The third stop of the TTR World Snowboard Tour at Falls Creek will feature some of the best snowboarders from around the globe.
The weeklong invitational event is often described more as a weeklong jam session than a contest, and organisers are aiming to build the biggest snowboard park ever seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

The biggest hip in the Southern Hemisphere has been planned as well a 120 ft (40 metre) straight jump, a line of 4 mid to large jumps in a flowing line and a gap over a quarter pipe transition.

The organiser of Style Wars, Richard Hegarty said that the event “promotes progression instead of the normal contest runs. This unique way of running a contest also means that the best snowboarder will always win.”

Builder of the planned hip, Sam Poffrey said that it would stand 30 foot high [10 metres] so that riders could launch 30 foot plus airs from the top.

Back and bigger than ever after the cancellation last year due to lack of snow, this year has the most talented field of professional
snowboarders ever seen in Australia.

With a $15,000 cash prize and important early season points up for grabs in the Australian leg of TTR World Tour, the thirty snowboarders from ten countries that have been invited to compete will be showing off their amazing skills to impress the judges.

Competing for the prize will be American Andy Finch and Finnish Jaakko Ruha, who will join a selected few local pros from Australia and New Zealand including Aussies Robbie Walker and Ryan Tiene and New Zealander Jacob Koia.

Australian Ryan Tiene, who is a previous winner of the event and will be one of the top Australian riders in attendance said that it was his favourite contest of the year. Fresh from a win at the Rip Curl Pro last week, Tiene is looking forward to Style wars, which is known Down Under as the “riders event”.

The three-day event will also play host to the Volvo night rail jam on Wednesday the 22nd. The specially made 32-stair set-up is currently being built in the Falls Creek village where additional invited ‘rail’ riders will join the Style wars invitees to vie for a $5000 cash prize in a winner takes all ‘event within an event.’

Style wars is cited as a major international event in Australia, with the non-contest format giving the riders freedom to cruise around and then get back on the course and keep going, just what the riders like.

Style wars has a waiting period August 26-31 and will keep the riders and spectators entertained with a week long music festival in Falls Creek village. Live performances from talented Australian bands and DJ’s such as Katalyst, The Galvatrons and Bliss N Eso will keep the party atmosphere alive.

INVITED RIDERS:

1 Jacob Koia – New Zealand

2 Robert Morley Brown – New Zealand

3 Nick Brown – New Zealand

4 Stephan Zeestraten – New Zealand

5 Quentin Robbins – New Zealand

6 Will Jackways – New Zealand

7 Nick Gregory – Australia

8 Ryan Tiene – Australia

9 Robbie Walker – Australia

10 Mitch Allan – Australia

11 Clint Allan – Australia

12 Russell Holt – Australia

13 Max Cookes – Australia

14 Junior WILD CARD – Australia

15 Andy Finch – United States

16 Dustin Craven – Canada

17 Sammy Leubke – United States

18 Logan Short – Canada

19 Torstein Horgmo – Norway

20 Jonas Carlson – Sweden

21 Chas Guldemond – United States

22 Shayne Pospisil – United States

23 Jaakko Ruha – Finland

24 Toni-Markus Turunen – Finland

25 Rudi Kroll – Austria

26 Kimmy Fasani – United States

27 Priscilla Levac – Canada

28 Marc Andre Tarde – Canada

29 Stefan Gasser – Switzerland

Words: Rosalyn Gomersall