The 2018-19 Toyota U.S. Revolution Tour kicked off at Copper Mountain, Colorado Dec. 10, but things have changed since last season. A core focus of U.S. Ski & Snowboard has always been the athlete development pipeline for all disciplines. Through U.S. Ski & Snowboard events, programs and partnerships with organizations like the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA), the opportunities for young freeski and snowboard athletes have dramatically increased over the years. Recently, U.S. Ski & Snowboard made an important decision to improve the pipeline once again by dividing the Revolution Tour into two different levels, a FIS sanctioned Rev Tour, and a FIS NorAm Sanctioned Rev Tour Elite.

“As the Revolution Tour has grown in popularity over the last several years we recognized a demand to split the tour in order to provide appropriate competitive opportunities for athletes looking to progress through the development pipeline,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard  Halfpipe, Slopestyle, and Big Air Sport Development Manager Ashley Deibold. “With this new split in the Revolution Tour, the development pipeline for athletes starts with regional USASA events, moving to the Revolution Tour, then the Revolution Tour Elite, from which athletes can qualify into World Cups and other Major competitions.”

The change was a result of an ongoing conversation between the community as whole including U.S. Ski and Snowboard Congress, coaches, event officials, industry constituents as well internally by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletics and events departments. The division of the Revolution Tour was a result of the breadth of talent that was competing at the Revolution Tour throughout the years. The goal was to create a step between the Rev Tour and Toyota U.S. Grand Prix events at the World Cup level.

“Young athletes were getting to the Rev Tour and getting stuck there for four, five and even six years,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Event Manager Sarah Welliver. “We are now creating more stepping stones and ongoing opportunity for athletes.”

U.S. Ski and Snowboard set forth an initiative and received funding to add another Rev Tour series. U.S. Ski & Snowboard was the driver but leans on their partnership with USASA with the goal of developing athletes. Athletes can participate in a USASA competition days before the Rev Tour event to qualify on the same course the Rev will be held on. This provides more opportunity as an in-season qualifier and will ensure the best athletes enter the Rev Tour event. Rev Tour qualifiers are open to the Breaker, Youth, Junior and Open class for both freeski and snowboard. At age 12 you can compete in the qualifier but are ineligible to compete in the Rev Tour due to the minimum FIS age is 13 (this is an age change for freeski bringing the minimum age down from 14 to 13).

As previously mentioned, there are clear stepping stones from USASA Rev Tour qualifiers through the Rev Tour Elite and to the Grand Prix. .The Rev tour looks at overall Rev Tour standings. Therefore, if an athlete performs well at Rev Tour, they get invited back. In addition, the FIS level Rev Tour takes top performers from the USASA Nationals Junior, Youth, and Breaker division. These events are designed for athletes looking to take the next step after USASA. They will assist athletes as they continue to push their skills, learn to compete on a national scale, and within a slightly different format. This process will make for a better transition from regionally-based to nationally-based events for upcoming athletes.

The Revolution Tour Elite events are sanctioned as NorAm events, making them part of a larger North American tour, which includes events in Canada. As the next step in the pipeline, these events will feature larger slope courses and 22-foot halfpipes. Athletes attending these events will be competing to secure start positions for the 2019/2020 FIS World Cup and Grand Prix events.

The goal is to provide a competitive development pipeline that encourages participation, creates opportunity, and helps athletes progress in a less intimidating, but competitive and fun environment. Organizers invite the top tier athletes from the FIS Rev Tour standings, the NorAm Cup standings, and the Open division at USASA Nationals. Lastly, the Rev Tour Elite also invites the winner at each FIS level event in season. From the Rev Tour Elite, the overall tour winners for men and women are invited to participate in the U.S. Grand Prix the following season.

This year there will be two FIS-level events. These are events are called the Rev Tour and held in conjunction with USASA Rev Tour qualifiers. Moving forward, the qualifier events will be held prior to the Rev Tour event and will qualify athletes directly into the Rev Tour event taking place the following weekend. This adds more competition opportunities for athletes as well as creates an added convenience for families traveling with young athletes.

