WORLD SNOWBOARD TOUR PRO SERIES – THE COUNTDOWN IS ON
Scuol, Switzerland/Munich, Germany - January 15th, 2015
The first ever World Snowboard Tour Pro Series starts at the end of this month with the Burton European Open presented by MINI in Laax, Switzerland, followed up by the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Mammoth, U.S. and the Burton US Open presented by MINI in Vail, U.S. Three of the most influential snowboarding events in the world will determine this year's WST Pro Series Champions in Slopestyle and Halfpipe for both male and female. The new tour structure and the World Snowboarding Points List will yet ensure more consistency and transparency across the sport, while the World Snowboard Tour (WST) remains the most reliable, global platform to unify and showcase competitive snowboarding in the interest of the sport's stakeholders.
The new tour structure, based on four event categories, Elite, International, National and Regional, provides distinct transparency and a clear career path, with more than 200 events worldwide, the World Snowboard Tour is the leading platform in competitive snowboarding, allowing riders to evolve from grass-roots to top level events under a fair, unbiased, rider-driven system. The World Snowboard Tour events on the Elite level form the World Snowboard Tour Pro Series, in which only the best riders in the world, according to the WSPL, will compete in three of the most relevant snowboarding events on the planet, to determine who will win the first ever Pro Series Champion titles in Slopestyle (m/f) and Halfpipe (m/f), based on the Pro Series ranking.
The Pro Series ranking only includes results from the WST Elite Level events of the current season. It starts with the first Pro Series event of the season, the eagerly anticipated Burton European Open presented by MINI and ends with the last Pro Series event, the prestigious Burton US Open presented by MINI, where after a total length of six weeks the Pro Series Champions will be crowned. Immediately following each Pro Series event, the Pro Series rankings will be updated and published on worldsnowboardtour.com, officially stating the current leader of the Pro Series. The Pro Series ranking points are calculated from a rider's top two results in the respective discipline for their final standing on the Pro Series ranking.
Separate from the Pro Series rankings are the World Snowboarding Points Lists (WSPLs), the result of a global collaborative effort to create one universal, transparent and fair ranking system for competitive snowboarding. The WSPL ranking evaluates event results from all relevant snowboarding competitions globally, World Snowboard Tour events as well as non-World Snowboard Tour events. All events counting towards the WSPL are listed in the new Global Event Schedule on worldsnowboardtour.com/global-event-schedule. At any given point in time, the WSPLs aim to provide the most accurate and transparent representation of the top riders in the world along with their corresponding results. A rider's position on the Points List is determined by calculating an average of his/her best three results in the respective discipline within a 52-week-period. The WSPLs are calculated and published every Monday and Thursday at 6.00am PST (3.00pm CET), announcing the current standings of all riders competing globally. To qualify for next seasons Pro Series riders will have to place among the top ranks of the World Snowboarding Points Lists in the different disciplines.
Reto Lamm, President of TTR Pro Snowboarding: "TTR Pro Snowboarding remains the driving force on the way to creating a unified, fair and unbiased platform for competition snowboarding. In close collaboration with the events, the Global Snowboarder Alliance (GSA) and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF), TTR has been able to create and implement a new tour structure along with the WST Pro Series ranking emphasising the importance of the World Snowboarding Points Lists, and the need for a transparent competition environment."
Burton European Open presented by MINI in Laax, Switzerland kicks off the World Snowboard Tour Pro Series
The 16th Burton European Open presented by MINI in Laax, Switzerland will mark the first official stop of the World Snowboard Tour Pro Series. From January 29th - February 1st 2015, the world's top riders, industry leaders and spectators will gather at the all new Superpipe and an innovative Slopestyle course on Crap Sogn Gion to become part of this outstanding annual event. For those unable to attend in person, the Burton European Open presented by MINI will stream live on burton.com/BEO, presenting eliminations and finals of both Slopestyle and Halfpipe. All the latest information and updates are available through the brand new BEO15 app.
2014/2015 World Snowboard Tour Pro Series events at a glance:
Event Date Discipline
Burton European Open by MINI, Laax, SUI 29. January - 1. February 2015 HP, SS
Grand Prix, Mammoth, US 2. - 7. February 2015 HP, SS
Burton US Open by MINI, Vail, US 2. - 7. March 2015 HP, SS
All upcoming events of the World Snowboard Tour 2014/15 can be found here: www.worldsnowboardtour.com/wst-calendar
