 Suzuki Presents the U.S. Freeskiing Open, at Copper Mountain Resort11th annual U.S. Freeskiing Open brings professional and amateur athletes together to compete for $60,000 in cash and prizes. Now in its eleventh year, the U.S. Freeskiing Open (USFO), presented by Suzuki, will return to Copper Mountain, Colo, Jan. 31 – Feb. 3, 2008, bringing together hundreds of the world's best new school ski athletes and thousands of eager spectators. Athletes will compete in three disciplines – superpipe, slopestyle and big air – for a combined $60,000 prize purse. After last year's highly progressive competition, in which Jon Olsson introduced the Kangaroo Flip in the park and Peter Olenick landed a double flair in the pipe, this year’s event will surely be a highlight of the season. As always, Copper Mountain provides an ideal après and nightlife scene, with Boulder-based 3oh!3 bringing their heavy-hitting hip hop/rock sound to the Village following the Invitational Big Air event. Maintaining the tradition of athlete involvement in the USFO, this year Copper Mountain's snowmaking and park crews will design the terrain park in conjunction with athlete input and feedback. "It's exciting to be involved in this event and to have watched it grow so much over the years," said Jamie Pentz, group publisher of Mountain Sports Media, parent company of Skiing Magazine. "The USFO is an extraordinary opportunity in the world of new school skiing, bringing together top professionals like Simon Dumont with up and comers from across the country. Between the crowd's enthusiasm and the athletes' performance, this event is one of the highlights of winter." Registration
The registration process has changed for the 2008 Suzuki USFO. Competition spots for the superpipe and slopestyle will be allotted via a lottery registration system, opening Nov. 15 at 5PM EST and closing Dec. 6. Participation in the lottery will cost $5 per entry and each athlete may register as many times as he/she wants. The system will randomly select athletes and successful competitors will be announced on TK. More information is available at www.usfreeskiingopen.com About the U.S. Freeskiing Open
The U.S. Freeskiing Open is the longest running, premiere freeskiing event in North America. Eleven years ago, the inaugural USFO gathered freeskiing's biggest hopefuls for the first slopestyle skiing competition ever. The next year, a halfpipe discipline was added and scores of unknown skiers poured in to help shape the sport. The event has served as a launching pad for countless new school skiers including Tanner Hall, J.P. Auclair, T.J. Schiller, Sammy Carlson and Copper's own Nick Mercon. The 2008 Suzuki U.S. Freeskiing Open is produced by SKIING Magazine. Associate sponsors include: Copper Mountain Resort, SkiNet.com, tktktktktktktkt About SKIING
Designed and edited for those who live to ski, Skiing magazine serves up equal parts inspiration and information; it's the passionate, athletic skier's guidebook to the sport of skiing. Skiing readers love to challenge themselves, whether jumping out of a helicopter, climbing a peak or just going as fast as the patrol will allow. Skiing is a business of Bonnier Corporation's Mountain Sports Media and is based in Boulder, Colorado. Bonnier Corporation is a multi-media company whose enterprises include leading magazines, websites, television and radio programming, feature films, events and exhibitions. About the Suzuki Brand
Beyond Suzuki's spirited four-door SX4 Sport, bold and functional five-door SX4 Crossover, exciting XL7 midsize SUV and rugged Grand Vitara compact SUV, the company's 2008 vehicle line includes the popular Forenza sedan and Forenza Wagon, and the European-styled Reno. Every vehicle in the line provides Suzuki's standout virtues of toughness, leading-edge style and high-end features at very competitive prices. All 2008 Suzuki automobiles are backed by America's #1 Warranty: a 100,000-mile/seven-year, fully transferable, zero-deductible powertrain limited warranty.The Brea, Calif.-based Automotive Operations of American Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded in 1985 by parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and currently markets its vehicles in the United States through a network of more than 500 automotive dealerships in 49 states. Based in Hamamatsu, Japan, SMC is a diversified worldwide automobile, motorcycle and outboard motor manufacturer with sales of more than two million new automobiles annually. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has operations in 187 countries. For more information, visit www.media.suzukiauto.com. About Copper Mountain
Copper Mountain is just 75 miles from Denver with 2,450 acres of skiable terrain and a village that feels more like a neighborhood. Copper's guests enjoy steps away lodging, après ski entertainment, naturally divided terrain, exciting events and a welcoming, knowledgeable staff. Begin your Copper experience with the online films and photo galleries at coppercolorado.com. Slopestyle- Men Prequal Critera:  USFO2007 top 8 athletesX Games2007 top 8 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. John Olsson
2. PK Hunder
3. Andreas Hatveit
4. Sean Decker
5. BB Stian
6. Peter Olenick
7. Thomas Dolplads
8. Tim Durtschi
9. Candide Thovax
10. Sammy Carlson
11. Colby West
12. Simon Dumont
13. Jacob Wester
14. John Spriggs
15. Charles Gagnier
16. Jossi Wells
17. Alex Schlopy
18. Tanner Rainville
19. Giray Dadali
20.
