Seaun White does it "AGAIN' for the fourth time!

After his first run in Sunday night's Snowboard SuperPipe final, Shaun White found himself in an unusual position: second place. His Olympic podium mate, Scotty Lago, had just thrown a massive run that began with a cab double cork 1080 and set the height bar higher than anyone else in the field. White, the last rider to go due to his first-place qualifying position, landed near the flat bottom following his third-to-last hit and struggled through the final two hits of his run with diminished speed.

After failing to qualify for the Slopestyle final on Saturday in his return to that event after a year hiatus, it was starting to not look good for White

On his second run, Lago crashed, leaving a chance for White "I saw Lago destroying it and figured it was all or nothing at that point," White said. I knew I needed to stick the best run I had, and I went for it."

His second run began with a backside air nearly 20 feet out of the pipe and he built on it from there: double cork stalefish 1080 to cab double cork 1080 to front stalefish 5 to double McTwist 1260 to backside alley oop rodeo. (Wow that's a mouth full!)

This is the first time White has thrown the double McTwist (I have a sudden urge for a Big Mac, and a McFlurry) 1260 since his victory lap in the Olympics. The Olympics was the first place he'd thrown the double McTwist around from a 1080 to a 1260. The run earned him a 97.33 -- an identical score to his winning run last year and tied for the highest score in Winter X Games history.

Asked how it felt to be back on top after his Slopestyle style set back, White said, "I knew I wasn't holding the biggest cards, but after living and learning, I was so fired up coming into pipe. I did my thing, and it built me up again."

Stewart Back on top @ Supercross in Oakland

Most races this season have been decided by a mistake or a fall, and the Oakland Supercross wasn't any different. This week, the biggest difference was who made the mistake...

Broc Tickle won his first main event of the 2011 season in Oakland, but it's how he did it that's the most notable, as he had to come through the pack and eventually pass his teammate and points leader Josh Hansen for the lead. That's what he did, and he took the win over Hansen while also pulling closer to Hanny in the points chase. James Stewart snatched away his second victory of the season and took over the points lead when Ryan Villopoto crashed out of the lead early in the Oakland main. The series now heads back to Anaheim again this weekend with someone other than Villopoto leading the points for the first time this year.

Rank	Name	Bike
1	James Stewart	Yamaha
2	Chad Reed	Honda
3	Ryan Dungey	Suzuki
4	Ryan Villopoto	Kawasaki
5	Brett Metcalfe	Suzuki
6	Trey Canard	Honda
7	Kevin Windham	Honda
8	Davi Millsaps	Yamaha
9	Andrew Short	KTM
10	Ivan Tedesco	Kawasaki

2011 Go Pro Powder Video Awards

It was a packed house at Aspen's Wheeler Opera House on Friday night for the 11th annual Powder Video Awards, which rewards the best performances in ski films. A red carpet was rolled out for the occasion and the biggest names in freeskiing gathered under one roof.

Tom Wallisch and last year's pick Ingrid Backstrom won the 2011 Reader Poll, where fans vote online for their favorite skiers. Wallisch, who had a breakout year in 2009, is clearly the skier of the moment right now -- he also won Freeskier Magazine's 2010 Skier of the Year award. "I just can't believe I beat Seth Morrison," Wallisch said while accepting his award. "Seth has been my idol for years."

Morrison came in second in the men's Reader Poll, followed by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Erik Roner, Simon Dumont, Bobby Brown, Tanner Hall, Sean Pettit, Sammy Carlson and Jossi Wells. Hall, who's been out for over a season with injuries and whose film Like a Lion won Best Documentary, said, "I can't believe I still made the top 10 after being out for 18 months."

In the women's Reader Poll, after Backstrom came 2011 Winter X Superpipe champ Sarah Burke (who wasn't there to accept her award because apparently she couldn't get into the over-packed theater; her husband, pro skier Rory Bushfield, accepted on her behalf). In third was 2011 Winter X Slopestyle winner Kaya Turski, and other Winter X superstars Jen Hudak and Grete Eliassen in fourth and fifth, respectively. "I'm just honored to be on the same list with all these amazing girls," Backstrom said.
Matchstick Productions' The Way I See It won Movie of the Year. Cattabriga-Alosa won Best Male Performance and Best Natural Air for his segment in TGR's Light the Wick. "I'm totally surprised," Cattabriga-Alosa said, even though nobody in the audience was surprised to see him win. Eliassen won Best Female Performance for her film Say My Name. "I just want to see more women in ski films," Eliassen said on the stage. Level 1 athlete Ahmet Dadali won both The North Face Breakthrough Performer award and Best Jib.

When Ian McIntosh accepted his award for Best Line in TGR's Light the Wick, he gave a shout-out to the heroes the ski industry has lost in the recent past. "Shane McConkey, C.R. Johnson, Arne Backstrom, Jack Hannan," McIntosh said, "I ski for you."

OLLEY - RiDE 4 BLOOD TOUR

RiDE 4 BLOOD Tour, partnering with the American Red Cross for Ride competitions for all board sports and extreme athletes, Skate, Snow, Surf, BMX, Motorcross etc., blood drives and vendor expos, featuring live bands, demos and other local talent.

The first stop on the tour is January 30th at the A.P.U. Felix Event Center. This first RiDE will be a Skateboard Competition. Everyone please come out to this event as well as all other stops on our tour around Southern and Northern Cal, the surrounding states, East Coast and everywhere in between.  


For more information, check out www.olleygear.com

X Games Men's Ski Superpipe Finals

Winter X Games 15 continued with one of the most exciting events of the year in competitive skiing...Men's Ski Superpipe Finals, where eight of the best pipe skiers in the world went head to head for WX15 Gold.

Taking eighth tonight was 2009 X Games gold medalist Xavier Bertoni, who despite giving it his all had trouble on each of his runs, while the very promising David Wise landed just ahead of the French skiing superstar in seventh after experiencing some troubles of his own, despite launching some of the most stratospheric airs of the evening with textbook trickery and double cork 12's.

In sixth was one of the favorites to win tonight's event, Justin Dorey, who gave everyone a glimpse at just how big a bag of tricks he has with a perfect double cork 12 up top, to right 9, to gargantuan alley-oop flat 5, into an attempted alley-oop double flatspin 7, which he planned to use as his set up trick into a switch double 10, but unfortunately couldn't put it to his feet.

Scoring fifth was the very impressive Frenchman Thomas 'ToTo' Krief, who unleashed some some serious double cork action of his own and will surely be one to keep an eye on in the years to come, while Duncan Adams was just edged out of a podium spot in fourth, but not before laying down the most stylish jaunt down the pipe we've seen all week.

Taking the bronze was Simon Dumont, who in addition to proving that he's the toughest man in skiing after walking away from one of the gnarliest pipe crashes in recent memory on his first run, showed just how bad he wanted to win this thing with the largest doubles (a double cork 12 up top and a ridiculously big and grabbed double flair in the middle) and airs all around ever recorded in a superpipe contest.

Grabbing the silver was the Cinderella story of the night and perhaps for all of X Games, 15-year-old Torin Yater-Wallace, who continued to make the most of his recent opportunities after winning last year's Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals with a sugar sweet alley-oop double flatspin 9 on his bottom hit and more amplitude and style than he could shake his short skis at.

But for the second year in a row, it was Kevin Rolland who was crowned king. The 2010 X Games and European X Games superpipe gold medalist made it three in a row tonight, with a squeaky clean double flair up top, to alley-oop flatspin 3, into a series of switch hits which he capped off with a flawless double cork 12 mute at the bottom.

