Win this and Coach Thunder's orders will be 'Don't do what Halldor did!'

This kid’s the nuts and, should it be up your street, you can now have a pop at winning Halldor Helgason’s unicorn blood-stained World Snowboarding Championships contest bib. Get involved…

Sadly the recent WSC was not to be for Icelandic buck Halldor Helgason. Not totally unexpected, truth be told, as he’ll tell you himself that he’s just as likely to come in dead last as he is to come first in contests. Unfortunately it was the latter this time for HH, and despite Coach Thunder’s instructions to “Don’t do what the Norwegians did,” he in fact did just that and even went one step further by spannering his ankle going all Lobster flip on the last hit.

But every cloud has a silver lining, and so while Halldor was chilling in Monaco, sipping on Martinis and having his ankle attended to by topless midgets we snuck in and nabbed his bib. We’re gonna give it away to you ’cause you love it. Answer this to enter…

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Mark McMorris. Photo: Danny Burrows.

Onboard Ed in Chief Danny Burrows gives us the story behind one of his favourite shots from the recent World Snowboarding Championships: Mark McMorris getting booted into solar orbit above Oslo’s Vinterpark. Read on.

On the afternoon of Friday, 17th February, the WSC men’s slopestyle semi final was drawing to a close under clear skies, with a beautiful winter sunset blooming in the west. Photographers had been working their way down the challenging course as the two heats of riders threw down trying to make it through to the last 10 for the finals.

A cluster of these shooters had congregated at the second hit to capture the light of the setting sun, among them myself, the legendary Espen Lystad and Pleasure’s sharpshooter Fischi.

I was trying hard to frame the rider as they traversed across the sun, having metered my exposure on the sky so that they would be silhouetted. Depressing the shutter release as Mark McMorris fired through my viewfinder I knew I’d bagged the shot, and once I’d checked the screen I knew that this would be my favourite photo of the entire event.

For those interested the camera settings were 1/1250 at F11, film speed 200, shot on a Nikon D3, at a focal length of 170 on a Nikon 80-200mm lens.

- Danny

The first ever World Snowboarding Championships has come to a close and the inaugural winners crowned. If you weren’t glued to the idiot box watching the live stream, watch how it went down. If you were, relive all the action from the top 3 runs in each discipline.

Despite some lacklustre riding in the early rounds and the premature exit of some big names, the latter stages of the World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo’s Vinterpark certainly kicked up a gear. Although the riding level in the slopestyle was clearly affected by the bulletproof conditions, Chas Guldemond and Spencer O’Brien both stomped heavy runs to take the win on their last runs, while the pipe – described by more than one person as the ‘best halfpipe ever’ – was hands down insane. Kelly Clark was pushed hard by young Spaniard Queralt Castellet but her monster front 10 sealed the deal, while Iouri Podladtchikov‘s heavy doubled up tech edged out the ridiculous height Matt Ladley was sending his rotations. The quarterpipe was great to see after a hiatus of a couple of years, and Olivier Gittler took the overall title, with Kim-Rune Hansen winning best trick and some old guy called Terje bagging the highest air.

Enjoy all the video highlights of the runs that mattered.

QUARTERPIPE FINALS

HALFPIPE MEN

1 – Iouri Podladtchikov

2 – Matt Ladley

3 – Louie Vito

HALFPIPE WOMEN

1 – Kelly Clark

2 – Queralt Castellet

3 – Gretchen Bleiler

SLOPESTYLE MEN

1 – Chas Guldemond

2 – Seb Toutant

3 – Seppe Smits

SLOPESTYLE WOMEN

1 – Spencer O’Brien

2 – Jamie Anderson

3 – Enni Rukajärvi

Our mate Drew Stevenson is on the ground in Oslo to lead you through what’s going down at the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships. Day 1 of qualifiers went down with 4 spots claimed off the bat, but a further 10 ‘lucky losers’ making the cut too. Check out how it’s breaking down and come back tomorrow for more of Drew’s insight. We must say we have no idea how he manages to rattle off those number so fast.

Here's Terje breaking records back in 2007. Will he or anyone else go bigger this time round? Photo: TTR

The WSC Quarterpipe contest will go down in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Friday 17th February, and they’ve just announced the list of riders who’ll be sending it to outer space. Here they are…

Quartepipe comps used to be fairly commonplace till a few years back when they kind of dropped off the map a little. Now the WSC are bringing it back with a vengeance to Oslo, and bossman Terje Håkonsen – who, don’t forget, holds the current World Record Highest Air at 9.8m – will be booting it along with the other riders deemed to have the minerals to tackle a 10m-high ice sculpture. As a reminder of the good old days, here’s Terje’s mental voyage into the outer reaches of Norwegian airspace in 2007.

