Competitions

North American Open 2008 Recap

By Flip ⋅ February 26, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

If the early feedback from the athletes is any indication, the 2008 Paul Mitchell Opens Freeski Tour’s first event, the North American Open (NAO), has officially changed the landscape for freeskiing competitions in the United States. The NAO took over Breckenridge Ski Resort from February 21-24, 2008, as hundreds of amateur and professional freeskiers, as well as media and industry members descended upon Breckenridge to see how this event would run. Produced by world renowned freeskiers Simon Dumont and Jon Olsson in conjunction with rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency and Freeskier magazine, the three-day weekend event consisted of Slopestyle events on Saturday, and the Superpipe competition on Sunday.

“I think everyone was part of something special here,” said Dumont, a multi-winning X Games medalist who is considered one of the best superpipe riders in the world. “I’ve had more fun [at the NAO] than I’ve ever had at an event. Hopefully we’ve set a precedent - it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

Together with Paul Mitchell and Breckenridge Ski Resort, rEvolution teamed up with Simon Dumont and Jon Olsson to develop a new judging format for the North American Open. This qualifying “jam session” format was widely praised by the athletes and sets Opens Freeski tour apart from other freeski events. The judges awarded bibs to those competitors, pros and amateurs alike, that they felt were worthy of moving on to the finals. The selected athletes joined a small cast of invited athletes in the finals, including Jon and Simon, with a more traditional, three-run final to decide the overall winners.

“I’m not going to put my name on something unless I get up there at 6:30 in the morning and shape those jumps,” said Olsson,. “We wanted to create an event that was as good as open event could be…and I think we succeeded.

Faced with snowy conditions and dropping temperatures, more than 35 men and women competed in the Slopestyle finals out of a field of more than 180. Swedish freeskier Jacob Wester and Colorado native Keri Herman took home 1st place in the competitive Slopestyle finals. Complete Mens/Womens results for the Slopestyle final are below:

MENS
1. Jacob Wester
2. Jon Olsson
3. Tanner Rainville
4. Bobby Brown
5. Michael Olenic
6. Simon Dumont
7. Luke Nutting
8. Peter Olenick
9. Josh Bibby
10. Andres Backe

WOMENS
1. Keri Herman
2. Kristi Leskinen
3. Athena Brownson
4. Megan Olenick
5. Angeli Van Lanaan
More than 25 men were in the field for the Superpipe competition on Sunday afternoon. With many of the athletes crashing on at least one of their runs due to wind and snow conditions, it was close final that saw Maine native and multi-X Games medalist Simon Dumont and Canadian Keltie Hansen pull away and take home 1st place.

Complete Mens/Womens results for the Superpipe final are below:

MENS
1. Simon Dumont
2. Dan Marion
3. Matt Duhamel
4. Marshall Lacroix
5. Colby West
6. Peter Olenick
7. Christian Allen
8. Duncan Adams
9. Taylor Felton
10. Evan Schwartz
WOMENS
1. Keltie Hansen
2. Angeli Van Lanann
4. Jillian Kazley
3. Gina Gmeiner
5. MC Waryas

Many of the athletes who participated in the event or even just came down to watch thought that it was one of the best open events to date in freeskiing. This attitude was due in part not only to the style of the event, the high level of competition and the athletes, but more so due to the sense of community amongst freeskiers. With some of the best skiing during the day, lunches on the hill and parties in the evening, the bar as been set for the remaining dates of the 2008 Opens Freeski tour.

“The best part of these events is that it brings everyone together,” Henrik Lampert wrote in his blog the day after the NAO wrapped. “For a few days, we enjoy the company of friends, skiing during the day and then spending time together enjoying the venues that host these awesome events. After great days on snow, countless dinners and fun parties this event [NAO] goes into the books as one of my favorites.” www.henriklampert.com

If you’re bummed you missed out on the North American Open, get your TiVo ready. All Opens Freeski events, including the North American Open will be televised on Fuel TV later this year.

Halfpipe TV Schedule / Slopestyle TV Schedule
April 15 at 8 PM EST April 8 at 8 PM EST
April 15 at 11 PM EST April 8 at 11 PM EST
April 19 at 9 AM EST April 12 at 9 AM EST
April 21 at 12 PM EST April 14 at 12 PM EST
April 26 at 12 PM EST April 19 at 12 PM EST

Opens Freeski is designed and produced by rEvolution, an independent sports marketing and media agency. More Opens Freeski event and registration information can be found online at http://www.OpensFreeski.com.

The remaining Opens Freeski events are as follows:

Big Bear Open
Bear Mountain Resort
Big Bear Lake, Calif.
March 8-9, 2008

Mount Snow Open
Mount Snow Resort
West Dover, Vt.
March 22-23, 2008