Swatch to organize new snow sports competition

The Swatch O'Neill Big Mountain Pro 2007, an innovative format of mobile free-ride event for snowboarders and skiers in the Alps, will start on March 1, 2007.

The initial stage of the event will open in the Swiss resort of Laax and finish in Innsbruck, Austria on March 10. Eight world-class snowboarders and eight top international skiers will participate in the Swatch O'Neill Big Mountain Pro free-ride competition.

The organizers of the Swatch O'Neill Big Mountain Pro 2007 have opted for a mobile contest format and claim that the current snow pack condition on the selected mountains is suitable for holding the competition. The invited riders and skiers will be offered special lift and helicopter access to explore the area.

The free-ride content is to take place on three different mountains at some of the most challenging terrain in the European Alps. On every of the three competition days the participants will arrive at a site with different terrain type - cliffs, steeps, as well as environment more suitable for freestyle skiing and snowboarding. The event is meant to include the following potential playgrounds: Swiss Graubuenden (St Moritz/Davos) and Grand St Bernard (Verbier), Italian Alagna (Monte Rosa), French Chamonix, and finally Austrian Arlberg.

As the final part of the event, the competitors will gather in Innsbruck to judge the performance of one another via video playback. The € 60,000 prize purse is to be divided between the best.