The Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro will be hitting the slopes once again this year from 24^th February to 2^nd March and the impressive competitor line-up has already set tongues wagging.

Twenty six of the world’s best male freeride snowboarders and skiers will be battling it out for the coveted £40,000 prize fund, promising an awe-inspiring second edition.  Confirmed competitors so far include freestyle snowboarding pioneers David Benedeck and Fredi Kalbermatten, 3-time Air and Style champion Stefan Gimpl and multiple Big Mountain Rider of the Year winner Jeremy Jones.

They will be joined by the top eight skiers in the Freeride World Tour rankings, as well as five confirmed wildcard skiers, including Canadian freestyle skiing sensation and US Open 2006 champion TJ Schiller.

This year’s competition will kick off in the picturesque French town of Chamonix, widely recognised as the spiritual home of freeriding. A sunset session will take place on the first day at Montenvers and then competitors will embark on an eight-day adventure exploring the vastness of the French Alps and three of its most impressive peaks. The event will continue to adopt its signature mobile format across France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria and competitors will have a week to make a winning impression on the panel of judges.

Event organizer Nicolas Hale-Woods is eagerly looking forward to building on the foundations of 2007, and said: “From the very start, the goal of the Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro has always centered on bringing the world’s best riders to the best mountains in the best possible conditions. With the top 8 skiers and 8 snowboarders on the Freeride World Tour joined by these incredible wildcard riders, it’s safe to say we’re well on our way to achieving that goal once again.”  

Swatch Pro Team member, Xavier De la Rue, secured the top spot in this year’s edition of the Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro and will be hoping for a repeat performance at the 2008 event.  

The Swatch Pro Team is made up of a number of exceptional sportsmen and women in various disciplines including skiing, snowboarding, surfing, FMX and volleyball.  All Pro Team members are given sponsorship and the skiers and snowboarders are also provided with free Fun Boarder watches from the Winter Sport collection The Fun Boarder watches have built-in altimeters that make them the perfect accessory for mountain pursuits.

You can witness the evolution of the Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro competition right up to the event finale on 2^nd March 2008 by catching daily live webcasts by Freecaster– www.freecaster.com    

For more information about the Swatch O’Neill Big Mountain Pro 2008: www.bigmountainpro.com

For more information on the Swatch watch collection go to www.swatch.co.uk