WINTER DEW TOUR NIKE OPEN KICKS OFF OPEN QUALIFIER COMPETITIONS – BRECKENRIDGE
The trucks started pulling in over a week ago and behind the scenes the action has been thick. Today all of that work provides the backdrop for the incredible freeski and snowboard athletes that have converged upon Breckenridge for the Winter Dew Tour Nike Open! This Wednesday through Sunday Breckenridge Ski Resort and the Town of Breckenridge will host an array of rocking events combining the thrill of each athletes abilities alongside a 50th Birthday celebration for the Breckenridge Ski Resort.
The weekend’s events will bring the top names in snowboard and freeski superpipe and slopestyle to the mountain, while helping to celebrate Breckenridge’s anniversary. Louie Vito enters the 2011-12 season eager to repeat his championship performance in the superpipe. He will find stiff competition in Shaun White and Danny Davis, who both return to the Dew Tour this year after a competitive hiatus. Sage Kotsenburg will take to the slopestyle course intent on reclaiming the Dew Cup he won in 2010 from 2011 winner Torstein Horgmo, redeeming his 13th place finish at the end of last season.
Freeskiing game-changer Simon Dumont has come up short in his goal of winning the superpipe Dew Cup, landing in 2nd place since the Winter Dew Tour’s inception. He comes to Breckenridge with visions of the elusive title in his future, competing against Justin Dorey, Kevin Rolland and young phenom Torin Yater-Wallace, who dominated in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour before moving up to the pro ranks in 2010. The freeski slopestyle course will heat up with the technical expertise of Bobby Brown, Alex Schlopy and Sammy Carlson.
The ladies will be showing off their snow skills as well. Kelly Clark dominated the women’s superpipe contest circuit last season and expects this year to be no different. Elena Hight and Ellery Hollingsworth will be among the young competition, along with veterans Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter aiming to bump her off the top of the podium in Breckenridge. The slopestyle course will also be lighting up with young female talent, as Spencer O’Brien and Enni Rukajarvi face a wide field of up-and-coming qualifiers to begin an exciting competitive season.
Taking the action off the mountain, Nike will host the first stop of their Winter Chosen Tour with a rail jam competition down at the Riverwalk Center Saturday night. Free for all to attend, it will be a showdown of the top local amateurs, with a DJ spinning to the contest and Nike pros commentating. The action leads right into the Winter Dew Tour concert series, treating snowboarders, skiers and hip-hop fans alike to a performance by one of rap’s most buzzed about and unique up and comers as Yelawolf and opening act The Knux take the stage. These Shady Records acts will be the perfect complement to Friday’s 50th Anniversary celebration in the town, with 100 percent of the ticket proceeds going to SOS Outreach.
The pre-qualified athlete list for Nike Open in Breckenridge is as follows:
| Men’s SNB Superpipe | Men’s SNB Slopestyle | Men’s SKI Superpipe | Men’s SKI Slopestyle |
| Mason Aguirre | Mason Aguirre | Duncan Adams | Bobby Brown |
| Ryo Aono | Mikkel Bang | Christian Allen | Sammy Carlson |
| Zachary Black | Torgeir Bergrem | Xavier Bertoni | Philip Casabon |
| Greg Bretz | Cody Boan | Noah Bowman | Joss Christensen |
| Danny Davis | Tyler Flanagan | Justin Dorey | Simon Dumont |
| Steve Fisher | Chas Guldemond | Simon Dumont | Robert Franco |
| Trevor Jacob | Brendan Hart | Alexander Ferreira | Charles Gagnier |
| Kazuhiro Kokubo | Torstein Horgmo | Gus Kenworthy | Alexis Godbout |
| Matt Ladley | Sam Hulbert | Thomas Krief | Nick Goepper |
| Scotty Lago | Nick Julius | Matt Margetts | Henrik Harlaut |
| Joseph Mensch | Sage Kotsenburg | Dan Marion | Andreas Hatveit |
| Jack Mitrani | Scotty Lago | Tucker Perkins | Russ Henshaw |
| Luke Mitrani | Mark McMorris | Mike Riddle | JF Houle |
| Peetu Piiroinen | Aleksander Ostreng | Kevin Rolland | PK Hunder |
| Iouri Podlachikov | Peetu Piiroinen | Taylor Seaton | Sean Jordan |
| Spencer Shaw | Brandon Reis | Benoit Valentin | Gus Kenworth |
| JJ Thomas | Staale Sandbech | Josiah Wells | Alex Schlopy |
| Louie Vito | Jeremy Thompson | David Wise | Dane Tudor |
| Benn Watts | Sondre Tiller | Torin Yater-Wallace | Tom Wallisch |
