After having celebrated their 10th birthday back in 2012, Poney Session is going to host another out of bounds style session under this year‘s motto: Cops and Robbers.

The 4Star World Snowboard Tour Slopestyle Event will go down in his 11th edition from 14th to 17th March 2013. Place of crime, as before, will be picturesque Saint Lary-Soulan, one of the largest ski resorts in the French Pyrenees.

With a 12.000€ prize purse in cash & in kind of, be sure to expect some decent runs and some off-limits tricks in the Slopestyle Event, but also for the „best tricks“ and „best rookie“ session, taking place these dates.

Last year, the winning poneys were Scandinavian: Jonas Steen bagged up the main title while Sami Luhtanen won the rookie trophy. Will the glory of victory come back to the locals? Will they be cops or robbers? All these answers very soon!

The 4days-program will also include DJ sets with Radio Nova Battle, break dance demonstrations, live board painting and a huge electro party grand finale the last night, to be known as „Garde à Vue“.

The parties…

And here’s the teaser:

Visit www.worldsnowboardtour.com and www.poneysession.com.

TTR World Tour becomes WORLD SNOWBOARD TOUR

New Name, new Logo, new website: www.worldsnowboardtour.com

Scuol, Switzerland, July 3, 2012 – With the start of the 2012-2013 snowboarding season the TTR World Snowboard Tour becomes the World Snowboard Tour, as announced by TTR Pro Snowboarding today. With this step TTR underlines its claim, to be the biggest, best and the world’s most important Snowboard Tour.

TTR Pro Snowboarding’s president Reto Lamm: ‘The new name World Snowboard Tour lets us send the clear signal that there’s only one legitimate Snowboard Tour on the planet. With around 350 events on 5 continents we have earned the right to declare this. We are the home base for legendary contests like Air& Style, Burton Open competitions, Arctic Challenge or O’Neill Evolution. An increasing number of contests around the world want to become part of our tour. All this is determined on the basic core values of the sport, that still remain the foundation of TTR Pro Snowboarding and its products. Our values creativity, fun, progression, freedom and friendship are the pillars TTR and the World Snowboard Tour have built their acceptance and popularity on.’

TTR Managing Director Alex Doerr: ‘Renaming the World Snowboard Tour enables us to create a better platform to market our Tour. This includes a new logo and website, that with a high level of interactivity, shapes new and contemporary course into the World of Freestyle Snowboarding.’

The World Snowboard Tour 2012-2013 calendar includes the classic 6Star events around the globe such as the BigAir Oakley& Shaun White Air&Style in Beijing, China and Billabong Air&Style in Innsbruck, Austria. Burton’s European Open and US Open present the world’s best Slopestyle and Halfpipe action, and O’Neill Evolution guarantees a dose of finest Halfpipe and BigAir Snowboarding in Davos, Switzerland. The Nordic classic The Arctic Challenge will be back to present another round of action in Oslo’s World Championship Pipe.

For more information please visit www.worldsnowboardtour.com

No video highlights yet, but at least a press release with three swank pictures…

With clear domination, and outstanding performance in the superfinal, Elias Elhardt won the 5Star Relentless Big Air Stuttgart presented by quiksilver.

Victor de le Rue (FRA) grabbed second place with the best combination of style and tech runs. Third place went to current TTR Big Air World Tour leader Roope Tonteri (FIN).

With wind and snow issues in the morning, the contest had a rocky start. Hurricane Joachim created quite a stir, canceling Friday’s training session and causing the organization to seal off the event site. The crew was challenged to prepare ideal conditions for today’s competition, but as the winds calmed today the contest took off and presented thousands of spectators some top notch snowboarding.

‘It’s obviously super cool to win in your home country, the crowd went wild. It’s both the first and last contest for me this season, as I will concentrate on filming. Therefore it couldn’t have been a better day.’ says favorite Elias Elhardt, who won the contest with his Frontside 360 Stalefish – Frontside Boardslide run for style, and a Frontside 900 Melon – 270 Frontside Boardslide on his technical run. With these two runs combined, Elias had the highest score in the super final.

With another 5Star TTR Big Air contest wrapped up, Roope Tonteri is still solidly leading the TTR Big Air World Tour Ranking. German Ethan Morgan moved up into the Big Air second place. There were no changes in the Overall ranking results, Roope Tonteri is still ranked 3^rd.