The first FIS-level event will be the Toyota U.S. Revolution Tour at Copper Mountain, Colorado Feb.10-14, and will consist of a freeski and snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe competition. The second event will be at Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, Feb 25-Mar. 1 and will also serve as a freeski and snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe competition.

The upcoming NorAM Revolution Tour Elite competition will continue with the second event of the Elite series at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, Jan. 13-18 with two slopestyle competitions for both freeski and snowboard. The third and final Rev Tour Elite event will be held at Mammoth Mountain, California, Mar.12-17 with a snowboard and freeski slopestyle, halfpipe and big air competition.

The first Rev Tour Elite event of the season at Copper Mountain, Colorado hosted two halfpipe competitions for both freeski and snowboard. An incredibly diverse international field kicked things off in the same superpipe that the world’s best skiers and riders were competing in only a week prior at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix FIS World Cup. Athlete’s arriving early have the chance to witness the World Cup level competition and then follow it up a week later with their own competition in the same venue.

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.) kicked things off with a third-place finish in the first of two competitions. Following suit was U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.) with a second-place finish in the final competition for the women. On the freeski side, it was America’s Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.) and Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) claiming first and third respectively in the first competition. Also, Jeanee Crane-Mauzy (Park City, Utah) earned second for the women. Moving into the final competition for freeskiers, it was U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.) finishing third as well as teammate and fellow rookie team member Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.) earning second for the women.

Designed to serve as a stepping stone for athletes to make the transition from competing at a grassroots level to the elite level, the Rev Tour has already proven to be a progressive venue for today’s top junior skiers and riders to take the competitive stage in multiple disciplines. The 2018-19 Rev Tour series will continue to be another step in the right direction for the freeski snowboard athlete pipeline.

Click here for more information on the Revolution Tour schedule, locations, and qualification criteria.

RESULTS
SNOWBOARD
Tuesday, Dec. 11
Men
1. Yuto Totsuka (Japan)
2. IkkoAnnai (Japan)
3. Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.; U.S Pro Snowboard Team Member; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)

Women
1. Kurumi, Imai (Japan)
2. Hikaru Oe (Japan)
3. Elizabeth Hosking (Canada)

Men’s snowboard halfpipe day one
Women’s snowboard halfpipe day one

Wednesday, Dec. 12
Men
1. Yuto, Totsuka (Japan)
2. Jan Scherrer (Switzerland)
3. Ikko Anai (Japan)

Women
1. Hikaru Oe (Japan)
2. Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.; U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team; USASA The Unbound Series)
3. Kurumi Imai (Japan)

Men’s snowboard halfpipe day two
Women’s snowboard halfpipe day two

FREESKI
Friday, Dec. 14.
Men
1. Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.; USASA Aspen Snowmass Series)
2. Evan Marineau (Canada)
3. Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; USASA The Unbound Series)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (Great Britain)
2. Jeanee Crane-Mauzy (Park City, Utah; USASA Big Mountain West Series)
3. Yujin Jang (Korea)

Men’s freeski halfpipe day one
Women’s freeski halfpipe day one

Saturday, Dec. 15.
Men
1. Sam Mckeown (Canada)
2. Sascha Pedenko (Canada)
3. Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.; U.S. Freeski Rookie Team; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (Great Britain)
2. Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.; U.S. Freeski Rookie Team; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)
3. Yujin Jang (Korea)

Men’s freeski halfpipe day two
Women’s freeski halfpipe day two

Twelve U.S. Snowboardcross Team athletes are set to compete at the first FIS Snowboardcross World Cup of the season in Cervinia, Italy Dec. 20-22. U.S. athletes include defending snowboardcross FIS World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) along with defending team snowboardcross FIS World Champions Hagen Kearney (Norwood, Colo.) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.).

Other U.S. Snowboarcross A Team members competing include Sochi Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold (Manchester, Vt.), Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass.), Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and seven-time world cup winner Nate Holland (Sandpoint, Idaho).

