With some major changes ahead for female riders on the Swatch TTR Tour, this winter will see a much shorter and more intense competition season that will come to a close for both men and women at the 6Star Burton US Open in March 2011.
The 2010/11 sees many beloved events dropped while new ones have been added with events previously closed for the women opening their doors.
With a great start in the Southern Hemisphere, Swiss rider, Sina Candrian holds the current TTR World Ranking lead, with 09/10 TTR World Champion Enni Rukajärvi (FIN) right behind in World. No 2.
But, there is an entire Northern Hemisphere season ahead that will determine who will take the coveted TTR Tour Champion title for the 2010/11 season. Seven British riders currently feature in the top 100 of the TTR world ranking including Aimee Fuller and Katie Ormerod, and Jenny Jones, who finished World number 2 in 2006, has been a frequent competitor for many events on the tour in the past.
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With the cancellation of the Roxy Chicken Jam, which has been an institution on the TTR tour for the women since 2004, there are some unexpected holes in the calendar for the season.
Luckily, events previously only open for men are now welcoming women to compete; The 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge will feature a women’s slopestyle competition, the 6Star O’Neill Evolution will run both pipe and slopestyle for women and the 5Star Nescafé Champs Leysin will feature women’s slopestyle.
The Burton Global Open Series events are to remain open to the ladies as usual and upcoming stops are scheduled for Europe, Canada and the United States.
In addition to the major competitions on tour, the Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam in Austria and the Ride Shakedown in the US will be open for girls to compete on a 4Star level. The final event of the Billabong Flaunt It series has moved up to a 4Star status, while the rest of the series, spread around the US and Canada, will operate on the 3Star level.
The World Snowboard Federation, in cooperation with TTR, has also announced a new female riders activation initiative. This will kick off with a pilot program in Finland led by WSF board member, Noora Vihervaara, and aims to bring pro riders and budding semi-pro riders together to ride, train, travel to events and provide support for up-and-coming talent.
With one major result in the bag for the women in the 2010/11 season at the 5Star New Zealand Open, the TTR tour will kick off in the Northern Hemisphere at the 4Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam running from November 11-14. January will feature the 6Star O’Neill Evolution in Davos, Switzerland and 6Star Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland.
For a complete calendar of events and all the latest information on the 2010/11 TTR World Snowboard tour, head to ttrworldtour.com.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