Should be kind of a big deal…

WSC QUARTERPIPE START LIST

Risto Mattila FIN
Broc Waring USA
Matt Ladley USA
Kim Rune Hansen NOR
Shayne Pospisil USA
Benji Farrow USA
Arthur Longo FRA
Olivier Gittler FRA
Jack Mitrani USA
Brennen Swanson USA
Manuel Pietropoli ITA
Terje Haakonsen NOR
Daisuke Murakami JPN
Ruiki Masuda JPN

TTR and WSF are pleased to announce the confirmed rider field for the World Snowboarding Championships taking place February 10th-19th in Oslo, Norway.

Over 200 men and women from over 25 countries around the world, including 3-times TTR World Tour winners Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) and Jamie Anderson (USA), 2012 X-Games winners Mark McMorris and Torstein Horgmo (NOR) as well as Olympic gold medallist Kelly Clark (USA), will compete for the Slopestyle and Halfpipe World Champion 2012 titles and $500,000 in total prize money.

With this immensely strong gathering of athletes in competitive snowboarding, spectators around the globe can expect a massive dose of action in the halfpipe and on the slopestyle course. More than a 100 independent TV stations will broadcast the WSC worldwide. TTR Pro Snowboarding, World Snowboard Federation and the WSC organizers in Oslo are pleased to welcome the athletes to the first World Snowboarding Championships for snowboarders by snowboarders since 1999.

A final round of Wildcards for influential riders, who weren’t able to qualify through competition in the past year, were handed to: Olivier Gittler and Arthur Longo from France to enter the Halfpipe contest. The Women’s Halfpipe contest sees Elena Hight (USA) join the start field.

The confirmed riders have been anticipating the World Snowboarding Championships for over a year now and can’t wait to drop in and ride the world-class Slopestyle course and Halfpipe. ‘The WSC is the most prestigious competition in Freestyle snowboarding in 2012, and I am very honored to be a part of it. We have all been focusing on this the whole season, it’s that time to show your stuff’ says Belgian Seppe Smits.

Hosting country Norway will warmly welcome many of their favorites in the Oslo Vinter Park Arena, such as Torstein Horgmo, Gjermund Braaten and Stale Sandbech in the men’s field, and Kjersti Ostgaard-Buaas, Silje Norendal and Linn Haug in the Women’s competition.

Henning Andersen, event director: ‘Oslo is ready for the action: The snowpark is in good condition and the final phase of the shaping process has started. The city of Oslo is welcoming everyone to the biggest sports event in 2012.’

The complete overview of all confirmed athletes can be found at: www.wsc2012.com

A man called Roger Stemsrudhagen made this on a glorified abacus.

The World Snowboarding Championships will kick off its first ever jamboree in Oslo’s Winter Park this coming February. Here’s the schedule and how you can swap your coinage for tickets to the show…

The battle for four championship titles amongst the world’s best snowboarders will soon take place in Oslo Winter Park, Norway. In addition, Terje Håkonsen will challenge the bravest of the brave to break his world record for highest air in a quarterpipe (9,8 meters) in one of the world’s most famous sporting arenas, Holmenkollen. Tickets for these historical moments are now available.

Spectacular achievements on an international level, accompanied by music entertainment, predict the conditions worthy of a winter festival. 240 of the world’s best riders from 30 countries will compete for the four prestigious World Cup titles: slopestyle and halfpipe for men and women. This will go down in Oslo Winter Park (Wyller), which right now is making Europe’s largest halfpipe and a state of the art slopestyle course. The quarterpipe session in Holmenkollen ski jump arena Friday night kicks the weekend of the finals off to new levels of riding. World record holder Håkonsen intends to defend his title by riding himself and inspire the next generation to enter new heights.