After the cancelation of the season-opener World Cup in Montafon, Austria due to insufficient snow to build a course suitable for snowboardcross competition, Italian organizers picked up the slack and added a second competition to the program on Dec. 22 along with the originally scheduled Dec. 21 competition.

“Excited to finally get the season started,” said Deibold. “It’s going to be an important week as Cervinia is the only chance we have to earn a spot to World Champs at Solitude.”

2018 Junior World Champion Jake Vedder (Pinckney, Mich.) will also compete with U.S. Development group athletes Cole Johnson (Reno, Nev.), Senna Leith (Vail, Colo.), Stacy Gaskill (Golden, Colo.) and Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.)

With the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in Park City, Utah just around the corner, this double-up competition will offer a chance for athletes to get in prime form as well as earn valuable points and establish their position on the World Championships Team. All early season competitions are very important to the decision-making process making the Cervinia, Italy World Cup crucial for competitors from all nations.

FIS Snowboard Race Director Uwe Beier commented on the significance of the competition. "We are very pleased that the organizer in Cervinia, together with the Italian Federation was able to add another race. It's just a few weeks to go before the World Championships in Park City/Solitude, and the teams need these competitions to get prepared. The organizers in Cervinia worked hard to successfully host their premiere World Cup race last season with challenging snow conditions, and with much more snow there this season we expect to see an excellent course and an excellent competition."

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Thursday, Dec. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com

Friday, Dec. 21
5:30 a.m. - Men and women's Snowboardcross, Cervinia, Italy - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:40 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Constructed in 2011 and home of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Secret Garden, China will host 14 U.S. athletes for a FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Cup halfpipe and slopestyle competition Dec. 19 - 22. It’s too early to call this a test event, but with a young group of athletes heading to this relatively new venue, there will definitely be some chatter in the air as potential future Olympians get their eyes on the terrain and atmosphere for the first time. Freeskiers will compete in halfpipe Dec. 20-22, while snowboarders will compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle Dec. 19-21.

“When I was first invited to the contest in China I didn’t immediately know that it was going to be the venue for the 2022 Olympics,” said U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team Member Jason Wolle (Winter Park, Colo.). “When I did find out it made me even more excited to go. The Olympics have always been a major goal of mine and to be able to go and check out the venue is a real treat. It is an almost surreal feeling going to Secret Garden now because my main goal for the next couple of years is to go there again and represent the United States at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.”

Other U.S. Snowboard Team athletes competing include pro team members Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Ryan Wachendorfer (Edwards, Colo.) and Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii). In addition, U.S. Rookie Team athlete Sean Fitzsimons (Hood River, Ore.) will participate, along with American Joshua Bowman (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.).

The U.S. Freeski Team athletes competing include new rookie team member Eileen Gu (San Francisco, Calif.), and Abigale Hansen (June Lake, Calif.) for the ladies. For the men, Hunter Hess (Bend, Ore.), Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, Colo.), Sammy Schuiling (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) as well as Americans Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.) and Lennon Vaughan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will all be battling it out in the halfpipe.

“I’m super excited to be going to China,” said Hess. “It will be fun to see how skiing is over there, the mountains, terrain, and the people. I’m blown away with how far skiing has been able to take me. It will be amazing to get an idea of how the next Winter Olympic venue will look and be able to start the process of trying to go back.”

The athletes will travel across the globe to China for the first FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle, and the second FIS World Cup halfpipe for snowboard and freeski slopestyle of the 2018-19 season. Be sure to tune in as U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes give us a glimpse of the future 2022 Olympic Winter Games only 144 miles from Beijing.

