Soulsports has been working with Ben Kilner for many years consulting and managing many of his sponsorships, so we were very proud to hear his latest result in Canada and the best of his career! a 3rd Place on the World Cup at the last event before the Olympics, which is a great boost!

Ben had to say “Well this is it! the last World Cup before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. I managed to land my first run in semi’s and that put me in to the Finals. This has been the 2nd time i have ever got this far in the World Cups so i was just happy to make it this far. Once i landed my first run i got a score of 40.3 which put me into 2nd. On the second runs i was pushed into 3rd with an amazing run from French man Arthur Longo. My second run kept me in 3rd so i am super happy. This has put me in a very good frame of mind for going in to Vancouver and has been my best result so far in my Snowboarding Career!”

The second event of the 2009 LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe Tour came to a close today - 6 November 2009 - in Saas Fee, Switzerland. British Snowboard Team athlete Ben Kilner finished in 14th place, the second-best placing in his career to date, and a key result in this Olympic season. This result comes back to back with his 14th place in the World Cup Big Air on Saturday in London.

Kilner (21, Banchory) laid down a solid run in qualification, finishing 8th in his heat with only the top six going through to the finals. British World Cup Halfpipe Team coach Leo Addington commented “Ben rode well and was unfortunate not to make the finals. I’m pleased with how he landed his competition run, finishing with his frontside 9. The conditions were extremely tough for qualification [which took place on 5 November], the resort was shut to everyone but the World Cup riders due to the high winds and as a result they postponed the women’s qualification until today”.

Kilner commented “I’m pleased with my result but obviously a little disappointed not to have made the finals. The conditions were really challenging but we got through it. The result keeps me on track for Vancouver so I’m really pleased with that”.

Three other British Snowboard Team athletes were in action in Saas Fee, producing mixed results. Kate Foster (24, Painswick) finished the competition in 25th place, a solid start to her northern hemisphere winter season. Kate commented “the bad weather finally cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful winter’s day with blue skies and temperatures of -10C. The pipe was in good condition and I landed two solid runs so happy days! I’m looking forward to stepping it up in the Copper Grand Prix in December”.

Dom Harington (25, Leeds) had a good run according to Addington but it wasn’t enough for a top 30 place, finishing the competition in 36th place. Lesley McKenna (35, Aviemore) had the “best bail of the day” according to Addington, after catching her heel edge on the coping of the Halfpipe, but luckily not injuring herself.

“Overall I’m happy with the Team’s performance” commented Addington. “We will continue to train in Saas Fee for a few days before heading to Copper Mountain, USA, for training in the lead up to the next World Cup Halfpipe event”.

The next LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe competition is on 6 and 7 January 2010 in Kreischberg, Austria. Zoe Gillings will be in action before that however as the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup Snowboardcross Tour moves to the USA between the 17 and 20 December.

Soulsports are managing the snow production and slope management at the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup event here in Battersea, London. We had a great contest that was broadcast live on Eurosport at 5pm, unfortunately none of the Brits made the final 10 but Soulsports athlete Ben Kilner representing LG produced the best result with a 14th place overall.

London Freeze Slope

[Official Event Release]
Birthday child Stefan Gimpl victorious in season’s first big air competition / 15,000 spectators in London

What a day for Stefan Gimpl: The Austrian snowboard veteran not only celebrated his career’s seventh World Cup triumph by taking Gold with 52.7 points at the season’s first big air competition of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup. The rider from the Salzburg countryside also made himself a fantastic birthday present. Aged 30 now and in front of 15,000 spectators at Battersea Power Station in London, the World Cup title defender relegated Switzerland’s Gian-Luca Cavigelli (50.5) and Domen Bizjak from Slovenia (49.7) to the second and third rank respectively. Matevz Pristavec (SLO, 49.7) had to settle for fourth finishing also with 49.7 points.

Jamie Nicholls © FIS-Oliver Kraus

That this day turned out like written in a storybook was due to the great experience of several years being on tour as a snowboard pro. Not the young guns with their “Backside 1260’s” (Ulrik Badertscher, NOR) or “Frontside 1260’s” (Janne Korpi, FIN) took all the credit but Gimpl with his matchless style of making the tricks look so easy and stick them smoothly on the landing hill – although the 30-years-old had to struggle with his shaky legs right before the final attempt. “I was very nervous up there although actually nothing could have gone wrong as I was lucky over the last years living on the sunny side of life. It seems that someone is meaning well for me.”

Namely that good, that the World Cup leader was able to stomp a “Frontside 1080” at first, his “so far best in my whole life” and later on a “Cab 900” after the spectator crowd had serenaded him “Happy birthday”. “This was an amazing experience. Although I still can’t believe the result as I wasn’t expecting to win today.”

Stefan Gimpl © FIS-Oliver Kraus

With this statement Gimpl was driving at the fact that the whole starter field answered expectations with a high level riding including some of the more than 50 riders from 12 countries showcasing even more difficult tricks than the later on winner – however, not as smooth and stylish like Gimpl did. One of them was Gian-Luca Cavigelli. The Swiss talent who never had finished a World Cup in the top-10 before jumped on the podium for the first time ever after he had thrown in a massive “Backside 1080 Double Cork” and a “Backside Rodeo 720”. “I’m pretty stoked with the result as I have been on the snowboard for only two months so far” the 21-years-old who tore his left ACL a year ago said after his comeback.

And also third-ranked Domen Bizjak was more than happy after his “Switch Backside 900” and “Frontside 900” earned him his career’s first podium finish. The 24-years-old who had have three fourth ranks so far stated: “I never expected this. But today, everything went fine.”

Ben Kilner © FIS-Oliver Kraus

The British Snowboard Team produced some great results with LG Freeze ambassador Ben Kilner finishing 14th, Nate Kern 20th, Jamie Nicholls 27th, and Jack Shackelton in 47th position.

Soulsports have secured the roles of Slope Preperation, Slope Management and Contest Management at this year’s event in Battersea, London which will host several competitions including the FIS World Snowboard Cup and the International Freeze Ski event.

Below is the official Press Release:

FSO4 FREEZE SNOWSPORTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNS TO BATTERSEA
• Battersea Power Station hosts festival from 30th October – 1st November
• 32m snow jump with 17m drop to be re-created using 500 tonnes of real snow
• Orbital and Friendly Fires to headline
• Over 200 world class competitors from across the globe expected to attend
• FIS sanctioned World Cup snowboard event returns to London
• International Freeskie Event
• Battle of Britain Ski and Snowboard events
• Freeze Grind Rail comps and USA vs Europe competitions added to event line-up
• Tickets now on sale

The UK’s biggest ever winter sports and music festival, Freesports on 4 FREEZE sponsored by LG, is returning to London following the phenomenal success of last year’s event.
Once again, Battersea Power Station will be transformed into an international competition standard snowboarding and freeski venue to host world class skiers and snowboarders from around the world.
The inaugural event in 2008 drew huge crowds to the South London site and the event sold out all 10,000 tickets on the Saturday for the World Cup event.

The 32m high ski-jump will accompany the iconic towers of Battersea Power Station on the London skyline once again with 500 tonnes of real snow being produced and packed onto the slope to transform the site into a winter sports village. The big air jump will form the central hub of the competition and will return as the biggest ever created in the UK. The overall length from the top of the jump to the landing strip will be 110m, with a 17m table top drop from which competitors from around the globe will be showcasing their talents.

The festival will kick off on the Friday with a Battle of Britain ski and snowboard contest with the best of British talent battling it out for the title of top dog in the UK. Brit Olympic snowboard hopefuls Ben Kilner and Dom Harrington will be jostling for the top spot, before focusing on the World Cup event later in the weekend.

The LG London Big Air event, part of the FIS LG Snowboard World Cup, will take place on the Saturday, forming the main competition for snowboarders. All riders taking part can score crucial ratings points in their quest to become World Champions, whilst also improving their chances to qualify for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. Last year’s winner Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) will be returning to defend his title, along with Scotty Lago (US) who hopes to retain his Best Trick trophy.
The International Freestyle Ski event over Saturday and Sunday will feature some of the world’s most accomplished skiers, with multiple Winter X Games Gold Medal winner Tanner Hall (US) returning for a second year, along with Simon Dumont (US) and UK hopeful Paddy Graham, all of whom will be competing for the £10,000 prize fund.

This year’s festival will also see a brand new addition to its sporting line up, with the Freeze Grind competition giving the ski and snowboard competitors a chance to display their skills on rails at the base of the slope.

Finally, the festival will close with a battle of the continents, with USA taking on Europe in a snowboard contest on Sunday which is guaranteed to get the audience’s pulses racing.
Along with a stellar line-up of winter sports action, there will be music acts taking to the stage across the weekend to entertain the après-ski revelers after the on-piste action comes to a close. Electronic outfit Orbital have been confirmed for Friday and Friendly Fires will headline Sunday’s music line-up. Other acts confirmed include Pendulum DJ set and Chase and Status Further acts will be confirmed nearer the time. The main music tent has been extended from last year to hold a massive 15,000 capacity crowd.

Andrew Topham, Events Director at Big Freeze Limited, the event producers commented: “We are delighted to be returning to Battersea Power Station in 2009. 2008 was a special event for us and you can expect ’09 to eclipse that! The LG World Cup is a very important International Series and we are thrilled for London to be a part of that once more. Big Freeze will be working very closely with its partners to create the ultimate inner city snow and music festival.”

Marcel Looze, Snowboard Race Director at the sport’s official global body FIS commented: “Research showed that enjoyment of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Big Air was high with most wanting to come back or recommend a friend. The very special location at Battersea, the enthusiastic crowd and great performance of the riders made the first LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Big Air in London a success. FIS is proud to have London in the Calendar 2009/2010 again and give the audience another opportunity to watch World Class athletes without having to travel thousands of miles. We trust Sports Vision supported by the British Ski and Snowboard Association are able to create a great show again.”

Ben Kilner, UK Olympic hopeful said: “I’m really excited to be sponsored by LG, their involvement in the FIS Snowboarding World Cup has really helped to grow the sport & FSO4 FREEZE sponsored by LG is looking like it¹ll be a great event again this year. I¹m looking forward to taking on the World¹s best snowboarders, which will be great preparation for me in the lead up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, especially in front of a home crowd!”

Paul Meadows, head of brand marketing at LG Electronics UK & Ireland comments: “Freesports on 4 Freeze and the Big Air established themselves as iconic events last year and LG is delighted to be sponsoring both events for the second year running. Bringing freesports, music and the latest mobile technology such as social networking handsets together at the iconic Battersea power station, this year¹s event promises to be bigger and even more spectacular. We’re sure that everyone who attends will have a truly memorable time, taking in the buzz and excitement of live action and music together with their friends and family.”

Fans wishing to attend the event are advised to visit www.londonfreeze.com for further ticket information.

Tickets are priced at £35 for a day pass, £85 for a season pass (3 days), with a child’s day ticket at £15 and a child’s season ticket at £35.
www.londonfreeze.com

• Battersea Power Station hosts festival from 30th October – 1st November
• 32m snow jump with 17m drop to be re-created using 500 tonnes of real snow
• Orbital and Friendly Fires to headline
• Over 200 world class competitors from across the globe expected to attend
• FIS sanctioned World Cup snowboard event returns to London
• International Freeskie Event
• Battle of Britain Ski and Snowboard events
• Freeze Grind Rail comps and USA vs Europe competitions added to event line-up
• Tickets now on sale

The UK’s biggest ever winter sports and music festival, Freesports on 4 FREEZE sponsored by LG, is returning to London following the phenomenal success of last year’s event.
Once again, Battersea Power Station will be transformed into an international competition standard snowboarding and freeski venue to host world class skiers and snowboarders from around the world.
The inaugural event in 2008 drew huge crowds to the South London site and the event sold out all 10,000 tickets on the Saturday for the World Cup event.