Fair access to the qualifications combined with tough international competition and extremely high level make sure the true masters of snowboarding meet in the finals. The competitors carry out tricks and rotations in speeds up to 80 km/h, several meters into the air before they land on hard snow.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY PRICES

10th – 15th of February is for training and qualification, without ticket sales. The last four days, 16th – 19th February, are open for the audience. Tickets are available at www.billettservice.no. You can also buy tickets at Narvesen, 7-Eleven and the Post Office. Tickets cost from NOK 100 to 250 (excluding service fee). All tickets are unnumbered. Children under the age of 6 have free admission, while children under the age of 12 get a 50% discount. The tickets are more expensive if purchased at the entrance gates.

PROGRAMME & TICKET PRICES

Note: all prices are excluding service fee. Tickets are more expensive if purchased at the entrance.

Thursday 16th of February 13.15 – 20:00:
Kl. 13.15 Semi finals women, halfpipe, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
Kl. 16.55 Semi finals men halfpipe, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
NOK. 100 /NOK. 50 for children under 12/Children under 6 free admission

Friday 17th of February 9.30 – 16.30:
Kl. 9.30 Semi finals women, slopestyle, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
Kl. 13.10 Semi finals men, slopestyle, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
NOK. 100 /NOK. 50 for children under 12/Children under 6 free admission

Friday 17th of February 18.30 – 21.15 (time not confirmed)
Kl. 17.00 Gates to shopping area open
Kl. 18.30 Quarterpipe contest, Holmenkollbakken
Kl. 19.40 Concert, Holmenkollbakken
Kl. 20.15 Highest Air session, Holmenkollbakken
NOK. 250/NOK. 125 for children under 12/Children under 6 free admission

Saturday 18th of February 15.45 – 19.00
Kl. 15.45 Finals women, halfpipe, Oslo Vinter Park (Wyller)
Kl. 17.40 Finals men, halfpipe, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
NOK. 200 /NOK. 100 for children under 12/Children under 6 free admission

Sunday 19th of February 11 – 14.30
Kl. 11 Finals women, slopestyle, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
Kl. 13.00 Finals men, slopestyle, Oslo Winter Park (Wyller)
NOK. 200 /NOK. 100 for children under 12/Children under 6 free admission

The guys at the rapidly-approaching World Snowboard Championships, which will kick off it’s first ever edition in Oslo come February 2012, have recently announced the prize purse and how it’ll be broken down. Half-a-million greenbacks? Oh yes…

As the snowboarding calendar is an increasing nightmare for the athletes, the limited prize money purses makes it hard for most competitive snowboarders to make a decent living. The World Snowboarding Championships (WSC) aims to offer the best arenas, the best riders and the highest prize money. Half a million dollars is on the table and the prize money spread goes deep so more riders can enjoy it.

“We are not anywhere near other global supersports as tennis or golf, but we are making the first steps. There´s so much risk involved in snowboarding now, and the competitive top level is as high as in any other sports. We hope the WSC can be a kickstart symbol for how good snowboarding can be when its run by snowboarders. The WSC titles are most important to the riders, but prize money is crucial to bring more riders to the pro level,” says Chas Guldemond of We Are Snowboarding (WAS).

Each contest in the WSC will pay out 100,000 dollars (halfpipe men & women, slopestyle men & women and quarterpipe), starting with 40,000 dollars for first prize and paying all the way down to the 20th spot (all semi-finalist will get paid).

“We have created the prize money spread together with WAS and the riders, and they clearly want deeper spreads so more people can get a return on the risks they are taking. Back in the 70s, when the best tennis players realized they needed more pro competitors, the increased prize money was pivotal in dramatically raising the level of the whole sport. We can learn from Bjørn Borg and his peers,” says Henning Andersen, CEO of the WSC.

PRIZE MONEY SPREAD

1st place 40 000 USD
2nd place 20 000 USD
3rd place 10 000 USD
4th place 5 000 USD
5th place 3 500 USD
6th place 3 000 USD
7th place 2 500 USD
8th place 2 000 USD
9th place 2 000 USD
10th place 2 000 USD
11th – 20th place 1 000 USD

As you’ll no doubt have heard, come February next year competitive snowboarding’s eye will be trained squarely on Oslo for the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships. Now the TTR and World Snowboard Federation have announced exactly what riders need to have achieved to get a shot at the new big time…

It’ll be the first world champs run by snowboarders since 1999, and will run in a four-yearly cycle just like the World Cup and some other winter sports bonanza that we just can’t remember. And, as you’d expect, it’s gonna be a big ‘un – they expect a total of 240 riders to be involved across the disciplines of halfpipe, slopestyle and quarter pipe, pulled in from the season’s TTR rankings’ top 50, riders who’ve won Tour titles or 6 Star events in the previous 3 years, and national level champions along with a small number of Wildcards being up for grabs. Of course, there’ll be plenty of greenbacks to be earned, along with a trophy and the kudos that goes with the titles.