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

FREESKI
Wednesday, Dec.19
10:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV

Thursday, Dec. 20
7:30 a.m. - Men skicross qualification, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com
8:45 a.m. - Women skicross qualification, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com

Friday, Dec. 21
7:30 a.m. - Men and women’s skicross, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:15 a.m. - Men and women’s ski cross, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SNOWBOARD
Thursday, Dec. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Dec. 21
12:00 a.m.  - Men and women’s slopestyle, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:40 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

It was an incredibly strong finish for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes with 19 podiums over four days of competition, including Team Challenge and Streetstyle events, at the 2018 Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Sunday started with a U.S. Freeski Team sweep of the men’s modified superpipe podium. Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) defended his title in the Dew Tour halfpipe competition, while teammates Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) and David Wise (Reno, Nev.) were second and third respectively. The podiums did not stop there as Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) also defended her Dew Tour halfpipe title alongside Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) in second-place. The day concluded with a second-place finish from Olympian Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) in his first slopestyle competition of the season.

The freeski modified halfpipe competition did not come without its challenges. There were big crashes early in the competition, which seemed to prevent the overall momentum from building as it usually does at a high-level halfpipe competition. That being said, these athletes are professionals and pushed through to put on a great show. Although there were some difficult moments throughout the competition, overall the course was well received.

“I was super excited to come to Dew Tour,” said Ferreira. “It’s creative, very unique and never been done before. To be able to ride this course, take advantage and really enjoy myself was a pleasure. It was an excellent contest and David and Aaron crushed it and I’m happy to be sharing the podium with them.”

Blunck, who fell hard on run two, claimed redemption on his final run to move into second place. As Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Toby Miller (Mammoth, Calif.) referenced after Saturday’s snowboard modified superpipe final, carrying energy from last week’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain was crucial.

“The momentum coming off last week was awesome,” said Blunck. ‘It gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week. I have been hyped-up for this event since I heard it was going to be modified pipe. It adds creativity and changes things up quite a bit.”

Blunck and Wise certainly did not come out of the blue, linking together two podiums in two weeks adding to their success from the first halfpipe event of the year. Wise also felt there was something more than momentum at play when referring to the all American sweep.

“I get asked often why the American halfpipe team is so strong and I believe that’s because we have that rebel spirit,” said Wise. “We are here to do things differently than everyone else. I think that's why we had such a strong showing in the modified pipe. I don’t think anyone was excited for this format as the American skiers and riders coming into this event.”

The modified superpipe stayed hot as the women’s snowboard competition immediately followed. Although Kim was still a favorite, some skeptical fans thought the slopestyle inspired features being incorporated into the Dew Tour modified superipe would be the great equalizer. These individuals were quickly be proved wrong as Kim’s well-rounded skill set was very apparent after only one run when she soared more than 10 points ahead of the rest of the field.

“I love it, I had so much fun,” said Kim referring to the modified features of the halfpipe. “It’s like a playground and it’s great to be able to mix it up and try different things. The first couple days were tougher for all of us as we tried to figure out our lines and speed, but it was a cool process. It was fun to push ourselves as we’ve never really done anything like this.”

Although Kim’s early success was very clear as she was yet again in a position to take a victory lap. But she’s always one to push the sport to the next level, so she put down a more difficult run, incorporating her first 1080 in a competition of the season to close out the day. Still, she has no desire to compete in slopestyle.

“Have you seen the slopestyle girls,” she said. “I do not want to do that. They are so gnarly and amazing, so I’m going to just stick to the pipe. (Austria’s) Anna Gasser has a triple and almost all the girls have doubles. I think I’m going to stay in the halfpipe and watch the slope girls from the other side of the fence.”

Mastro, with a throwaway crash score on her first run, needed something big. Coming into her second run she started with a stylish and difficult backside 180 seatbelt grab and finished her run with a beautiful crowd-pleasing method. The run would put her in third place behind veteran Queralt Castellet of Spain. On Mastro’s third run she added technicality to increase her score and jumped into second-place ahead of Castellet.

“For a while, I kind of felt like I had the Dew Tour curse,” said Mastro. “Where just every Dew Tour would not go the way I wanted, so it was very nice to break that streak this year.”

Mastro was also a big fan of the modified superpipe. “I think the modified pipe is an amazing thing for women’s snowboarding,” she said. “We get to be creative and hit spines out of the pipe and really challenge ourselves. I would love to see more contests like this.”

