In case you were wondering why every snowboarder on earth (or at least every one you follow on Facebook or Twitter) are posting about the beauty of NZ lately, it’s because of the Burton High Fives coming up!

And now what the heck is that you cry? The substitute of the New Zealand Open, kicking off this Wednesday, August 15th 2012 in Wanaka and opening the World Snowboard Tour (formerly known as TTR)!

The Burton High Fives, presented by MINI, is an invite-only global snowboarding competition that combines traditional halfpipe and slopestyle events with off-snow team challenges to create a fun summertime snowboarding event in New Zealand. The Jam format of the snow events, combined with team challenges that are distinctly Kiwi in flavor, will bring 60 top riders together to Snow Park NZ for a truly unique four-day event. Taking the place of the former New Zealand Open, the 2012 Burton High Fives is the first event in the Burton Global Event Series and is a 5star event on the TTR World Tour. Thanks to our High Fives sponsors including MINI, Nokia and Red Bull.