Here are the details in full…

TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Federation together announced on the 15th December 2010 the official qualification criteria for the 2012 World Snowboarding Championships set to take place February 11-19, 2012 in Oslo, Norway at the Tryvann Vinterpark resort arena.

The World Snowboarding Championships will be held every four years and will host halfpipe and slopestyle competitions that will crown world champions for men and women in each discipline. Athletes will qualify for the World Snowboarding Championships through the Swatch TTR World Rankings and WSF National Quota. Below is a complete breakdown of how riders will be able to qualify for the inaugural 2012 World Snowboarding Championships beginning with competitor field size, moving on to minimum requirements for all riders and specific criteria, which will guarantee riders a spot to compete.

Rider Field Sizes at the World Snowboarding Championships

The World Snowboarding Championships will have a maximum of 240 spots available for male and female athletes to compete across both slopestyle and halfpipe disciplines. The estimated field sizes will be 70 riders for men in each discipline and 50 riders for women in each discipline.

Minimum Requirements to Qualify

The TTR and WSF have developed a per discipline world ranking where riders are ranked in a Halfpipe World Ranking and in a Slopestyle World Ranking. In order to participate in the World Snowboarding Championships, riders will need to fulfill the minimum requirement of being ranked in the TTR Top 500 for men and in the TTR Top 250 for women in each respective discipline ranking. The Halfpipe World Ranking will include all halfpipe and quarterpipe competitions and will rank riders who have competed at least once in one of the formats. The Slopestyle World Ranking will include all slopestyle and big air competitions and, as above, will rank riders who have competed at least once in the formats. A rider’s position on each world ranking list will be determined by the average of his/her best three results for the Halfpipe Ranking and best four results for the Slopestyle Ranking over a rolling 52 week period.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

Below are the four different ways in which riders can guarantee a spot to compete in the World Snowboarding Championships after meeting the minimum requirements outlined above.

- TTR World Ranking Quota

Male riders ranked 50 or higher, and female riders ranked 30 or higher, on the TTR Halfpipe World Ranking or Slopestyle World Ranking will be automatically eligible to compete in the respective discipline they qualify for. The cut-off date for qualification into the 2012 event will be Monday, January 16th, 2012.

- WSF Nations Quota

Each WSF member Nation is entitled to qualify one rider for both men and women in each discipline. Therefore, each nation is entitled to a maximum of 4 spots and will need to use a national event, such as a national championships event, or a national criteria approved by the WSF Event Committee, to qualify riders. All national quota spots for the 2012 event need to be announced by the National Snowboard Associations no later than Monday, January 16th, 2012. If one or several riders are already eligible to compete through one of the other qualification criteria, the open spot falls to the best national rider not yet qualified based on the defined national qualification criteria.

- TTR World Champions and 6Star Title Winners

All TTR World Tour Champions from the last three years (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11) are eligible to compete in all disciplines at the World Snowboarding Championships. And, all TTR 6Star title winners from the last 53 weeks prior to Monday, January 16th, 2012, are eligible to compete in the discipline in which they won the title for.

– WildCards

The organizing committee of the World Snowboarding Championships is entitled to qualify two additional competitors in each discipline for men and women (eight total wild cards) which all need to be approved by TTR/WSF.

Registration Process

Registration for and entry into the World Snowboarding Championships is free to all riders who qualify. All qualified riders are required to confirm their attendance no more than seven days after the qualified riders have been announced. The exact date of this deadline will be communicated at least four weeks before the cut-off date for qualification, which is Monday, January 16th, 2012. If a rider fails to confirm his/her attendance by the deadline, the rider will lose the right to compete at the event and the open spot will fall back to the organizing committee of the event, who have the right to re-assign the spot as a wild card or define additional qualification criteria.

Titles, Awards and Prize Money at the World Snowboarding Championships

Riders will be competing for male and female Halfpipe World Champion and Slopestyle World Champion titles at the World Snowboarding Championships. These World Champion titles will be awarded to the winning male and female rider in each discipline. In addition, all top three finishers in each discipline (first, second and third place finishers) will receive recognition in the form of a medal/trophy along with prize money.