Referring to watching Mastro and Kim progress, third-place finisher Castellet said: “It’s been really amazing. For me it's like a movie. It starts with them young and full of energy, then you get to see the evolution of their riding. It’s a pleasure to be able to share this time with them and also get inspired by what they are able to do.”

To close out the week at Dew Tour, the snowboard slopestyle competition began with a very impressive jumps competition riddled with 1440s, 1620’s and triple corks. Summit County locals Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) came out of the gate with strong first runs, but would quickly find out this competition was no walk in the park. Corning would finish fourth on the jumps section with Japanese riders Takeru Otsuka and Yuki Kadono in first and second, and Norwegian Stale Sandbeck in third.

Corning’s solid rail line put him in second in the rails portion and second overall in the slopestyle competition. Corning also finished second in the 2017 Dew Tour Olympic qualifying slopestyle competition where he secured his nomination to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team. Norwegians Stale Sandbech won the event and Mons Roisland finished third.

TRICK LIST

Men’s freeski modified superpipe

1. Alex Ferreira: switch right 5 Japan, left dub 12 mute, right double 12 mute, left 9 tail, right flat 3 Japan to shifty, right 3 safety.

2. Aaron Blunck: switch left 7 mute, switch 3 in, switch left double 9 Japan, switch right 7 Japan, left double 9 safety, right 7 tail, right 270 safety

3. David wise: switch left misty 9 tindy, switch right 7 Japan, left double 12 mute, right 9 tail, right alley oop 7, left cork 7 tail

Women’s snowboard modified superpipe

1. Chloe Kim: back 540 indy, switch front 900 melon, switch back 360 indy, indy McTwist, frontside 360 indy, massive frontside air

2. Maddie Mastro: back 180 seatbelt, Haakon flip stale, front 900 tucknee, back air, back alley-oop 270 stale, backside air

3. Queralt Castellet: front 360 indy, back 540 mute, front 900 melon, method, backside 720 reverting at the bottom

Men’s snowboard slopestyle

Jumps

1. Takeru Otsuka: frontside 1440 tail, backside triple 1620 melon, cab triple frontside 1440 mute

2. Yuki Kadono: cab 1440 mute, switch backside 1260 stale, backside triple cork 1440 mute

3. Stale Sandbech: frontside 1440 tail, backside 1260 mute, cab 1440 stale

Rails

1. Mons Roisland: cab 180 tail tap switchup to noseslide pretzel 270, switch backside 270 on to 270 out, cab hardway backside lipslide, boardslide 630 Rippey underflip

2. Chris Corning: switch boardslide to 50-50 frontside 360, backside 360 on frontside 180 out, gap frontside 270 to down, 50-50 backside rodeo melon.

3. Stale Sandbech: cab 180 frontside cab 270, backside 180 switch 180, cab hardway 270 on, 50-50 transfer boardslide pretzel 270 off

Overall
Stale Sandbech - 181.33
Chris Corning - 180.00
Mons Roisland - 179.33

RESULTS
Men’s freeski modified superpipe
Women’s snowboard modified superpipe
Men’s snowboard slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
All times in EST

Saturday, Dec. 29
4:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Sunday, Dec. 30
5:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Thursday, Jan. 3
11:00 p.m. -  Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 8
11:30 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Keep the tally going as U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes Alex Hall (Park City, Utah), Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Toby Miller (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) claimed an additional three podiums on day three of Dew Tour Saturday in Breckenridge, Colorado. Their podiums bring the count to 13 top-three finishes including the team challenge competitions for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes with one more day of competition to go.

Olympian Chase Josey and Toby Miller grabbed their second consecutive podiums this season at the Dew Tour modified superpipe competition. Josey finished in second place and Miller in third-place while Australian Scotty James topped the podium once again.

Josey claimed his first Dew Tour podium and contributed part of his performance to a successful showing at last week’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. “Me, Toby, and Scotty shared the podium at Copper and at this modified halfpipe competition,” said Josey. “I think we were all feeling pretty good after that first week at Copper and then we got to come here and ride very unique and different terrain obstacles. It was low pressure to do the standard halfpipe run and was up to us to be creative and do what we wanted to do.”

