In one of the most significant partnerships in winter sports to date, Swatch, the world-renown Swiss watch brand, confirms its three-year participation as title partner of the leading global snowboard initiative, the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, from 2007-2010.

Founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, the SWATCH Ticket To Ride World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit, rider-driven organisation representing the progression of snowboarding.

It is based on global grass root and key independent freestyle snowboarding events over a ten-month period from Southern to Northern Hemisphere locations. Events are rated via a 1-through-6STAR system, with points allocated accordingly, a 6STAR event holds the highest.

Any rider participating in these events, from up-and-coming to professional talent, earns ranking points and a position on the SWATCH TTR World Ranking List. The top male and female rider based on an average of their best six results of the season is crowned SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion

"Swatch has always been looking for exciting partnerships in the field of extreme and action sports. The TTR organisation and its new ways of defining modern snowboarding fits well to our brand's core values such as constant innovation, joy of life and positive provocation.

"We are very happy to partner with the TTR World Snowboard Tour for three more years," states Nicolas G. Hayek, Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group.

"After a very successful first year's collaboration with Swatch, we are excited to take an historic step for the future of snowboarding and the progression of the sport. Swatch, one of the original brands involved in snowboarding, is the perfect partner to develop the TTR concept further.

"Our three-year partnership creates a solid base for us to build the most dynamic, recognized snowboard platform worldwide. This is a fantastic development for the Tour, the sport and, essentially, the riders," comments Hannes Schoenegger, Sponsorship Manager, SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour.

Swatch enjoys a long history within snowboarding. From its capacity as Official Timekeeper of events, to the creation of Swatch Snowboard Pro Team, to product innovations, including the Swatch Fun Boarder Collection equipped with the revolutionary Swatch Snowpass system - a built-in access function for use as a lift-pass in more than 600 winter resorts worldwide.

Eurosport