Burton Snowboards have announced a sponsorship deal with Suzuki.

Suzuki – which makes motor vehicles, motorcycles and outboard motors - is the main sponsor of the Burton European Open which takes place from January 11 to 18 2008.

The contest will, for the first time, award overall male and female winner titles based on the riders’ performance in both the slopestyle and halfpipe finals. The winners will each receive a Suzuki Grand Vitara Freeride Edition. Suzuki will also be providing prizes for the Burton AM amateur tour contest.

There are also big prizes up for grabs in a Burton/Suzuki design contest. Entrants will be able to design their own Series 13 board as part of the programme which enables consumers to create their own board graphics.

Submissions will be accepted throughout the season and will be judged after the closing date by a panel of Burton team riders, product managers and Suzuki representatives.

The creator of the best design will win their personal Series 13 board and a Suzuki Grand Vitara Freeride Edition – also decked out in the winning board graphics.

A dedicated website for the contest will be launched by mid-November at www.series13.com/freeride