Miller, who claimed his first World Cup podium at the Grand Prix also commented on the benefits of a strong performance at Copper Mountain. “I think doing well at the Grand Prix definitely helped me out today,” he said. “I went for the back to back 1260’s and I wouldn’t have been confident here without putting that down in Copper. The number one goal coming into this was to put a full top to bottom run down with creative tricks, big doubles and I did that on my first run, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Run one was the Scotty James and Toby Miller show who were leading in first and second respectively almost a full 30 points ahead of the rest of the field. Moving into the second runs, Josey stepped up his game with a technical run including three back to back switch tricks in the traditional part of the pipe including a switch double Michalchuk. This put Josey ahead of Miller with James holding the lead after his first run. This top three rankings would hold until the end of the competition. Miller and Josey are making habit of finding themselves standing atop the podium. Look for these two athletes to continue their success as the season develops.

In the men’s freeski slopestyle competition it was U.S. Freeski Team member Alex Hall (Park City, Utah) who made it to the podium with a second-place finish. This was Hall’s third top-three finish at this year’s Dew Tour. He earned second with Team Faction in the team challenge competition but finished first in his rail portion, then went on to win the streetstyle competition Friday night followed by his second place in the slopestyle competition. Fair to say that Hall had an incredible week. Previously, Hall had never podiumed at any Dew Tour event.

In the jumps section of the slopestyle program, Hall put down an effortless run for a score of 94, including a seatbelt Japan grab on a huge 1440 which put him in first place. That score would hold and put Hall in a great position moving into the rails portion of the competition. Just like Josey and Miller on the snowboard modified halfpipe competition, Hall capitalized on momentum from prior success earlier in the week.

“This week has been hectic,” said Hall. “I’ve skied every day, all day, for the past six days. I think the streetyle competition was more fun that I have in a long time.”

Anyone watching the Freeski Team Challenge event knows that Hall’s rail game is strong, especially on the Dew Tour course. He had a solid first run, but still was not in the podium contention in the overall rankings until after his second run where Hall jumped to first. Evan McEachran of Canada continued to land consecutive runs scoring in the ’90s and got better as the competition went on.  McEachran finished first, Hall second, and Henrik Harlaut of Sweden finished third in the freeski slopestyle competition.

The final day of competition will continue on Sunday with men’s ski modified superpipe, women’s snowboard modified superpipe and men’s snowboard slopestyle.

A total of six hours of Winter Dew Tour coverage will air on NBC and NBCSN, with DewTour.com live streaming all finals through Sunday, Dec. 16. All finals will stream live on Facebook, Periscope, Twitch, Daily Motion, Youtube, TWSnow.com, Newschoolers.com, Powder.com, adventuresportsnetwork.com, and Snowboarder.com.  The new Dew Tour app will also exclusively offer live scoring in addition to the live stream.

RESULTS
Men’s modified superpipe
Men’s freeski slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
All times in EST

Saturday, Dec. 29
4:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Sunday, Dec. 30
5:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Thursday, Jan. 3
11:00 p.m. -  Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 8
11:30 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

EVENT SCHEDULE
*Subject to change
All times in MST

FREESKI
Sunday, Dec. 16
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. - Men’s modified superpipe final presented by Toyota

SNOWBOARD
Sunday, Dec. 16
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.- Women’s modified superpipe final presented by Toyota
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jump final
1:45 p.m.  – 3:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jib final

The day started with a love, hate, relationship with the modified superpipe for freeskiers on day two of the Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado. But by the end of the day, Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) showed some slopestyle love to court a third-place finish.

“I definitely think I had a little bit of an advantage with all the slopestyle skiing I have done over the years with this modified pipe,” said Logan. “You have the natural pipe in there, but playing with the tombstones and the regular jump landings cater to a slopestyle background. I think my experience helped and we had a lot of fun. I’m stoked to land on the podium.”

