{"id":1818080,"date":"2026-03-10T16:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1818080"},"modified":"2026-03-10T16:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:47:23","slug":"swatch-nines-japan-setup-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1818080","title":{"rendered":"Swatch Nines Japan setup reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After nearly two decades of pushing the boundaries of what a snowpark can look like, Swatch Nines is opening a new chapter this spring. For the first time ever, the event is heading to Japan, with the 18th edition set to take place at Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU from 6-11 April 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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If you know the Nines, you\u2019ll know the drill: invite a stacked roster of riders, give them an absurdly creative playground, and see what happens when the pressure of competition is replaced with a week-long progression session. More than 50 riders from skiing, snowboarding and skateboarding will be on hand in Niseko to do exactly that.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Setup<\/h2>\n

Classic Nines madness. This year\u2019s build blends snow and skate into one hybrid playground. With a 50-metre rail, a big air jump, a bunch of flowing transition features, and even a skate pavilion designed to be ridden on skis, boards or a skateboard. After studying the renders, there\u2019s no doubt we are going to see trains of riders all on the same rail, snow athletes sliding rails over the skate park as well as some unimaginably creative riding.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Like always, the course wasn\u2019t designed in isolation either. Back in October, riders including Jesper Tj\u00e4der, Kaishu Hirano, Cool Wakushima, Takeru Otsuka and Japanese skater Yurin Fuji met in Niseko to throw ideas around. Some of those concepts\u2014including a huge PVC spine rail with rollers either side\u2014have now made their way into the final build.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creative mind, S\u00e4mi Ortlieb has once again taken a lead with course design incorporating his flowy style into the plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to diversify and push skiing and snowboarding in as many directions as possible, and that is where the Nines comes in with an annual, long-standing progression session. Not only pushing trick progression but also exploring park and feature design with new ideas. And that\u2019s what makes me most excited about this year\u2019s set up. Especially with the \u201ccurly bracket\u201d and a 50 meters long PVC spine with parallel running rollers \u2013 something I haven\u2019t seen in this form before. It\u2019s super fun exploring creative park design when you are catering for world class riders.\u201d \u2013 S\u00e4mi Ortlieb, Course Designer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Public Day \u2013 11 April 2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you happen to be in Niseko, you\u2019ll be able to see the whole thing in person. Public Day goes down on 11 April, when a brand-new audience can watch the riders session the setup live. It\u2019s a rare chance to see progression happening in real time\u2014and with this Nines setup, you can expect some pretty weird and wonderful tricks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spectating is free with a lift pass for Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Japan\u2019s famously deep snow and the Nines crew bringing their usual creative chaos, this first edition in Niseko could end up being one of the most interesting builds the event has ever produced\u2014and that\u2019s saying something.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Public Day \u2013 11 April 2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you happen to be in Niseko, you\u2019ll be able to see the whole thing in person. Public Day goes down on 11 April, when a brand-new audience can watch the riders session the setup live. It\u2019s a rare chance to see progression happening in real time\u2014and with this Nines setup, you can expect some pretty weird and wonderful tricks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spectating is free with a lift pass for Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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With Japan\u2019s famously deep snow and the Nines crew bringing their usual creative chaos, this first edition in Niseko could end up being one of the most interesting builds the event has ever produced\u2014and that\u2019s saying something.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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After nearly two decades of pushing the boundaries of what a snowpark can look like, Swatch Nines is opening a new chapter this spring. For the first time ever, the event is heading to Japan, with the 18th edition set to take place at Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU from 6-11 April 2026. If you know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,279],"class_list":["post-1818080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-downdays-eu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1818080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1818080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1818080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1818080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1818080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1818080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}