2010 BURTON NEW ZEALAND OPEN GEARS UP

LAKE WANAKA, New Zealand (July 15, 2010) – With just four weeks to go, the eighth annual Burton NZ Open, which has become the most prestigious snow sports event in the country, is gearing up to take Wanaka by storm.

The invites are out, and those confirmed to attend so far include defending women’s Slopestyle Champion Jamie Anderson, and women’s defending Halfpipe Champion Kelly Clark, both of the USA.

Other top international riders on their way include Seppe Smits (BEL), Christian Haller (SUI), Marco Grilc (SLO), Norwegians Tore Holvik, Stale Sandbech and Gjermund Braaten; Canadians Charles Reid, Mark Sollors, Mark McMorris and Matts Kulisek; Americans Chas Guldemond, Sage Kotsenburg, Jack Mitrani and Louie Vito; as well as Japanese rippers Kazuhiro Kokubo, Ryo Aono, Daisuke Murakami and Kohei Kudo. Some of the women to confirm include Kjersti Buaas and Lin Haug (NOR), Sina Candrian (SUI), Enni Rukajärvi (FIN), Rana Okada (JPN), and Elizabeth Beerman (USA). Kiwis Stef Zeestraten and Shelly Gotlieb, both strong contenders in the Slopestyle, have also confirmed their attendance.

The field is growing daily, and all will converge on Cardrona Alpine Resort from 10-14th August to compete for a chunk of the NZ$50,000 prize purse, which is spread equally for both men and women in Slopestyle and Halfpipe. Official training starts on Tuesday August 10th, followed by an opening party at Lonestar Wanaka. Pre-qualifiers and Qualifiers start on Wednesday the 11th. Invited riders are seeded directly to the Semifinal stages, which start on Friday 13th. The event culminates with the Halfpipe Semifinals and Finals on Saturday 14th August.

This event marks the first stop of the Burton Global Open Series for the 2010/2011 season and is also a 5 Star event on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. Full event details including a comprehensive gig and party line up will be published soon. All updates will be available via www.opensnowboarding.com

2010 BURTON NZ OPEN – THE OPEN SESSIONS
Not all the action at the 2010 Burton NZ Open will be taking place on the mountain. Bringing it to the streets of Wanaka, the “Open Sessions” consist of a comprehensive line up of gigs and parties – the first of which will be the official Burton NZ Open Launch Party at Lonestar Wanaka on Tuesday 10th August. Tunes for the evening will be provided by the Peacekeepers, featuring the unmistakable vocals of P Digsss, along with the refined DJ skills of Sambora.

The Opium Bar in Wanaka becomes the focus for the next two nights, with an Open Sessions Afterparty on both Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th August. Queenstown musical icon Downtown Brown, whose roots are implanted deeply in reggae, soul, and hiphop, will be on hand to get the groove happening during the first Afterparty, while DJ Reno takes the stage on the second evening with his mix of hiphop, soul, jazz, house, funk and broken beat.

On Friday 13th August the Sessions step it up with the first of two Shapeshifter gigs. In past years the final Saturday night show has always sold out, so securing tickets to the Friday show could be a good way to make sure you don’t miss out on seeing one of New Zealand’s most dynamic and high powered live acts.

Saturday 14th August sees the culmination of the Sessions, and a second Shapeshifter concert at the Lake Wanaka Centre. With the Burton NZ Open scheduled to be completed on this day, the gig is sure to be wall-to-wall with pretty much anyone and everyone involved, and a great conclusion to the event.

There’ll be 1000 free tickets available through local Burton retailers, and the first 650 of these to show up at the door will be allowed entry.