Canadians Rachel Karker and Cassie Sharpe finished in first and second respectively. Karker echoed logan statements. “I skied slope for the majority of my skiing career,” she said. “I think the weird angles were a lot easier to handle having some jump experience.”

U.S. Freeski Team members Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.) finished just outside the podium in fourth putting down a very stylish run followed by U.S. Rookie Team members Abigale Hansen (June Lake, Calif.) and Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.) in fifth in sixth respectively.

The ladies snowboard slopestyle program followed suit with an exciting contest. U.S. Snowboard Team member and Olympian Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) finished second, claiming her first ever Dew Tour podium. As this is a non-Olympic year and Dew Tour did not need to serve as a qualifier, there was more flexibility with competition format. Dew Tour organizers chose to divide the slopestyle competition into a jumps and rails, essentially creating two contests for slopestyle athletes and making for a long day on the hill. Luckily the weather was beautiful and the riders pushed the sport once again.

“I actually prefer the rails and jumps all being part of one run,” said Marino. “But this was a nice change, the weather was beautiful and that’s the most important thing. As competitive snowboarders, we always adapt to whatever situation we are given. It was a long day and we are all really tired and it’s a relief it’s over. At the beginning, it was really hard, but I think after a couple practices we all adjusted. This is my first Dew Tour podium so I’m pretty hyped!”

PyeongChang big air gold medalist Anna Gasser of Austria topped the podium and Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi finished in third. In the jumps section, double-gold medalist Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) made her three-jump combination look stylish and effortless. However, Anderson needed a bit more technicality to compete with Gasser who was firing on all cylinders, linking a backside double cork 1080 and a switch double underflip. Gasser was also the first female snowboarder to land a cab triple underflip in Stubai, Austria this fall.

Anderson looked to step up to Gasser with a double underflip 900 and frontside double cork 1080 combination, but unfortunately, she slid out the last 180 of her 1080 rotation putting her in second leading into the rails competition. Marino finished fourth in the rails section landing her first run but struggling with the backside 720 on her next two runs. Gasser did not slow down though, adding a frontside 900 to the last jump of her final run solidifying her position. In the jumps section, It was Gasser, Norwegian Silje Norendal and Anderson in the top three spots moving into the rails section of the slopestyle program.

Anderson showed her rail prowess right off the bat with a strong run, but it was Marino who would lead the way. Marino started her rail run very smooth with full presses and good speed. She upped the difficulty on her final run landing her in second-place at the end of the rails competition. Enni Rukajarvi from Finland finished first, Marino in second, and Spencer O’Brien from Canada finished in third to close out the rails competition. Marino’s rail performance would put her in second-place overall to finish the slopestyle competition.

As Marino was wrapping up the post-competition press conference, her eye caught Finnish snowboarder Rene Rinnekangas dropping into the modified pipe to kick off the snowboard team challenge competition on a TV in the Dew Tour Press Center. Marino’s excitement for the sport of snowboarding was incredibly refreshing as she spoke out during in a lull in the press conference exclaiming, “Rene is the definition of what it means to be a snowboarder and I love watching him ride. He just has so much fun.” Marino’s statement serves as a reminder that all these athletes are also true fans of the sport.

The team challenge proved to be a great show. Team DC grabbed the win led by Toby Miller (Mammoth, Calif.) in the modified superpipe, the Capita Team took second with U.S. Snowboard Team members Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) in the modified halfpipe and Nikolas Baden (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) on the slopestyle jumps, while Team Rome took third.

“I’m feeling great to walk away with a win with Team DC,” said Miller. “It's really cool to have this aspect of snowboarding. It’s an individual sport so if you don’t do well, you are the only one who suffers. In the team challenge, if you don’t do well your whole team comes down with you. Mons and Sebbe both had amazing runs to seal the deal for us. My mentality was you have to have creativity and fun and utilize the course, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure I did my traditional halfpipe tricks. I ended up taking second and Chase Josey won with an insane run”

As Miller referenced, there was no lack of creativity and style in the modified superpipe part of the team challenge with Miller throwing a lawn dart front flip on the first feature and Josey with a switch method and a disaster on the coping to close out his run. Not to mention Baden showing full control in the jumps section.

