World Snowboarding Championships
Ever since The International Snowboarding Federation collapsed under the pressure of the International Ski Federation, there has been a rider-driven void in high-level competitive snowboarding. Enter the Ticket To Ride World Tour and the World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway—the first rider-driven world championship in 13 years.
It was something like a Viking rally before striking out on the warpath; strength and unity manifested and intensified. For 10 days in February 2012, close to 100 of the world’s best pipe and slopestyle riders assembled in the hills outside Oslo, Norway for the inaugural World Snowboard Championships (WSC)—a contest designed to return competitive snowboarding to the hands of the riders.
Snowboarders hadn’t hosted their own world championship in 13 years—not since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) entrusted Olympic snowboarding to the International Ski Federation (FIS). Yet the sideways camp has not surrendered—the Ticket To Ride World Snowboard Tour (TTR) has re-stoked the crusade. Founded in 2002 by outspoken critic of Olympic snowboarding Terje Haakonsen and other core industry folk, TTR was snowboarding’s response to the crashed party of competitive riding. Its slopestyle, halfpipe and big air contests have become some of the best in snowboarding, and its respect for riders is mutual. Having proven its commitment over the last decade, TTR is now leading the mission to reclaim competitive snowboarding for the snowboard community…