Congratulations to Rolland, Wallace and Dumont, and stay tuned for more from Winter X Games 15 (including another stellar episode of NSTV on tonight's event that includes interviews with tomorrow's slopestyle favorites Bobby Brown, Gus Kenworthy and Russ Henshaw, along with some comic relief from the Wells brothers and the Canadian duo of TJ Schiller and Ian Cosco), as the skiing side of the event will culminate tomorrow with Men's Slopestyle Finals and Big Air.

Results

1) Kevin Rolland - 93.66
2) Torin Yater-Wallace - 92.66
3) Simon Dumont - 90.33
4) Duncan Adams - 86.00
5) Thomas Krief - 83.33
6) Justin Dorey - 65.33
7) David Wise - 56.66
8) Xavier Bertoni - 40.66

Team USA: Surfing America launches new website

Surfing America team © Surfing America Surfing America announced today that it has launched a newly designed website at SurfingAmerica.org. 'We're excited to have a refreshed and upgraded presence online,' said Michael Gerard, Surfing America's executive director.  "With new longer term relationships in place with our key partners, we are better prepared to activate, manage an ever increasing flow of high quality content, and create valuable co-promotions.  PacSun, in particular, has been amazing to work with on this front.  We have lots of ideas on increasing the volume of online activity together.  The new Surfing America site allows us to upload fresh content more frequently and connect much more effectively through our social media channels." You can visit the site and read all updates about the PacSun USA Surf Team at: surfingamerica.org About Surfing America, Inc: Surfing America is the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States. The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sport's World Governing Authority. Surfing America is an IRS recognized 501(c) 3 charitable organization. Key projects include: improving competition standards, hosting national championship events, and selecting and fielding the official United States Surf Team to compete internationally.  With its primary emphasis on youth development, Surfing America is a critical element to successfully growing the sport, and business, of surfing on a global basis. There are currently three member organizations that feed their top athletes into Surfing America's USA Championships. They are: The Western Surfing Association, the National Scholastic Surfing Association, and the Hawaiian Surfing Association. www.surfingamerica.org

For the second time this month, John John Florence stamped his name in the Pipeline history book

For the second time this month, John John Florence stamped his name in the Pipeline history book on Thursday by winning the Volcom Pipeline Pro in epic surf.

It was another gutsy and stylish performance for Florence, who remained poised all the way to the top.

Just a few weeks ago the 18-year-old local won Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, which under normal circumstances would be shocking, yet in Florence's case it merely feels like a destiny being fulfilled.

Florence has been a Pipeline darling since he was eight. He started surfing in the Triple Crown at the age of 10. Though his career is just getting started he's as recognized as 95% of the ASP's top performers.

Among the most impressive things about today's emphatic victory was who he beat. Florence joined a stacked filed of Pipe chargers including Jamie O'Brien, Chris Ward and Aamion Goodwin.

Goodwin was raised on Kauai and has been a Pipeline local since he was a teenager, rarely surfing contests, but always a standout when Pipe gets big and heavy, especially today as he surfed his way from the trialist round to the final. Ward has followed in the Archbold, Fletcher and Beschen footsteps, which inevitably lead to Hawaii, and a love affair with Pipeline. He's earned as much respect at Backdoor as any Californian. O'Brien, meanwhile, was arguably the favorite to win. For the past couple years Jamie has been the dominant Pipe specialists, and like Florence, Pipe is literally his backyard.

Florence faced tough draws in every round yet still managed to surf a perfect contest, winning every single heat he surfed. And there were no easy ones in this contest. Volcom has kept this event a 5-Star WQS event to be sure the local Hawaiian surfers -- many of them Pipe standouts -- are well represented.

If this were a 6-Star or a Prime event, the locals would still be crowded out by international surfers with more WQS points. In addition, they held a home-video contest for the final wildcard spot where anyone on earth could send in 5 waves of them surfing Pipe. The winner would get to surf in the event. In the end local charger Kalani Chapman won the spot, and took advantage of the opportunity by making the quarterfinals.

The locals know that this is their best shot at Pipeline glory, so the level of commitment and performance in this event is unparalleled. Most of the surfers in this event have made Pipeline their life's work, and it comes as no surprise that many people have suggested the Volcom Pipe Pro is, in fact, home of the real Pipe Masters. It should be noted that not a single WCT surfer made the final today.

Granted there's little doubt John Florence is destined for the tour. His rise to the Pipe throne means he's reaching the milestones on that master plan the surf world laid out before him when he was nine. And if you watched him at events like the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro last year, you know he's got plans that reach well beyond his backyard. He's already the Prince of Pipeline...but has the whole world in front of him, and this boy plans on being king some day.

FINAL RESULTS VOLCOM PIPE PRO
1- 18.36 John Florence
2- 15.34 Jamie O'Brien
3- 14.46 Chris Ward
4- 10.60 Aamion Goodwin

Geoff Rowley will lead the course design team for the 2011 Maloof Money Cup

Sacramento Kings and Palms Casino owner Joe Maloof announced that pro skater Geoff Rowley will lead the course design team for the 2011 Maloof Money Cup skateboard contest series. The series will be making stops in Orange County, California, New York City and Kimberly, South Africa. Maloof also announced that there will be at least one new U.S. city stop for the Money Cup in 2011 that should be announced very soon. Can't wait to find out!

Rowley, a veteran pro skater and lynchpin of both the Flip skateboards and Vans shoes teams, helped in the design of Maloof courses in years past, particularly the one that remains a skatepark in Flushing, Queens New York where 2010 Money Cup NYC was held and where it will return in 2011.

Last summer Rowley briefly aligned himself with Rob Dyrdek's Street League contest series. Skaters that compete in Street League are beholden to exclusive contracts that stipulate they won't compete in any other contests besides Street League and other Street League sanctioned contests which does not currently include the Maloof Money Cup events. However, Rowley didn't end up competing last summer and presumably has gotten out of any contractual obligation to Street League.We will be digin' to see if there is any controversy a brewin'.

For the Maloof Money Cup design projects, Rowley will work with Joe Ciaglia from the California Skateparks company. California Skateparks have built all four Maloof Money Cup contest courses since the contest's beginning in 2008.

Rowley's enthusiasm for the project was clear when he told ESPN, "The cool thing about the Maloof events is that the parks get left behind for the local skaters. This is what made it an easy decision for me to be involved with the design process; the Maloofs are giving back!"

K2 Welcomes Mason Aguirre To International Pro Team

K2 is excited to officially announce the addition of Mason Aguirre to the K2 International Pro Team.  Coming off of a 3rd place result at the Killington, VT Dew Tour Superpipe, Mason brings his smooth style and contest heavy schedule to the already well-rounded K2 team.

“I am so stoked to be on the program with K2,” Says Mason.  ”The boards and bindings ride super solid and I look forward to popping things off.”

“We couldn’t be happier about Mason joining K2.” Says Hunter Waldron, Global Marketing Manager of K2 Snowboarding.  ”Our team is a diverse collection of characters and talents.  Recently we set out to add someone with contest presence to round out the roster.  Mason’s smooth, clean riding style and personality is the perfect way for K2 to enter into the contest spotlight.”

Life Cycles wins Best Film at X Dance

Life Cycles OFFICIAL Trailer from Life Cycles on Vimeo.

(Courtesy of By Megan Michelson ESPN)

The X Dance Film Festival wrapped up Tuesday night in Park City, Utah. Life Cycles, a film about mountain bike culture, cleaned up at the awards ceremony, earning a standing ovation and winning Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Director to Ryan Gibb.

