Battery Catfightissa järjestettiin siis kaiken muun huiman TTR-humun lisäksi Samsungin videokisa, jossa kaksi joukkuetta, team Finland ja team World, kiersivät Levin ympäristöä kolmen päivän ajan tavoitteena taltioida videolle upea ja mahtava lumilautailua sisältävä pläjäys. Itse tapahtuman aikana jaettiin jo parhaan tiimin palkinto (suomimimmit voittivat, jee!) ja parhaan pätkän palkinto, jonka sai Ruut Laukkanen. Parhaan kuvaajan ja mentorin palkinnot puolestaan pokkasivat ulkomaisten laskijoiden tiimissä häärineet Jere Toivonen ja Pekko Manninen.

Huimin palkinto oli kuitenkin 1000 euron potti, jonka sai siis se joukkue, jonka tuotosta tiirailtiin YouTubesta enemmän. Liekö syynä ulkomaisten laskijoiden harjoittama vahva markkinointi tai laajempi kohdeyleisö, mutta niin vain kävi, että voitto lipui ulkomaille. Puolet voittopotista meni kuitenkin tiimin kuvaajalle Jere Toivoselle, loppurahojen löytäessä uuden kodin team Worldin parhaan laskijan, sveitsiläisen Elena Köntzin pankkitililtä.

Muuten Catfightissa kelpasi kyllä hyvillä mielin heilutella Suomen lippuja, sillä tapahtuman kiistaton kuningatar oli yllättäen Enni Rukajärvi. Enni voitti lauantaisen 4- tähden TTR- slope stylen erittäin varmoilla otteilla, nappasi perjantain pipekisassa toisen sijan ja reilijameissa neiti otti haltuun Style award-palkinnon.

Kertauksen vuoksi tässäpä tulevat vielä maalis-huhtikuun vaihteessa järjestetyn Catfightin tähtihetket. Viikkohan alkoi valmennuksilla ja videokisan kuvauksilla. Perjantaina siirryttiin kisoihin, aamupäivällä käytiin 4 tähden TTR-kisa Burton half pipe, jonka kolmen kärki oli Elena Köntz, Enni Rukajärvi ja Natsuki Sato Japanista. Illan päälle ohjelmassa oli Reissumies Rail Jam, joka osoittautui erittäin suosituksi formaatiksi naisten keskuudessa: osallistujia oli yli 30, ja kisat käytiin kolmessa eri heatissa, jonka päälle pidettiin finaali. Kisassa edukseen erottui Ennin lisäksi overall- voittajana Vilina Koivisto ja best trick-tittelin pokkaaja Kristiina Nyman. Nämä neidit todella ottivat reilit haltuun!

Tapahtuman kruunasi lauantain slope style-kisa, jonka voittajan jo tiedämmekin. Kakkossijalle laski Elena Köntz ja kolmantena palkintokorokkeella keikkui naapurimaamme Ruotsin ylpeys Cecilia Larsen.
Larsen muuten hehkutti blogissaan, että Levin reissu oli neitokaisen laskukauden paras viikko. Tähän pyritään ensi vuonnakin.

Kiitos kaikille tapahtuman yhteistyökumppaneille: Battery, Burton, Reissumies, Samsung, Europcar ja Mschic.

Jury have already decided winners for some categories, but there is still 1000€ + Samsung Note to give out to the team who´s video has most views after being 2 weeks online. So check both videos and if you like, check it again and share…contest is on! Good luck girls!

Watch videos here

”I didn’t have the best feeling in the qualifications, but I got excited in the finals and it didn’t even feel like a competition”, Rukajarvi said after the prize giving ceremony.

Rukajarvi showed variety with three different runs in the finals, but her best run, scoring 94.3 points, consisted of a frontside 360 nosebonk, backside 540 indy, cab 540 mute, frontside 540 and a switch backside boardslide.

Koenz’s best run (score 78) included a frontside 360, backside 540 indy, switch backside 180 mute, fronside 360 stalefish and a 50-50 backside 180 out. Cecilia Larsen showed her skills with a backside 180, cab 540 mute, backside 360, frontside 540 and a backside boardslide to fakie, scoring 70.7. points.

”Levi had a nice slopestyle course, and that is always a good thing, because it makes the girls ride so much better. So the level of riding in the finals was high, despite the problems we had with the wind”, Larsen stated.

Enni Rukajarvi also won the title of the Overall Champion in Battery Catfight. The Overall Champion was given out based on the results of all the Battery Catfight contests, which were the 4Star TTR competitions in slopestyle and halfpipe together with a Reissumies rail jam session.

Battery Catfight got a lot of positive feedback from the riders. Women were especially happy with the Samsung Video Contest, that added something new and different to the event.

Elena Koenz from Switzerland won the Burton Halfpipe contest in the Battery Catfight, a 4Star TTR competition with a score of 86. Koenz’s winning run consisted of a backside air, frontside 360 melon, cab 360 indy, frontside 540 melon, japan air and a backside alley oop. Finnish rider Enni Rukajärvi placed second (score 80.6) and Natsuki Sato from Japan took third place (score 67.7).

”I really liked the competition and I’m especially happy with my last run in the finals. And of course it was nice to renew my win from last year’s Catfight”, Koenz said after the competition.

Enni Rukajärvi was also satisfied with her second place. Her run included a lien air, backside air, frontside 360 mute, cab 360, stalefish and a backside 360 mute. ”My goal was to go big and have a clean run, and I´m more than happy that I got second with the tricks that I did”, Rukajärvi said.

Natsuki Sato put down a run with a backside air, frontside air, backside tail, frontside 360 indy, cab 360, frontside 540 and a backside melon to fakie.

TTR points collected from Battery Catfight will count toward 2012-2013 season ranking.

On Saturday Levi will see a 4Star TTR competition in the Burton Slopestyle.

A 4- star TTR World Tour event Battery Catfight is taking place in Levi, Finland this week. Battery Catfight program includes a 4- star TTR Burton Half Pipe – contest on Friday along with a Rail Jam in the evening. Cherry on the top, Levi will witness a catfight on Saturday when the girls get to compete for the champion title of the 4- star TTR- Burton Slope Style competition.

Burton Slope Style winner goes home with a prize purse of $2000 and also gets a nice start for the upcoming season, hence Battery Catfight will be the first event to start the season 2012- 2013 for the TTR World Tour. TTR- points collected from Battery Catfight will then be added to next season’s ranking.

In addition to the contests Battery Catfight is offering various side activities such as coatching and workshops along the week. This year Battery Catfight is also introducing a new competition format, Samsung video contest that encourages the riders to use space creatively. Team spirit is also required since the riders will work as teams. Ladies are divided into two teams: team International has riders such as Elena Köntz, Cecilia Larssen and Andrea Binkert while team Finland relies on the manouvers of Merika Enne and Ella Suitiala, who both represented in the TTR World Champs in Oslo.

On Friday evening we will find out if the International team consisting of three nationalities will beat the Finnish team on their own territory, when the edited video clips are shown to audience. The video contest rules advise the riders to unleash their imagination and use the best of the Levi area surroundings. Levi is located in the heart of Lapland, so there sure are plenty of fells and forests to explore!

And ladies aren’t the only ones who have heard the call of Lapland, since many Finnish pro riders have also found their way to Battery Catfight. Instead of competing, Peetu Piiroinen, Janne Korpi and Roope Tonteri among others will have to settle for the role of spectators in this all-girl event spectacle.