“This is just such a unique and cool course,” said Josey. “It reminds me of Danny Davis’ Peace Park. It’s fun to find new lines and honestly watch everyone else is a good time.”

The last competition of the day would take place right off Main Street under the lights with the snowboard and freeski streetstyle competition. After earning the top score in the Team Challenge Jibs competition for Faction yesterday, Alex Hall (Park City, Utah) clinched the first place finish in his second of three Dew Tour competitions this weekend. Teammate Colby Stevenson (Park City, Utah) claimed second-place. For the snowboarders, Brandon Davis (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) finished third.

“The course had a good speed, dope rails, and was pretty fun!” said Hall. “I’m in the individual competition tomorrow so I came out just wanting to have fun. It’s so fun skiing with all of our friends and we all just feed off each other to go bigger.”

It was an amazing day two at Dew Tour for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. Saturday’s schedule including men’s snowboard modified superpipe as well as men’s freeski slopestyle.

A total of six hours of Winter Dew Tour coverage will air on NBC and NBCSN, with DewTour.com live streaming all finals through Sunday, Dec. 16. All finals will stream live on Facebook, Periscope, Twitch, Daily Motion, Youtube, TWSnow.com, Newschoolers.com, Powder.com, adventuresportsnetwork.com, and Snowboarder.com.  The new Dew Tour app will also exclusively offer live scoring in addition to the live stream.

TRICK LIST

Ladies Freeski Modified Halfpipe
1. Rachel Karker: Left Alley-Oop 360 Mute, Left Flair Mute, Right Flair, Left 900 Safety, Straight Air Tail, Left 720 Safety.

2. Cassie Sharpe: Backflip, Left 900 Tail, Right 900 Safety, Left Flair, Carve, Straight Air, Right 360.

3. Devin Logan: Left Alley-Oop 360 Safety, Straight Air Mute, Right Flair, Left 540 Japan, Right 540 Japan, Left 540, Switch Left Alley-Oop 540.

Ladies Snowboard Slopestyle

JUMPS
Anna Gasser - 96.67 -  Cab Underflip 900 Mute, Cackside Corked 1080 Melon, Frontside 900 melon

Jamie Anderson - 86.33 - Backside Indy 540, Cab Underflip 900 Mute, Lightly Scrubbed Frontside 1080 Mute

Silje Norendal - 85.33 - Cab 900 Melon, Backside 720 Mute, Frontside Rodeo Indy 720

RAILS
Enni Rukajarvi - 92.00 - 50-50 Back 360, Front Board 270, Switch Back 180 Bump, 50-50 180 Out, Switch Lipslide to 50-50 to 180 Out

Julia Marino - 90.00 -  Lip Slide 270 Out, Front Boardslide Fakie, Half Cab Bump, Gap to Lipslide, 50-50 Frontside 360

Spencer O’Brien - 84.00 - 50-50 to Front Board out of the Stanley Rail, Backside Lipslide, Backside 50-50 to Frontside 360 out, Noseslide Pretzel 270 out of the Mountain Dew Rainbow feature.

OVERALL
Anna Gasser - 177.67
Julia Marino - 170.66
Enni Rukajarvi - 169.67

RESULTS
Women’s freeski modified superpipe
Women’s snowboard slopestyle
Snowboard Team Challenge

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
All times in EST

Saturday, Dec. 29
4:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Sunday, Dec. 30
5:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Thursday, Jan. 3
11:00 p.m. -  Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 8
11:30 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

EVENT SCHEDULE
*Subject to change
All times in MST

FREESKI
Saturday, Dec 15
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jump finals
1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jib finals

Sunday, Dec. 16
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. - Men’s modified superpipe final presented by Toyota

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Dec 15
10:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. - Men’s modified superpipe final presented by Toyota

Sunday, Dec. 16
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.- Women’s modified superpipe final presented by Toyota
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jump final
1:45 p.m.  – 3:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle jib final