Those daring young men and their flying snowboards huck for cash and more importantly to promote the mass consumption of caffeinated beverages as Red Bull brings the Snowscrapers to New York City’s East River Park on February 4, 2009. Looks like Pat Moore, Shaun White, and Travis Rice are already getting paid to be there.
New York spectators may deem them insane, but for the competitors, pushing the limits is a constant frame of mind. Although both their skill and style will be put to the test, the challenge here lies in the Red Bull Snowscraper’ s unique double-sided pyramid landing that pushes the envelope of big-air competition and rider adaptability.
Wonder which snowboard media outlet traded a cover and eight-pages of editorial for “exclusive coverage” of the event. Anyone?
[Link: Red Bull Snowscrapers]
RED BULL ANNOUNCES FIRST SKY-HIGH URBAN
SNOWBOARD EVENT IN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS
RED BULL SNOWSCRAPERS
New York, NY – December 4, 2008: Join 16 of the world’s best snowboarders in New York City on the banks of the East River February 5th from 3 – 9 pm EST, as they compete to own a piece of a $100,000 prize purse at the 5Star Swatch TTR event. Red Bull Snowscrapers marks the debut of the largest snowboarding contest held in an urban setting in North America complete with top music acts (soon to be announced) and a spectator village located in East River Park (corner of Houston and FDR).
For the first-time ever, Red Bull will create an amazing 90-foot state-of-the-art structure for top riders to own the iconic Manhattan skyline. The athlete’s will drop in from a nine-story building before flying off the specially constructed kicker toward an immense 80-foot long hip. The innovative hip built by world-renowned designers Frank Wells and Mike Bettera of Snow Park Technology allows riders multiple angles of trajectory— frontside or backside, landing on either the right or left side of the massive 45-degree spine. Additionally, the groundbreaking ramp design will allow spectators to get up close and personal giving fans an opportunity to experience the action first hand as the riders spin roughly four stories into the sky.
New York spectators may deem them insane, but for the competitors, pushing the limits is a constant frame of mind. Although both their skill and style will be put to the test, the challenge here lies in the Red Bull Snowscraper’ s unique double-sided pyramid landing that pushes the envelope of big-air competition and rider adaptability.
With so many angles of approach, options, and opportunity, the athlete who ultimately conquers may be determined by their creative state of mind. And that creativity will be rewarded handsomely with hefty $50,000 to the winner. With so much on the line Red Bull left nothing to chance enlisting snowboard legends to judge the banner event soon to be announced.
Iconic snowboarders including Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White, freestyle / backcountry legend Travis Rice, ultra-progressive phenomenon Pat Moore and soon to be announced others will compete against the majestic backdrop of the East River and the New York City skyline in a contest that should prove to be the biggest winter event in the city.
The Red Bull Snowscrapers will join the ranks of the most prestigious snowboard events on the planet as a 5Star stop on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. “We are very excited to have the Red Bull Snowscrapers come on as a 5Star event on the TTR World Snowboard Tour” says Reto Lamm, President of the TTR World Snowboard Tour. “It is great to have another innovative Red Bull concept on tour and there is no better location then New York City to put this on. New York has a huge snowboard community and this will be a great opportunity to showcase our sport on such a large platform.” The TTR crowns a World Snowboard Tour Champion at the culmination of each season and pays out an end-of-season prize purse worth $200,000.
For more information please visit www.RedBullSnowscrapers.com. Go to www.ttrworldtour.com for videos, news and rankings of the Tour.
ABOUT SWATCH TTR:
Founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, the SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit, rider-driven organization with the mission to create the highest quality competitive snowboard environment in the world, using authenticity, accessibility and innovation as guiding principles. Since its foundation, the Swatch TTR Tour has developed into the most exposed snowboard tour worldwide featuring global grass root and key independent freestyle snowboarding events over a ten-month period from Southern to Northern Hemisphere locations. Events are rated via a 1-through-6Star system, with points allocated accordingly, a 6Star event holds the highest (1000 Swatch TTR points). Any rider participating in these events, from up-and-coming to professional talent, earns ranking points and a position on the SWATCH TTR World Ranking List. The top male and female rider based on an average of their best seven results of the season is crowned SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.
