Swatch TTR Changes

The Swatch TTR board members met in New York City, USA on May 19^th through May 22^nd to devise some changes for the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour 2008-2009 to try and increase the progress snowboarding has been making. Given below are some of the notable changes that have been made.

In the Tour of 08-09 the last 6STR events will consist of two events to determine the Tour Champion. There will be Burton US Open for the men, and Roxy Chicken Jam for the women. Whoever wins the Tour Champion events will receive a 1000 Swatch TTR points. The 25% bonus will be removed.

The prize money will be distributed to all the winners after identifying their rankings at the end of the Burton US Open and the Roxy Chicken Jam. The Top 10 men of the Burton US Open and the Top 5 women of the Roxy Chicken Jam will receive prize money.

Swatch TTR ranking points received by the riders ranked on the final Swatch TTR ranking list at the end of the tour (April 30^th) will be carried over to the tour of the next season, which will instantly be taken as the first result of the new season’s ranking list. The average of eight results will determine a rider’s final ranking. If the rider carries his/her last season’s points, then the average of only seven results will be required to determine the rider’s final ranking.

The number of Swatch TTR points available at each STAR level has been changed to provide a clear distinction between the 1-2 Star, 3-4 Star and 5-6 Star, while still maintaining dignity in the different levels.

Swatch TTR (Swatch Ticket To Ride) was founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, and is a non-profit, rider-driven organization. They have the goal “to create the highest quality competitive snowboard environment in the world, using authenticity, accessibility, innovation as guiding principles”. They are one of the most well-known snowboard organizations present today. And they have all unanimously agreed on the above changes at the General Assembly held on May 22^nd, 2008.

Let us hope these changes bring the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour of 2008-2009 even more success.

Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour

All applications have been filled, and the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is all set to head downunder with over $2,500,000 USD up for grabs as prize money, during a course of ten months.

Swatch TTR has already started the fun-filled snowboarding events in the mountains of Australia. This year we will see two new events being showcased- the Boost Mobile Sno Sho in Perisher Blue, Australia, and the Billabong Snow Stock in Snowpark, New Zealand, have sent their applications to be a part of the Swatch TTR Tour. If the applications are accepted, they will join the Burton New Zealand Open, Oakley Stylewars and the Burton Australian Open, making the chances of international riders traveling downunder higher.

The Southern Hemisphere Tour will begin with the Burton New Zealand Open in none other than NZ. The BNZO is known for one of the world’s best half-pipes, precise slopestyle set up and huge quarter pipe, making it a must for transition riders to take part. This serves as perfect practice for riders wanting to take part in the Northern Hemisphere Tour.

After the BNZO, the tour will stay put in NZ and get ready for the Billabong Snowstock; one of the new events this year. This event will include the Straight Jump and Quarterpipe competitions. After the Billabong Snowstock, the Oakley Stylewars will follow. This will consist of three slopestyle competition days, one night-rail event, seven judged sessions and four nights of music. All the participants will be competing for the title of Stylewars Grandmaster.

The Stylewars will come to a halt as the Boost Sno Sho starts with a huge one-night showdown. This is the world’s longest rail event. The ending of the Southern Hemipshere Tour will be marked with the Burton Australian Open.

One can expect to see top-notch riders such as Torstein Horgmo, Jonas Karlsson, Sani Alibabic etc. And we can also expect to see ten months of jam-packed entertainment!