Dew Tour cancels modified superpipe event in Breck

There will be no superpipe at Dew Tour this year.

For the first time in contest history, officials with Breckenridge Ski Resort and new production company The Enthusiast Network were forced to cancel Dew Tour’s marquee event, leaving big-name athletes like Danny Davis, Kelly Clark and David Wise without a competition. The ski and snowboard superpipe, originally scheduled for Dec. 10 and 11 on a modified pipe with side hits and hips, will be replaced with men’s snowboard slopestyle finals on Dec. 10 and men’s ski slopestyle finals on Dec. 11. The new men’s and women’s adaptive banked slalom races have also been bumped from Dec. 8 to Dec. 9. The women’s ski and snowboard slopestyle finals won’t change and are still scheduled for Dec. 9.

Weather patterns have brought snow, cold temperatures and favorable weather to the forecast, according to a release from Dew Tour organizers, allowing TEN and the resort to provide a two-part slopestyle competition, a new adaptive banked slalom competition, a new team challenge and the return of streetstyle in downtown Breck on Dec. 9.

Winter conditions did not arrive in time for the construction of the modified superpipe competition, which was removed from the event schedule on Wednesday.

“We are fortunate to have the combined expertise of TEN: The Enthusiast Network, Snow Park Technologies and Breckenridge Ski Resort in delivering a modified course and competition that will embrace the spirit and style of the reimagined Dew Tour,” said Adam Cozens of TEN, vice president and general manager for Dew Tour. “We’re excited to kick off this preeminent winter season event with the modified jumps and jibs course, adaptive, streetstyle and our new team challenge.”

The cancelation also means Dew Tour’s new team format will look slightly different than planned. When first announced, the format called for several teams of three athletes each competing in three disciplines — superpipe, slopestyle and jibs — for a combined score. The team with the highest score would be crowned champion of the team competition, in addition to individual winners for traditional solo events. Now that superpipe is no more, the team competition features two events — slopestyle and jibs — for a combined score.

Organizers hope the new two-part slopestyle course will make up for the loss of superpipe. It includes a jump section, with one massive, big air-style jump, where diversity will be rewarded as athletes are scored based on their best two-out-of-four jumps. The second part is the jibs section, now featuring four separate jib setups, where the best one-out-of-three runs will be judged. Results from both sections will be combined for one total slopestyle score.

For more info on the modified schedule and invited athletes, see an in-depth feature in the Summit Daily on Saturday or visit dewtour.com.