The O’Neill Evolution is readying to launch the year 2011 with quite a show.
From January 2nd until the 8th expect to be mesmerised as some of the best snowboarding talent in the world pushes the limits and take to the skies from the halfpipe and slopestyle sitting at the base of the Jakobshorn, in Davos, Switzerland.
“I can’t wait to see the setup this year,” says Canadian snowboarding star Seb Toots who missed the competition last year with a serious ankle injury. “O’Neill Evolution is gonna be a great contest like always,” he said. “It’s in a really cool place in Switzerland and always such an amazing setup.”
The 6 star Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour event is once again pushing new boundaries. The event for 2011 now holds a 6 star TTR rating for both the women’s Slopestyle as well as the Halfpipe. And this year also sees the 6 star rating for men extended to the 2-hit Slopestyle course for the first time.
“I’m even more excited than the years before,” said Seb Toots – known for his slopestyle prowess. “The 6 stars on the Slopestyle make the event even more important for the riders, and it’s good for TTR points.”
Expect to see this 18-year-old flying out in Davos as he looks to make his mark on the 2011 season. “My ankle is doing well,” said Seb who held the World Number One position before his injury last season. “When I’m riding, I’m confident and I know that my ankle is good. I just need to work hard like last year to be up there again,” he said.
The Halfpipe finals will take place on Friday January 7th as 10 riders hit the 6 metre high, 130 metre long and 20 metre wide pipe which sits impressively at the base of the Jakobshorn.
Saturday sees a day of Slopestyle finals that will run into a floodlit night finale as the riders take to the skies under the gasps of the crowds gathered at the foot of the course.
“We always want to bring something new and exciting to this event,” said O’Neill Global Event Director, Bernhard Ritzer. “It’s called Evolution after all,” he said. “This year we’re changing the Slopestyle radically following feedback from the riders for less but more challenging features, and a mix of day and night riding will bring variation and challenges for the riders.”
In addition to the spectacular show ahead, there are also new developments behind the scenes. A new judging system – the Snowboard Live Scoring System (SLS) – will be introduced allowing everyone to see how judges give points by scoring each trick individually in a rider’s run and adding a flow score for the overall impression of the run.
With the top ten Swatch TTR World Tour men invited and the top eight women, this is bound to be a week of non-stop action. So far confirmed for O’Neill Evolution 2011 are Seb Toots, Janne Korpi, Gian Simmen, Kjersti Buaas, Sharka Pancchova, Chanelle Sladics, Kelly Clark and Nadja Purtschert with more names to follow in the coming weeks.
You can watch Evolution Live at www.oneill.com/live
