Check out some of the stompers from the semis and finals of the 2012 edition of Freestyle.CH, all edited together in hyper-über-mega-mo.

And while we have your attention, you NEED to watch this edit below from the qualifiers. Skip to 00.40 and enjoy the best frontside 360 ever, performed by your boy Halldor Helgason.

[Semi-Finals Highlights]

Chas Guldemond Cab 12s his way to first. Thanks for the framing, dreadlocked photo girl.

Chas Guldemond twirls hardest to win the 2012 edition of the Freestyle.CH. Check the full report of today’s action in Zurich.

Despite Saturday’s washout the Freestyle. CH faithful’s spirit refused to be dampened and the 20-odd thousand souls who descended on the Landiwiese on Sunday were rewarded with clear skies, warm weather and banging snowboarding.

Amongst the usual mishmash of sticker crazed teens, blasting beats and an assortment of young stuntmen sending their steeds of choice skyward were the snowboarders, who got busy firing off rounds of doublecork variants, 1080s, 1260s and tweaked out slow spins.

Halldor Helgason didn’t make it past the Semis, but stoked the crowd with back rodeo Japans like this amongst double cork variants.

A welcome element of the FSCH format is the required Style jump to break up the barrage of rotations that define contest riding these days – at least in the Semis: for the finals this was dispensed with for some reason, and the number of jumps each rider had was also cut resulting in a slightly anticlimactic climax, compared to the Semis at least.

The battle for the 4 final spots was fierce, and the dudes were sending it hard to advance. Those who impressed most without getting the nod were Eero Ettala who landed his first ever switch double backflip to late switch backside 180 (“I prefer to land a new trick to winning any contest,” he stated), Halldor Helgason who seems as surprised as the anyone when he doesn’t explode himself – his front 10 double toedeos and double barrel rolls were insane – and Peetu Piiroinen who was also loving a bit of the front 10 dub off the toes.

Peetu Piiroinen mixed in smooth front 7s like this with front double toedeos.

But for whatever reason these boys didn’t make the finals. Ståle Sandbech, Chas Guldemond, Antoine Truchon and Pat Burgener did and, once the downhill bikers had finished flattening their own testicles into pancakes they headed up top for the two-hit final.

Two jumps, both solely scored in an old fashioned manner, meant that the riders had to just concentrate on hucking out their big hitters and this, unfortunately, lead to more slams than stomps. Ståle decided the time was right to unleash the triple but struggled to keep his rotation in check and ended up leaving a couple of hefty craters in his wake. The crowd were willing young Swiss buck Pat Burgener on but sadly there was to be no repeat of the semis, where he’d qualified first, as his usually reliable landing gear let him down, leaving newcomer Truchon to stare down the barrel of Guldemond’s heavy contest rep.

Pat Burgener has a tweak that belies his tender years.

He had a good shot at it, his stomped front 10 dub lacked a little pop but it could have been a good foundation for a blunderbuss of a second hit but, after Guldemond had executed a perfect Cab 12, he tried to answer but could only slam, leaving Chuck G able to blur himself through a Cab 1440 ( which he landed but reverted) safe in the knowledge that he’d bagged an unassailable position.

So Chas won his first ever Freestyle.CH crown and deservedly so. His riding might not be everybody’s cuppa, his energy drink board a bit of an eyesore, but he seems like a genuine, gracious gent and is certainly knows how to turn it on when it’s business time in a contest.

Props, Chas, thanks Zurich, and cheers to the weather for turning it on when it needed to. Till next year.

Yo. Shutup and watch this bit of 3D pre-vis wizardry of the upcoming Freestyle.CH setup. Madness, we say.

Holla!

The internet’s favourite snowboarder, Halldor Helgason, sends SEO nerds wild as he wins the 2011 edition of Freestyle.CH, with Seppe Smits and Ståle Sandbech in second and third.

