The 2020 Burton US Open Returns To Vail

Burton Snowboards announces the return of the 38th annual Burton U·S·Open Snowboarding Championships to Vail Mountain February 24th through 29th. The Burton U·S·Open is the longest-running event in competitive snowboarding and the premier event of the snowboarding season. With the recent passing of Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter, who started running the U·S·Open nearly 40 years ago, this year’s event will also include special moments to celebrate Jake.

In just a few weeks, the world’s most progressive riders will compete at the top of their game for a chance at the $373,000 prize purse and to become part of history at the legendary Burton U·S·Open. This year’s competition venue will feature an all-new halfpipe and an updated slopestyle course design. The completely reimagined Burton U·S·Open halfpipe will combine a 13-foot enhanced minipipe creatively transitioning into a standard 22-foot Superpipe. Creativity, style, and skill will be at the forefront of this exciting rider-driven revamp of the Burton U·S·Open venues, continuing the evolution of the world’s greatest snowboard event.

In addition to world-class competition, the five-day event is also a hub for fun FREE events, demos, and activities for the entire family including the Burton Concert Series, featuring four nights of FREE world-class musical performances by breakout artists and DJs. Past acts have included headliners such as Lizzo, Macklemore, Tune-Yards, DRAM, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Griz. The 2020 lineup follows that high benchmark, with confirmed acts including legendary hip-hop group Arrested Development, chart-climbing electronic/dance artist Big Wild, the incredible vocals of alt-pop artist Evan Giia, the Queen of Bounce Big Freedia, as well as Thundercat, Theophilus London and more performing on the Solaris Concert Stage following each day’s snowboard competition and at the closing party at Dobson Ice Arena.

Expect plenty of snowboarding action throughout all five days of competition kicking off on Tuesday, February 25th with the celebrated Burton U·S·Open Junior Jam Presented by Clif Bar & Company. This halfpipe competition features an international field of the top groms aged 14 and under competing for a piece of the $2,000 prize purse and the opportunity to compete alongside the pros in the Burton U·S·Open Halfpipe Semi Finals.

The pro competition gets underway on Wednesday, February 26th with the best of the best competing in the slopestyle semi-finals, followed by halfpipe semi-finals on Thursday. These men and women will be looking to earn a spot to compete in the main event and a chance at the equally divided $373,000 prize purse. The purse includes $30,000 to be awarded across three categories, including Clif Bar Best Line Contest, Burton Rider’s Choice Award and the Toyota Rookie of the Year.

As the most-anticipated event of the competitive snowboarding season, riders are ready to put down their best runs. Last year, Maddie Mastro (USA) earned her first major competitive win in halfpipe with a thrilling run that included the first double crippler ever landed by a woman in competition. On the men’s side, Scotty James (AUS) capped off a season-long winning streak with an exclamation point earning his first Burton U·S·Open halfpipe title in a relentless five-hit run that kicked off with a massive switch backside 1080 Indy and finished with a massive frontside double cork 1260 stalefish.

In slopestyle, Redmond Gerard (USA) claimed the top spot on the podium for the first time following his 2018 Olympic Gold Medal performance. Gerard combined technical rail mastery on the upper course, with high-speed execution on the jumps including a huge backside triple cork 1440 mute on the final hit. In women’s slopestyle, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) continued her season-long domination, adding a Burton U·S·Open title to complete her 2019 contest trifecta. Her performance on the rails, including a massive-scoring switch boardslide 270 out, to a switch 50-50 switch backside 180 melon out, sealed her placement at the top of the podium.

2020 marks the eighth year in a row that the Burton U·S·Open will be held at Vail Mountain where fans and families are invited to get in on all of the action both on-hill and within the Town of Vail. As part of the free on snow activities, Burton will have all of the newest winter 2021 equipment available to try out, including snowboards, bindings and the revolutionary Step On® line. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet Burton team riders at scheduled events in the Burton Sponsor Village at Golden Peak, which includes the chance to participate in group rides with Burton athletes and Ride With A Guide.

As part of this family-friendly event, kids ages 3-6 years will have the opportunity to session the kids Learn to Ride Riglet Park, plus try out free Burton demo equipment and snowboard learning experience. The Free Riglet Park will be located next to the Golden Peak Children’s Snow School building, where parents can register for the free kids lesson sessions.

The excitement of the Burton U·S·Open continues in the Town of Vail with the Burton Concert Series with musical acts set to perform on the Solaris outdoor concert stage and at the Dobson Ice arena. Attendees can also join in the fun at participating bars and restaurants throughout Vail Village including The Fitz, Pazzo’s Pizza, and Garfinkel’s offering daily Après food and drink specials, live broadcasts of the slopestyle and halfpipe events, plus giveaways and contests. Additional activities include product sampling, demos and giveaways in the sponsor village at Golden Peak; exclusive Burton U·S·Open gear at the Burton Pop Up Shop at the base of the slopestyle course, in the Burton stores at Vail Village and Lionshead and at Burton.com; plus the annual Chill fundraiser, the Dobson closing party and much more!

Be sure to download the Burton U·S·Open app for all information around the 2020 Burton U·S·Open, including the competition, event and programming schedule, rider bios, results and more. The app is available now through Google Play and the App Store. Also follow #BurtonUSOpen and catch the competition including the halfpipe and slopestyle semi-finals and finals airing live and on demand on BurtonUSOpen.com, with complete halfpipe and slopestyle finals coverage also on Red Bull TV, available at redbull.tv or as a free downloadable app.

A big thank you to the following partners for their support of the 38th annual Burton U·S·Open: Burton, Toyota, Town of Vail, Red Bull, Clif Bar & Company, Fat Tire, Paul Mitchell, G-Shock, Microsoft, Stoli, Jack Daniel’s, Exotico, Hydroflask, Medterra, Open Water, Vail Mountain, anon, and Protect Our Winters.

2020 Burton U·S·Open Competition Schedule: