Quiksilver Spring Battle

Location

Some of the world´s best snowboarders will gather from 18th until 31st of March 2012 at Absolut Park Flachauwinkl to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of the most traditional Austrian snowboard events. In 2012, the Quiksilver Spring Battle will be upgraded to 5 Star TTR level. On top of the 50.000 US dollar prize purse, the riders can already collect up to 850 valuable TTR Big Air Tour Ranking points for the upcoming season in order to cinch a convenient ranking position for the TTR World Tour Ranking 2012/2013.  
 
5 Star TTR event with innovative video judging system  For ten years the Quiksilver Spring Battle has made a reputation as one of the most popular snowboarding events in Europe. An accomplished combination of the premium setup at the perfectly shaped Absolut Park and the innovative video judging system will be thrilling riders and spectators of the upcoming 5 Star TTR Big Air snowboard competition. In the qualification, thirty snowboarders are going to compete with two runs and only the best run counts. The best ten riders will move on to the finals where they are going to face the invited riders out of the TTR Top 10 Ranking. Every snowboarder can attempt twice and the best run counts, while the top ten out of this round advance to the super finals. Last year, the video judging system was introduced as a world premier in snowboarding history. After the rider has picked his favorite super final run, the judging will be conducted on a video screen from different viewing angles. The winner will not only take home the biggest part the 50.000 US dollar prize purse, but also earn 850 points for the TTR Big Air Tour Ranking 2012/2013, which will count towards the 2012/2013 /11 season ranking.
 
The world´s best snowboarders visiting Flachauwinkl Previous year´s winner Seppe Smits from Belgium has already announced to defend his title, even if the Quiksilver Spring Battle has been upgraded from 4 to 5 Star TTR Big Air level in 2012. The odds are favourable, since Seppe has already won the 4 Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam this season and took the third place on the podium of the 6 Star O`Neill Evolution in Davos. But the rivals are close on his heels, crowd-pleaser Marko Grilc from Slovenia for example, has already signed in to beat Seppe this time. Norwegian high-flyer, Quiksilver team rider and actual Air & Style Beijing winner Ulrik Badertscher from Norway will also be attending the Quiksilver Spring Battle as one of the hot favourites. Finally the Austrian snowboarder Werni Stock is back on board after his injury. With the 5th place at the 5Star Relentless Big Air presented by Quiksilver he  showcased his skills in Stuttgart. Strong local riders such as Herbert Thaler and Mathias Weissenbacher, who recently landed in third position at the 4 Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam, will be representing in full force and giving all guest riders a tough competition.  

 
No Quiksilver Spring Battle without party and skateboarding
Beside all the snowboard stars, some of the best national skateboarders will be rocking the mini ramp of Absolut Park´s chill house during the Quiksilver Spring Battle 2012, cashing up some money at the cash-for-tricks sessions to have the change to buy one or another beer at night. While the live stage presents proper sound for a worthy 10th birthday bash, the entire village of Flachauwinkl and Flachau will be partying when the Lib Tech Riders Night and Video Judging Final Party go down on Friday and Saturday.  
 
Ten years of Spring Battle – a flashback
The very first Spring Battle was taking place in 2003. The Aesthetiker Andreas “Mone” Monsberger took home the glorious trophy. In 2004, it was the Slovenian snowboard star Marko Grilc who won the Spring Battle, before Steve Gruber, another legend rider of the Aesthetiker crew, took over the lead in 2005. The following two years were under the sign of the scandinavians: Sweden´s Martin Sandberg won in 2006 and Ville Uotila from Finland was on top of the podium in 2007. The German “Pirate” Lars Oesterle claimed victory in 2008 and Jakko Ruha took back home all honour to Finland in 2009. Swedish young gun Kevin
Backstroem won the competition in 2010, before the Belgian super talent Seppe Smits wrapped up the Quiksilver Spring Battle successfully in 2011.  
 
All infos and updates about the Quiksilver Spring Battle 2012 can be found on:
 
absolutpark.com  
facebook.com/quiksilverspringbattle  
quiksilver-europe.com