6STAR OAKLEY ARCTIC CHALLENGE SETS UP NAIL BITING SEASON FINALE FOR THE SWATCH TTR TOUR

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Oslo, Norway - February 21st, 2009: In the middle of the beautiful and magical forest of Oslo, Norway trolls were holding on to their hats as they were joined by snowboarding's elite riders and cheering spectators for the epic Quarterpipe contest, the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge. This week's long shred extravaganza is renowned for spectacular action and providing a platform for the progression of snowboarding. Today's electrifying final saw Arthur Longo (FRA) claim the title and walk away with the biggest piece of the $ 100 000 USD total prize purse and 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points, launching him into TTR World No. 7. Newcomer, Matt Ladley (USA) took second place while Antti Autti (FIN) came in third shooting him into TTR World No.5.

Winning the Arctic Challenge is not easy and commands respect. One more reason for Longo's big smile after the competition was the fact that he recently took out the TTR 5Star Crans-Montana Champs Open as well. "It is so good - I just got two big victories in three weeks or even less. But I cannot really realize that I won yet - I am so stoked", he said.

Despite some clouds and heavy snowfall, the Linderudkollen ski jump arena provided the ideal setup with its perfectly built 10.6 meter Quarterpipe. Judges were looking for height, style and technical difficulty. Out of five runs, the best three were counted into the final score with extra points rewarded for variation of tricks. Arthur won the contest with styled out spins which demonstrated a full repertoire of tricks. His winning runs were a BS alley-oop 360, BS 5 mute and a super smooth FS alley-oop stalefish.

No one expected Matt Ladley to finish second but he earned his spot with a Chuck Flip Melon Grab, BS 7 mute and BS 5 mute (which was also awarded as 'Best Trick' of the day). Antti Autti's third place finish was a result of his ability to consistently land super technical spins. Despite some heavy slams, he pulled off a FS 7 melon, BS 5 nose grab and an inverted FS 9 tail grab. Haakonsen (NOR), apart from fighting against unfavorable conditions all day, still managed to post the 'Highest Air' with a 6.5m BS 5 nose grab.

The Swatch TTR Ranking were truly shaken after the event, setting up heavy showdowns for the upcoming 5Star Asian Open in Japan and the 6Star Burton U.S. Open. Risto Mattila finished 4^th but still managed to defend his World No.3 Ranking. "It feels good to be World No. 3 of course, but I am bummed because I bailed on my last trick. I got some good points so that's ok". Last year's Swatch TTR Tour Champion Kevin Pearce has moved into World No. 4 with a 12^th place finish, as Antti Autti follows behind in World No.5. Both these riders are still in contention to take out the Swatch TTR Title in the coming weeks. Olivier Gittler (FRA), who had only missed the finale by inches, jumped up into World No.14, with Thursday's joint 'Highest Air' winner, Shayne Pospisil (USA) snapping at his heels in World No.15. Veteran rider Gian Simmen (SUI) has also continued his ascent up the TTR Ranking and now sits at World No.19.

Stay tuned when the Tour moves to Japan, February 24th - March 1st, 2009, for the 5Star Nissan X-Trail Asian Open, where riders will stepping it up as the season end looms. There is still chances for the ranking to change and with a total prize purse of $200 000 USD, you can be sure the action is not over yet.


2008/2009 - Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Rankings as of: 21/ 2 / 09

JOINT WINNERS AT OAKLEY ARCTIC CHALLENGE HIGHEST AIR

Oslo, Norway February 19th, 2009 : Today, the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge kicked off with the 'Highest Air' format, a separate contest allocated only to straight Airs and does not account for Swatch TTR points. Daniel Josefsen (NOR) and Shayne Pospisil (USA) became the riders of the day in Linderudkollen, Oslo, both jumping 6.8m in front of over 1000 enthusiastic spectators and taking home $6000 USD each. Before the event, speculation was flying that Terje Haakonsen's (NOR) 9.8m record could be broken by the heavy hitting field consisting of Pearce (USA), Sorsa (FIN), and Mattila (FIN), however, unfavorable weather conditions were conspiring against the new world record being set.

"It is difficult to adjust the speed in this weather, so the level of riding is not as good as the two previous days. When you ride that fast into a transition all the details count, so the weather was definitely an important factor this time", said competitor and event organiser, Terje Haakonsen.

While riders at Quarterpipe events on the Swatch TTR Tour are usually judged on their trick variation and amplitude, today, judges were mainly looking for height. Riders dropped down a 130m in-run at speeds of over 80km/h, launching themselves off the scientifically shaped 10.6m Quarterpipe. Josefsen and Pospisil came like freight trains at the giant wall of ice, consistently hovering over 6m. Pospisil was pumped after becoming the joint winner with Josefsen and looking forward to the main event. "I hope it will just turn out as good as last year but today was a good start to the Arctic Challenge and I am really looking forward to Saturday", he said

The day began with 22 aspiring riders seeking to make it through to the 12 man finals. Pospisil and Josefsen, along with Terje Haakonsen and Arthur Longo (FRA) were dominating over the rest of the competition. These four riders kept upping the ante, pushing each other to go higher but in the end Pospisil and Josefsen prevailed with Terje Haakonsen and Arthur Longo sharing third place. Although the main focus was the Highest Air, also a prize of $2000 USD for Best Style was awarded to Josefsen for a sweet BS 360 Indy.

Since its creation in 1999, The Oakley Arctic Challenge has become one of the most respected contests on the Swatch TTR calendar and still holds values such as independence, creativity, progression and environmental responsibility in high regard. A true contest for riders by riders, which has seen two world records broken and increased snowboarding's profile positively also among a broader audience. In the spirit of progression this unique Highest Air format was introduced to keep pushing the limits and development of the snowboard sport.

Saturday's traditional Quarterpipe format will see riders go head to head in pursuit of a $100,000 USD prize purse and some of the last remaining 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points of the season.

Results from the Oakley Arctic Challenge Highest Air

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