SHAUN WHITE, KELLY CLARK, TORAH BRIGHT & NICOLAS MüLLER PLAN TO ATTEND

Innsbruck, AUT (December 6, 2007) The ninth annual Burton European Open (BEO) is just over one month away, and riders from around the world are lining up to take part in one of Europe’s most prestigious snowboard events. From January 11-18, 2008 at LAAX resort in Switzerland, snowboard superstars Shaun White (USA), Antti Autti (FIN), Nicolas Müller (SUI), Mason Aguirre (USA), Danny Davis (USA), Torah Bright (AUSTRALIA) Kelly Clark (USA), Jenny Jones (UK), Kjersti Buaas (NOR) and Cheryl Maas (NED) will gather to take part in world-class halfpipe and slopestyle competitions on the legendary slopes of Crap Sogn Gion. Also planning to attend the BEO are Kevin Pearce (USA) and Mikkel Bang (NOR), who recently earned first and second place respectively at the Air & Style in Munich.

At the Burton European Open, over $125,000 USD in prize money will be distributed equally among the female and male finalists of the slopestyle and halfpipe competitions. The male and female riders with the best overall performance at the BEO will be crowned the BEO Overall Winner 2008 and drive home a brand new Suzuki Grand Vitara Freeride Edition.

Over 350 riders from around the world registered to compete at the upcoming event. Based on registration lottery results, 100 male and 50 female amateur and professional riders will compete in preliminary rounds for the slopestyle and halfpipe events. 80 kids have entered the junior competitions for riders under 16 years of age. Competitors can earn points towards the $100,000 Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) Championship Title and the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour ranking, which will award the top ranked male and female riders $50,000 each at the end of the season.

BEO 2008 Schedule @ Crap Sogn Gion LAAX:

Friday, 1.11.2008 Slopestyle Juniors

Saturday, 1.12.2008 Halfpipe Juniors

Sunday, 1.13.2008 Slopestyle Pre-Qualification and Qualification Men

Monday, 1.14.2008 Halfpipe Pre- Qualification Men and Qualification Women

Tuesday, 1.15.2008 Slopestyle Qualification Women and Semi-Finals Men & Women

Wednesday, 1.16.2008 Halfpipe Qualification Men and Semi-Finals Men & Women

Thursday, 1.17.2008 Slopestyle Finals Men & Women

Friday, 1.18.2008 Halfpipe Finals Men & Women

Konzert CunninLynguists & Miss Platnum @ Riders Palace

About the Burton Global Open Series
The Burton Global Open Series events are the pinnacle snowboarding events of the season. Founded by Jake Burton, the Opens have grown from grassroots events to global spectacles attracting tens of thousands of spectators and riders from around the world. Since the beginning, the Opens have been driven by riders, for riders evolving with snowboarding and riders’ needs over the years. With events held in Europe, Japan, the United States, New Zealand and Australia, the Opens set the standard for snowboarding events around the globe. For more information, visit www.opensnowboarding.com.

About the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour
The Burton Global Open Series is part of the Swatch Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns a Swatch TTR World Champion at the US Open. The Burton European Open is a 6 Star TTR Event, the highest possible star level. For more information, visit www.ttrworldtour.com .