This is the first time a mountain bike film has won Best Film at X Dance. "Life Cycles had beautiful cinematography, with slow motion shots of guys riding in wilderness where you could see the seasons changing behind," says Ann Wycoff, co-founder of X Dance. "It really became a piece of art and then you had this incredible narrative about life and cycling and the cycles of life. It had real depth to it."
Launched in 2001, X Dance, an action sports film festival, happens at the same time each year as Utah's Sundance Film Festival. The film screenings took place at The Depot in Salt Lake City this year, the first time shows haven't been in Park City. But Tuesday night's awards ceremony, complete with a concert by Ozomatli, was at Park City's Harry O's.

Presenters at the awards ceremony included Wiley Miller, Jeremy Nobis, Erin Comstock and Fuzzy Hall. The award for Emerging Filmmaker went to Claire Gorman who made First Love, which also won Best Documentary. Among the other awards handed out Tuesday night: Best Editing went to Windsurfing Movie II, Original Score went to Dream Result, Best Soundtrack went to Look on the Bright Side, Best Short to Solo, Best Biography to Like a Lion.

Voleurz's Look on the Bright Side won Core film, Halo Effect won Best Adventure film, and Best Story went to Stoked and Broke.

Big-mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones won Athlete of the Year, and over 400 people showed up for the screening of his film Deeper. During the awards there were clips shown of skier CR Johnson and surfer Andy Irons, who both passed away in 2010, followed by a moment of silence in remembrance. "Every year we have these moments and it kind of breaks my heart," Wycoff said. "I always look around and think, 'Be careful out there.'"

Tom Wallish Injured and will not compete in WX15

Tom Wallisch will not compete in this week's Winter X Games 15 due to a fracture of his left shoulder blade. Wallisch was a favorite for Winter X slopestyle. He plans to be recovered in time for the next Dew Tour stop.The Salt Lake City resident was a gold-medal favorite in slopestyle and big air. But after conferring with two different orthopedic physicians in Park City, Utah, including the U.S. Ski Team's center of excellence, Wallisch elected to pull out of what would have been his second Winter X Games appearance to avoid further injury.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury while sliding a box at Park City Mountain Resort on Jan. 3. He caught an edge on the box and fell hard to the snow on his left shoulder. "I didn't think much of it because I've broken my collarbone twice [the same left shoulder], and I knew I didn't break that again," said Wallisch by phone. "I just thought it was a bruised shoulder or charley horse or something." In turn, he skied the next day, performing a slew of tricks -- "Only 5s and 7s, no double corks or anything like that," Wallisch assured -- while filming for 4bi9 Media. A week and a half later, with the pain persisting, Wallisch went to the doctor and an X-ray confirmed that he cracked his shoulder blade in half.

"I'm definitely bummed I'm going to miss X Games, but I'm stoked it's not something worse," said Wallisch. Wallisch said he plans to return for the Snowbasin stop of the Winter Dew Tour in mid-February in addition to filming later this winter.

French Dominate at Freeride World Tour

Aurélien Ducroz, Adrien Coirier, Reine Barkered.

The first stop of the Freeride World Tour, is the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix Mont-Blanc 2011 by Swatch, moved from Chamonix, France, to Courmayeur, Italy, on the other side of Mont Blanc, in order to find better snow conditions.
The finals were dominated by the French who brought home the first three places in men's snowboarding and the top two spots in men's skiing. In addition, Anne-Flore Marxer put her wild card to good use with a strong win in the women's snowboard division.

Men's Ski
Chamonix local and 2009 Freeride World Champion Aurélien Ducroz from France won the men's ski division. Although the Frenchmen was one of the last men to start that didn't hold him back from charging the course with big, clean drops and smooth, aggressive riding.

"I was one of the last riders on the start list so I chose to ski a different line that had not yet been ridden to get good snow," Ducroz said. "It all turned out perfectly. It was pretty tricky in some places where I could not see much of the line because it was so steep, but I was confident after my thorough inspection yesterday."

Adrien Coirier from France, who has been suffering from a back injury for the past two years, showed that he's back in full form with a strong run which put him in the lead early and held off several strong challenges until Ducroz finally one-upped him.

Although Freeride World Champion Candide Thovex dropped out at the last minute when Quiksilver threw a two-year film project his way, the field was peppered with young park rippers who were eager to show their skills on a big mountain course. The only spin of the day was a 360 at the top of Canadian Kye Peterson's run, which certainly gave him points even though his rough landing might have been what kept him from doing better than sixth.

Men's Snowboard
At this point in time, there are very few questions about the dominance of Xavier de Le Rue's big mountain skills. His winning run was classic de Le Rue -- fast and powerful with big drops to fast landings from start to finish and a Mach 10 straight line over a big double. Douds Charlet and Aurélien Routens, both from France, came in second and third, respectively.

Women's Ski
All the women decided to start from the same starting gate, whereas the men were spread out over the three choices. Many of the women chose to focus on fluidity but it was the combination of fast lines and clean airs that brought home the win for American Angel Collinson. Sweden's Marja Persson came in a close second, with Sweden's Janette Hargi in third.

Women's Snowboard
Wild card Anne-Flore Marxer came into this competition as a question mark. Although she's earned her reputation as a strong freestyler, many people wondered if she had the skills to make it on steep faces. Well, wonder no more. While her run didn't include any sizeable drops, Marxer charged an aggressive line that made her the clear winner of the day. Hot on her heels was another wildcard Ursula Wohlschlager from Austria. Nathalie Zenklussen from Switzerland placed third.
The next stop on the six-event FWT11, the Nissan Freeride de Engadin St Moritz 2011 by Swatch is January 30.

Men's Ski

Rank	Name
1.	Aurélien Ducroz
2.	Adrien Coirier
3.	Reine Barkered

Men's Snowboard

Rank	Name
1.	Xavier de Le Rue
2.	Douds Charlet
3.	Aurélien Routens

Women's Ski

Rank	Name
1.	Angel Collinson
2.	Marja Persson
3.	Janette Hargi

Women's Snowboard

Rank	Name
1.	Anne-Flore Marxer
2.	Ursula Wohlschlager
3.	Nathalie Zenklussen

"It's His Perogative" Bobby Brown does it Again

The podium at Sunday's slopestyle: Bobby Brown, Elias Ambuhl, Nick Goepper

While practicing for the Killington Dew Tour slopestyle final, Bobby Brown clipped a stray piece of plastic on a box feature, sending him airborne. He landed square on the box with his back and spent the rest of the day in the medical center, doubting he'd be able to compete Sunday.

Not only did he compete, Brown won the event, as he prepares to defend his slopestyle crown at Winter X 15. Brown overcame a rare first-run crash on a double cork 1260 (which left him sprawled in a heap on the snow, one ski halfway up the transition) to overtake Elias Ambuhl on the day's final run.
"My dad's here, my agent, Jaimeson [Keegan], and my buddy Banks [Gilberti] -- they were all like, 'Yo, you got this, you got this, dude,'" Brown said. "So I just chilled and sat with them and relaxed. I had a clear mind and just went for it. I went bigger on the second jump so I had more time to do the double 12."

Brown, 19, was also flawless on his rails and sandwiched two other technical double flips -- a switch dub rodeo 9 and a switch rightside dub cork 9 -- around his 12. His score of 93.75 was two points better than Ambuhl, 18, a Swiss skier who lives in a Breckenridge hotel for much of the winter and trains with Brown.

Rural Indiana native Nick Goepper, 16, made it an all-teenager podium with the best finish of his career.

Men's Freeski Slopestyle Final

Rank	Name	Score
1.	Bobby Brown	93.75
2.	Elias Ambuhl	91.75
3.	Nick Goepper	88.25
4.	Alex Schlopy	87.50
5.	JF Houle	84.75
6.	Henrik Harlaut	80.50
7.	Russ Henshaw	80.00
8.	McRae Williams	76.50
9.	Aleksander Aurdal	70.25
10.	Andreas Håtveit	70.25
11.	Sammy Carlson	55.25
12.	Alexis Godbout	DNS

Robinson, DeBari win TNF Masters

After a day of weather delay, The skies cleared Sunday for the finals of the North Face Masters at Snowbird. Aaron Robinson, was the overall champ from 2010, taking first for the men and Maria DeBari winning for the women.

Robinson, who had high-speed runs throughout the contest and landed a huge 360, took an early lead and won with his first run score of 94.33. "I feel great, excited," Robinson said. "It's really good to be around amazing people and talent;

I've made countless friends through the contest." Ralph Backstrom took second with a second run score of 93.00, and Ryland Bell placed third with a second run score of 92.67.

Men's Final Results

Rank	Name	Score
1.	Aaron Robinson	94.33
2.	Ralph Backstrom	93.00
3.	Ryland Bell	92.67
4.	Ross Baker	90.67
5.	Adam DeVargas	86.67
6.	Alex Yoder	84.67
7.	John Rodosky	84.00
8.	Christopher Galvin	83.00
9.	Jonathan Penfield	83.00
10.	Brock Butterfield	82.67
11.	Robert Hurley	82.00
12.	Cody Niggemyer	75.00

Women's Final Results

Rank	Name	Score
1.	Maria DeBari	83.33
2.	Kaitlin Elliot	78.33
3.	Laura Hadar	78.33
4.	Mary Boddington	77.00
5.	Shannan Yates	76.67

Winter X Games Broadcast Schedual for ESPN

For Winter X Games 15, ESPN is rolling out 24 hours of live HD programming on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com, plus 10 additional hours of exclusive live coverage on ESPN3.com and 18 hours of original coverage on ESPN 3D. Programming will also be available on ESPN International, SportsCenter and X Center. Times and events listed are Eastern Time (ET) and are subject to change. Please consult your local listings.

Thursday, Jan. 27
Time	Network	Competition
12-3 p.m.	ESPN2	Skiing Slopestyle Men's Elimination, Snowmobile Freestyle Elimination
12-2 p.m.	ESPN 3D	Skiing Slopestyle Men's Elimination
9-11 p.m.	ESPN	Snowboard SuperPipe Men's Elimination, Snowmobile Freestyle Final
9 p.m. - 12 a.m.	ESPN 3D	Snowboard SuperPipe Men's Elimination, Skiing Slopestyle Women's Final*, Skiing SuperPipe Women's Final
1-2 a.m. (Friday)	ESPN2	X Center

Ryan Villopoto wins first ever Supercross at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Dodger Stadium hosted its first ever Supercross event in Los Angeles to almost a packed house as the whole place was a buzz over the fact that the field was wide open and anyone could have taken first place. James "Bubba" Stewart was a fan favorite, but really know one could call anyone a true front runner.

After a dramatic intro, and a few pyrotechnics the main event was all that is was chalked up to be.  Brett Metcalfe takes the Holeshot! Team-mate Ryan Dungey is second, and Chad Reed goes down just a few feet after the first corner.

Leader Brett Metcalfe falls on the second lap in a right hand corner. Dungey takes the lead with Stewart closing fast. Kevin Winhdam next, then Justin Brayton, and Trey Canard (who crashed hard in his heat, but came back to win his LCQ). Reed is 19th.

Next lap - James Stewart has taken over lead! Dungey is second, Windham next, Brayton, Canard, Villopoto, Stroupe, Short, Metcalfe. Stewart is leading. Dungey is right behind him.and Villopoto is right behind Dungey. Villopoto has passed Dungey in lap 8.Stewart is out front by one second, Villopoto is second. Dungey is third. These top three are really, really close. Stewart slides out and goes down in a right hand corner Villopoto takes the lead Trey Canard moved into second! Dungey next, then James Stewart now in fourth. Stewart passes Canard. Villopoto out front Dungey is second. Then James Stewart, Trey Canard, and Justin Brayton. Reed has moved up to tenth. Towards the end of lap 15 - Stewart makes a pass on Dungey in a tight left hand corner. It's Villopoto leading on lap 16 now, Stewart next, Dungey chasing, then Canard. Ryan Villopoto takes the win! James Stewart a close second! Ryan Dungey is third.

The top four in Supercross point standings so far - Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, and Trey Canard finished top four in tonight's Supercross Main Event. And they put on quite a show.

Brendan Lutes/TransWorld Motocross

Watch XSS Coverage of the AMA Supercross now on www.xtremesportsshow.com

Grommets Season Kicks Off At Mount Maunganui

Surfing New Zealand
Tay Street, Mount Maunganui
22 - 23 January 2011

Courtesy of Surfers Village


The grommets had a tough time on day one of the first event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge today (Saturday 22nd January) with conditions offering only limited opportunities for high performance surfing at Mount Maunganui's Tay Street.

Surf conditions remained small with 0.5m swell cut up by the onshore wind conditions. However the conditions will pale in comparison to the 3.0m swell and strong winds predicted for day two of the event when the older divisions will get their teeth stuck into some sizeable surf.

With the forecast worsening throughout the day, it was decided to run the Under 12 Boys and Girls Divisions through to the finals while the swell was suitable for the competitors, some as young as 10 years of age. Kehu Butler was too good for his opponents in the Under 12 Boys Division. The young surfer scored 10.75 points in the final after completing some big forehand turns in the marginal low tide afternoon conditions.

"It was pretty little out there" said Butler in reference to the small conditions at his home break.
Butler was sitting in second for much of the final but in his own words he simply "tried to relax" until the right wave came through. And sure enough the right wave came through and the 6.50 point ride was enough to put him into the lead and from that point on he sat on his closest opponent to make sure that he didn't get a good wave and take back the lead.

"I am stoked with the win, it is a good way to start the year and it was good that all my family were here to watch me today." Butler defeated Taine Craig - Ranga (Waihi Beach) who placed second ahead of Tane Bowden (WGM) and Luke Griffin (Mnt).

Butler is one of several surfers in the running for other prizes that include the latest Sony street-style head phones. Butler scored an 8.25 point ride with two massive turns to lead the single highest scoring wave award after day one. The modest young surfer had this to say about his feats on day one, "I guess it was pretty good, it was just a hit and a good end section move."

In the Under 12 Girls Division, Gabrielle Paul (Auck) took her time before getting out the back and catching two rides to take the title over Maiya Barbuzza (Italy), Sky Hutchings (Gis) and India McCulloch (Gis).

Earlier in the day the Under 14 Boys Division was surfed through to the final eight surfers with young Korbin Hutchings (Gis) standing out. Hutchings made the most of the small shore-break conditions scoring 14.15 out of a possible 20 points. Along with Butler who also won his heat, they have set up an enthralling semifinal match up alongside Under 14 National Champion Manu Scott - Arrieta (Sandy Bay) and 2010 National Scholastic Champ Te Rapai Barbarich - Love (Tara).

The second semifinal comprises Harrison Mossop (Mnt), Harrison Whiteside (Chch), Taine Craig - Ranga and Taylor Hutchison (Rag) who all pushed through to make the semifinals.
The Under 16 Boys Division got the day under way with the top seeds making light work of the average conditions. Sean Kettle (Tara), Adam Grimson (Gis), Manu Scott - Arrieta (Sandy Bay) and Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha) were the top scorers moving through to the quarterfinals to be contested on Sunday morning.