The sun was shining once more for this year’s edition of the Freestyle.CH, banishing the sodden memories of last year’s washout. Though the hype was all about the (mini) Mega Ramp making its debut on European shores, we were far more concerned with watching the snowboarding, and getting an early look at what we might expect from this season’s contest schedule. On the basis of this, doubles are the new black, 10s are the new 7s, but some cats can still stomp down the style when they feel like it.

When all was wrapped, Halldor Helgason bagged the swag with a front 10 double that was almost as narcoleptic as the one he did to win the X-Games a couple years back. As he says in his interview in next month’s Onboard mag, he’s just as likely to come last as first in contests such is his death or glory approach to riding. This time it was Stompy Lobster that turned up, and when that guy’s in the house then he’ll always have a say.

So, entertain yourselves with the highlights of all the event’s winners (apologies for the helicoptering in there), where you’ll see Halldor Helgason’s swag bagging front 10 double. He does them so lazy-style it is unreal.

And for more pure shredding, here’s the cut of the snowboard semi finals.

And here’s the qualifiers, with some proper stompers from Halldor (rocket air backflip late 180, yes!) Marko Grilc, Christian Haller, Seb Toutant and more…

Winning! Halldor Helgason and a bunch of other winner dudes.

I-Pod give the crowd a pleasing.

Europe’s inaugural event of the new season, Zurich’s Freestyle.CH is set to rock the Landiwiese once more this weekend. As well as the snowboard Big Air, you’ll get hyped on the (mini) Mega Ramp!

We have one of those monthly pains in the ass known as deadlines hanging over us, so prepare to be dazzled by all the info you could ever hope for in the form of the official press release… Let’s have it…

When freestyle.ch announced in late August that the mini-MegaRamp was soon to hit Europe, the freestyle community broke out in wild cheers. Now, with just two days to go and the colossal assembly in full gear, the first-ever Big Air for skateboarders on European soil is looking to be a major hit. City Councilor Gerold Lauber will herald in the MegaRamp’s reign on Saturday, September 24.

The set-up team at freestyle.ch has been pulling out all the stops to turn Zurich’s Landiwiese Park into the perfect setting for Europe’s largest freestyle sports event: Since last Thursday, around 300 helpers and suppliers have been installing over 10,000 meters of cable, laying down 4,900 square meters of protective ground covering, setting up 2,700 barriers, erecting 3,100 square meters of tent space, and putting over 280 tons of metal and 700 cubic meters of dirt to good use. Friday’s list of things to do even includes the production of snow – no less than 190 tons of it smack in the middle of Zurich! A mixture of water, air and nitrogen is going to bring the snowy Big Air to life for snowboarders and freeskiers.

Though the Mega Ramp is a Mini Mega Ramp, it's not really that 'mini' is it?

By the time the doors open at 11:00 am on Saturday, the Landiwiese will have magically been transformed into a spectacular Freestyle arena. According to freestyle.ch’s organizers, this year’s event layout promises to be more attractive than ever. “Visitors will thrill at the panoramic view that spans from the skateboarders’ and BMXers’ Mini MegaRamp to the left over to the big screen and concert stage directly in front of them and around to the snowboarders’ and freeskiers’ Big Air plus the FMXers’ dirt mound to the right – it’ll all be in full view,” honked OC Head Erwin Flury. “Just picture the Crossover Session! You’ll have athletes catapulting over installations left and right and spectators will barely have to turn their heads to take it all in. I personally can’t wait to experience it.”

