a long and prosperous career to his name, Jon Olsson decided in 2005 to
take the action to his hometown. With the best riders out there and a
bunch of sweet new ideas in the bag he set out to create a pioneering
Big Air competition in Åre. The success was obvious, and now two years
later the Jon Olsson Invitational is established as one of the absolute
top competitions of its kind. But since we all know three is a charm,
Jon Olsson and his co-organizer Skistar have decided to go out in blaze
of glory, and arrange the most awesome competition ever as the last Jon
Olsson Invitational comes to town.
"The last
competition is definitely going to be the best. My intention with the Jon
Olsson Invitational has always been to create a super fun event for all
the riders, I want it to be the highlight of the season for the riders,
off course in terms of the competition but also for the fact that they
will have the time of their life here in Åre," says Jon Olsson.The news for JOI 2007The
major news for this year are the two competitions carried out before
the actual JOI-competition. Thursday’s going to be all about a spin
session where the skiers are judged on their 180-, 360-, 540- and
720-spins. This is more about style and flow than super technical
tricks. On Friday there will be a nations cup where the skiers in teams
of two perform their jumps simultaneously landing side by side.
Saturdays main competition, where the riders compete individually will
also come with a twist. The Skiers will here have to perform different
jumps all through the competition all to display as much variety and
entertainment as possible for the massive crowd of spectators.
"The Jon Olsson Invitational is second to the
Alpine World Championships the highlight of the season. We are really
looking forward to the new competition formats of this year and are
happy to see that the village of Åre is nearly sold out during the JOI
weekend. We have now decided that this years competition will be the
third and last, you should always quit while you’re on top. But Skistar
Åre is already planning new and exciting events for the coming season.
The Skistar Invitational featuring the likes of Ingemar Stenmark and
Bojan Krizaj was a huge success. And in that spirit we promise to give
you all a new surprise for the 2008 Invitational says a secretive Anna
Wersén," marketing director of Skistar Åre.The SkiersThe
JOI has summed up an impressive field of riders, currently there are 19
skiers from seven countries confirmed for the comp. Besides Jon Olsson,
the most well known Swede will be the 2007 US Open 2:nd, Jacob Wester.
And among the younger competitors the local kid Oscar Scherlin stands
out. Among the foreign names we find the absolute top of the Big Air
skiers today. TJ Schiller (CAN), Simon Dumont (USA), Sammy Carlson
(USA), Pep Fujas (USA), Laurent Favre (CH), Martin Mishof (GER),
Richard Parmin (FRA), Jossi Wells (NZ) among others. The Norwegian
riders have had a super season and are represented by Andreas Håtveit,
PK Hunder and Thomas Dölplads.Program Jon Olsson Invitational 2007 Wednesday March 28th12am-2pm Telia Session with all riders at Bräcke
Thursday March 29th9am-11am and 3pm-6pm. Press Office at Tott Hotel openTime TBA: Session for best 180, 360, 540, 720 in the JOI arena at Olympia.3pm-4pm Press conference at Tott HotelFriday March 30th9am-12am Press Office at Tott Hotel open and 5pm-8pm Press office in the JOI arena at Olympia open.Time TBA: Nations Cup, teams of two, country vs. country in the JOI arena at Olympia.10pm-2am Party at ByggetSaturday March 31st5pm-9pm press office in the JOI arena at Olympia open.7pm Jon Olsson Invitational, individual finals, in the JOI arena at Olympia.10pm-2am Final party at Bygget
Comments