21. Alexis Godbout
22. Adam Delorme
Superpipe- Men
Prequal Critera: Â USFO2007 top 8 athletesX Games2007 top 8 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Superpipe2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Ski/Snow Fest2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Sun Valley2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Breckenridge2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Aspen2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Squaw2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Tanner Hall
2. Matt Phillipi
3. Colby West
4. Charles Gagnier
5. Niklas Karlstrom
6. Brent Abrams
7. Sean Fields
8. Charlie Lasser
9. Simon Dumont
10. Peter Olenick
11. Andreas Hatveit
12. Candide Thovax
13. Stefan Thomas
14. Jossi Wells
15. Sammy Carlson
16. Mike Riddle
17. Kevin Rowland
18. Tanner Rainville
19. Dan Marion
20. Andy Woods
21. JP Solberg
22. Xavier Bertoni
23. Tucker Perkins
24.
Slopestyle- Women Prequal Criteria:Â USFO2007 top 5 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Anna Segal
2. Michelle Parker
3. Kristi Leskinen
4. Maiko Hara
5. Grete Eliassen
6. Virginie Faivre
7. Ashley Battersby
8. Sarah Burke
9. Venessa Colletta
10. Stephanie Myers
11. LJ Caufield
12. Jillian Atwood
13. Keri Herman
14. Megan Olenick
15. Keri Marie Herman
16. Angeli VanLaanen
17. Kaya Turski
Superpipe- WomenPrequal Criteria:Â USFO2007 top 5 athletesXgames 2007 top 5 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Ski/Snow Fest2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Grete Eliassen
2. Roz Groenwood
3. Angeli Van Laanen
4. Jess Cummins
5. Manami Mitsuboshi
6. Sarah Burke
7. Jenn Hudak
8. Virginie Faivre
9. Mirjam Jaeger
10. Em Lonsdale
11. Gina Gmeiner
12. Anais Carradeux
The registration process has changed for the 2008 Suzuki USFO. Competition spots for the superpipe and slopestyle will be allotted via a lottery registration system, opening Nov. 15 at 5PM EST and closing Dec. 6. Participation in the lottery will cost $5 per entry and each athlete may register as many times as he/she wants. The system will randomly select athletes and successful competitors will be announced on TK. More information is available at www.usfreeskiingopen.com About the U.S. Freeskiing Open
The U.S. Freeskiing Open is the longest running, premiere freeskiing event in North America. Eleven years ago, the inaugural USFO gathered freeskiing's biggest hopefuls for the first slopestyle skiing competition ever. The next year, a halfpipe discipline was added and scores of unknown skiers poured in to help shape the sport. The event has served as a launching pad for countless new school skiers including Tanner Hall, J.P. Auclair, T.J. Schiller, Sammy Carlson and Copper's own Nick Mercon. The 2008 Suzuki U.S. Freeskiing Open is produced by SKIING Magazine. Associate sponsors include: Copper Mountain Resort, SkiNet.com, tktktktktktktkt About SKIING
Designed and edited for those who live to ski, Skiing magazine serves up equal parts inspiration and information; it's the passionate, athletic skier's guidebook to the sport of skiing. Skiing readers love to challenge themselves, whether jumping out of a helicopter, climbing a peak or just going as fast as the patrol will allow. Skiing is a business of Bonnier Corporation's Mountain Sports Media and is based in Boulder, Colorado. Bonnier Corporation is a multi-media company whose enterprises include leading magazines, websites, television and radio programming, feature films, events and exhibitions. About the Suzuki Brand
