Category: WSPL

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Events News WSPL

IT’S A WRAP: SPRING BATTLE 2024 AT ABSOLUTPARK, FLACHAUWINKL (AUT)

The 2024 edition of the legendary Spring Battle in Flachauwinkl is in the books! This is one of the most exciting WSF events of the season going down every year mid-March with AbsolutPark in the spotlight. For 2024, the Slopestyle competition was back with a course in full size and despite challenging weather conditions the shape crew did a fantastic job preparing a fun and challenging slopestyle for the riders.

 

An international field of riders showed up for one of their favorite weeks of the season. Flachauwinkl and AbsolutPark offer it all, from great and familiar accommodation to the Chill House at the bottom of AbsolutPark to hang out during riding breaks. So it’s no surprise that AbsolutPark is like home for many of the world’s best riders, who share quite some time there during the season.

 

SLOPESTYLE

 

In the end, Australia’s Tess Coady took home the Slopestyle win with Austria’s own Anna Gasser and Reira Iwabuchi from Japan completing the podium on 2nd and third.

 

The men’s Slopestyle podium was dominated by the Japanese riders with Hiroto Ogiware crowning himself to the 2024 Spring Battle Champion and his fellow countryman Ryoma Kimata on third. Niek Van Der Velden (NED) stepped up for the Europeans and claimed 2nd place.

 

 

Results 2024 Spring Battle – Slopestyle Snowboard Women

  1. Tess Coady, AUS
  2. Anna Gasser, AUT
  3. Reira Iwabuchi, JAP

 

Results 2024 Spring Battle – Slopestyle Snowboard Men

  1. Hiroto Ogiwara, JAP
  2. Niek Van Der Velden, NED
  3. Ryoma Kimata, JAP

 

Mark the 2025 Spring Battle date already in your calendar: March 8 – 15, 2025.

More information.

 

 

Photo-Credits: © Markus Fischer

Categories
Events News WSPL

SPRING BATTLE 2024 AT ABSOLUTPARK FLACHAUWINKL (AUT) – SLOPESTYLE IS BACK!

Since its inaugural edition back in 2002, AbsolutPark’s SpringBattle has always used creative and constantly changing event formats. An ever evolving, up-to-date contest mode in full tune with the zeitgeist. For this year’s SpringBattle, the AbsolutPark crew went all the way back to their roots, finally bringing back Slopestyle as the main event category! A full top-to bottom run, embedded in the very heart of AbsolutPark’s Pro Kicker Line. The Slopestyle is fully WSF sanctioned, counting as an WSPL Elite Level event.

 

Besides the Slopestyle, organizers will continue to hold two extra categories: ‘Best Trick Rail’ with its very own rail setup right next to the Pro Kicker Line and the ‘Best 540’ category that can also be joined from anywhere in the world through their online event platform.

 

The total Prize Purse for this year’s event will be insane 110.000 US$!

 

Unlike any other contest, SpringBattle offers plenty of time for the competitors to film their very best riding possible throughout the full duration of the event. The best clips of the submitted slopestyle runs and individual tricks will be judged by a board of international and WSF judges by the end of the week.

 

Everyone who can’t make it to Flachauwink this week, you can also join from everywhere around the world!

 

Register at https://my.spring-battle.com

Registered riders can participate in the BEST540 CATEGORY from anywhere in the world. All entries for ‘Best 540’ have to be posted to your instagram channel AND uploaded to AbsolutParks’s event platform at https://my.spring-battle.com by March 6th, 7pm CET. The instagram posts HAVE to contain the category’s hashtags (otherwise we can’t find them!):

#springbattle24 #springbattle24best540

 

More of the course features:

 

 

Foto-Credit: (c) AbsolutPark Flachauwinkl

Categories
Events News World Rookie Tour WSPL

THE NEW SNOWBOARD GENERATION SHINES AT LIVIGNO WORLD ROOKIE FEST 2024

Julian Sverresvold and Mia Langridge win the nineteenth edition of the contest, top rider in the overall ranking is Dmytro Luchkin from the Grom Men category.