Sean Kettle (Tara) took a firm grip on the Sony Playstation being awarded for the best move of the event. Early in the day, Kettle landed a solid forehand air in his first heat. However, Kettle's single move was not enough to top the overall performance of Gisborne surfer Korbin Hutchings who is leading the highest heat score award with a 14.15 point heat total.

Ella Willams (WGM) leads the way for the girls after scoring a 10.25 point total heat score and the highest scoring wave for the girls of 5.25.

The Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge is now into it's sixth year and is entrenched in the development pathways of young New Zealand surfers as they try their hand at competing, many of whom start careers at these very events.

The final day of the event will get underway at 8.00am with big waves, strong onshore winds and torrential rain forecast.

www.billabong.com
www.surfingnz.co.nz

Lacanau surfer's most recent result is a second at the Billabong World Jr Champs

Justine Dupont is one of Europe's most promising young female surfers. Originally from Lacanau the 19 year old finished her season on a high with a runner-up finish in the 2010 Billabong World Junior Championships held in Narrabeen Australia. She also has enjoyed success in Europe by winning the ASP European Women's title in 2008.

"We are very excited to welcome Justine to the Billabong Girls team. She is a perfect fit to our brand values, we are looking forward to helping her achieve her goals in the coming years" said Billabong's Girl Marketing Manager Europe Christelle Kipping.

"It's official, I am joining one of the best and biggest surfing brands. I couldn't expect better after my second place at Narrabeen!" said Justine "I am happy and extremely proud to represent the brand and very motivated to reach my objectives and go as farthest as I can with Billabong. Thank you so much to believe in me and being part of the Billabong family"!

Jomo Series Eliminates Pro Class

The JoMoPro series brought BMX pros from near and far to Missouri in April for one of the season's most celebrated events. This year, there are changes to the event, including the elimination of the pro class in the BMX Park category, and the addition of skateboarding to the weekend. "We will be offering Intermediate and Expert classes for BMX Park. We will also be offering Intermediate and Expert Classes for Skateboarding in the park as well this year," said Autumn Ramp Park director Jeremiah Anderson. "This is a throwback to the original JoMoPro," he added.

JoMoPro will also offer a flatland BMX competition in partnership with Flatland Fuel, which will offer Intermediate, Veteran, Expert, Masters and Pro classes, so there will be an assortment of pros traveling to Joplin for the weekend of April 8-10, 2011, but there will not be the usual 50+ BMX park pros on hand to compete in the event for a cash purse and grand prize motorcycle, as there has been in the past.

But, as Anderson noted, select pros will be invited from both BMX and skate "To hangout with the am riders and skaters, and also to judge the event."

"These changes have been made in order for us to get back to the original reason we started doing the event, which was to provide a fun and well executed competition experience for the up and coming riders and skaters in the Midwest," said Anderson. "For 2011 we feel the way for us to produce a quality event is to make these changes," he added.

To reflect the changes to the event, the name has been changed from "JoMoPro" to "JoMoShowdown."

Over the past four years, JoMoPro has attracted Dew Tour and X Games athletes, and has featured $25,000 cash purses, and Harley Davidson motorcycles as Best Trick awards. Opened in 2006 in Joplin, Missouri, Autumn Ramp Park has held JoMoPro every year in April since the park opened. Together, with the Bridge Center and the Foundry Music Venue, the 20,000 square-foot building makes up Bridge Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to develop relationships with teens that will make a positive impact on their lives.

Chris Cole made Partner in Zero Skateboards

Two-time Thrasher magazine Skater of the Year Chris Cole and his longtime boss/teammate Jamie Thomas announced that Cole was being brought on as a partner in Zero skateboards, the brand that Thomas owned and founded and that Cole has been sponsored by for nearly 10 years.

On Jan. 14, just five days prior to the Zero announcement, Cole had announced that he would be riding for DC shoes. Inside of skateboarding, the news surprised few in the know, but the move to DC still sparked debate on what would happen to Cole's relationship with Thomas and the Zero brand.

Prior to DC, Cole had ridden for Thomas' company, Fallen footwear, for several years, and helped raise the brand's profile around the world. Since Fallen and Zero are both owned by Thomas and distributed by Black Box Distribution, many wondered if Cole's decision to leave Fallen for DC would adversely affect his role on the Zero team. That turned out not to be the case.

"Zero is the only company I wanna ride for," said Cole. "It is also the only company that fits me. They nail it over there. Whether it's graphics, videos, team -- they kill it, and always have. Being more integrated in this company is something I've been working into forever. And to be a shareholder is a dream. I'll be directly affecting the brand positively, from the skating to the planning. That's perfect for me."

In an interview with Mark Whitely on the Black Box website, Thomas clarified the decision to bring Cole in on the ownership side:

"Throughout the discussions about Fallen he kept telling me, 'I want to stay on Zero,' but it was obvious that whatever he was involved in he should get paid through the roof or have a stake in the company. So with that in mind, I suggested that we pay him really well and give him a stake, and Cole was down."

As a tremendous skateboarder who appeals to both the core audience and contest fans alike (Cole is a four-time X Games gold medalist, and has won three Maloof Money Cup events which earned him $100,000 per win), Cole's value to any brand is astronomical. With Zero being one of the best selling hard goods brands in skateboarding, Cole's shareholder status is one effective way of making his continued involvement with the brand financially worthwhile for him.

Since Cole and Thomas are close friends who have together been the two leading influences behind Zero for nearly a decade, the direction of the brand, and Cole's influence on it, will likely stay the course.

Surfer becomes first to ride giant 'Jaws' waves at night

Night surfing is like the craziest thing i heard yet. Imagine the sensation of careening down sheer and heaving faces measuring 30 feet, atop a black ocean, at a Hawaiian reef break called Jaws.

Australian big-wave surfer Mark Visser, using specially engineered LED lighting built into his buoyancy vest and board, became the first to night surf at Jaws off Maui, during an admittedly scary and ultra-surreal session at about 2 a.m. Thursday.

Visser, 28, was towed onto the waves via jet-powered watercraft, as all surfers are during big winter swells at Jaws, because the swells travel too swiftly to be caught by paddling.

The high-tech lighting technologies were created specifically for this project, two years in the planning, and designed to ensure that the wave and board were lit in specific places and that the vision of jetski drivers and helicopter crews was not hindered.

Dana White -- Women Will Never Fight in The UFC

Dana White -- Women Will Never Fight in The UFC. UFC honcho Dana White tells us he will "NEVER" allow a female fighter to step inside his octagon.



For the record, there are a TON of badass, tough-as-nails women fighters including Cris "Cyborg" Santos and Gina Carano ... but they both fight for the rival Strikeforce league.

A small private ski area in northern Michigan played host to some of the biggest names in snowboarding

A small private ski area in northern Michigan played host to some of the biggest names in snowboarding and skiing this past weekend. U.S. Snowboard Team members Louie Vito, Greg Bretz, Kelly Marren, Kaitlyn Farrington, Matt Ladley, JJ Thomas, Ben Watts, Steve Fisher and freeskier Simon Dumont visited The Ostego Club in Gaylord, Mich., Friday through Tuesday to train in the ski area's 22-foot superpipe and quarter pipe with an air bag.

The athletes were training for the upcoming competition season, including the second stop of the Winter Dew Tour, happening this weekend in Killington, Vermont, and Winter X Games 15, taking place next week in Aspen, Colo.

The Ostego Club has the only competition-size, 22-foot pipe in the midwest, and one of only a handful in the U.S. (other resorts with 22-foot pipes include Mammoth, Breckenridge, Park City and Copper). Ostego's park, called The O Park, was built by Planet Snow Design, a company that has designed many of the parks and pipes for major competitions around the country.