In anticipation of the World Snowboarding Championships from 10-19 february in Oslo, Norway, riders have another few chances in the last days of 2011 to qualify for the Halfpipe and Slopestyle disciplines. 4Star Events US Revolution Tour and the Burton Pro-Test give opportunities in the USA. The O’Neill Evolution, from 2-8 January in Davos (SUI) features a 5Star Halfpipe and 6Star Big Air contest. The 6Star Big Air for men and women will count as a Slopestyle result for WSC qualification. The RedBull Nanshan Open in China is the next 5Star Slopestyle opportunity. WSF 1-3Star events also count for the TTR Points lists. Check the full qualification information on: http://ttrworldtour.com/about/world-snowboarding-championships.html

The Billabong Ante Up 2010. Rider: Seb Toots, photo: Scott Serfas

Riders from around the globe are making the journey to Whistler, Canada for the second annual Billabong Ante Up big air competition set for this Friday, July 1st, 2011. The Ante Up will be the first 5Star stop on the 2011/12 TTR World Tour and will also act as the first event where riders can register results for the all-new TTR Big Air Ranking list. The riders list is full of international talent including Eric Willett (USA), Mark McMorris (CAN), Sebastien Toutant (CAN), Sage Kotsenburg (USA) and Seppe Smits (BEL) who were all major forces at big air events last season. These guys will need to be on top of their game with some other big names on the invite list who will all be battling for the 850 TTR Big Air ranking points and a piece of the $50,000 USD prize purse.

Riders will face tough competition with an invite list full of talent

This year’s Ante Up competition is setup to be a progression clinic with veterans like Chas Guldemond (USA) and Scotty Lago (USA) in the mix with younger contest killers like Tyler Flanagan (USA), Gjermund Braaten (NOR), Charles Reid (CAN), Matts Kulisek (CAN) and Roope Tonteri (FIN). With double-corks becoming stock tricks at big air competitions, there’s no telling what riders might attempt on the 80-foot gap step-down jump that the Whistler park crew has been shaping into perfection over the past two weeks. The event is open to the public and will mark the celebration of Canada Day with special guest, K-OS, a Canadian hip hop star who will be playing DJ sets throughout the day. For those unable to attend, all the action from the top of Whistler mountain can be viewed live via webcast at www.billabong.com/anteup on July 1st, 2011 from 1p.m. to 5p.m. PST.

Rider: Matts Kulisek, photo: Scott Serfas

First event for riders to register results for new TTR ranking system

The TTR World Tour now features a new ranking system that has separate ranking lists for Big Air, Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Overall. With this new ranking system in place, TTR will now award World Tour titles for each of the four separate ranking categories. The Ante Up will be the first event of the 2011/12 season where riders will be able to register results on the Big Air World Tour Ranking list and the Overall World Tour Ranking list. Check out www.ttrworldtour.com for a complete breakdown of how the new TTR World Tour Ranking system works.

Southern Hemisphere schedule confirmed

After the air settles from all the action at Ante Up, the TTR World Tour will take a short break before heading down to the Southern Hemisphere for events in Australia and New Zealand. The Southern Hemisphere calendar is packed with great events including the 5Star Burton New Zealand Open (ss, hp) and the 4Star Stylewars (ss) event going down in Australia. The complete Southern Hemisphere calendar is available at www.ttrworldtour.com.

R: Mark McMorris. P: Scott Serfas

The TTR World Tour is getting ready to kick off its 10th season of snowboarding with the 5Star Billabong Ante Up in Whistler, Canada before heading down to New Zealand and Australia for the Southern Hemisphere leg of the tour. The Southern Hemisphere calendar is full of highlights including the 3Star Dew Hut Jam in July, and the 4Star Billabong Bro Down, 5Star Burton New Zealand Open and 4Star Stylewars all happening in August. There is a ton of action lined up for the 2011/12 season including an all-new ranking system, the 6Star World Snowboarding Championships in February and all the other elite events the TTR World Tour is known for.

New Ranking System and World Titles in 2012
The TTR World Ranking system has been totally overhauled and will now be split into four separate world ranking lists: TTR Slopestyle World Tour Ranking, TTR Halfpipe World Tour Ranking, TTR Overall World Tour Ranking and TTR Big Air World Tour Ranking. The 5Star Billabong Ante Up and the 5Star Burton New Zealand Open will be the first two major events where riders will be able to earn points that will count towards these new ranking lists. Check out www.ttrworldtour.com for a complete breakdown on how the new ranking system works.

