01 June 2004

Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand is once again hosting the ultimate event in the Southern Hemisphere’s snowboard calendar, the Burton NZ Open on 17th July. Some of the world’s top riders together with New Zealand’s best will battle it out for supremacy in the Johnny Superpipe.

World's top riders expected
“Last year the event attracted Olympic gold medallists Ross Powers and Kelly Clark from the USA and some of the largest crowds ever seen at a New Zealand snowboard event,” said Guy Alty of Burton. “This year we’re expecting a number of top riders fresh from the World Cup in the Northern Hemisphere which’ll make for some spectacular competition as these guys know no bounds when it comes to the half pipe.”

In addition to the NZ Open, which carries a large pool in prize money, the competition is preceded on 16 July by an informal Rail Jam session in Cardrona’s renowned Heavy Metal terrain park. “It’s going to be a real privilege to see some of the world’s best riders hit the rails and throw down aerials off the table tops,” said Cardrona’s Nigel Kerr. “It’s not every day you see this level of riding in New Zealand.”

Raising NZ snowboarding profile
"The Burton NZ Open has raised New Zealand’s profile in the snowboarding world considerably, providing a boost for the industry and local riders. Until last year many of our most promising riders didn’t have the opportunity to measure themselves against the world’s best as all the high profile open competitions took place in the Northern Hemisphere.

"The advent of the Burton NZ Open has not only given them the chance to gain some invaluable competitive experience on home turf but has also introduced New Zealand to a very influential snowboarding audience. Another positive outcome is it became obvious to everyone we have some very talented athletes here. They rose to the challenge and positioned New Zealand riding at a whole new level.”

Whitestar Express
The resort is also adding a new feature for the coming season; a new high-speed detachable quad chair will replace the existing La Franchi double chair at a cost of $4.5 million. Using the latest technology from Leitner-Poma Inc, the new lift will halve the journey time to less than four minutes at a rate of five metres per second. It will increase capacity by an additional 1,200 skiers per hour, creating an overall mountain lift capacity in excess of 7,700 people per hour. The lift is planned to open Thursday 24th June.

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