| Shaun White | Sebastien Toutant | Josiah Wells | |
| Shaun White | Jacob Wester | ||
| Eric Willett | McRae Williams | ||
| James Woods |
| Women’s SNB Superpipe | Women’s SNB Slopestyle |
| Gretchen Bleiler | Madison Blackley |
| Queralt Castellet | Danika Duffy |
| Kelly Clark | Megan Ginter |
| Kaitlyn Farrington | Shelly Gotlieb |
| Natalie Geer | Jordie Karlinski |
| Elena Hight | Cheryl Maas |
| Ellery Hollingsworth | Silje Norendal |
| Kelly Marren | Spencer O’Brien |
| Sophie Rodriguez | Enni Rukajarvi |
| Serena Shaw | Rebecca Torr |
| Hannah Teter | |
| Soko Yamaoka |
Todays qualifying events begin as the schedule lists below:
Wednesday, December 14th
8:00AM – 9:30AM SNB SlopeStyle Men/ Women Practice
8:00AM – 10:30AM SNB SuperPipe Men/Women Practice
9:30AM – 11:30AM SKI SlopeStyle Men’s Practice
10:30AM – 11:00AM SNB SuperPipe Women’s Practice
11:00AM – 12:30PM SNB SuperPipe Women’s Qualifier
11:30AM – 3:30PM SKI SlopeStyle Men’s Qualifier
12:30PM – 1:00PM SNB SuperPipe Men Practice
1:00PM – 4:00PM SNB SuperPipe Men Qualifier
The full schedule of events for the Nike Open is as follows:
Thursday, Dec. 15th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM
| 9:15 AM – 1:15 PM | Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Qualifier | |
| 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Men’s Freeski Superpipe Qualifier | |
| 2:15 PM – 4:00 PM | Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Qualifier |
Friday, Dec. 16th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM
| 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM | Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Semi-Final | |
| 9:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Semi-Final | |
| 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Semi-Final | |
| 1:45 PM – 4:00 PM | Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Semi-Final |
Saturday, Dec. 17th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM
| 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Semi-Final | |
| 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Men’s Freeski Superpipe Final | |
| 2:00 PM – 2:40 PM | Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Final | |
| 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Final | |
| 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM | Nike Chosen One Rail Jam / Yelawolf Concert at the River Walk | |
Sunday, Dec. 18th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM
| 9:30 AM – 10:10 AM | Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final | |
| 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final | |
| 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM | Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Final |
**Schedule is subject to change. To stay up to date on the action, follow live updates via the Dew Tour on Twitter. Download the GoBreckApp to your phone for instant access to a schedule of events and further information on Breckenridge**
Running through the entire weekend, the Festival Village offers something for everyone attending the Dew Tour. Visit the Pantech tent to test out the newest cell phones, play pool or air hockey at Paul Mitchell, and grab a ride all weekend in one of Toyota’s free shuttles.
For additional Winter Dew Tour event information, visit www.Allisports.com. Visit the Dew Tour Facebook page and follow @thedewtour on Twitter for up-to-the-minute information on the latest Winter Dew Tour action.
The complete 2011-12 Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:
Event Date Location
Nike Open Dec. 15-18 Breckenridge Ski Resort – Breckenridge, Colo.
Pantech Invitational Jan. 19-22 Killington Resort – Killington, Vt.
Toyota Championships Feb. 9-12 Snowbasin Resort – Ogden,Utah
Entering its fourth year, the top athletes in the world will take part in the 2011-12 Winter Dew Tour, all competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup that will be awarded at season’s end to champions in each of the eight disciplines. The 2010-11 Dew Cup champions include Louie Vito (men’s snowboard superpipe), Kelly Clark (women’s snowboard superpipe), Torstein Horgmo (men’s snowboard slopestyle), Jamie Anderson (women’s snowboard slopestyle), Kevin Rolland (ski superpipe) and Bobby Brown (ski slopestyle).The Winter Dew Tour continues its commitment to progression in action sports, with premier superpipes and the highest level slopestyle courses.
