A record twelve Australian snowboarders will tackle World Cup competition on the Vancouver 2010 slopes this weekend, five of them World Cup winners or medallists.

The line-up represents the largest number of snowboard athletes ever to compete for Australia at the one World Cup meet.

Last start winner Damon Hayler will kick off the action on Friday morning, Australian time, in a qualifying round on the Cypress Mountain snowboard cross course, alongside his AIS team-mate Alex Pullin and Ski and Snowboard Australia athletes Taan Robrahn, Phillip Maclarn and Nick Warren.

Hayler, 32, from Sydney, is currently fourth in the world, while Pullin – who collected World Cup bronze last season – is ranked 11th.

The four-man head-to-head finals will follow on Saturday morning.

World championships silver medallist Holly Crawford and X Games winner Torah Bright will head into the Cypress superpipe early Saturday morning Australian time as well, for their halfpipe elimination rounds.

Crawford’s fellow AIS rider Hannah Trigger will also take part, and all three will be focused on making Sunday’s final.

Last weekend’s silver medallist in Bardonecchia, Italy, Nate Johnstone, will be Australia’s leading rider in the men’s halfpipe qualification, which takes place on Sunday morning. SSA athletes Ben Mates and Scott James will also be in the line-up.

For the first time since the Torino 2006 Games, all the world’s best halfpipe riders will be competing against each other, with the event also a key element in their Vancouver 2010 Olympic qualifying process.

The men’s halfpipe final will be held after the women’s on Sunday morning AEST.

And to round out the Olympic test events, AIS/OWI parallel giant slalom competitor Joh Shaw will be trying to go at least one spot better than the two fourth place results she has produced this season so far.

Shaw is another top ten rider, ranked ninth at the midway point of the 2009 season, and is in the best form of her career.

Details of the schedule (in AEST time) are:

Fri 13/02/2009
5:00am - 7:00am SBX qualification Men
                                               
Sat 14/02/2009                     
3:25 – 6:40 Halfpipe qualification Women
8:30 - 9:45 SBX finals Men

Sun 15/02/2009                    
3:25 - 8:55 Halfpipe qualification Men
10:00 - 11:00 Halfpipe final M/W
                                   
Sun 15/02/2009                    
4:00 - 6:00 PGS qualification M/W
8:00 - 10:00 PGS final M/W