Today Burton Snowboards announced the list of top invited riders confirmed to attend the 3rd annual High Fives presented by MINI, including Mark McMorris (CAN), Stale Sandbech (NOR), Ayumu Hirano (JPN) and Jamie Anderson (USA).
The unique competition pairs 60 of the best snowboarders with up and comers to compete in fun off-snow team activities and world-class slopestyle and halfpipe competitions at Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealandfrom September 15th – September 20th. All the action will be webcast and telecast worldwide.
The athlete list for the 2014 Burton High Fives is strong and deep. Top halfpipe riders include 2014 Olympians Taku Hiraoka (JPN), who also won last year’s High Fives, Ayumu Hirano, Kaitlyn Farrington (USA), Xuetong Cai (CHN) and Queralt Castellet (ESP). Chloe Kim (USA), the 2014 US Open and 2013 High Fives women’s halfpipe silver medalist, is also confirmed and one to watch this season.
The slopestyle competition is equally stacked with the world’s best, including 2014 US Open champion and Olympic medalist Mark McMorris, Olympic medalist and 2013 High Fives winner, Stale Sandbech, as well as Torstein Horgmo (NOR). The women’s slopestyle field includes 2014 US Open champion and Sochi gold medalist Jamie Anderson, Sochi silver medalist Enni Rukajarvi (FIN) as well as Silje Norendal (NOR).
New this year, as a salute to the host country’s up-and-coming pro riders, the line-up also has invited athletes from New Zealand, including Carlos Garcia Knight and JJ Raywood, as well as seasoned pros and Olympians Rebecca Torr, Shelly Gotlieb, Christy Prior and Stefi Luxton.
Australia is also well represented by Olympians Nathan Johnstone and Kent Kalister, brother and sister duo Cameron and Lauren Staveley, along with Matthew Cox, Emily Author and Jess Rich. For the most up-to-date rider list, head here.
The good times begin with a team selection party on September 15th, and on September 16th, the newly formed teams will take part in surprise off-hill activities in the surrounding Wanaka area. Up next, classic snowboarding competitions will get underway at Cardrona Alpine Resort with High Fives slopestyle finals on September 19th, followed by halfpipe finals on September 20th.
The top riders from each discipline will take home World Snowboard Tour 5Star points and a piece of the $80,000 USD prize purse.
If you can’t make it to New Zealand, there are plenty of ways to experience all the action each day. For more information, including details on confirmed athletes, complete webcast schedules, as well as daily highlight videos showcasing on and off-snow events, follow the hashtag #BurtonHighFives and go to www.burton.com/highfives.