Last year, Olympic teams from 12 different countries -- including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Korea, Poland and Canada -- practiced at Ostego, including riders like Torah Bright and Japanese snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo. This was the first time members of the U.S. Snowboard Team had practiced at Ostego.

"The athletes came to the park and pipe to experience what the other Olympic teams experienced last season," Kris Klay, The Ostego Club's general manager, told ESPN Wednesday. "We have built a 22-foot pipe and also partnered with Acrobag to provide the athletes with an air bag to practice new maneuvers into. The entire relationship has been an ongoing project to establish the resort as a world-class halfpipe training center."

Simon Dumont was reportedly practicing switch dub cork 10s, landing into the Acrobag, a trick he may try to bring out at Winter X 15.

"You're able to practice all the big tricks that you're not quite comfortable to throw right to snow," Matt Ladley, who's competing in Winter X snowboard Superpipe this year for the first time, told Upnorthlive.com.

"[It's] cutting edge up here, and it's a thing that we wish places like Breckenridge and Park City would do more of," said two-time Winter X gold medalist Steve Fisher.

The Ostego Club, founded in 1939 and one of the oldest private ski clubs in America, is open to the public during midweek operations, which currently is just Thursday and Friday, and then weekends are limited to club members and their guests.

"The reaction from our locals has been fantastic," Klay said. "They think it's great to have these amazing athletes come and visit our area. And the athletes have been great and very receptive to the attention they are receiving."

ESPN announced Tuesday that the 2011 X Games 17

ESPN announced Tuesday that the 2011 X Games 17 will be held July 28-31 in Los Angeles. Specific competition venues and event schedule will be announced at a later date.

The X Games features athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: skateboarding, motocross, BMX and rally car racing. X Games 17 will be covered live on ESPN's family of networks as well as across ESPN's many digital media assets including ESPN.com/action, XGames.com and ESPN3.com.

X Games 16 coverage was viewed by 35.4 million people in the U.S. during the four-day event, which includes all live and repeat X Games 16 telecasts. Outside the United States, X Games 16 was delivered to more than 382 million homes and was broadcast live to 175 countries and territories, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Israel, Latin America, Mexico, Middle East and New Zealand. The X Games 16 total attendance was 138,525 -- an increase of 24 percent from 2009. Total hours consumed on ESPN3.com, ESPN's 24/7 sports broadband network, during X Games 16 was up 238 percent compared to the prior year. Through two weeks of X Games 16 coverage (July 25-Aug. 7), ESPN.com/Action generated more than 1.3 million visits and nearly 2 million video starts, up 30 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Additionally, page views on the mobile website were up 36 percent compared to the same period last year. The X Games Channel on YouTube also had its most-trafficked week ever, with Saturday alone (July 31) registering a record nearly half-million video views.

Globe signs the Hobgood brothers to another multi-year agreement

The eminent action sports brand, Globe, announced today a new multi-year commitment with two of the world’s most prolific surfers, CJ and Damien Hobgood. As twins bound together since birth, so goes the story of Globe’s longstanding relationship with CJ and Damien, who have been a part of the Globe family for nearly 15 years now.


Signing on to continue to represent Globe for Footwear and Cruiserboards, the ‘Goods will remain as mainstays of Globe’s brand in the surf market and ensure that global surf enthusiasts will be able to indulge in hi-fi Hobgood shred action in Globe’s new surf film, 0000 (year zero).

In announcing the sponsorship, Matt Hill, Globe’s CEO, said, “The Hobgoods have spent almost their entire careers sponsored by Globe and we see this relationship continuing in perpetuity. They are family. They will continue to be featured riders in our advertising and surf films and will continue to be involved with the brand in many ways. And later on, we still see a place for them to be involved with our brand in new and interesting ways outside of surfing and competition.”

With a few major trips already in the bag, Globe film Director and longtime friend of the Hobgoods, Joe G., expressed his feelings on the new deal and the Good’s involvement in 0000. “We’ve generated so much momentum over the years rolling with CJ and Damien and have channeled much of it into our new surf film project, 0000, which they will star in along side of Taj Burrow, Dion Agius, Yadin NIcol, Nate Tyler, among others.  CJ and Damo continue to blow me away with their individual abilities to fly with young guys when its fun, but shift gears when it gets heavy and charge like no one else on earth.”

CJ sums up his feelings with a few words, “Globe shoes will be on my feet when I die. We are full speed ahead with Globe and really excited about the new film 0000. Working towards an epic!” Damien, who text in from an undisclosed location in Mexico while filming for 0000, exclaims, “Dear Globe, love you long time. Super stoked on the new commitment!”

Having served as amazing mentors for fellow Globe riders Dion Agius, Yadin Nicol, Nate Tyler, and many others along the way, Cj and Damo are constantly elevating the level of surfing on trips and pushing these guys to reach their full potential. Additionally, both brothers are still within the top 16 on the ASP World Tour and continue to leave their mark on in the sport every year. As professional athletes, ambassadors, parents, friends, and all around good people, the ‘Goods are destined for non-stop success and greatness. The crew at Globe are stoked to keep the magic alive!

Skateboards make it to the Freakin' Smithsonian

With a vintage 1980s-era skateboard belonging to Tony Hawk, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has begun a collection of artifacts focusing on skateboarding and skate culture.

"Skateboarding is a sport that highlights the inventive and entrepreneurial spirit of our nation," said Brent D. Glass, director of the Washington, D.C.-based museum. "Tony Hawk strongly embodies this spirit, and for this reason I am pleased that his deck launches our collecting initiative.

"Smithsonian press releaseTony Hawk donated a 1980s pro model skateboard by Powell-Peralta to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Hawk, 42, donated the pro model by Powell-Peralta after skating on it at the Quiksilver All '80s All Day Vert Jam, held at Surf Expo in Orlando earlier this month. Wearing 80s-era garb, including a flyaway helmet, fluorescent Jams and knee high-socks, Hawk performed inverts, McTwists, and Madonnas. And just like the old days, he won against a field that included some former competitive rivals such as Christian Hosoi, Mike McGill and Kevin Staab.
"It is one of my personally used signature decks that I saved from 1987," Hawk said by e-mail, referring to the donated board. "I rode it briefly back then but dismantled it for some unknown reason and kept it through the years. The trucks are original Tracker magnesiums and the Lapper is one of few still in existence. The wheels, however, are relatively new."

Adapting to the old board was not easy though. "It was challenging because the tail is much wider than anything I've ridden in the last 15 years, the wheel base is shorter, and it has no nose," Hawk said. "My front foot came off many times during practice because I would slide it too far forward."

Hawk said the Smithsonian inquired through his foundation about acquiring one of his boards."I was excited, but confused as to why they wanted a retro board instead of a modern one," he said. "But now I understand; it is a time capsule that represents a significant era in skating."

Hawk's board is the first artifact in a broader collection focusing on skateboarding and skate culture by the museum's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, according to spokesperson Kate Wiley. The museum is interested in the material culture of skateboarding, including archival items, equipment, technology, tricks and other paraphernalia such as video games.

Wiley said interest in skateboarding grew out of an exhibition from 2009 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian called Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America. The Lemelson Center already has a collection dedicated to snowboarding.

The graphics on Hawk's deck feature a familiar image from the 1980s, with the skull of a hawk superimposed on an iron cross. It was designed by Powell's in-house artist, Vernon Courtland Johnson (VCJ), who helped create the skull and bones imagery common in skateboarding.

"Skaters have always been known to be unique and artistic, so the lifestyle encompasses much more than the physical act," Hawk said. "It has influenced art, music and fashion, and helped to redefine sports in our country."

Hawk's board will join a 1978 Honeycomb Pool Board donated by Stacy Peralta, and another Powell board in the museum's permanent sports collection.

Wiley said the museum has no plans to display the boards yet.

James "Bubba" Stewart take Pheonix Supercross

Last night at Phoenix’s Chase Field, 2007, 2008 and 2009 AMA Supercross Champion James Stewart shot out of the gates in the main event of the evening. Stewart was followed by Geico Honda’s Kevin Windham, Villopoto, JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton and Canard. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey and TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed ran seventh and eighth in the opening lap as Villopoto made a quick pass on Windham to move into second place. Positions went back and forth as Chad Reed went ahead of Dungey and Canard moved up to third ahead of Brayton and Windham. But on Lap 3 Hahn and Windham fell victim to Phoenix’s slippery track surface and difficult rhythm sections.

Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto took second in the main after losing the front end on Phoenix's slippery track. Villopoto suffered a costly fall. Meanwhile, Dungey made it around Reed shortly after but couldn’t keep a clean pace, and mistakes allowed Reed to make another pass on the defending SX champ. Ultimately Stewart maintained the advantage provided by Villopoto’s mistake and claimed his first win of the 2011 season. Although Villopoto maintains a two-point lead in the series, he now feels Stewart breathing down his neck.

“I really wanted to pull that holeshot,” said Stewart after his win. “This track was tough tonight but I haven’t won in over a year so I really wanted this one. I was even a little nervous out there but I want to thank everyone on my team for giving such an awesome bike. This feels great.”
Supercross Class Results: Phoenix

1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha

2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki

3. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda

4. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda

5. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki

6. Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C, Yamaha

7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM

8. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki

9. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha

10. Kyle Regal, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha

Supercross Class Season Standings

1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki - 47

2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha - 45

3. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda - 38

4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki - 38

5. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda - 34

6. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki - 26

7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM - 25

8. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha - 22

9. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki - 21

10. Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C, Yamaha - 20

Ryan Sheckler -- On Warpath Over Vaporizer Picture

Ryan Sheckler just declared war on a website -- over a picture in which the pro skater unintentionally shows off a giant device used to inhale marijuana -- and he won't stop until it's taken down for good.


Sheckler -- who originally posted the pic to his Twitter account -- was modeling a new hat from his big sponsor Red Bull ... but unfortunately, he didn't seem to notice the ridiculous space-age vaporizer sitting behind him on a coffee table.

The pic -- which has since been deleted from his Twitter -- was reposted on TheDirty.com under the headline "Lay Off the Ganja Sheckler" ... and now the Sheckmeister is royally pissed, claiming the site is ruining his good name.

Sheck's lawyer fired off a cease and desist letter to the gossip site on Thursday -- demanding they remove the incriminating pic stat ... or face the wrath of the law. As of now, the pic is still up.

Jamie Anderson & Roope Tonteri Win Slopestyle at the 12th ANNUAL BURTON EUROPEAN OPEN

Beautiful blue skies greeted the Burton European Open today for the men’s and women’s slopestyle finals competition where seasoned slopestyle pro Jamie Anderson (USA) and up-and-coming Finnish rider Roope Tonteri took home first place, valuable points towards both the BGOS and TTR titles and $15,000 cash each.

The ladies kicked things off with six women from four different countries competing for a coveted spot on the BEO podium. All the ladies had three chances to put together their best run. But in the end, it turned out that the riders’ first runs were their best. Jamie Anderson earned the highest score of the contest with a backside tailslide, Millerflip, tailblunt to fakie, switch boardslide to 5-0 and a backside alley oop in the quarterpipe, finishing things off on the kickers with a backside 360 mute grab, frontside 360 melon grab and a backside 180 Japan grab. Jamie is no stranger to the BEO podium where she won the women’s slopestyle title back in 2008. With her win today, Jamie moves into the Swatch TTR World Tour lead and has set herself up nicely for making a run at the 2010/11 TTR Tour Champion title, which will be awarded at the Burton US Open in March. Swiss rider and Laax local Sina Candrian took second place in BEO slopestyle for the third year in a row. Sina scored just behind Jamie by less than two points with back-to-back 360s and a frontside 720, which was one of the highest-scoring tricks of the women’s competition. Jordie Karlinski (USA) was on the BEO podium for the first time, earning third place.

“The event was super fun today, and I’m so glad I could put my run together,” said Jamie Anderson. “I did a new trick on the first rail, a backside tailslide, so I’m glad that worked out.

Now it was the men’s turn to take on the slopestyle course. Ten riders had three runs to get their best score. Roope Tonteri (FIN) shook up the men’s podium on his last run, beating competition powerhouse Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) by less than three tenths of a point. Roope won the BEO slopestyle title, his first major contest win ever, with an impressive run that included a pivot 270 out, backside 360 nose bonk, alley oop 50-50, gap to boardslide, backside 720 mute grab, Cab 900 indy grab and backside double cork 1260, finishing things off with a jaw-dropping Cab 1440 indy grab. Roope had the highest scoring tricks of the men’s competition, sealing his victory and first Burton European Open title. Last year’s BEO slopestyle champion Peetu Piiroinen almost had today’s competition on lock-down, but his best run, which included high-scoring tricks on the kickers like a backside double cork 1080 mute grab, backside rodeo 900 nose grab and a Cab 1260 mute grab were not enough to win it. Peetu took home second place followed by Chas Guldemond (USA) in third.

Right after the competition, Roope still seemed in shock about his win. “I’ll need some time to realize what happened,” said Roope. “I’m very happy to have landed the 1440 because I’ve only done it once before. Here in Laax at the BEO, everything is so amazing, and winning today is like a dream.”

The Burton European Open also marks the kick-off of a year-long qualification period for the World Snowboarding Championships taking place in Oslo, Norway in February 2012. Every rider who wins a TTR 6Star title over the next 52 weeks will receive a "ticket to ride" in the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships event. And, with their wins today, both Roope Tonteri and Jamie Anderson have secured a spot to compete.

Besides enjoying some incredible live slopestyle action, the crowd was also impressed by the helicopter that was shuttling the competitors between runs. It’s pretty next level when riders take a heli to their competition runs instead of a snowmobile or a chairlift.

Tomorrow is the last day of the 12th annual BEO with the women’s halfpipe semi-finals and finals and the men’s finals. Top halfpipe riders and Olympians like Kelly Clark (USA), Kazu Kokubo (JPN) and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) will definitely put on a good show in tomorrow’s halfpipe finals.

If you can’t make it to Laax, be sure to check out the LIVE webcast on www.metacafe.com and www.burton.com/events starting in the morning with women’s halfpipe semi-finals.

Don’t forget to vote for the new MINI rider award called Creative Use of Space. Learn more and vote at facebook.com/mini under the Burton tab.


2011 BEO Women’s Slopestyle Final Results

1. Jamie Anderson (USA) BILLABONG 78.55 -$15,000

2. Sina Candrian (SUI) BURTON 77.10 - $7,500

3. Jordie Karlinski (USA) NIKITA 69.45 - $4,000



2011 BEO Men’s Slopestyle Final Results

1. Roope Tonteri (FIN) BURTON 86.30 - $15,000

2. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) NIKE 6.0 & BURTON 86.05 - $7,500

3. Chas Guldemond (USA) ROCKSTAR 85.30 - $4,000

(Courtesy of Burton.com)

Billabong Flaunt IT All-girls Snowboard Tour Back Again!

