The Burton Global Open Series announced dates for its 2007/2008 international snowboard competition series, including a new event in Canada, which will kick off the snowboard competition season in North America. Below are final dates and locations for all 2007/2008 Burton Global Open Series competitions.

Burton New Zealand Open August 7-11, 2007 Snow Park, New Zealand Garnier Fructis Australian Open August 21-25, 2007 Falls Creek, Australia
Burton Canadian Open December 3-9, 2007 Canadian Olympic Park
Burton European Open January 11-18, 2007 Laax, Switzerland
Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open Feb 25-Mar 2, 2008 ALTS Bandai, Japan
Burton US Open March 17-23, 2008 Stratton Mountain, USA

The inaugural Burton Canadian Open will include slopestyle and halfpipe competitions, offering riders this season’s largest snowboard event prize purse in Canada. Like all Global Open Series events, the Canadian Open will give local and amateur riders the chance to compete against the best pros in the sport and award equal prize money to male and female competitors.

“The Global Open Series is a testament to Burton’s 25-year long commitment to providing riders with some of the most progressive snowboard competitions in the world,” says Bryan Johnston, Senior VP of Global Marketing at Burton. “By adding the Canadian Open to the series, we’re giving amateur riders even more opportunities to test their skills against the world’s top pros and win the largest check in competitive snowboarding - $100,000 for both the male and female champions.”

With events scheduled year-round and in six countries, the Burton Global Open Series boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in the sport. All six Burton Global Open Series events offer riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in snowboarding. Olympic gold medalist Shaun White and top Australian snowboarder Torah Bright took home the first ever Burton Global Open Championship titles last March at the US Open Snowboarding Championships held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

The Burton Global Open Series is also part of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns a TTR World Champion at the US Open.

Make Fernie Alpine Resort’s Full Throttle Festival part of your summer must-do list. The 2nd Annual Festival will take place at Fernie Alpine Resort August 24-26, 2007. The festival will feature activities, races, and competitions, with something for everyone, both on and off the mountain.

FERNIE FULL THROTTLE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (TENTATIVE):

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24th

· Full Throttle Festival Kick Off: Outdoor Movies on the BIG Screen!
· Reels of Wheels Film Contest: Shoot a maximum 5-minute Mountain Biking Film and submit it by August 16 to Fernie Alpine Resort. The top 5 videos will be judged at the Festival, and you could win a 2008 Fernie summer season’s bike pass. Visit ferniefullthrottle.com for registration information.
· Beer Gardens

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25th

Pancake Breakfast
Slopestyle Bike Contest: The Festival’s Signature Event! Hugely popular with spectators, it features riders showing off their skills on a course of challenging manmade features at the base of the mountain.
Family Mountain PlayZone: Centrally located in the mountain plaza, the Family Mountain PlayZone will be a hub of activity! Activities include the Festival Marketplace, the stunning Bike Trials Demonstration, Kids Bike Parade, the ever-popular Dragon Bouncing Tent, and more!
FREE Music for all! DJ & Live Band
Beer Gardens

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26th

Rossignol Challenge: FUN for athletes of all levels and abilities! Enter as a three-person team or challenge yourself and go solo! The course includes 3 stages: Trail run, mountain bike uphill climb & mountain bike downhill, finishing at the base area. Online registration at ferniefullthrottle.com coming soon!
Super D Enduro Race: A gruelling all-mountain event that incorporates technical singletrack riding with endurance and speed. For ages 13+, this race will test the full spectrum of mountain biking skill! Online registration at ferniefullthrottle.com is coming soon!
Family Mountain PlayZone: Centrally located in the mountain plaza, the Family Mountain PlayZone will be a hub of activity! Activities include the Festival Marketplace, the stunning Bike Trials Demonstration, kids activities, the ever-popular Dragon Bouncing Tent, and more.
FREE Music for all! DJ & Live Band
Beer Gardens

Admission to the plaza activities for the duration of the festival is free. Regular summer lift rates will apply for lift-accessed mountain biking and hiking.

Interested in getting involved? Interested volunteers or sponsors can contact Karen Pepper at Fernie Alpine Resort at kpepper@skifernie.com or call (250) 423-2401.

For more information, visit www.ferniefullthrottle.com

The world-renown TransRockies Challenge mountain bike race announced a new first this year, with a finish in Fernie, BC. Local organizers of the Blackstone Fernie TransRockies are gearing up for what promises to be the biggest event of the summer.

Fernie will host more than 3000 participants, volunteers, organizers and visitors as part of the celebrations at the finish line. The race, which draws riders from around the globe, begins in Panorama one week earlier and takes participants through the Kootenay Rockies in a grueling 600 km challenge. Over 500 riders are expected to finish the race in Fernie, and they will be welcomed this year with an array of celebration activities.

Blackstone Fernie TransRockies is celebrating the finish with a new event, the Blackstone Bike Rally, for kids’ aged 4 – 8. This mini-rally will take kids through a fun and educational experience around Fernie’s downtown. Beginning at the Guides Hut, with stops at Carosella, the Fernie Fire Station, and Overwaitea, the rally ends at the Arts Station. Throughout, kids will have the opportunity for fun events like face painting and bike decorating, and enjoy nutritional snacks. Pre-registration is free will be held at the Guides Hut in downtown Fernie.

Fernie locals will no doubt cheer a little louder for their official hometown teams this year. Several legendary local riders have banded together to take up the challenge – the highest number of Fernie teams ever entered into the TransRockies. The Blackstone Fernie Goats are Ron Clark and Pat Gilmar; The Blackstone Fernie Grizzlies are Arthur Sombrowski and Brendan Morgan; and the Blackstone Fernie Wolverines are Todd Loewen and Sean Staplin.

Also new this year is the Official Fernie Champagne and Beer Tent. The first tent of its kind in TransRockies history, it will be a special place for participants to celebrate their finish with a bottle of bubbly and their own designated table. In addition, spectators are invited to partake in a cool beverage alongside the finishers. It will be held adjacent to the finish line at CP Station Square.

As with any major community event, the Blackstone Fernie TransRockies is in need of local assistance from volunteers. For those who are interested in volunteering, please email transrockies@fernie.com, or call 423-4727.

Blackstone is an environmentally sensitive master plan mountain community that is currently under construction. It will feature an 18-hole championship golf course designed by David McLay Kidd.

Other official sponsors of the Blackstone Fernie TransRockies include Fernie Real Estate, Fernie Brewing Co., 901 Fernie, The Guides Hut, Overwaitea, Fernie Getaways, Lizard Creek Lodge, Stanford Hotels & Resorts, Best Western Fernie Mountain Lodge, and Pinnacle Ridge Resort.

For daily updates visit: fernieblogs.com/transrockies