Freeze Slope/ Crowd

The 32m high ski-jump will accompany the iconic towers of Battersea Power Station on the London skyline once again with 500 tonnes of real snow being produced and packed onto the slope to transform the site into a winter sports village. The big air jump will form the central hub of the competition and will return as the biggest ever created in the UK. The overall length from the top of the jump to the landing strip will be 110m, with a 17m table top drop from which competitors from around the globe will be showcasing their talents.
The festival will kick off on the Friday with a Battle of Britain ski and snowboard contest with the best of British talent battling it out for the title of top dog in the UK. Brit Olympic snowboard hopefuls Ben Kilner and Dom Harrington will be jostling for the top spot, before focusing on the World Cup event later in the weekend.
The LG London Big Air event, part of the FIS LG Snowboard World Cup, will take place on the Saturday, forming the main competition for snowboarders. All riders taking part can score crucial ratings points in their quest to become World Champions, whilst also improving their chances to qualify for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. Last year’s winner Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) will be returning to defend his title, along with Scotty Lago (US) who hopes to retain his Best Trick trophy.
The International Freestyle Ski event over Saturday and Sunday will feature some of the world’s most accomplished skiers, with multiple Winter X Games Gold Medal winner Tanner Hall (US) returning for a second year, along with Simon Dumont (US) and UK hopeful Paddy Graham, all of whom will be competing for the £10,000 prize fund.
This year’s festival will also see a brand new addition to its sporting line up, with the Freeze Grind competition giving the ski and snowboard competitors a chance to display their skills on rails at the base of the slope.
Finally, the festival will close with a battle of the continents, with USA taking on Europe in a snowboard contest on Sunday which is guaranteed to get the audience’s pulses racing.

Freeski Action

Along with a stellar line-up of winter sports action, there will be music acts taking to the stage across the weekend to entertain the après-ski revelers after the on-piste action comes to a close. Electronic outfit Orbital have been confirmed for Friday and Friendly Fires will headline Sunday’s music line-up. Other acts confirmed include Pendulum DJ set and Chase and Status Further acts will be confirmed nearer the time. The main music tent has been extended from last year to hold a massive 15,000 capacity crowd.
Andrew Topham, Events Director at Big Freeze Limited, the event producers commented: “We are delighted to be returning to Battersea Power Station in 2009. 2008 was a special event for us and you can expect ’09 to eclipse that! The LG World Cup is a very important International Series and we are thrilled for London to be a part of that once more. Big Freeze will be working very closely with its partners to create the ultimate inner city snow and music festival.”
Marcel Looze, Snowboard Race Director at the sport’s official global body FIS commented: “Research showed that enjoyment of the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Big Air was high with most wanting to come back or recommend a friend. The very special location at Battersea, the enthusiastic crowd and great performance of the riders made the first LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Big Air in London a success. FIS is proud to have London in the Calendar 2009/2010 again and give the audience another opportunity to watch World Class athletes without having to travel thousands of miles. We trust Sports Vision supported by the British Ski and Snowboard Association are able to create a great show again.”

Ben Kilner, UK Olympic hopeful said: “I’m really excited to be sponsored by LG, their involvement in the FIS Snowboarding World Cup has really helped to grow the sport & FSO4 FREEZE sponsored by LG is looking like it¹ll be a great event again this year. I¹m looking forward to taking on the World¹s best snowboarders, which will be great preparation for me in the lead up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, especially in front of a home crowd!”

Paul Meadows, head of brand marketing at LG Electronics UK & Ireland comments: “Freesports on 4 Freeze and the Big Air established themselves as iconic events last year and LG is delighted to be sponsoring both events for the second year running. Bringing freesports, music and the latest mobile technology such as social networking handsets together at the iconic Battersea power station, this year¹s event promises to be bigger and even more spectacular. We’re sure that everyone who attends will have a truly memorable time, taking in the buzz and excitement of live action and music together with their friends and family.”
Fans wishing to attend the event are advised to visit www.londonfreeze.com for further ticket information.
Tickets are priced at £35 for a day pass, £85 for a season pass (3 days), with a child’s day ticket at £15 and a child’s season ticket at £35.

Oberhofen (SUI), 20th July, 2009

The International Ski Federation (FIS) and LG Electronics are pleased to announce an extension of their cooperation whereby LG Electronics will continue to serve as the title sponsor of the FIS Snowboard World Cup for the 2009/10 season.

“FIS is delighted to further build this partnership with LG Electronics in support of the FIS Snowboard World Cup,” commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “Based on the significant success during the first season of our cooperation, we look forward to helping LG reach an even larger audience among its target group, both on-site especially at the city events around the world and through the media of their choice.”

“LG is excited to announce that we are extending our sponsorship of the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup for a second season,“ said Andrew Barrett, Vice President, Global Sponsorship for LG Electronics. “In our first year we saw great returns for our investment with FIS, and our markets around the world saw our association with Snowboarding as an ideal platform to engage with stylish and technologically advanced consumers. We are particularly excited about the 2009/10 season and the opportunities that exist with Snowboarding – and winter sports in general – in Korea.”

“As winter sports continue to gain in popularity in Asia, LG and Korea are in very good positions to benefit from this trend,” added Mr. Barrett. “That’s why we are especially excited and proud that Korea, after it hosted the first-ever FIS Snowboard Championships in Asia last season, has been selected by FIS to be a host country for one of their five big air events in the 2009/10 season. Hosting a big air event will certainly help solidify Korea’s position on the world map as a winter sport destination, and some day that might just come in handy for our winter sports federations.”

Snowboarding is the youngest of the FIS disciplines, having been introduced into FIS’s international competition calendar in 1994. The discipline debuted in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. In Vancouver 2010, six Olympic titles will be awarded in Snowboarding events.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup is about to enter its 16th season on 25th-26th August in Cardrona, New Zealand. The series covers competitions ranging from breath-taking freestyle performances in half-pipe and big air to thrilling rider-on-rider fights within snowboard cross and head-to-head duels in the parallel slalom and giant slalom competitions. The World Cup titles are awarded in four categories - big air, half-pipe, snowboard cross and parallel - as well as in the overall standings. The FIS Snowboard World Cup is carried out in around 20 cities in 15 countries and broadcast in more than 80
countries.

BRITAIN’S FOUR ALL FINISH IN TOP 20 IN SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP FINALS
Britain’s top ranked male snowboarder Ben Kilner finished ninth to lead a superb performance by the Team GB quartet in the Halfpipe discipline at the FIS Snowboard World Cup Finals earlier today (Saturday) in Valmalenco, Italy.

The 20-year-old athlete from Banchory in Scotland recorded his highest-ever World Cup placing by finishing ninth in the men’s Halfpipe. Dom Harington, 24, from Leeds finished 20th in the same event. In the women’s event, Kate Foster, 23, from Painswick, and Lesley McKenna, 34, from Aviemore, finished 15th and 16th respectively.

British team Halfpipe coach Leo Addington said: “The World Cup finals ended with a great finish to the World Cup tour for the British team.

“Ben Kilner qualified for the finals for the first time and achieved a personal best result. Dom Harington and Kate Foster both pulled out top finishes in an Olympic qualifying event, and Lesley McKenna’s result has placed her inside the top 20 in the World Cup ranking list.

“The team will now head to Laax in Switzerland for the British National Championships, and after some well deserved downtime, will begin summer training to gear back up for the next World Cup event, the first of the 2009-2010 season in Cardrona, New Zealand.”

