FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Tour Dates Announced by The North Face and Mountain Sports International

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding is the largest big mountain snowboarding tour in the country, with a prize purse of $45,000 and two new world-class venues

Registration begins Monday, December 15, at 8am MST, on www.thenorthfacemasters.com

Salt Lake City, Utah, December 12, 2008 – Now in its sophomore year, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding (TNF Masters) has become the largest cohesive competitive big mountain snowboarding tour in the country. A three-stop tour, TNF Masters is designed to cater to the motivation, talent and skill of world-class big mountain snowboarders. The 2009 tour visits Snowbird, Utah, Crested Butte, Colorado, and culminates at the ultimate big mountain competition venue of Kirkwood, California.

“The North Face Masters tour is going to be off the chain this year,” said TNF Masters Alyeska, Alaska, 2008 champion Rob Kingwill. “I am excited to be a part of the movement toward giving big mountain snowboarding competition the recognition it deserves. All three 2009 venues are world class, and I can't wait to see what happens.”

TNF Masters features a $45,000 cash prize purse and serves as a qualifier event to the Freeride World Tour. Winners from the Snowbird and Crested Butte TNF Masters events will have the opportunity to compete in the Nissan Tram Face at Squaw Valley, California.

"Freeriding, the use of natural terrain, fall line, and innovation from riding style is the essence of big mountain snowboarding,” said TNF Masters Head Judge Tom Burt. “The TNF Masters series is designed around this and that is the reason why I agreed to become the head judge. The terrain will be delivered by Snowbird, Crested Butte, and Kirkwood. All have different flavors of terrain so each will bring its own challenges for the riders, and every rider will bring their own style and innovation to each venue. When the two mesh the best freerider will emerge.“

TNF Masters gathers big mountain snowboarding tribes from all around the world. All male and female snowboarding competitors above age 18 are welcomed to participate. Registration begins Monday, December 15, at 8am MST, on www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Series Schedule
Stop #1 – Snowbird, Utah. January 29-February 1, 2009
Stop #2 –Crested Butte, Colorado. February 12-15, 2009
Stop #3 –Kirkwood, California March 5-8, 2009

Fans of big mountain snowboarding can catch same-day coverage of the Semi-Final and Final rounds of each TNF Masters event on www.thenorthfacemasters.com where there are complete videos, photos, athlete profiles, detailed event schedules, registration information and more.

For more information please visit www.thenorthfacemasters.com.


REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND ATHLETE INQUIRIES CONTACT
Sara Pinsoneault
Athlete Communications
Mountain Sports International
801.349.4650
sarap@mtsports.com

MEDIA INQUIRES AND FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Cara Williams
PR, Communications & Media Manager
Mountain Sports International
801.349.4608
cara@mtsports.com

Pamela Bennett
Communications Manager
The North Face
510.618.3654
pamela_bennett@vfc.com

About MSI
Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997, to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. MSI owns and produces the U.S. Freeskiing Series, the U.S. Skiercross Series, and the Freeskiing World Tour, in addition to several other properties and concepts.

MSI provides event management services for Burton, Salomon, and Red Bull and has provided infrastructure and expertise for the NBC Gravity Games and ESPN Action Sports Projects, including the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour. MSI specializes in matching clients with events for brand penetration into target demographics, developing product identification and loyalty. MSI matches brand and culture, company and credibility to create sought-after events that help to define the action sports culture.

About The North Face
The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company’s products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains.