The dates for the 2008/9 Burton Global Open Series have been announced:

Burton New Zealand Open July 29 — August 2, 2008 / Snowpark NZ.
Burton Australian Open  Sept 2 — 6, 2008 / Perisher Blue, Australia
Burton Canadian Open  December 1 — 7, 2008 / CODA's Canada Olympic Park
Burton European Open  January 9 — 16, 2009 / Laax, Switzerland
Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open  February 24 — March 1, 2009 / ALTS Bandai, Japan
Burton US Open  March 16 — 22, 2009 / Stratton Mountain, USA

The all new BGOS website is launching this week and will include new features such as rider profile pages featuring rider snapshots, bios, current BGOS standings and event results per rider.

Riders can now register for both the New Zealand Open and Australian Open on the website at www.opensnowboarding.com

With events scheduled year-round and in six countries, the Burton Global Open Series boasts the most lucrative cumulative prize purse in snowboarding. All six Burton Global Open Series events offer riders the chance to earn points towards a male and female championship title, each worth $100,000, currently the largest single payout in snowboarding.

Last season's BGOS series championship title was a nail-biter with four women and six men all in the running for the $100,000 payout and series championship title at the US Open, the final BGOS competition of the season. Only a handful of points separated the top runners for the title, proving that competing and earning points at all six BGOS events can make the difference between winning the $100,000 or giving it up.

Finland's Peetu Piiroinen and top Australian snowboarder Torah Bright had to work hard to take home the 2008 Burton Global Open Championship titles last March at the US Open Snowboarding Championships held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

Peetu, who has never won a major title in his snowboard career prior to this win, said, "I never thought I had a chance to win the BGOS title." Riders are encouraged to attend all of the BGOS events in order to maximize their points towards the overall title.

Last season's Burton Global Open Series champion Torah Bright had this to say about her second BGOS title and $100,000 title win, "I had tears coming down under my goggles. I just couldn't believe that I could win the title twice. I'm really very happy."

The Burton Global Open Series is also part of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the largest group of independent freestyle snowboard events in the world. TTR ranks riders based on their results at participating competitions and crowns a TTR World Champion at the US Open.

Go211.com is the official webcaster of the BGOS and home to live scoring, standings, rider bios and more for each Burton Global Open Series stop. Check out Go211.com for more information.