March 29, 2002

In year seven of Whistler's legendary spring bash, the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival, a new snowboarding entity is born. Continuing with the tradition of providing the grand finale of the competitive season, the Ripzone Snowboard Invitational (April 12-14) invites some of the top riders in the world including recent Olympic gold and silver medallists Ross Powers and Doriane Vidal.

The rider-designed Ripzone Snowboard Invitational features Superpipe and Big Air disciplines and is awarding a prize purse of $55,000 CAD. The Superpipe takes place in Blackcomb Mountain's famed pipe that is consistently ranked as one of the top competition pipes in the world. The rider-requested Jam format ensures a relaxed, fun event where riders get a number of chances to throw down their best run. The Superpipe Competition also features a rider-judged SuperHit Contest for an added prize bonus.

The Big Air takes place in Whistler Village at the base of Whistler Mountain during the afternoon of Saturday, April 13 from 4-6pm. Snowboarding and music combine to deliver a Big Air "show" that only Whistler can deliver Musical performances include international DJ Seanski, the improvised break beat house music of Canada's The New Deal, Los Angeles-based funk band, Breakestra, and several surprises.

Friday, April 12
10am-1pm, Superpipe Training
4pm-6pm, Big Air Training

Saturday, April 13
9am - 1pm, Superpipe Qualifiers
3:30pm, Big Air Warm Up
4-6pm, Big Air Competition

Sunday, April 14
11am-1:30pm, Superpipe Competition
1:30pm, SuperHit Contest

Athletes are invited based on their results from the season's most important events including the X-Games, the US Open, the Vans Triple Crown Series and the Olympics.

big air invitations
AUCHU, ALEX (Rossignol, Billabong, Iris)
BEACH, JAMES (Burton, Anon, Grenade)
CRAWFORD, ANDREW (Rossignol, Northwave, Drake)
DELESALLE, DIONNE (Rossignol, 32, Etnies, Iris, Drop)
DESCHENES, GUY (Atlantis, Mission Six)
EMERY, JONAS (Rossignol, Arnette, Billabong)
FOX, JESSE (Rome Snowboards, Anon, Nixon)
GAFFNEY, SCOTT (Flow)
GIMPL, STEFAN (Burton, Oakley)
GOLDBERG, RUBE (Nitro, Billabong, Von Zipper)
HENAULT, MAX (Flow, U Project, Smith, Rewind)
HJELMSTADSTUEN, ROGER (Airwalk)
MATTILA, RISTO (Flow, Spy)
MELANCON, DAVID (Drop, Helly Hansen, Empire, Airwalk, We, Oakley)
PAGE, MIKE (Foursquare)
RENCZ, MIKEY (Burton Snowboards)
RICE, TRAVIS (Rossignol, DC, Oakley, Nixon, Grenade)
RICHARDS , TODD (Rossignol, Quiksilver, DC, Oakley)
SANSALONE, KEVIN (Option-NFA, RDS)
TIKKANEN, PAAVO (Rossignol, Iris, Volcom)
VANNINEN, ALEKSI (Elan, 686 Enterprises, Smith Optics)
WALL, EDDIE, Jeenyus, DC, Foursquare, Smith
On Stand-by for the Big Air are: Josh Chapman, Tadashi Fuse, Daniel Migneault, Eero Niemela, Lukas Huffman, Max Jenke, JF Pelchat, Marc-Andre Tarte, Benji Ritchie, Guillaume Brochu, Risto Scott and Ian Bolden.

superpipe invitations - men
AUTHIER, GABRIEL (Atomic, Westbeach, Dakine, Anarchy)
BEACH, JAMES (Burton, Anon, Grenade)
BRUNNER, THERRY (Nitro Snowboards)
DESCHENES, GUY (Atlanta, Mission Six)
DILLON, KEIR (Burton Snowboards)
EMERY, JONAS (Rossignol, Arnette, Billabong)
FINCH, ANDY (Palmer USA, Rip Curl, Spy)
HARDINGHAM, ANDREW (Option - NFA)
KARLSON, STEFAN (Flow)
KINGWILL, ROB (Nike ACG, Allian, Giro, Jackson Hole)
LAMOUREUX, JUSTIN (686 Enterprises)
MATTILA, RISTO (Flow, Spy)
MELANCON, DAVID (Drop, Helly Hansen, Empire, Airwalk, We, Oakley)
MIGNEAULT, DANIEL (Oakley)
NIEMELA, EERO (Rossignol, Volcom, Oakley)
POWERS, ROSS (Burton Snowboards)
RICE, TRAVIS (Rossignol, DC, Oakley, Nixon, Grenade)
RICHARDS, TODD (Rossignol, Quiksilver, DC, Oakley)
VANNINEN, ALEKSI (Elan, 686 Enterprises, Smith Optics)
WAINWRIGHT, BEN (Blue Blood, Pacific Boarder, Oakley)

superpipe invitations - women
BLEILER, GRETCHEN (Salomon, Oakley)
BOULANGER, ANNIE (Salomon)
BYRNES, TRICIA (Lamar, Nokia, X-Nix)
GLAZIER, LORI (Scotties, Oakley, Tapley's Pub)
JOHNSON, AMY (Airwalk, Roxy, Smith, Palmer)
PISCHKE, MEGAN (Allian Inc., The North Face, Gravis)
RICHON, PAULINE (Rossignol, Roxy, Northwave, Drake)
RICKER, MAELLE (Burton, Oakley, Whistler/Blackcomb)
STACEY, KIM (Volkl, Deeluxe, Smith)
VALLEE, DOMINIQUE (Oakley Software & Apparel, Nitro)
VIDAL, DORIANE (Rossignol, Vans, Oakley, Nokia)
WIIK, LISA (Nitro Snowboards)

All riders that requested an invitation to the Superpipe competition, and were not selected have been entered into the Superpipe Qualifier to compete for a spot in the finals.

A Competition Advisory Team made up of riders and leaders in the snowboarding industry including; Adrian Millar (Ripzone), Rob Kingwill (US Halfpipe Rider), Kevin Sansalone (Canadian Big Air Rider), Sean Lake (Burton) Mark Taylor (MASEV Communications), and Lindsay McWilliam (MASEV Communications); have overseen the rider invitations and the competition formats for the event. The RIPZONE SNOWBOARD INVITATIONAL is presented by Ripzone, Whistler Blackcomb and W1. For further information, please visit: www.wssf.com