopefuls Elena Hight, Mason Aguirre, Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce, Jack Mitrani, Luke Mitrani, Steve Fisher, Scotty Lago, and Louie Vito to review design concepts for the outerwear before arriving at the final creation.



"Since its inception, Burton has been a rider driven company," said Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman of Burton Snowboards. "For the creation of the US Snowboard Team uniform, we listened carefully to the riders' needs and used their input to ensure that the final fit, fabrics and overall design would maximize their performances and take these riders to the podium. It was also absolutely critical to ensure these Olympic uniforms were worthy of bearing the Burton name."



The partnership with the Gore-Tex brand, the official fabric of the 2010 U.S. Snowboarding Team's Olympic outerwear, further enhances the technical designs, enabling riders to compete in a variety of cold weather conditions. Gore-Tex fabrics combat the snow, ice, water and wind, while maintaining breathability, keeping riders drier and more comfortable.



"The Olympic team is made up of the best riders in the world and they demand the best in functionality and performance," says Brad Hill, NA Snowsports Marketing Leader." As the leader in technical fabrics, our number one priority at Gore is to make sure our products are best in class. By blending Burton's unique style with the unbeatable comfort and protection found in Gore-Tex fabric we're confident the uniforms will enable riders to stay focused on the challenges of the event itself, and not on the distractions bad weather can bring."



Providing support for riders worldwide, Burton is supplying the official uniforms for the Chinese and Finnish snowboarding teams for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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