Beijing, CHINA - The Nanshan Open, the only China stop on the TTR World Snowboard Tour, has announced the return of Red Bull as the title sponsor for the third year in a row. Heading into its seventh year, the Nanshan Open will be held January 10th and 11th of 2009 in the Quiksilver Nanshan Mellow Park of Nanshan Ski Resort, Beijing, China.

With Red Bull's support the competition, run by Mellow Constructions China, has grown larger and larger by the year. This year sees the greatest number of international competitors participating as 19 international and four local riders battle it out for US$25,000 prize money and precious Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour ranking points.

As the single most important snowboarding event in China, the competition will receive a '4-star' TTR ranking for the second time in a row. Ticket to Ride (TTR) is the governing body of the world's top snowboard events and pays out US$200,000 to the top five ranking men and top three ranking women at the conclusion of the last 6-star event on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. The total prize money payout of the Tour is above and beyond US$2.5 million including event prize money on the Tour and is the largest ever of its kind in snowboarding.

With the popularity of snowboarding in China fast growing, the Nanshan Open is hands-down the largest, most recognized snowboard event on Chinese soil and gives Red Bull yet another place to showcase their passion to the Chinese public of encouraging individual athletes to push the limits in their respective sports. The world's most recognized energy drink, Red Bull has taken the initiative to support athletes and sports that are relevant to the passion, activation and self-expression of the brand's image.
 
"We feel lucky to have a sponsor like Red Bull," Mellow China CEO Steve Zdarsky says, "their continued support of the Nanshan Open is a sign of just how successful and popular this event has become in China. We are more excited than ever for this year's Nanshan Open, and can't wait see the best lineup of riders ever to hit our park this winter!"

The newly unveiled Quiksilver Nanshan Mellow Park in Nanshan Ski Resort is the most recent brainchild of Mellow Constructions China and Quiksilver, and is wide regarded as the top park in China. Located on the outskirts of the Olympic city of Beijing, Nanshan Ski Resort uses only man-made snow due to the region's dry climate. Red Bull rider Marco Swoboda, who took 2nd place at last year's Nanshan Open and will be returning again this year says, "The park is huge... compared to Europe it's for sure not behind. [With] big kickers, some nice rails, a big corner, it is a really good park."

On-the-snow entertainment will not only be provided by the snowboarders, but also a killer local music line-up. Three-time DMC Champion DJ Wordy will be spinning his magic to keep the crowd pumped during the day, and the competition finals will be concluded with a destructive set by local punk band Lucky Monkey.

To get a taste of what's to come, head to the Open's local qualifying round this December 27th in the Quiksilver Nanshan Mellow Park, and watch local Chinese riders battle for the last three remaining spots in the Red Bull Nanshan Open rider list and an opportunity to compete on the international circuit!

The Nanshan Open is brought to you by Red Bull, Quiksilver and the Nanshan Ski Resort.

Confirmed Rider List 

1) Kalle Ohlson (Sweden), Vans/Bataleon/Smith
2) Matevz Petek (Slovenia), Nitro/L1/Dragon
3) Wang Lei (China), Burton/Anon
4) Teo Konttinen (Finland), Quiksilver
5) Werni Stock (Austria), Red Bull/Salomon/Bonfire
6) Peter Koenig (Austria), Forum/Special Blend/Anon
7) Anton Gunnarsson (Sweden), Nitro/Raiden/L1
8) Marc Swoboda (Austria), Red Bull/Nitro/Volcom
9) Tylor Chorlton (Great Britain), Bataleon/Oakley/Vans
10) Freddy Austbo (Norway), Quiksilver/Nixon/Elm
11) Filippo Kratter (Italy), Red Bull/Nitro/Volcom
12) Atsushi Ishikawa (Japan), Quiksilver/Deeluxe/Flow
13) Isao Seki (Japan), Quiksilver/Allien/Deeluxe
14) Lee Yongho (Korea), Salomon/Vans/Electric
15) An Taihwan (Korea), Salomon/Bonfire/Smith
16) Sergey Lapushkin (Russia), Red Bull/DC/686
17) Super secret big name rider!
18) Mikey Williams (Australia), DC/Electric
19) Andy Lloyd (Australia), K2/Smith/Holden
20) Marco Feichtner (Austria), Ride/686/Deeluxe

By: press release