Vail, CO – After 30 years in southern Vermont, the Burton U.S. Open is pulling up stakes and heading for Vail.
Burton Snowboards and Vail Mountain today jointly made the official announcement that the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships will be held in Vail, Colo. instead of at Stratton Mountain, Vt., starting in 2013. The 31st edition of the U.S. Open will take place at Vail’s Golden Peak from February 25 through March 2, 2013 during what is traditionally a soft booking period at the Colorado ski resort.
To commemorate this news, key members of the snowboard community gathered in Vail last week to get a first look at the venue, including the proposed 22-foot halfpipe location at Golden Peak, and hear from Burton and Vail representatives about the vision and evolution for the event moving forward. Burton pro riders Kelly Clark and Mark McMorris were among the group in Vail.
“The U.S. Open is one of my favorite events by far, and I couldn’t be more excited about its next evolution,” said Clark, a five-time U.S. Open halfpipe champ and three-time Olympian from West Dover, Vt. “Burton has always been about progressing the sport and doing what’s best for snowboarders, and I truly believe that this move to Vail will make the Open even better for the riders and the thousands of fans who come out to watch.”
“I also couldn’t be more stoked on this,” added McMorris, a two-time X-Games Gold Medalist from Regina, Canada. “Ever since I started snowboarding, the U.S. Open was always the main show, and knowing what Burton and Vail have in store to take this contest to the next level makes me so excited to compete there this winter.”
The Burton U.S. Open, which first took place in 1982, is now the longest-running snowboarding competition in the world. And like the sport itself, the event has morphed and changed over the past three decades – changes that not only included moving mountain locations from Suicide Six to the now defunct Snow Valley to Stratton, all in Vermont, but also changes that addressed the level of snowboarding and needs of the riders each year. Burton Founder & CEO Jake Burton has played a vital role at every step of the U.S. Open’s history.
“First off, I just want to thank Stratton Mountain in Vermont where the US Open took place for so long,” said Burton. “Stratton not only hosted the Open for 27 years, but also played a pivotal role in making resort riding a reality. And as we look to the future progression of the U.S. Open, I feel that Vail offers us the ideal venue to host the event. Vail is an incredible mountain and has been my snowboarding home-away-from-home for over 20 years. I have no doubt that the U.S. Open at Vail will only grow in its legacy as the premier rider-driven event in the world.”
Planning between Burton and Vail is well underway for the 2013 U.S. Open, which includes securing final U.S. Forest Service approvals to relocate Vail’s halfpipe to a more favorable position on Golden Peak. In addition, Golden Peak’s base area will be transformed into a festival-like village with a host of exciting activities and experiences, including free, live music concerts for all riders and spectators.
“When Burton decided to move the U.S. Open out west after 30 successful years back east, we were delighted that they chose Vail for such an important event. We look forward to hosting the world’s best snowboarders at Vail. We believe it’s a perfect marriage of two great brands in the winter sports industry and we’ll do our utmost to make this a tremendously successful endeavor,” said Blaise Carrig, president of Vail Resorts’ mountain division.