If you haven’t already heard, Swatch TTR Art Rules is back! Make your mark on this year’s TTR Trophy and official Swatch Tour Watch and get your creative juices flowing. Each season TTR and Swatch come together to find the most creative design created by you, for the World Snowboard Tour Trophy and a matching Swatch TTR Tour Watch.

Last year’s winner, Frankie Leong, paid both physical and emotional tribute to that inspiring moment when the victor lifts their prize.

This year it could be your design making an entry into the history of Snowboarding! If you’ve got what it takes, then register at www.artrules.swatch.com and get started!

Check out the Wrap Up video from the 2011/2012 Swatch TTR Art Rules!

O’Neill’s Senior Snow Outerwear designers Haitske Jacobs and Michael Esser were interviewed to get a sneak preview of their FW 12/13 models. Below shows the questions followed by their answers. Check it out!

P lease describe the overall idea / general inspiration behind your 2012/13 outerwear line.

Fall Winter 2012/2013 continues the celebration of the 60-year anniversary of O’Neill. We are celebrating 60 years of innovating and progressing the surf industry since the day back in 1952 when Jack O’Neill invented the wetsuit because he “just wanted to surf longer.”

This simple invention has paved the way for O’Neill’s progression – the aim of which to simply enhance your experience in nature.

This winter, with every product embracing the innovation of O’Neill, the products on offer mean that you will enjoy your winter not only in style, but also in warmth and comfort.

60 years of shaping
Influenced by 60 years of O’Neill history in shaping the classic design of the wetsuit, as well as incorporating ergonomic lines, mean the inspiration is all about producing the perfect form.

Mid-century Americana
This design influence harps back to the time of the inception of O’Neill back in 1952, but has translated the classic look into a modern on-trend looking using the likes of classic materials including wool, boucle and tweed.

Eclectic diversity
Eclectic Diversity theme brings a modern fresh and vibrant feel – whilst playing with the established roots of O’Neill. The idea is that through innovation and original thinking – anything is possible. The look and feel incorporates colour blocking and a mix of different styles.

What is the key piece (jacket, pant or otherwise) in the 12/13 collection about which you are most excited? Why?

255020 Sparkle Jacket. This has been developed alongside our teamrider Celia Miller. Her influence on our outwear is on-trend, fresh and technically superior. This jacket stands out not only for its style – EVERYONE who has seen it, loves it – but also its material, a slub yarn combination, it’s loonger fit and its 15k/10k performance.

What fits / silhouettes will you be showing, in pants & jackets? How does it differ from last season?

Jackets: WE will be showing longer fits next to our regular fits as we see a big trend in longer parka style jackets.

PANTS: There are still two trends running simultaneously within pants. The first is a relaxed pant fit and the second is a slimmer fit pant.

What”s new in colours / prints?

With our inspiration in the time of the start of O’Neill – mid century America – we have a more muted colour palette linking to a more classic look and feel.

In the theme of Eclectic diversity it’s about new colour combinations with some brighter twists throughout.

Describe the fabrics, features and technical innovations your outerwear will be running? Please highlight *NEW* technical stories that retailers will be seeing for the first time from your brand.

1. WOOL. Working with the inspiration of our 60 year history, the idea of using wool came up. Back in the 1950’s before Jack O’Neill invented the wetsuit to enable him to surf the cold waters of Northern California without the pain of the freezing sea on his skin, surfers were going to all drastic measures to stay warm.

“Some guys wore wool sweaters, “said Jack O’Neill. “There are stories about guys putting oil on their wool sweaters to repel water, but that doesn’t make sense. If you did that, it’d get all over your surfboard.”

This is the reason we have introduced technical wool into the outerwear collection. It’s a polyester material with the outlook of a wool material with a high water column and breathability.

2. FIREWALL The O’Neill Firewall system has developed throughout the O’Neill Fall Winter 2012/2013 collection.

Ergonomic research on body mapping has shown designers where the body looses most heat, where we transpire the quickest, and where the body needs the most ventilation.

Through this research a combination of linings and insulations including primaloft, down and hyperfill, are used in every product to provide the perfect balance in warmth and breathability.