More on www.wsc2012.com and www.worldsnowboardfederation.org

The press release didn't come with a nice picture so we decided to show you last season's TTR tour winner Peetu Piiroinen again. Photo: Laura Austin

TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Federation together announce the official qualification criteria for the 2012 World Snowboarding Championships set to take place February 11-19, 2012 in Oslo, Norway at the Tryvann Vinterpark resort arena.  The World Snowboarding Championships will be held every four years and will host halfpipe and slopestyle competitions that will crown world champions for men and women in each discipline.  Athletes will qualify for the World Snowboarding Championships through the Swatch TTR World Rankings and WSF National Quota.

Below is a complete breakdown of how riders will be able to qualify for the inaugural 2012 World Snowboarding Championships beginning with competitor field size, moving on to minimum requirements for all riders and specific criteria, which will guarantee riders a spot to compete.

Rider Field Sizes at the World Snowboarding Championships
The World Snowboarding Championships will have a maximum of 240 spots available for male and female athletes to compete across both slopestyle and halfpipe disciplines.  The estimated field sizes will be 90 riders for men in each discipline and 70 riders for women in each discipline.

Minimum Requirements to Qualify
The TTR and WSF have developed a per discipline world ranking where riders are ranked in a Halfpipe World Ranking and in a Slopestyle World Ranking.  In order to participate in the World Snowboarding Championships, riders will need to fulfill the minimum requirement of being ranked in the TTR Top 500 for men and in the TTR Top 250 for women in each respective discipline ranking.  The Halfpipe World Ranking will include all halfpipe and quarterpipe competitions and will rank riders who have competed at least once in one of the formats.  The Slopestyle World Ranking will include all slopestyle and big air competitions and, as above, will rank riders who have competed at least once in the formats.  A rider’s position on each world ranking list will be determined by the average of his/her best three results for the Halfpipe Ranking and best four results for the Slopestyle Ranking over a rolling 52 week period.

We don't really know what this is, but it reminds us of that acupuncture chart at our chiropractor...

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA
Below are the four different ways in which riders can guarantee a spot to compete in the World Snowboarding Championships after meeting the minimum requirements outlined above.

• TTR World Ranking Quota
  

Male riders ranked 50 or higher, and female riders ranked 30 or higher, on the TTR Halfpipe World Ranking or Slopestyle World Ranking will be automatically eligible to compete in the respective discipline they qualify for.  The cut-off date for qualification into the 2012 event will be Monday, January 16th, 2012.

• WSF Nations Quota
  

Each WSF member Nation is entitled to qualify one rider for both men and women in each discipline.  Therefore, each nation is entitled to a maximum of 4 spots and will need to use a national event, such as a national championships event, or a national criteria approved by the WSF Event Committee, to qualify riders.  All national quota spots for the 2012 event need to be announced by the National Snowboard Associations no later than Monday, January 16th, 2012.  If one or several riders are already eligible to compete through one of the other qualification criteria, the open spot falls to the best national rider not yet qualified based on the defined national qualification criteria.

• TTR World Champions and 6Star Title Winners
  

All TTR World Tour Champions from the last three years (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11) are eligible to compete in all disciplines at the World Snowboarding Championships.  And, all TTR 6Star title winners from the last 53 weeks prior to Monday, January 16th, 2012, are eligible to compete in the discipline in which they won the title for.

• Wild Cards
  

The organizing committee of the World Snowboarding Championships is entitled to qualify two additional competitors in each discipline for men and women (eight total wild cards) which all need to be approved by TTR/WSF.

Registration Process
Registration for and entry into the World Snowboarding Championships is free to all riders who qualify.  All qualified riders are required to confirm their attendance no more than seven days after the qualified riders have been announced.  The exact date of this deadline will be communicated at least four weeks before the cut-off date for qualification, which is Monday, January 16th, 2012.  If a rider fails to confirm his/her attendance by the deadline, the rider will lose the right to compete at the event and the open spot will fall back to the organizing committee of the event, who have the right to re-assign the spot as a wild card or define additional qualification criteria.

Titles, Awards and Prize Money at the World Snowboarding Championships
Riders will be competing for male and female Halfpipe World Champion and Slopestyle World Champion titles at the World Snowboarding Championships.  These World Champion titles will be awarded to the winning male and female rider in each discipline.  In addition, all top three finishers in each discipline (first, second and third place finishers) will receive recognition in the form of a medal/trophy along with prize money.