 

About seventy young snowboarders gathered in the splendid setting of the Italian Alps for the historic Livigno World Rookie Fest 2024, now in its nineteenth edition. Coming from all over the world, including overseas, they showcased their skills and athletic abilities in the beautiful location of the Mottolino Snowpark. The event kicked off on Sunday, January 14 th, with the presentation of the contest dedicated to snowboarders at the Cinelux cinema in the city centre of Livigno. There, the participants had the opportunity to preview the new World Rookie Tour TV Show and were welcomed by Ian Rocca, Marketing Manager at Mottolino SpA. He greeted and praised the incredible level of preparation of the athletes and expressed hopes of seeing them compete in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Livigno.

 

The following day, in the afternoon, athletes had the opportunity to compete with tricks at the Nitro Rail Jam at night in the Snowpark20 city snowpark, located in the centre of Livigno. Dmytro Luchkin took home the Best Trick award, and snowboarder Mia Langridge is the best female snowboarder! Girl power!

 

This year, the setup for the slopestyle contest, held at the renowned Mottolino Snowpark, left athletes and coaches in awe, featuring three different lines: L/XL with a rail section, two kickers, a cannon rail, and the M line composed of three kickers and another rail section.

 

The finals took place on Tuesday, January 16 th, with perfect weather conditions: clear skies and mild temperatures welcomed the riders at altitude. The Women Grom and Rookie categories competed first, followed by the Men Grom and Rookie.

 

The winner of the World Rookie Fest 2024 was Norwegian Julian Sverrensvold with the following run: Frontside Lipside Sexchange 450 out, FS Blunt 270, FS 1080, Backside Double 1080, 50 – 50 FS 540. Second place went to Lian Garandel (FRA), and third place to Aron Wagner (SUI).

 

In the Grom Men category, Dmytro Luchkin from Ukraine won for the second consecutive year with a fearless run featuring a Cab 270 in 270 out, Backside 267 in, FS 1080, Backside Triple Cork Stalefish, Fifty-fifty frontside 360, ahead of Samuel Fejgl (CZE) and Leonardo Saraiva (SUI). An impeccable execution that earned him the first place in the overall ranking!

 

Mia Langridge (GBR) won the Rookie Women category with a Cab 180 Backside 180, Switch Blunt 270, Cab 540, Backside 260, Fifty fifty backside 180. Second place went to Nora Hegge (NOR), and third place to Anette Naevestad (NOR).

 

In the Grom Women category, Sky Remans (BEL) claimed the top spot on the podium with a run featuring Switch Blunt 270, Switch Board Fakie, Backside 720, Frontside 720, Fifty-fifty indy, winning ahead of Aono Pordie Okaniwa (FRA) and Emine Kinck Grundvold Mathisen (NOR).

 

All riders on the podium, rookies, groms, males, and females, qualified for the World Rookie Snowboard Finals 2024, which will take place at Kitzsteinhorn Zell am See-Kaprun from March 17th to 22nd.

 

 

 

Finally, the legendary Black Yeti reserved a ticket for the Best Snowboard Team of the event to participate in the international finals of the “Red Bull Hammers with Homies” event, a team contest that will be held in Madonna di Campiglio. The surprises are not over, and in fact, it has been decided to give the ticket to two teams: Norway and France.

This week, we saw the best young snowboarders in action, but it’s not over because these days, another 70 freeskier friends will compete to win a spot in the World Rookie Freeski Finals. Stay connected, today are the qualifications, and tomorrow are the finals.

The future is definitely here!

For those who would like to witness the extraordinary level of these rookies, follow the links below:
Rookie Man Julian Sverrensvold
Grom Man Dmytro Luchkin
Rookie Woman Mia Langridge
Grom Woman Sky Remans

Photogalley Livigno World Rookie Fest 2024 

 

Photo Credits: Teo Trabucchi
Video Credits: Federico Romanello, Mattia Caravello

Categories
Banked Slalom Events News WSPL

MINI MOUNTAIN MASH 2024: YOUNG SNOWBOARDING STARS BETWEEN SLOPESTYLE CONTEST AND ANON BANKED SLALOM

Ian Matteoli secured double victories among men in the Slopestyle Contest, while Kamilla Kozuback and Marilù Poluzzi clinched the top spots in the women’s category. In the Anon Banked Slalom, Niccolò Colturi and Giorgia Giurdanella emerged victorious.

