Day three of the Burton NZ Open

Roland Morley-Brown | Photo: Miles Holden

Thirty foot big airs weren’t the only massive spectacles going on at Snow Park NZ today during the Burton NZ Open Slopestyle semi-finals. High winds, gusting so strong they blew away the windometer, saw the cancellation of the Slopestyle finals.

Final placings were decided from the two semi-final runs with Mason Aguirre (USA) taking out the men’s title and $5,000 prize money. His winning run included a boardslide followed by a tailslide 270 off the high bar into a backside 7, followed by a frontside 9, finishing with a frontside boardslide. “He nailed it on the rails showing a lot of control,” said assistant head judge, Ste’en Webster. “Plus he went big off both jumps, seemingly unaffected by the conditions.”

The high winds certainly presented a challenging event – snow and visibility were ideal but the wind increased during the morning making it more difficult for the riders as the competition progressed. The weather window did, however, allow many riders to step up and throw down some impressive runs.

Alessandro Boyens (GER) introduced a new trick, the Alessandro flip, during his run. The backside flat spin 360 into an inverted front flip which involved him changing his access midway through the spin, earned him second place and $2,500 in prize money.

In the women’s event, Jenny Jones (GBR) won first place with a tailslide on the C Box, followed by a 50:50 180 out on the high bar followed by a backside three, followed by front side three and 50:50 on the final rail. Her execution through the entire run was faultless, also earning her $5,000 in prize money.

Top placed New Zealander was Stef Zeestraten of Wanaka who finished fourth in the men’s competition.

Weather conditions led to the Invitation Quarterpipe Jam being postponed until tomorrow (Saturday) following the men’s and women’s halfpipe finals. Full results on all today’s action are available by clicking the heading.


Daniel Friberg | Photo: Miles Holden