Beyond Suzuki's spirited four-door SX4 Sport, bold and functional five-door SX4 Crossover, exciting XL7 midsize SUV and rugged Grand Vitara compact SUV, the company's 2008 vehicle line includes the popular Forenza sedan and Forenza Wagon, and the European-styled Reno. Every vehicle in the line provides Suzuki's standout virtues of toughness, leading-edge style and high-end features at very competitive prices. All 2008 Suzuki automobiles are backed by America's #1 Warranty: a 100,000-mile/seven-year, fully transferable, zero-deductible powertrain limited warranty.The Brea, Calif.-based Automotive Operations of American Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded in 1985 by parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and currently markets its vehicles in the United States through a network of more than 500 automotive dealerships in 49 states. Based in Hamamatsu, Japan, SMC is a diversified worldwide automobile, motorcycle and outboard motor manufacturer with sales of more than two million new automobiles annually. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has operations in 187 countries. For more information, visit www.media.suzukiauto.com. About Copper Mountain
Copper Mountain is just 75 miles from Denver with 2,450 acres of skiable terrain and a village that feels more like a neighborhood. Copper's guests enjoy steps away lodging, après ski entertainment, naturally divided terrain, exciting events and a welcoming, knowledgeable staff. Begin your Copper experience with the online films and photo galleries at coppercolorado.com. Slopestyle- Men Prequal Critera:  USFO2007 top 8 athletesX Games2007 top 8 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. John Olsson
2. PK Hunder
3. Andreas Hatveit
4. Sean Decker
5. BB Stian
6. Peter Olenick
7. Thomas Dolplads
8. Tim Durtschi
9. Candide Thovax
10. Sammy Carlson
11. Colby West
12. Simon Dumont
13. Jacob Wester
14. John Spriggs
15. Charles Gagnier
16. Jossi Wells
17. Alex Schlopy
18. Tanner Rainville
19. Giray Dadali
20.
21. Alexis Godbout
22. Adam Delorme
Superpipe- Men
Prequal Critera: Â USFO2007 top 8 athletesX Games2007 top 8 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Superpipe2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Ski/Snow Fest2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Sun Valley2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Breckenridge2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Aspen2007 top 3 athletesSki Tour-Squaw2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Tanner Hall
2. Matt Phillipi
3. Colby West
4. Charles Gagnier
5. Niklas Karlstrom
6. Brent Abrams
7. Sean Fields
8. Charlie Lasser
9. Simon Dumont
10. Peter Olenick
11. Andreas Hatveit
12. Candide Thovax
13. Stefan Thomas
14. Jossi Wells
15. Sammy Carlson
16. Mike Riddle
17. Kevin Rowland
18. Tanner Rainville
19. Dan Marion
20. Andy Woods
21. JP Solberg
22. Xavier Bertoni
23. Tucker Perkins
24.
Slopestyle- Women Prequal Criteria:Â USFO2007 top 5 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Anna Segal
2. Michelle Parker
3. Kristi Leskinen
4. Maiko Hara
5. Grete Eliassen
6. Virginie Faivre
7. Ashley Battersby
8. Sarah Burke
9. Venessa Colletta
10. Stephanie Myers
11. LJ Caufield
12. Jillian Atwood
13. Keri Herman
14. Megan Olenick
15. Keri Marie Herman
16. Angeli VanLaanen
17. Kaya Turski
Superpipe- WomenPrequal Criteria:Â USFO2007 top 5 athletesXgames 2007 top 5 athletesEuro Open2007 top 3 athletesNippon Open2007 top 3 athletesVermont Open2007 top 3 athletesAspen Open2007 top 3 athletesWorld Ski/Snow Fest2007 top 3 athletesNZ Open2007 top 3 athletes1. Grete Eliassen
2. Roz Groenwood
3. Angeli Van Laanen
4. Jess Cummins
5. Manami Mitsuboshi
6. Sarah Burke
7. Jenn Hudak
8. Virginie Faivre
9. Mirjam Jaeger
10. Em Lonsdale
11. Gina Gmeiner
12. Anais Carradeux