The Anon Banked Slalom marked the conclusion of the seventh edition of MINI Mountain Mash, the snowboarding event that energized the weekend in Madonna di Campiglio. Culminating four days dedicated to the shared passion for the coolest snow discipline were two high-adrenaline competitions, accompanied by a dense program of tests, lessons, and moments dedicated to the snowboarding community.

SLOPESTYLE CONTEST

Following Thursday’s trials, elite riders of the discipline gathered on Friday, January 26th, and Saturday, January 27th, to compete in the Slopestyle Contest finals, hosted in the Ursus Snowpark alongside the Grostè facilities.

Since 2014, slopestyle has been part of the Olympic program due to its spectacular nature, where riders perform acrobatic jumps on kickers of various sizes and slide on fixed metal structures called “rails”. However, slopestyle is not just a show; there is an “artistic” component where each competitor has the opportunity to express themselves following their own creativity. Dominating the men’s Slopestyle contest on Friday, with a high level of competition, was the newly turned adult Ian Matteoli (born in 2005!), who finished the event with 88.67 points. Equally thrilling was the women’s Slopestyle contest with Hungarian (but Canadian passport holder) Kamilla Kozuback taking the lead with 93.33 points. On the second day of competition, young rider Ian Matteoli clinched another victory with 84.33 points, while in the women’s event, Marilù Poluzzi reclaimed victory with 85.87 points.

 

ANON BANKED SLALOM

Closing the MINI Mountain Mash was the Anon Banked Slalom on Sunday morning, open to all board

enthusiasts. Here, the ability to maneuver the board was combined with the skill of navigating around slalom poles in what could be described as a parabolic curve. As a discipline that marked the beginnings of snowboarding, the banked event in Madonna di Campiglio saw the participation of 90 athletes, including professionals and amateurs. Confirming the predictions was Niccolò Colturi, junior world vice-champion and son of the sport: the snowboarder from Lissone, raised on the slopes of Bormio, finished the event with a time of 52.07″, securing his third Anon Banked Slalom title. In the Banked Slalom Women’s Overall category, Giorgia Giurdanella from Courmayeur claimed victory with a time of 58.66.

There was also room for athletes with disabilities: indeed, the Banked Slalom event is a candidate to be included in the program of the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games, and in Campiglio, Milanese athlete Riccardo Cardani defeated Australian Ben Tudhope (bronze medalist in Beijing 2022) and Jacopo Luchini, a native of Prato, Tuscany. In the Men Under 16 division, Emanuele Maroncelli took the top prize; while the Men Under 12 contest was won by Giacomo Bosetti. In the Banked Slalom Women Under 16 division, Giorgia Giurdanella claimed the first position, in the Women Under 12 division, Arianna Ballardini stood atop the podium.

Finally, the Banked Slalom Men also hosted the Master category, which saw Pietro Colturi emerge victorious.

MINI MOUNTAIN MASH 2024

Thus, the 2024 edition of MINI Mountain Mash enters the annals, having attracted enthusiasts, professionals, and curious onlookers who witnessed high-level competitions and participated in test rides and numerous social moments typical of the snowboarding world. “We are always excited to organize the event for its ability to bring together diverse and complementary forces: our interpretation of snowboarding combines territorial promotion with the pairing of brands targeting youth,” concluded Pietro Colturi, organizer of Mountain Mash with his B-Factory. “In this sense, we want to thank the Madonna di Campiglio Cableways for the quality and support they have provided, and MINI for partnering with us and sharing the spirit of the event.” With these premises, everyone is looking forward to the eighth edition in 2025.

