Monday, December 3

2002 European Open

Press Release

Burton Snowboards Announces The 2002 European Open Snowboarding Championships at Livingo, Italy January 28 - February 2, 2002

The time to deliver a fresh and rider driven event to Southern Europe is now. By listening closely to the riders of Europe and the rest of the world, Burton has redesigned the European Open into a pure freestyle event that deviates from traditional contest formats.

"Moving the event to a resort such as Livigno provides the riders and the event crew huge potential to customize an authentic and progressive riding experience," states Burton Team Manager Rene Hansen.

The concept to create an invitational Halfpipe and Slopestyle was decided after consulting with members of the Burton Team and their friends from other manufacturers. Burton understands that the direction of contests needs to be driven by the riders and best venue construction teams. By placing more of an emphasis on atmosphere, terrain detail, and rider satisfaction, the European Open will deliver an explosive week of snowboarding and celebration.

Livigno provides a spectacular setting for forging ahead with promoting the sport of snowboarding. Southern Europe continues to show huge growth in snowboarding and the time is right for ushering in a world class event that can showcase the best snowboarders in the world to that area of the globe. Just a short drive from Milano, Innsbruck, and Munich, the European Open and Livigno are prepared to welcome spectators from all over the European Community.

The 2002 European Open will introduce the Junior Jam, a Halfpipe event for riders age 13 and younger. This truly creates an atmosphere where the youth of the sport can come and participate in a world class event right alongside the top riders in the sport today. "Snowboarding has always been about progression, so adding a youth event to the European Open, where kids can have fun and learn a little bit more about competing, is a very cool thing," states Burton Team Manager Martin "Hasi" Haslwanter.

Appearances from Burton Global Team Riders Terje Haakonsen, Christian 'Gigi' Ruef, Stefan Gimpl, Shaun White, Keir Dillon, Romain DeMarchi, and many others will highlight the European Open's main riding attractions. "Knowing that events such as the European Open are becoming a reality makes the idea of going to compete amongst friends much more attractive. It is going to be a great experience where we can session and push each other further," states Pro Riders Joni Malmi and Wille Yli-luoma of Finland.

Announced as construction teams for the European Open include Snowpark Technologies Josh Chauvet. Chauvet's credits include the daily Halfpipe and Terrain Park design, construction, and maintenance for Mammoth Mountain, CA. Norway's Claes Hogstrom will be in charge of creating the European Open Halfpipe and Quarterpipe. Claes has consulted and worked on the Arctic Challenge Halfpipe and Quarterpipe for the past 2 years.

Judging responsibility will belong to the riders themselves. At the end of each day of competition the riders will cast their votes and award the top performances of the day. This places less emphasis on the concern of format criteria and more focus on creativity and progress. And who better to recognize and confirm this than the sport's best. Stay tuned for the complete Rider List and other important updates. Call 1 800 881 3138 . Visit www.burton.com

Tentative Schedule of Events

January 28. Monday. Athlete Arrivals
January 29. Tuesday. Training and Photo sessions on Slopestyle and Halfpipe Courses.
January 30. Wednesday. Slopestyle Training and Session Finals.
January 31. Thursday. Halfpipe Training and Jam Finals.
February 1. Friday. Quarterpipe Training and Night Finals. Evening Awards Ceremony and Concert Party
February 2. Saturday. European Open Junior Jam.