Summer Calendar Packed Full of Sick Events
The Billabong Ante Up will kick off the 2011/12 TTR World Tour season on July 1, 2011 in Whistler and will register the first results that will count for the TTR Big Air World Tour Rankings. With big air competition specialists such as Mark McMorris, Sebastien Toutant and Seppe Smits all slated to attend, Whistler will be playing host to some intense action on the massive jump. The cornerstone event of the Southern Hemisphere season, the Burton New Zealand Open, is back as a 5Star competition and will be the first major event where men and women can bank ranking points for the Halfpipe and Slopestyle ranking lists. The NZ Open will be going down at Cardrona Alpine Resort from August 9th to 13th, 2011. Check out the list of great Southern Hemisphere events below and check out ttrworldtour.com for the complete calendar:

5Star Billabong Ante Up – Whistler, B.C., Canada July 1, 2011
4Star Billabong Bro Down – Wanaka, New Zealand, August 5-6, 2011
5Star Burton New Zealand Open – Wanaka, New Zealand, August 9-13, 2011
3Star New Zealand Winter Games – Wanaka, New Zealand, August 19-24, 2011
4Star Stylewars – Falls Creek, Australia, August 21-24, 2011
3Star Dew Hut Jam Mt. Buller, Australia, July 30-31, 2011

R: Iouri Podladtchikov. P: Pablo Azocar

The Road to the 2012 World Snowboarding Championships
The inaugural 6Star World Snowboarding Championships (WSC) will take place February 10-19, 2012 in Oslo, Norway and will feature halfpipe and slopestyle competitions. Riders still have the opportunity to qualify for one of the 240 spots available and can do so through the TTR World Rankings. The TTR Top 50 men and Top 30 women on the Halfpipe World Ranking List or the Slopestyle World Ranking List as of January 16th, 2012, will automatically be eligible to compete at the WSC. Riders who are currently outside the TTR Top 50 men or Top 30 women still have the opportunity to improve their ranking position and can begin earning some major points at the Burton Zealand Open in August and by continuing to compete at TTR events up until the January 16th qualification cut-off date. For more complete information on the WSC, please visit: www.wsc2012.com .

VIDEO:
2011/12 TTR Season Begins At Billabong Ante Up (5Star)

http://www.ttrworldtour.com/nc/multimedia/video/play/ttr-battery-catfight-2011-wrap-up.html

One of the largest urban centres in Germany, the city of Stuttgart, will play host to some top-level snowboarding action when the inaugural inner city event, the Relentless Big Air Stuttgart, rolls into the Neckarpark arena on January 4th and 5th, 2011. A 4Star event on the Swatch TTR World Tour, the Relentless Big Air Stuttgart will feature top athletes jumping over the big air kicker and rail setup in front of thousands of screaming spectators. The riders will be competing for a slice of the $50,000 USD prize purse, a maximum of 500 TTR World Ranking points and the glory that comes along with winning a large urban event in front of a massive crowd.

Elias Elhardt and Werner Stock on their way to the TTR Top 10

The citizens of Stuttgart are in for some fantastic action with talented riders from across Europe scheduled to attend the event including, Tore Holvik (NOR), who took 5th place at the 5Star Burton New Zealand Open, and with a strong result at the Relentless Big Air Stuttgart could move up into the TTR Top 5. Also on the rise in the Swatch TTR World Tour Rankings is national German superstar, Elias Elhardt, who already rocked the 4Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam, taking 1st place, and has a solid backside double cork 1080 in his bag of tricks. Austrian rider, Werner Stock, is another rider who has been showing off his big air riding and was able to nab sixth place at last year’s 6Star Billabong Air & Style Innsbruck and is one to watch out for in Stuttgart.

The Big Air Setup

Riders will be flying down from the top of the 36-meter run-in gaining speed for the massive kicker, which will be followed by a staircase rail setup. The competition will run a jam format where riders will be able to get multiple runs in to attempt their best tricks and will receive a score based on both the jump and rail obstacles. One lucky up-and-coming rider will have the opportunity to ride alongside the pros by qualifying with a wildcard through the rookie-challenge, which will take place before the main event.