 

Photo-Credits: (c) Roby Bragotto

Categories
Events News WSPL

ZILLERTAL VÄLLEY RÄLLEY CONTINUES WITH 2nd STOP IN ZILLERTAL ARENA

The 2nd Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tour stop hosted by Blue Tomato took place in the Zillertal Arena on 20 and 21 January 2024 in glorious sunshine. Young snowboard talents from all over Europe took the opportunity to present their best freestyle tricks on the snowpark setup of Actionpark Kreuzwiese. The best performance in each category was rewarded with valuable points, medals and prize money. The highly endowed Ästhetiker Style Award, Horsefeathers Best Trick Award and other awards by the Ästhetiker Snowboard Club were also up for grabs.

The conditions couldn’t have been better! With wintry temperatures and a perfectly shaped snowpark, the 2nd Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tour stop last weekend in the Zillertal Arena made for many happy faces. Young snowboard talents took advantage of Saturday´s practice day to improve their tricks at the free freestyle coaching sessions and to celebrate the new format of the Ästhetiker Style Session with lots of airtime, few turns and plenty of style. On Sunday, the open slpestyle competition really got down to business. Plenty of medals, prize money, prizes and of course valuable overall points awaited the winners of the 8 categories.

In the end, it was Dmytro Luchkin (UKR) who scooped triple honours with overall victory in the classification of all male participants, victory in his category Grom Boys (13-15 years) and the Style Award. Petr Ershov (RUS) came second in the overall standings. With his clean “BS Double 1080” he also earned the Horsefeathers Best Trick Award. Kristina Holzfeind (AUT) took the overall victory of all female riders in the ladies’ category after claiming first place in the Rookie Girls class (16-18 years).

However, young Adèle Vankerschaver (POR) was hot on Kristina’s heels. In addition to her victory in the Super Grom Girls class (U12 years), Adèle was delighted to win the silver medal in the Open Women’s Class and even happier to receive her well-deserved Ästhetiker Style Award.

Livia Schatzer from Team Austria won the Grom Girls competition (13-15 years), Roahan Duncan (GBR) was the cool Rookie Boys winner (16-18 years). Ricco Nawarkiewicz-Wisniewski from Poland, took first place in the Super Grom Boys (U 12 years) ahead of his brother Gustav and was honoured as the “most impressive Grom of the dÄy” for his solid performance. The complete results and tour stop rankings can be found at https://valleyralley.at/results. 

The Zillertal Arena shapers are delighted with the successful event: “The Zillertal Välley Rälley has once again brought the young stars of the snowboard scene to the Actionpark Kreuzwiese this year. Thanks to the Ästhetiker team and the participating kids – we’re already looking forward to next year!”

The Actionpark Kreuzwiese in Zell will remain open until mid-April and will be shaped daily. Every Tuesday, the Zillertal Arena offers free freestyle coaching sessions with the Ästhetiker Shredschool. The meeting point for the coaching sessions is always Tuesdays at 11.00 am at the tipis in the Actionpark Kreuzwiese.

With the second of four contest results, the cards have been reshuffled in the Zillertal Arena. The new overall tour ranking can now be viewed at https://valleyralley.at The overall tour winners will be crowned new Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY royal family after the fourth and final tour stop at the end of April on Hintertux Glacier.

Points for the international World Snowboard Point List (WSPL) were awarded for participation. The tour stop counted as an ASA (Austrian Snowboard Association) Austria Cup and rookies (U18) receive credits on their World Rookie Ranking points account. Wildcards for the World Rookie Final will be awarded for the best rookie score (m/f) after the 3rd tour stop.

The partners of the 2nd tour stop are: Zillertal Tourismus GmbH, Zillertal Arena, Uniqueparks.com, Blue Tomato, Red Bull, Horsefeathers, Dana Beanies, the World Snowboard Federation (WSF), the Austrian Snowboard Federation (ASA) and World Rookie Tour (WRT).

Photo-Credit: (c) Zillertal Välley Rälley/by Gustav Hersmann

Categories
Events Features News WSPL

HAVE YOU REGISTERED YOUR EVENTS FOR THE WSPL/WWR RANKING? YOUR CHECK-LIST!