Snowboarder Ben Kilner this week declared his ambition to qualify for next year’s Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver after a weekend of competition in Canada produced a third top 20 finish of the season in the FIS World Cup for the British athlete. The 20-year-old Half Pipe specialist from Banchory faced a daunting prospect to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics at the start of the season, as only competitors ranked in the top 40 in the world next January will go to the Games the following month.

His 16th place in the FIS World Cup Half Pipe event at Stoneham, Canada at the weekend was his second best career result. Added to his earlier 15th in New Zealand last September and 19th in Gujo, Japan last month, it gives him a real chance of qualifying for Vancouver 2010. With two events remaining for this season, he is now ranked 28th in the world.

Kilner said: “I managed to keep my run clean with no errors so I managed to score quite high. The Halfpipe was in good shape and weather conditions suited me so I was in a good frame of mind when I dropped in. It was a good feeling crossing the line on my feet. I am pleased with a 16th overall. That should give me a boost of points towards my goal to get to the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, Lesley McKenna finished 14th in the women’s Half Pipe event and is also on course for a third appearance in the Olympics.

Lesley McKenna (Aviemore) got her Northern Hemisphere leg of the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup off to an excellent start last week (Friday 31st October) when she finished 5th at the World Cup Half Pipe competition in Saas Fee, Switzerland.

Severe weather conditions forced the qualification and finals to be run on the same day and the weather quickly became the dominating factor in both the qualification and final runs. The change in format meant that the athletes only had one run in which to qualify for the finals instead of the usual two. In these difficult weather conditions, Lesley was one of the few riders who had the skills and experience to deal with the weather, qualifying for the finals in 6th place and then improving on this in the finals to finish 5th, only marginally missing out on 4th place. This result means Lesley is ranked joint 8th on the World Cup Standings.

Britain’s Kate Foster (Painswick) was also riding in the ladies’ competition but was unfortunate to fall during the one run qualification, resulting in her finishing in 29th position.

In the men’s event Britain’s top male snowboarders, Dan Wakeham (Plymouth), Ben Kilner (Banchory), Dom Harington (Leeds) and Sam Cullum (Bracknell) were also competing, achieving mixed results in the weather conditions.

Dan Wakeham finished 27th, Dom Harington 28th and Ben Kilner was unlucky to miss out on the top 30 finishing 32nd. Sam Cullum was unlucky not to do better, being caught by the wind and finishing 56th. The competition was won by Janne Korpi of Finland in the men’s contest and Jiayu Liu from China in the women’s.

British World Cup Half Pipe Team coach Leo Addington commented “the athletes had to put it all on the line just to get a result. They had to make the choice whether to go big on their one and only qualification run to make it to the finals but risk falling and finishing last, or whether they to stick a solid run down to try get a result. Even to just get a result every trick had to be landed perfectly”.

The British Snowboard Team takes a break from the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup until December where Zoe Gillings will be in action in her second Snowboard Cross World Cup of the season in Arosa, Switzerland between 19th and 20th December.

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Zoe Gillings, Britain’s No.1 female snowboarder, started her season in superb form, finishing 4th in the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup in Chapelco, Argentina on Saturday 13th September 2008. Gillings qualified in 7th in the time trials on Friday, with the top 16 progressing to the quarter finals. Gillings then commandingly won both her quarter final and semi final in difficult winding conditions on the 1,200 metre long course.

In the final, against the other three top riders in the competition, Gillings unfortunately fell, and finished fourth, behind the eventual winner and world No.1, Lindsay Jacobellis from the US. Zoe was delighted with her performance - “To reach the final in my first World Cup competition of the year is really exciting. It proves I am one of the best riders in the world, and I know I can finish on the top of the podium this season.” Gillings finished 7th overall in last year’s World Cup standings, and a 4th place in Chapelco is a great start in her bid to top the standings in the 2008/09 season.

The result in Argentina confirms Gillings as one of the best riders in the world in Snowboardcross, and proves that she is a genuine medal prospect for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada in February 2010, which is her ultimate goal.