What’s Next on the Swatch TTR Tour

January will be a busy month for the riders on the Swatch TTR Tour. The 6Star O’Neill Evolution in Davos, Switzerland will be in full swing during the Relentless Big Air Stuttgart, with the slopestyle finals on Friday 6th January and the halfpipe finals on Saturday 7th January. Fortunately, following the action online is easy via the live scoring and live webcast available on www.ttrworldtour.com. Leading on from Evolution is another 6Star event and another big snowboarder gathering, the 6Star Burton European Open, which is set to take over Laax, Switzerland on the 8th to 15th of January 2011. To follow the action packed January, simply head to www.ttrworldtour.com for news, videos and photos.

Terje Haakonsen invites Jacques Rogge to learn more about slopestyle & snowboarding.

The IOC executive board did not approve slopestyle for the Sochi 2014 Olympics at their meeting in Acapulco this week, claiming the level of slopestyle riding as of October 2010 is not up to the required standards. The IOC will as such await the development of the sport until the Ski Federation’s (FIS) Snowboard World Championships in 2011. The executive board has handed all powers to President Jacques Rogge to make the decision. Terje Haakonsen invites Jacques Rogge to his slopestyle event this winter to learn more about snowboarding and slopestyle.

“It must not have been easy for IOC to evaluate slopestyle when the Ski Federation (FIS) has only done one contest. All the best slopestyle riders have been following another tour. Slopestyle has been progressing rapidly over many years in TTR’s World Snowboard Tour and is on a world-class level. On a global scale it’s a much bigger format than halfpipe. If you look at the top 10 from the Vancouver halfpipe finals, they are all great slopestyle riders. Slopestyle is the basics of snowboarding,” says Haakonsen.

In a recent news story on the Norwegian main TV station NRK, IOC executive board member Gerhard Heiberg opened up for a wider interpretation of the term World Championships. As there is no slopestyle planned at the Ski Federation’s Snowboard World Championships in Molina (Spain), he includes X Games as World Championship level events.

“This is a good move and gives the IOC a much better perspective on snowboarding, rather than looking solely at Ski Federation events. I support slopestyle at the Olympics as long as it is done by and for snowboarders. The TTR World Tour is undertaking 150 slopestyle contests every year in a fair ranking system that delivered over 5000 number of slopestyle ranking results last season. In snowboarding, we have developed a progressive judging system and have the best TV productions. Together with the World Snowboard Federation and TTR, we have created the World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo in 2012.

Since the Olympics need snowboarding in their games, why not include the most popular discipline?” says Haakonsen.

Terje Haakonsen’s event, The Oakley Arctic Challenge, is also the trial world championships.

“I believe the trial World Snowboarding Championships is a good opportunity for the IOC to check out the slopestyle level. I will personally offer Jacques Rogge a guided tour if he accepts our invitation, says Haakonsen.”

Sounds like a powerplay to wrestle Olympic shredding from the hands of the FIS to the TTR to us, and not before time either. Clearly anyone who’s seen slopestyle contests over the last couple of years would attest that, despite what some suits might reckon, slopestyle most certainly IS at the level required – you’d only need to look at what kids these days are stringing together these days – and with a grand tour of one of the most progressive contests around, with the best riders on the planet in attendance, from grand fromage Haakon, we’re betting on some positive movement in the not too distant future.

Where: Whistler, Canada

Do you remember this week’s post on the Billabong Ante Up live webcast? Well, you can still head over to billabongpro.com to see all of the action go down. However, yours truly Onboard will feature the live webcast, too! The plan is to stream the action on Saturday, 26 June, from 8pm to midnight (CET). This is a great way to escape the general football craze that has its tight grip over Europe.

Scotty Lago, clearly looking forward to the event.

For some more information on the event read on, I pasted some of the shit from the old post into this one. Makes it look like I actually worked hard, you know?

With all the crazy progression that’s been going down lately (looking at you, Torstein Horgmo) we’re pumped about the first 5-Star TTR event of the season that’ll be shaking foundations in the Camp of Champions terrain park at Whistler Blackcomb from June 26-30 – The Billabong Ante Up.

The rider list reads like a Who’s Who of shit hot steezers, with Scotty Lago, Triple Torstein, Seb Toutant and many more signed up and ready to shralp. Billabong’s live webcast team will be bringing action from the qualifying to the finals, unique rider interviews and the awards ceremony through the pipes and direct to your machine.