The contest season has started and is in full swing as we speak.

Have you entered all your events for the WSPL/WRR calendar 2023/24?

 

IMPORTANT: As it’s a completely new process in place we ask all WSF members to register all events for the WSPL/WRR 2023/24 calendar (and ranking) as soon as possible. Please keep in mind this is the only ranking which allows young riders to climb the contest ladder year by year.

NEXT STEPS: If you haven’t done it yet, please go ahead and register your events to be listed on the calendar. Please remember, it’s not enough to send an excel list anymore, the whole process is now completely online thanks to our partnerships with LiveHeats and Wyldata.

Step 1: Use your WSF Log-In for the members section on the WSF website.

Step 2: make sure your WSF membership fee is paid and that you are marked as active member.

Step 3: Choose the payment plan you want. Please note: zero costs for the basic package, the regular WSF calendar fee will be charged as usual:  € 100 per division/category).
Create your LiveHeats account on LiveHeats.
To link your LiveHeats account with your WSF Log-In it’s necessary to name the field “organization profile URL” with your LiveHeats name, eg.: liveheats.com/yourliveheatsaccountname. You will receive a Welcome E-Mail from LiveHeats to confirm that your LiveHeats account is linked with WSF.

Step 4: Once you have received your Welcome Mail, you are all set, it’s time to register your events for the WSPL/WRR calendar. Please note that events will be registered for both calendars/rankings with one event fee only.
Create your individual events on LiveHeats. LiveHeats will then share with Wyldata to update the calendar.

More about the new process. 

 

CHECK LIST:

And – most important – here comes your check-list in case you are struggling to navigate through the LiveHeats universe: Check-List
Categories
Events News WSPL

Changes to the WSPL for the upcoming season

This fall the Park and Pipe committee in cooperation with the WSF have made some changes to the World Snowboard Points List to allow for a more fair and equitable ranking for the upcoming season. This also improves and provides the community with a  better understanding for the performance pathway in competitive snowboarding.

The 2 changes are:

  • The use of 5 different levels to categorize events, instead of 4
  • A points range on each of the different categories

 

Event Categories:

The new categories are as follows

  • Elite
  • Pro
  • Challenger
  • Amateur
  • Grassroots

The reason for the additional category and rebranding is to create a more equitable spread of points across events, have the ability to include more grassroots events and be more inclusive of all events that exist.

 

Points Ranges:

For each of the categories there will now be a minimum and maximum points for each of the categories outlined below

  • Elite – 600 – 1000
  • Pro – 300 – 800
  • Challenger – 200 – 600
  • Amateur – 100 – 400
  • Grassroots – 100 – 300

The need for points range has been identified as there were some anomaly events who were in the National or Regional categories that would be awarded points up to 800 – 900 points. This meant that some events and nations were indirectly manipulating the points systems. These ranges, as researched by the Classification Group, only effects 1-2 events all other events already live within the ranges provided.

Both of these changes will again make the list more fair, equitable and provide a better pathway for competitive snowboarding for the community!

Categories
Features News WSPL

NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH LIVE SCORING PLATFORM LIVEHEATS

As part of its recent push to standardize competition data, judging, and scoring and the implementation of the new World Snowboards Points List (WSPL), the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is excited to announce a new partnership with live scoring platform LiveHeats. The partnership will bring LiveHeats’ web-based event management and live scoring technology to WSF’s members, with the goal to enhance live scoring and competition data across WSF sanctioned events.

“The partnership with LiveHeats is a milestone on WSF’s path towards providing National Federations and local event organizers with a solid tool for managing snowboard event, expedited results inclusion in the FIS & WSF World Snowboards Points List Ranking and will deliver an overall improved experience for our athletes, organizers, and fans“ says Anna Negri, General Secretary at World Snowboard Federation.

