The road to the US Open Snowboarding Championships begins today at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA.
Partnering with U.S. Snowboarding, the world-renowned Burton snowboard gear company is hosting the only U.S. Open Snowboarding Qualifier for aspiring halfpipe and slopestyle boarders.
A hundred up-and-coming riders have dropped-into this small-town hamlet this weekend to shred towards sealing the deal for the next semifinal round at the championship event running from February 25 – March 2 in Vail, CO.
Knocking on the door of the elite snowboarding world, where Winter Olympics gold medalists Shaun White and Kelly Clark stomp, are 70 male and 30 female pipers from across the nation.
“Some of these riders could go on to the Olympic Trials. We expect it to be very competitive,” said Anna Weltz, Seven Springs communications manager.
After practicing on Friday, the slopestylists hit the 22’ superpipe on Saturday, followed by the halfpipers on Sunday.
The top ten men and top five women in each discipline punch their ticket to the semi-finals in Vail. Further, the top five finishers will nab a piece of the $20,000 overall prize money purse.
Greg Dacyshyn, Burton’s Chief Creative Officer, said, “Now, not only will the talented riders who compete in the new US Open Qualifiers have an event all their own, they will also be formally rewarded and recognized for the first time with legit prize money, important tour points and increased media exposure via a live webcast and TV show.”
Befitting the steezy snowboarding lifestyle, the Burton Mountain festival will attract thousands with its “W.O.R. D. on the Streets” street rail jam event, live music, and sponsor give-aways.
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