City Councilor Lauber to Mingle with Freestyle Giants

Saturday’s Crossover Session – freestyle.ch’s interdisciplinary show contest and crowning attraction – will be sharing the spotlight this year with the mini-MegaRamp. The new skateboarding ramp will make its official European entrance at 1:00 pm on Saturday when the head of the Department of Education and Sports, City Councilor Gerold Lauber formally turns it over to such freestyle experts as skating legend Bob Burnquist (USA) or Pierre-Luc Gagnon (CAN). “We’ve all been training like crazy on a ramp the same size here in the States, which shows just how fired up we are about this year’s freestyle.ch!”, says Gagnon. In the snowboarding and freeskiing categories, seasoned Swiss freestyle.ch aces Iouri Podladtchikov and Elias Ambühl will be hot on the title trail. However, two young guns within their own ranks are sure to give them a run for their money: A very bright future has been predicted for 17-year-old snowboarder Pat Burgener from the canton of Vaud too. A face-off between Mat Rebeaud from Switzerland and the Spaniard, Dany Torres, is sure to dominate the action in the FMX category. Torres has been enjoying his greatest season yet. Just this past weekend, he was crowned overall champion of the Red Bull X-Fighters Tour – the FMX equivalent of the World Cup. He’s proven himself an inescapable force to be reckoned with at the finals on Sunday.

US Rapper Lil Jon Plus Fun Side Attractions

American rapper Lil Jon will heat up Zurich’s crowd on Saturday, setting the mood for the evening’s Crossover Session. The “King of Crunk” is known for his powerful live performances. Other attractions will include the premiere of Standing Sideways!, the new film from Burton Snowboards, as well as the BMX show on the Mini MegaRamp starring big shots Vince Byron (AUS) and Morgan Wade (USA). Always a crowd favorite, the annual Label World trade show will provide a platform for 100 freestyle sports brands to exhibit their latest products and services. Sports buffs of all ages will have the chance to get in on the action at one of the Active Zones, where every kind of sports gear from stand up paddle boards and street surfing boards to BMX bikes and slacklines will be available for the trying. Organizers are expecting over 35,000 visitors thanks to attractive ticket offers and a promising weather forecast. The 2-day pass is now only 60 francs – 15 francs down from last year. Those looking to avoid long lines and interested in saving 6 bucks can take advantage of the advance ticket sales at Starticket. There will be a 6-franc surcharge on tickets purchased at the door.

For more information go onto www.freestyle.ch, www.freestyle.ch/facebook, www.freestyle.ch/twitter

CONFIRMED RIDERS

1 Arvidsson Nils
2 Burgener Pat
3 Bråten Gjermund
4 Elhardt Elias
5 Grilc Marko
6 Haller Christian
7 Helgason Halldor
8 McMorris Mark
9 Morgan Ethan
10 Piiroinen Peetu
11 Podladtchikov Iouri
12 Sandbech Ståle
13 Smits Seppe
14 Tonteri Roope
15 Toutant Sebastien
16 Willett Eric

Our brothers of other mothers at facemask brand Clast have some funtimes planned in Zurich at Freestyle.CH. Check out all the info you’ll need to send it…

Clast make sick facemasks and also probably know more about Zurich than you ever will. So if there’s a crew to hook up with around Freestyle.CH, it’s this lot. Check out what they’ve got planned…

Clast & Shema Night

What: Clast & Shema Night – “What happens in Zurich stays in Zurich”

When: Saturday the 24th of September 2011. From 10 p.m.

Where: Exil, Hardstrasse 245, Zurich, Switzerland

DJs: Montes, Clastzoo, Mannequine and Kris Cavaleer

More info on Facebook

Clast Booth @ Swiss Labelworld

What: Clast Beerpong Tournament

When: Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th of September 2011

Where: Frestyle.ch Swiss Labelworld, Booth nr. 2

Win: Play Beerpong and win new Clast products

Plus there’ll be a “Meet and Greet” with some of their pro team, including a chance to get an original Polaroid picture taken with Markus Keller, Iouri Podladtchikov, Christian Haller, Marko Grilc, Stephan Maurer and many more

Check more on Facebook

Thank you for sharing

Mini Mega.

When we got this bit of PR from the Swiss everyone here was like “Fawesome!”. Then we read the smallprint and found out that it’s actually a MINI MegaRamp which, while not actually that mini, is still not Mega. Cheeky, but nevertheless this should still be a pretty sick edition to an already awesome event.

