To protect the partners investments in TAC, the organization decided today to postpone the event to March. Warmer temperatures than normal in both November and December has made it impossible to produce enough snow.

The weather forecast for this upcoming week is very good for snow production, but long term weather forecasts are very unreliable. Today TAC needed to activate all arena rig and other investments, totaling several million Norwegian kroners with immediate effect. All this would have been sunk costs if the weather forecasts did not come true. TAC was not willing to take this bet against the weather forecasts. Especially as the bet included other people’s money – being the sponsors.

Sunk costs in this size would have blocked a backup opportunity in March. So TAC choosed the safe option: Postponing the event to March. There are no other TTR 6Star events in the weekend of March 5 to 7. It is also right before the European X Games, and after the Olympics, suitable for the migration of riders from America to Europe. TAC hopes this opens up for riders that are now focusing totally on the Olympic event and qualification.

Finnish snowboarding superstar and ARC rider on the rise, Matti Kinnunen, is confirmed for The Oakley Arctic Challenge 2010. Kinnunen started out skateboarding, and gradually started snowboarding when winter time came along. Kinnunen won Finnish Open 09, beating legends like Risto Mattila and Heikki Sorsa. This fall he convinced the judges and the crowd in Modena, Italy and won the TTR 4 str Nissan Stompit. Besides this he has developed his own pro model board, and filmed with Flatlight Films.

More on the Arctic riders’ line up HERE …