Billabong announces the start of the 5th season of the Billabong Flaunt It Tour, supported by Von Zipper, Dakine, Contour, and Sony Piiq.  Flaunt It is an All-Girls Slopestyle & Rail Jam snowboard series that is aimed at giving girls from all levels a chance to Flaunt It, while awarding over $30,000 in cash and prizes for the girls to compete for. Since 2010, Flaunt It is a part of the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Event Tour schedule.

The first 6 events throughout the USA and Canada are Swatch TTR 3* ranked events, which will have a $2000 cash purse at each event.  The first place winner from each event will also receive airfare and accommodations to the series Finals at Sierra-At-Tahoe.  For the final stop of the Flaunt It Tour, the event is a Swatch TTR 4* event where there will be a cash purse of $10,000 with lots of additional product and prizes!

The format consists of a morning Slopestyle jam, followed by an afternoon Rail Jam. While there is some serious cash and prizes up for grabs, this contest series was designed with fun in mind.  Each competitor will be allowed to do as many runs as possible with the judges watching throughout the day to determine the standout riders.

Each event, including the series finals is open to all female riders (limited to 35 girls/50 for finals). Registration is first come, first serve, and can be done at:

www.billabong.com/flauntit

——-

Flaunt It 2011 Schedule

Jan 22nd: Blue Mountain, ON
Feb 12th: Sunshine, AB
Feb 26th: Big White, BC
Mar 5th: Mount Seymour, BC
Mar 19th: Waterville Valley, NH
Mar 26th: Tremblant, QC
Apr 9th (FINALS): Sierra-At-Tahoe, CA

Burton officially opened their new R&D facility in Vermont

Burton officially opened their new R&D facility in Vermont. "Craig's" named after the late snowboarding icon Craig Kelly, marks Burton's largest and most modern R&D facility to date.  The plant can create about 2,000 one-off decks a year.

"We needed a way to stay on top of it," says Burton, "and this was clearly the way to do it." What's great about the facility is that it pays homage to one of snowboarding's most formative riders. Craig Kelly didn't just push the riding side of the sport, he was a legit engineer as well, and brought just as much zeal to his relationship developing products with long-time sponsor Burton as did to perfecting his snowboarding game.

"The guy was such a perfectionist in his riding and everything that he did. He could get the perfect snowboard, and then ... make it better," says Burton. "It just dawned on me one day, this [facility] is what Craig was all about."

"Prototype" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a first full-scale and usually functional form of a new type or design of a construction." Fittingly, it's also defined as "an original model on which something is patterned." Together, you get the perfect description of Kelly: an individual that was constantly refining his riding and his product designs, ultimately building a legend that would define professional snowboarding for generations to come.

Kelly's influence lead to a whole new "team-driven" paradigm of design and marketing for Burton.
"I was making all the aesthetic and functional decisions on my own," Burton recalls. There was one board graphic in particular where Kelly's input changed the process: "Craig tried not to hurt my feelings, but he conveyed to me that this was the ugliest s--- he had seen and nobody would buy it. And it sunk in that -- wow, it's easier listening to other people instead of making all these decisions myself. I went in that direction, and I think that had a lot to do with the success of the brand."

The new 10,000 square foot R&D facility, located just across the parking lot from Burton's Burlington headquarters, also features an archive room that shows the history of gear progression, from Burton-branded hiking boots and primitive, essentially binding-less boards, up to the latest high-tech products.

DC Announces Chris Cole to the Team

DC is proud to announce it has signed legendary skateboarder Chris Cole to its elite Skate team. Recognized as one of the best and most influential skaters of his generation, Chris is only the second skater to ever become Thrasher’s “Skater of the Year” twice (after DC’s Danny Way) once in 2005, and again in 2009. In that same year, he was also honored with TransWorld SKATEboarding’s Readers Choice Award.

To welcome him, DC is launching its latest Initials Commercial featuring Chris, in which he debuts a never before done trick– a FS 360 to front board. Check it out now at http://www.dcskateboarding.tv/cole. The mini-site also features a new interview, photo gallery and bio on Chris.

“DC is a huge force in skateboarding- pushing new technology and styling into skate footwear,” said Chris. “I’ve always admired that, and when I had the opportunity to be a part of their team I jumped at it. They have already made me an even bigger fan with the way they do things, how I’ve been treated, and the things I’ve been shown.”

“Our heritage and also our future is in skateboarding, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Chris to the family,” said Anton Nistl, DC’s President. “DC is known for having athletes that exemplify raw talent, natural leadership, ambition and fearlessness, and we really feel that Chris embodies all of these traits and more. This is a great way for us to kick off 2011. Our future is looking bright with Chris in it.”



Hailing from Langhorne, PA, Chris has spent the majority of his life on a skateboard and his powerful and precise skating style shows just that. He is an innovator of tricks such as a cab front blunt on a handrail, FS 360 to front board and he’s made his mark at famous spots such as the Carlsbad Gap and Wallenberg High School. His raw talent and un-matched ability has been showcased with parts in almost 20 skate videos including TransWorld’s In Bloom and Zero’s Strange World.

In 2004 Chris won his first contest, Best Trick at the Tampa Pro and he hasn’t slowed down since. He’s won practically every contest out there including back-to-back Gold Medals at X Games (in 2006 and 2007), the Maloof Money Cup three times (once in 2009 and twice in 2010), Dew Tour (in 2009), Battle At The Berrics 2 (in 2009). Most recently he competed in the first Street League Skateboarding™ DC Pro Tour taking 2nd place at the Las Vegas event stop.

Chris’ 2011 is already a busy one as he is working on finishing a film part for Zero’s Cold War and working on developing signature products with DC. For more information on DC, its athletes and products visit http://www.dcshoes.com and on DC’s Facebook and Twitter pages (http://www.facebook.com/DC.Shoes and http://twitter.com/dcshoes)

Winter X Games Competition Schedule

Winter X Games 15 is coming up fast at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, CO again this year from January 27-30.

This contest is packed with a who's who in winter action sports as international riders and local Olympians are all gearing up for their chance at X Games gold. Sean White via Twitter confirmed his attendance and will be riding in both the pipe and slope contests. Many assumed White would be a no show this year considering he hasn't competed since Vancouver, but come on who we foolin', it's the X Games.  We have to see if the time off will effect SW's dominance in the sport?

Gretchen Bleiler, who previously announced she'd be taking a break from competition this season, has also confirmed she will be competing in the pipe. No one seems to be able to resist the X Game allure! 

It's going to be an action-packed xtreme event that you won't want to miss. Check out the official schedule to see when your favorite competition take place.

Scotty Largo broke his jaw in Wyoming

On Tuesday, Scotty Lago broke his jaw in the Wyoming backcountry while filming with Travis Rice and Mark Landvik for next year's feature film "The Art of Flight."

The three pros were hitting a massive backcountry kicker that took the crew over a week to build when Lago took the nasty fall. The Olympic Bronze medalist was attempting a switch double backside rodeo 1080 when he under-rotated 90 degrees. This unfortunate miscalculation coupled with the hard impact of the landing sent Lago's knee directly into his jaw.

The impact shattered his jaw bones, broke a few teeth, and chipped a bone in his cheek. A medic was on scene, but Lago reportedly had to drive his snowmobile over hilly terrain for around 20 miles until he reached a location where he could be picked up and transported to the hospital. He underwent emergency surgery and was released the next day.

The injury has left Lago in stable condition, however his jaw remains wired shut. At this point it's very unlikely that Lago will be able to compete in the Winter X Games at the end of this month.

We wish Scotty a fast recovery from this unfortunate accident.