Male and Female Global Open Champions to each win $100,000
Burlington, VT (September 18, 2006) - The 2006/2007 Burton Global Open Series presented by Motorola will award the largest single title payout in snowboarding history - $100,000 cash to both the female and male Global Open Champions. The series champion will be crowned at the US Open, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in March, 2007.
To win the championship title, snowboarders will earn points based on their standings in the halfpipe and/or slopestyle competitions at each of the scheduled Open contests. The male and female rider with the most points from their top five results will each win $100,000 cash.
Currently, Ellery Hollingsworth and Mason Aguirre are in first place for the championship title based on their results from the 2006 New Zealand Open, which offered riders the chance to earn a maximum of 12,000 points. Riders will have the opportunity to earn two results at each Open, one in halfpipe and one in slopestyle. Competitors can earn a maximum of 16,000 points at the upcoming European Open in Laax, Switzerland, 16,000 points at the 2007 Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open held in ALTS Bandai, Japan and 20,000 points at the 2007 US Open in Stratton, Vermont, USA.
Each Global Open Series contest is assigned a level that dictates how many points riders receive for first through tenth place in both the halfpipe and slopestyle events. The US Open is a level 5 event, the European and Nippon Opens are level 4 events and the New Zealand and Australian Opens are level 3 events. A first place finish in halfpipe or slopestyle at the US Open is worth 10,000 points, a first place finish at the European or Nippon Opens is worth 8,000 points and a first place finish at the New Zealand and Australian Opens is worth 6,000 points. The Global Open Champion will be determined by adding all of the points from a rider's top five results from any of the Opens. The more Opens the riders compete in, the better their chances are to win the huge $100,000 title. Rankings will be updated after each event and posted on www.opensnowboarding.com.
The Burton Global Open Series is also part of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour that gives points to riders based on their results at participating TTR competitions in order to crown a TTR World Champion. Created by world-renowned snowboarder and Burton Global Team rider Terje Haakonsen as an alternative way to rank riders, the 2006/2007 Tour is without question the largest culmination of independent freestyle snowboarding events under one common tour organization. Burton is stoked to support the TTR with the Global Opens, bringing five quality events and a tremendous cash purse to riders participating in the TTR. For more information on the TTR World Snowboard Tour, visit www.ttrworldtour.com.
2006/2007 Burton Global Open Series dates and locations are below.
August 3-5, 2006 New Zealand Open, Snowpark, New Zealand
TBD Australian Open, Falls Creek, Australia
January 20-27, 07 European Open, Laax, Switzerland
February 20-25, 07 Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open ALTS Bandai, Japan
March 12-18, 2007 US Open Stratton, VT USA
For more details on the Burton Global Open Series and the ranking system, visit www.opensnowboarding.com
About the Burton Global Open Series, Presented by Motorola
The Burton Global Open Series events are the pinnacle snowboarding events of the season. Founded by Jake Burton, the Opens have grown from grassroots events to global spectacles attracting tens of thousands of spectators and riders from around the world. Since the beginning, the Opens have been driven by riders, for riders evolving with snowboarding and riders' needs over the years. With events held in Europe, Japan, the United States, New Zealand and Australia, the Opens set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe.