If you are close to Stratton/Vermont this week, you have the chance to not only check out the best riders on the TTR Tour battling it out for some of the last 6Star points available, but you should also make sure to check out the photo show with the best images of Cole Barash and Blotto Photto (Dean Blotto Gray) this Saturday March 20, 2010 from
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm at the Barn.

Brought to you by Frends, Okay Okay, Burton, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Kodak, ID-PRINTS.COM

For more information on the photographers, please visit:

www.colebarash.com
www.blottophotto.com

To find out what the Frends cre has been up to lately, head to www.wearefrends.com

At the 5Star Burn River Jump, we met up with current World No. 10 on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, Christian Haller. This young rider from Switzerland just had competed in the Olympics and now puts his focus back to the rest of the TTR season aiming for one of those popular spots in the TTR Top 5.

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The 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge is rocking Oslo this weekend, with a long list of top level snowboarders. TAC is known for pushing the boundaries of snowboarding and initiating development in the sport. 3 years ago TAC introduced the “variation score” into the quarterpipe and this year one of the ideas in development is its slopestyle judging format that is TV and spectator friendly.

Each of the 5 obstacles has been assigned one judge who will solely judge that obstacle. In addition two judges are allocated to give a score for the general flow. The scores are displayed directly after each run on the big screen with the total score. The spectators can easily follow and know exactly what tricks scored higher. Each section will count for 15% of the total, and the flow counts for  25%.

Ingemar Backman (SWE) who was judging the hip today commented: “It takes a while to get used to. It’s good that there are 100 points per obstacle. On  a normal slopestyle it is the riders who are stronger on the kickers who win, in this format it is important to be able to ride everything. You really cant play it safe on anything”

For more information on the format, check out the TAC website.

Don’t miss any of the action! Watch LIVE  webcast on www.ttrworldtour.com Sunday 1 pm CET)

Saturday 6.3.10

11.00: Doors open at arena

12.20: Warm-up, heat 1

13.00: Heat 1 start

14.00: Warm-up heat 2

14.30: Heat 2 start

22.00 Party!

Sunday 6.3.10

10.00 Doors open at arena

Enviromental activities in arena

12.00: Warm-up

13.00: Finals

14.15: Prize ceremony

If you did not make it to Livigno today to see Eric Willett showing a sick run including a Switch Backside 1260, Frontside Double Cork 1080 and a Backside Double Rodeo then you have the chance right here to watch him in practice. Burn, the main sponsor of the event, was lucky enough to have chosen him to try out the head cam. Enjoy! There are more videos available on the Burn Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/BurnRiverJump

More photos are also available right here:

www.flickr.com/photos/burnriverjump/

Kevin Pearce - photographed by Cole Barash in Japan

Almost two months after Kevin Pearce’s tragic accident NBC did a moving piece on him. It includes some photos showing him smiling at the camera and discusses the long way to recovery in front of him. Due to copyright restrictions and whatnot readers from outside the US cannot view the clip on the NBC Olympics website. However, someone filmed the whole thing off the TV screen and posted it on youtube.

The clip includes short interviews with Kevin’s parents and his brothers, and even though the sound is weak at times it is definitely worth watching. Keep sending your good vibes to KP, his family and friends on the Well Wishes to our Frend Kevin Pearce Facebook page.

Thanks to our media partner Onboard for posting this article – we just copied it in here to give people outside of the US the opportunity to watch it: http://onboard.mpora.com/news/kevin-pearces-family-appears-tv.html

Long time Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Music Partner, Switchstance Recordings has just released a new album by one of its hottest artists, Deela. “Everything Counts” is the title of the newest EP by Deela, one of the most consistent acts in the fine artist roster of Switchstance Recordings. Released in both physical (a heavy slack of vinyl with four deeply engraved tracks for extra flamboyance) and (with 2 bonus tracks, real value for money) digital form, Everything Counts highlights the various shades of Deela as well as showcasing some other great artists’ contributions to Deela’s tracks.