“We’re stoked to extend our partnership with the snowboard community around the globe. Over the last year, we’ve invested heavily in our tools for results and data management for federations like WSF, which is a natural extension of our scoring and competition management platform, so we cannot wait to see this project go live.” say Chris Friend, CEO of LiveHeats

The benefits of the partnership include:

  • All WSF members to have access to LiveHeats’ platform for event management and live scoring at sanctioned WSF competitions
  • Adoption of a single athlete database, with member federations to have individual LiveHeats accounts within WSF’s banner
  • Data to feed directly into the World Snowboard Points Lists & World Rookie Rank rankings, powered by wyldata.com

About LiveHeats:

LiveHeats is a competition management and live scoring software company with offices in Australia and the United States. LiveHeats was founded in 2016 and today works with hundreds of action sports organizations, from grassroots clubs, to national bodies and professional tours. LiveHeats technology exists to empower organizers to run sophisticated competition and tours with minimal effort, while enhancing the live competition experience for athletes and fans.

www.liveheats.com

 

Categories
Events Features News WSPL

WYLDATA IS THE NEW DATA PROVIDER FOR WORLD SNOWBOARD POINTS LIST (WSPL)

WSPL - new look and feel

In reaching an historic agreement regarding the global unification of competitive snowboarding, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) settle the future custodianship of the World Snowboard Points List (WSPL).

The World Snowboard Points List (WSPL) recognised as the most comprehensive and authentic ranking of international snowboard athletes in the events of Halfpipe, Big Air and Slopestyle was developed by the Ticket-to-Ride Pro Snowboarding (TTR) and the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) in the early 2000s. As result of the merger between TTR & WSF in 2017, the WSF took over the management of the WSPL.

After a three year period the WSF now hands over the future custodianship of the World Snowboard Points List (WSPL) to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). We believe the transfer to FIS will continue the viability of the WSPL and provide certainty to athletes and National Associations for its future.

Regardless of the transfer, all WSF sanctioned events stay on the WSPL under the WSF umbrella. For the up-coming season all WSF sanctioned events will be handled with WSF’s new event management system provided by LiveHeats.

Also WSF’s global youth ranking – the World Rookie Rank (WRR) will benefit from the partnership with Wyldata to support our athletes, organizers, and fans with a new facelift and more user friendly ranking integration.

A vital element of this event is the update of the WSPL’s look and feel and an upgrade of the underlying technology and automated data management with new action sports data provider Wyldata:

  • Automated data handling for faster results handling and ranking updates
  • New stats and insights on each athlete and event with constant upgrades to be expected
  • Updated interface for more user friendly interaction and easy “share to social” options
  • Future proof using state of the art technology

“The long process of handing over the WSPL is finally at its final phase. Our team and Wyldata have been working hard on providing a smooth transfer of the current WSPL and of its historical data. We are very pleased to get the new version of the WSPL out. For WSF, it is important that all WSF sanctioned events stay on the WSPL under the WSF umbrella and the WSPL remains the most accurate points list worldwide, with enhanced features allowing faster result management and ranking handling. Lastly the new WSPL is allowing athletes and events to have more features and stats, which will be very beneficial.” Satu Järvelä, World Snowboard President

“We are very excited to see this new version of the WSPL come to life. We have been working tirelessly with WSF and FIS over the past months and merged over 20 years of historical data to provide the most accurate and fair global ranking with a fully automated data pathway. A big thank you to both federations for their trust in working with us and to an exciting future for the sport of snowboarding.” says Yannic Sieben, Managing Director of Wyldata.

The benefits of the partnership include:

  • All competition data from LH to feed directly into the World Snowboard Points Lists & World Rookie Rank rankings
  • World Snowboard Points List (WSPL) as the most comprehensive and authentic ranking of international snowboard athletes in the events of Halfpipe, Big Air and Slopestyle including FIS & WSF Events.
  • Global Event Calendar including all FIS and WSF sanctioned events
  • WSF’s global youth competitive ranking called World Rookie Rank to support a clear athletes pathway

About Wyldata:

Wyldata is an action sports centric data analytics company. It is our goal to support clients such as FIS & WSF to manage their data effectively and turn it into valuable assets such as rankings, in depth (predictive) statistics or games to access new revenue streams in the future.