Of course, the snowboarding will be the main draw and with the likes of Mark McMorris, Seppe Smits, Nils Arvidsson and Halldor Helgason you know the shredding will be off the hook. Will Halldor land his Lobster this time?

Over to the Public Relations officer for the full details…

Long a major crowd magnet in the US and never more popular among athletes, MegaRamp skateboarding and BMX will finally touch down in Europe. At freestyle.ch the weekend of 24-25 September, Zurich will celebrate the European premiere of a full mini-MegaRamp skate contest and BMX demo that promises to be a blowout event.

Skateboarders will soon be plunging the depths of the mammoth installation that runs a total 53m in length. Riders drop down the 9 meter high roll-in, cross an almost 8 meter gap and then ride up the 5.5 meter high quarter. The mini-MegaRamp structure is mini in name only! For the first time ever in Europe, a mini-MegaRamp contest will be held at Landiwiese Park in Zurich. “Our goal is to keep freestyle.ch original and innovative. By launching a European premiere in the skateboarding and BMX category we are doing just that through our collaboration with the American event developers MegaRamp Productions” says Erwin Flury, head of event at freestyle.ch.

Almost all of the big name MegaRamp riders such as Andy McDonald (USA), Jake Brown (AUS), Pierre-Luc Gagnon (CAN), Sandro Dias (BRA) and Adam Taylor (USA) are coming and are certain to make this European premiere a big hit. Adam Taylor, who just grabbed silver in the X-Games, perfectly sums up the general mood as the event nears: “I am super excited to have mini-MegaRamp coming to freestyle.ch! It’s my favorite ramp to skate and it’s now at my favorite event in Europe. It’s going to be an amazing contest this year.”

DJs and BMXers Add to Crossover Session

For the first time ever in the event’s history, all three of freestyle.ch’s installations will feature a single jump. This will be most striking during Saturday evening’s interdisciplinary show contest called Crossover Session. “Up to now, the skateboarders have always executed a whole run on the Vert Ramp, while the snowboarders, freeskiers and FMXers have performed a single jump only. Now that everyone is doing a single jump, comparisons between disciplines as well as the pace and level of tension will intensify,” says Julie Varghayian, head of program at freestyle.ch. Furthermore, each sports category will receive its own DJ, tailored sounds are sure to heighten the appeal of the Crossover Session for spectators. In addition, freestyle.ch will be calling back BMXers to Landiwiese Park for the European debut of BMX on the mini-MegaRamp: Vince Byron (AUS) (silver at this year’s X Games) and Morgan Wade (USA) (winner of the MegaRamp Open at Woodward West) will be competing in the Crossover Session as well as riding a demo on Saturday afternoon.

Podladtchikov, Ambühl and Rebeaud On the Hunt

Iouri Podladtchikov, Elias Ambühl and Mat Rebeaud – all hell-bent on a home victory – will ensure a strong Swiss presence at the snowboarding, freeski and FMX starting lineups. Breathing down Podladtchikov’s neck will be Mark McMorris (USA), Seppe Smits (BEL), Nils Arvidsson (SWE) and Halldor Helgason (ISL), the mighty newcomers who were nearly unbeatable this past winter. In the freeski category, Ambühl will have to battle with the likes of 2011 shooting star and two-time X-Games gold medalist, Alex Schlopy (USA), as well as Big Air expert Bobby Brown (USA), European X-Games gold medalist, JF Houle (CAN) and 15-year-old Kai Mahler, Switzerland’s promising new talent. FMXer Mat Rebeaud will have his hands full with last year’s winner, Dany Torres (ESP), who has already pulled off two victories this season in the Red Bull X-Fighters World Series, as well as Tom Pagès (FRA), who took 5th in the X-Games, and Jey Rouanet (FRA).

More info at: www.freestyle.ch and www.megaramp.com

Finally we got hold of the highlights reel from the freestyle.ch semis and superfinals. Not much to say but watch the kids go nuts! All results here.