Here’s a sneak preview…
Deela – Everything Counts DJ Mix by Switchstance Recordings

Antti Autti has officially announced that he will not be representing Finland at Vancouver after he was awarded the opportunity, due to the injury of Ilka-Eemeli Laari, to chase powder in Japan.
Antti, currently filming in Japan for his website, was approached on Thursday night by Finnish national coach Pekka Koskela to join the Finnish team in Vancouver. After much deliberation Antti has turned the opportunity down to stay in Japan and film with friends for his website. The decision by Antti has been based on his personal preparation leading into the Olympics and his commitment to his fans and providing them with A grade online content at anttisworld.com.

“Even though I had a result in the pipe leading into the Olympics at Stoneham, I still felt under prepared for the Olympics” said Antti from Hokkaido. “After my injury in November I guess I kind of switched off to Olympics and started focusing more on filming possibilities. I made plans back then to film in Japan for my website. Although the third place at Stoneham meant I went into a first reserve position in the Finnish team, I just didn’t think I would be going to Olympics. My mind became more focused on filming and scoring powder in Japan.”
The withdrawal of Antti has elevated Olympic veteran and 2006 bronze medalist, Markku Koski to the Finnish Olympic half pipe team.
“I am stoked for Markku” Antti went on to say. “Olympics is a huge deal and the preparation you need both physically and mentally is paramount. I was ready for it back in November and I might have been more prepared if I had outright qualified in Stoneham. Although I now feel 100% physically, my mind is just not focused enough. With Marku’s experience at that level (Markku is competing in his third Olympics), I am sure he will do well.”

Anttis plans now will involve filming in Japan before finishing off the final Swatch TTR World Tour events of the season.
“I always had the plan to film in Japan this season and it was meant to be after the Olympics. I brought it forward as soon as I heard I hadn’t qualified for the team. I made a commitment to my fans at the start of the year to provide them with great content regularly and after getting first reserve for the team my mind was made up. We flew directly to Japan straight after the Canadian Open.”

“So far I have been scoring some of the best snow of my life and getting massive amounts of filming done. I am now here for an extended period, right up until the end of February, simply just to film and I couldn’t be happier. Snowboarding isn’t just all competition and I am a firm believer in snowboarding as not just a sport but also a lifestyle. Riding powder like this is for me is just as rewarding as being in the Olympics. Although a medal would have been nice!” Antti finished laughing.

Antti Autti has now launched his first teaser from Japan, filmed around Sapporo in the past week. Antti will be dropping a free short film of his whole trip through anttisworld.com and other major snowboard media sites at the end of the month. Stay tuned for weekly updates as Antti and his friends score some of the deepest tracks Japan has to offer.
Antti Autti rides for Billabong, Giro, Rockstar Energy Drink, A+ Snowboards, Northwave boots and Drake Bindings. Check out anttisworld.com now and make sure you also sign up to follow Antti on Twitter and Facebook so you never miss a beat.

Chck OUt the video footage on Antti’s Website: anttisworld.com

Check Out Annti’s Rider Check Out:

Flow Snowboarding– is proud to announce the inclusion of team riders Scotty Lago (USA), Sarka Pancochova  (CZ) and James Hamilton (NZ) to the list of 2010 Winter Olympic competitors. Vancouver will be the destination for thousands of athletes as the Games kick off this week, and all three of these Flow riders will be representing both their countries and Flow Snowboarding. For nearly 15 years, Flow has stood for progression and excellence in the world of snowboarding, and now it is with great pride that Flow will be present in Vancouver to support their riders in their quest for Olympic gold.

To help fans stay up to date with their favorite Flow riders, the creative department at Flow has been busy building comprehensive rider sites for Scotty, Sarka and resident road-dog Tim Humphreys. These sites are designed to give fans an insight into the working, personal and professional lives of some of the world’s top snowboarders. Ever wonder what Sarka’s favorite local mountain is?  What kind of Harley Scotty rides? Why in the world Humpy likes to build computers so much? Or even if you just want to kill a few hours reading blogs and watching footage of some of your favorite Flow riders, now you can at:

Scotty.flow.com
Sarka.flow.com
Tim.flow.com
Flow.com

We promise you that you’ll be seeing much more of Scotty, Sarka, Humpy and James in the near future, so read up and get a head start to be in the know about these four elite shredders. Check in for weekly updates, photos, videos contest results and more.

For more information on TTR’s Industry Partner, also visit their profile on www.ttrworldtour.com/partners

To see Sarka in action, check out the video below