Riders will be hitting up a jump-to-rail feature that’s being constructed as we speak by Arena Snowparks Steve Petrie. He explaing: “The jump is going to be an 85-95 foot step-over style jump with a slightly elevated take-off. We’re going to gap out the area behind the take-off so it should be great for all the riders. The Push.ca rail set-up includes a 50-foot staircase with Down-Flat-Down Combi Box on one side and a DFD rail on the other.”

The Billabong Ante Up schedule is as follows…

June 25 – Rider Practice

June 26 – Live Event Coverage (weather dependent)

June 27-30 – Bad weather contingency days

For more info, head to billabong.com/anteup!

Video bangers from the women’s TTR final stop and more.

With the women’s TTR World Tour wrapped up and rookie Enni Rukajärvi basking in the afterglow of her victory, check back on some of the highlights of the Tour, and the Roxy Chicken Jam in particular.

Riders: Jamie Anderson, Sina Candrian, Sarka Pancchova, Enni Rukajärvi, Lisa Wiik and more.

2009/10 Women's Swatch TTR winner Enni Rukajärvi. Photo: Laura Austin.

Rukajärvi crowned 09/10 women’s Swatch TTR World Champion after 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam

The 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam slopestyle and halfpipe finals both went down today under sunny skies at Mammoth Mountain in California and Enni Rukajärvi (FIN) has been officially declared the women’s Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion for the 2009/2010 season. Sina Candrian (SUI) was able to post a sixth place finish in the slopestyle finals to defend her World No. 2 position and Sarka Pancochova (CZE) squeezed in a fifth place in slopestyle to finish her season in World No. 3. All three of the women mentioned above will go home with some hefty prize money and will also receive automatic invites to all major TTR events for the 2010/2011 season.

A Jam–Packed Day Full of Action: Slopestyle Finals

Jamie Anderson. Photo: Peter Morning.

The day began with slopestyle finals in the morning under the blazing California sunshine making the course a little bit slow, but the ladies powered through the slush and put on a great showing. The slopestyle course is larger than in years past and the riders were loving the setup that consisted of a 65-foot jump, 55-foot jump, a rail section, pole jam and finished with a 50-foot kicker. It was American rider, Jamie Anderson, who had the speed and style on the course and was able to throw down a run that included a backside 540, switch backside 540 and a Cab 540 mute to take the top spot of the day. On the TTR side of things, Enni Rukajärvi came in ninth place, but that was enough to keep her in the TTR World No. 1 spot. Sina Candrian was able to place sixth in slopestyle to keep her World No. 2 position. And, Sarka Pancochova (CZE) took the fifth place finish to put her in the World No. 3 spot. However, the ladies still had halfpipe finals ahead where some riders had a chance to shake up the final TTR results.

The Action Continues with Pipe Finals in the Afternoon

Kelly Clark. Photo: Peter Morning.

There was a two-hour break after the slopestyle competition wrapped up before the halfpipe finals kicked off. Over the past couple of years, the Chicken Jam was running an 18-foot pipe and the ladies were definitely stoked on the 22-footer being used for this year’s event. It was Kelly Clark (USA) putting up her signature huge airs and smooth spins to take the top spot for the day in the pipe. Japanese rider, Rana Okada, was also going big and took the third place spot and Elena Hight (USA) rounded out the podium in third.

The Top Women Riders in the World of Competitive Freestyle Snowboarding
With none of the riders on the pipe podium in contention for a top TTR Tour finish, Enni Rukajärvi was able to clinch the TTR World Champion title at the close of the Chicken Jam with Candrian officially finishing in World No. 2 and Panchochova in World No. 3. Rukajärvi was beyond excited with her win saying, “I feel awesome. I am so happy and stoked and also surprised. I did not expect to be Tour Champion at all at the beginning of the season.” With her TTR Tour Champion title win, Rukajärvi will take home a cool $50,000, Candrian will be awarded with $25,000 and Pancochova will walk away $15,000 richer.

Swatch TTR World Ranking List
WOMEN
1 Rukajärvi, Enni FIN 858.11
2 Candrian, Sina SUI 852.77
3 Pancochova, Sarka CZE 834.88
4 Wiik, Lisa NOR 830.38
5 Anderson, Jamie USA 830.21
6 Buaas, Kjersti Ostgaard NOR 804.02
7 Haller, Ursina SUI 762.91
8 Maas, Cheryl NED 761.01
9 Sadar, Cilka SLO 741.5
10 Gotlieb, Shelly NZL 697.2