BURLINGTON, Vt. (December 18, 2012) With the snowboard contest season underway, Burton is excited to announce competition schedules and formats for the 31st annual US Open Snowboarding Championships, presented by MINI. Taking place in Vail, Colorado from February 25th – March 2nd 2013, the Burton US Open will draw over 100 of the world’s best riders for four days of progressive halfpipe and slopestyle competitions that offer over $340,000 in cash prizes.

Here’s a quick look at this year’s schedule at Vail:

2013 Burton US Open Championships Competition Schedule
Wednesday, February 27th: Slopestyle Semi-Finals
Thursday, February 28th: Halfpipe Semi-Finals
Friday, March 1st: Slopestyle Finals
Saturday, March 2nd: Halfpipe Finals

As announced last month, the US Open qualifying rounds will take place at the first ever US Open Snowboarding Qualifiers event happening at Seven Springs, PA on February 1st – 3rd. The top 10 men and five women per discipline from the US Open Qualifiers will earn a spot at the US Open Championships in Vail.

In addition, there are a few other ways that competitors can get in on the US Open action. First, the top 10 men and five women from the World Snowboarding Points List per discipline (halfpipe & slopestyle) will be invited to compete at the US Open in Vail. Second, 20 men and 10 women per discipline will receive wild card invitations to compete. To check out a list of riders who received invites and wild cards, head to www.burton.com/uso

Finally, young riders who are 14-years-old and under can also earn a spot at the US Open Championships by competing at the Burton European Open (BEO) Juniors events (halfpipe & slopestyle) in Laax, Switzerland on Saturday, February 9th, 2013. While the US Open Junior Jam will take a year off in 2013, the top two boys and top girl from the BEO Juniors event will advance to the semi-finals of the US Open Championships in Vail where they can take a crack at competing in the big show.

For additional Burton event details, head to www.burton.com/events or follow the hashtag #BurtonUSOpen. And stay tuned for plenty of exciting news to come about confirmed riders, the entertainment line-up and webcast/broadcast details.