Hold the phone - the Aussie snow sport event calendar just scored itself a red-hot date in the form of the revamped Planet X Winter Games, to be staged at Thredbo and Perisher Blue ski resorts from August 21st to 24th. And by all reports, the action should be off the hook.

With a slew of recent big-budget, glossy additions to the local snow comp circuit, the X Games formula in use since the event’s inception in ’99 needed to aim bigger and better if the Games hoped to retain its crown as one of Oz’s premium snow events. So what’s new on the agenda? To add a compelling twist to this year’s proceedings, a brand new head-to-head contest format will be implemented, aiming to provide stacks of nail-biting showdowns between hot young riders and seasoned pros alike – something the Games seems to have no shortage of. Aside from format changes to spice things up, the first round of competitors have just been announced, and contenders for the fat $18,000.00 prize pool will include former world top 10 and Australia’s #1 ranked snowboarder & Olympic Team member Andrew Burton. He’ll be back to defend his gold medal from last year’s games, alongside fellow Torino Winter Olympians Damon Hayler, Holly Crawford & Emily Thomas. Also confirmed are big hitters Tim Myers, Ryan Tienne, Russ Henshaw, Jarryd Williams, Max Timmins, Cheyne Southwell, Stephanie Hickey, Gee Cormack, Jenny Owens & Sarah Sauvey, with more gun names to be announced soon.
 
The athletes competing in the Planet X Winter Games event are undoubtedly some of the finest freestyle boarders and skiers around, and the Planet X Winter Games hopes to continue to lure an international field of competitors in Snowboard and Freeride Ski disciplines in Half Pipe, Slopestyle, Big Air and Boarder and skier X by offering the best of both worlds – by using the world class amenities at the two separate resorts of Thredbo and Perisher Blue. Events will be split between both resorts to ensure like Perisher’s infamous halfpipe and Thredbo’s terrain are utilised to the participant’s best advantage. This years X Games will also include the lunacy of the death-defying Snow Mountain Bike Quad Eliminator competition and will be celebrated in style with a massive after party at Jindabyne’s Station Resort, Thursday 24th August with a Night Rail Jam, Live Bands ‘Bomba’  & ‘Casual projects’ and  DJs ‘Matt-E-P & Elroy’ from Beat-fix (Home nightclub Sydney).

While this all sounds great in theory, will this years’ Planet X Winter Games deliver beyond the hype? According to the Game’s new publicity coordinator Nikki Jones of Shout PR, ‘06’s event success is a given. “ It’s all about laying down a platform for elite athletes to really perform at their peak, and I think the incentive is there to do that at the Planet X Winter Games – show me an athlete who doesn’t want the X Games trophy on their mantel? But add the man-on-man, sudden-death format that’s being implemented and you’ve really got a show. It’s going to be the Games’ hottest year yet!”