Do your jackets attach to your pants for 12/13? How?

The O’Neill Connector System is featured on every single pant and jacket in the collection. The system works with 3 buttons with loops on the snowgator of the jacket that connect to loops on the pants – perfect for powder days.

Will there be a one-piece in your 12/13 line?

Of course! The one piece is classic O’Neill outerwear. In addition as we focus on a trend for Freeski this fits in perfectly this season. Virginie Faivre has been wearing the Moonstone Freesuit (255034) with tonal but outspoken colour blocking. Also new this season and in the same trend for Freeski is the Grid Insulated Bib pant also in the same colour blocking as the full suit.

Will your 2012/13 outerwear feature any eco-friendly pieces? Please describe what you”re doing here. Do you think it really matters to the consumer whether their purchase is eco or not?

Spending winters in the mountains, working with nature and working to enhance your experience in the elements, we at O’Neill have never been more aware of the challenges facing our environment.

This season we bring recycled material and compromise absolutely nothing in performance at the same time by integrating it into the highest technical product offering in the line.

This is enhancing your experience in nature by working with it at the same time. This is recycled material with 4-way-stretch and can be found in the Harmony Jacket (255003) and Harmony Pant (258001)

For the consumer who spends their time in nature, a brand that values this and is taking active steps to limit the impact on the environment is an exceptionally valuable consideration for the consumer.

Want to here more….then click here.

TTR’s Gold partner Blue Tomato have released a new Snowboard Team Movie: Chapter XI. This epic new movie shows the Blue Tomato team rider’s ripping through pow and proving their skills on park jumps and some gnarly rails!

Blue Tomato combines team spirit, professionalism and passion for snowboarding in this sick team movie!

Chapter XI features the following riders:

Marc Swoboda, Urška Pribošič, Dominik Wagner, Flo Galler, Kareem el Rafie, Mathias Weißenbacher, Viktor Szigeti, Ville Uotila, Roli Scharmer, Georgi Mihaylov, Phips Gruber, Diz Pichler, Vanessa Waldenhofer, Tobi Grünwald, Max Gründwald, Adam Granqvist, Tuomas Pohjonen, Clemens Schattschneider, Franki Wörndl.

To watch the individual rider parts check the official Chapter XI page: blue-tomato.com/chapterxi

Erika Ogami – What/who would you say helped contribute to your success?
Max Henault, he’s my TM for O’Neill but at the same time my coach since I’m 12 years old. He was a good snowboarder back in the day and he helped me to progress faster.

Steve Pelham – What is your thought process on learning a new trick. Do you over think it (visualization) and break it down……do you get into zen mode (feel it) or a combo of both. And which technique would you recommend for the above average Joe to lift their success rate? Keep up the inspiration.
When I’m working on a new trick.. I usually try it on a trampoline first and when I feel it, I try it on snow. It definitely helps to focus and visualize the trick before doing it.

Steven Paul Maggio – What was the scariest trick you have ever done?
The first time I tried a FS 1080 double cork was really scary!

Xavi Quirós – Do you believe that your bindings can help you land better tricks?
No, unless they’re Ride Bindings!

Alan Chan – Do you swear in English or French after a huge bail/stomp?
I usually do say both! haha.

Alex Vanheurck – You are one of the very few riders to wear an helmet, whether you’re having fun or shooting some vids. Do you think the other riders should be more careful and maybe more conscious since they’re playing with their life hitting kickers as big as my house?
I’ve been wearing a helmet since I started snowboarding so for me it’s natural.. for some other riders, they’ve been riding without a helmet since they started so now it’s unnatural to wear one. If you brake your arm it’ll heal but if you hurt your brain it could be bad…

Alexandra Côté-Durrer – Would you rather go to the Olympics or win for best video part? and Why? Oh and do you like sushi and beef jerky?
I would rather to go at the Olympics because it would be a really good experience and it happens every 4 years so I could try to get the best video part the next year haha. I love sushi but not to stoked on Beef Jerky.

Andres Franco – How much influence do you think you have from skateboarding and wakeboarding? Do you think that’s your key for your successful career?
Skateboarding brought a lot to Snowboarding since everything started. For me, skating is a really good influence and I love to skate as much as I love snowboarding and I learned so much from it. Wakeboarding is an easier sport then Snowboarding I feel like, but I still think that it’s a good sport to progress your riding on snow.

Bo Warren – How do you feel about the progression of snowboarding? Like triple corks? I think triples are too crazy and snowboarding should be more towards style with like dubs with sick grabs.
I definitely agree with you.. Triple corks are not the future but they’re part of the progression and I don’t think triple corks will stop the style but push the riders that don’t have triples to do their doubles with more style to get more points in contest.

Bart Eykmans – What do you think the (entire) snowboarding scene/industry can do to bring the FIS working together with (or even giving the snowboarding to) TTR for the Slopestyle Olympic Qualifications?
I think the riders all together could change the way the Olympics have been doing the qualification, but it all comes down to who will really stand for the crew and who will not…

And last but not least: The winner of the Ride Rodeo bindings is – Alex Vanheurck! Congrats Alex, we’ll get in touch with you shortly.

The next TTR ASK A RIDER will feature Slovenian ripper Marko Grilc. Stay tuned!

To finish this awesome interview created by all of you, here’s Seb’s TTR Profile:

This season Nike, Platinum Partner of TTR, releases the perfect platform for Amateur Snowboarders to step up their game and to compete for a chance to ride alongside some of the world’s greatest Pros.

The Nike Chosen Series will shake up 9 stops across Europe where AM riders will session in a jam format kicker contest hosted by one of the Nike pros.

At each stop a rider will be chosen to join the Nike team riders to compete at the grand finals held at the Nike Chosen Sessions in April 2012.

For AMs who want to take their riding to the next level and to shred with some of the best riders on the planet, the Nike Chosen Series is the opportunity to show what you’ve got.

• Each country stop will have prizes for Best Style, Most Creative Rider and Best Female Rider.
• The rider who is judged ‘Best Overall’ at each stop will win the ultimate prize of a ticket to compete in the Finals at the Nike Chosen Sessions in April.
• The best tricks from each stop will be posted online and judged by Facebook likes, the rider with the most votes will receive a wildcard into the finals.

For more information on the Nike Chosen Series visit – nikechosenseries.com

After a successful tour with some serious pop last season, K2 is starting into the 2nd season of their highest ollie tournament tour. This year’s record to break will be the 100cm mark set by Sebi Mueller from Germany. The tour stops will be all over the globe and anyone can enter to take a shot at winning a week at the High Cascade summer camp in Mt. Hood. At every tourstop you have the chance to win a limited K2 skatedeck designed by Don Pendleton and a brand new G-SHOCK watch. The tour final will take place in April 2012 at the Kamp K2 at Stephen’s Pass, USA.

For all the info regarding tourstops and sign ups check www.k2snowboarding.com/facebook and start practicing!

The reason for this short movie is a contest in which Nike 6.0 is looking for the most inspiring, motivated and unique crew of riders to live the life of pros. The winners will travel like pros, get product like pros and of course party like pros!

To watch the entire movie, navigate to the Nike 6.o Facebook page, watch, get inspired and get out there and shoot!

Head over to the Nike 6.0 Facebook page to get updates on the project.

TTR partner DC Shoes is always good for some quality footage and while the DC snow team is keeping busy out on the mountain this season filming for various projects, DC is giving fans a look at some of the best footage captured of its team from last season. DC will be releasing one new video each week, showcasing a new rider until April 18th. Stay tuned to DC’s website ‪dcshoes.com/snow‬ and DC’s Facebook page for the roll out of the rest of the videos.

Look out for videos from Iikka Backstrom, Lauri Heiskari, Aaron Biittner, Kimmy Fasani, Lonnie Kauk, Andrew Geeves, and Ryan Tiene as well as special videos that DC filmers put together of the team’s summer and trip to Snowboarder Mag’s annual SuperPark competition.

And of course… peep the video of Mr. “Triple Cork” Horgmo