Organizers of the Red Bull Double Pipe competition, going down in Aspen March 22-23rd, 2014, have announced a set of 16 confirmed riders for their next-level event. Greg Bretz, Danny Davis, Taylor Gold, Scotty Lago are among the top-tier riders already set to compete in a 3 hour “jam session” style semi-final, with 8 advancing on to finals. Riders will be judged based on “Overall Impression” on a 1-100 point scale, with technical abilities, style, creativity, and use of the course all taken into account.
“What’s great about this style of event format is it’s designed to maintain a fun atmosphere during the contest, replicating the feel of a regular day on the mountain and having fun riding with your friends,” say Competition Director Liam Griffin. “Because this double pipe feature is so unique and unlike any typical halfpipe competition, we want to utilize a format that also reflects the creative style we expect to see during the contest. That’s also why we’re going to judge on Overall Impression rather than individual tricks, or specific criteria such as Amplitude and Difficulty – because we expect the riders to use both superpipes in a single run and develop potential trick combinations that have never been seen before.”
Confirmed riders:
Greg Bretz
Kent Callister
Danny Davis
Benji Farrow
Ben Ferguson
Gabe Ferguson
Taylor Gold
Christian Haller
Scotty James
Nathan Johnstone
Markus Keller
Scotty Lago
Arthur Longo
Alek Oestreng
Jake Pates
Louie Vito
Check out the press release below for more details:
Aspen, Colo. (March 14, 2014) – Coming March 22-23rd, some of the world’s best snowboarders will descend on Aspen, Colorado for a contest unlike anything ever seen before. For the first time ever, two 22’ superpipes will be constructed side-by-side, complete with rails, wallrides, channels and other unique features sprinkled throughout the custom built snow feature. Located at the base of Buttermilk, the ‘double pipe’ will allow riders to transfer back and forth between the two halfpipes in a single run, opening up an endless number of potential lines and combination of tricks that are not possible in traditional halfpipe contests.
Thus far, 16 riders have confirmed their attendance at the Red Bull Double Pipe event, including 11 current and former Olympians. Additional names will be announced prior to the event, so check www.redbull.com/doublepipe for the most up-to-date athlete list and event updates. The list of current competitors includes:
On Saturday, March 22nd, all competitors will ride in a 3-hour “jam” session during the Semi-Finals. Riders can drop-in to the halfpipes at any time during the open session in order to warm-up and practice their runs, then once they are ready, each person will notify the starter so their run will be officially judged. Each competitor can take up to three judged runs during the 3-hour time period with the best single run score counting towards the overall ranking. The Top 8 competitors will advance to Sunday’s Final.
During Sunday’s Finals, the Top 8 riders will start in reverse order (from #8 through to #1), with each competitor taking a total of three runs. The overall winners will be determined by their single best score out of the three runs.
For both the Semi-Finals and the Finals, riders will be judged based on “Overall Impression” on a 1-100 point scale, taking into account not only their technical abilities, but also their style, creativity and use of the course.
Each superpipe in the Red Bull Double Pipe feature will be over 550’ long, approximately 68’ wide, and 22’ tall with an approximate 4’ wide spine located in between each pipe. Including the outside walls, the overall feature will be 180’ wide and over 550’ long, making it the largest halfpipe structure built to date.
The Red Bull Double Pipe contest will air on NBC, Saturday April 12th at 2pm EST, as part of the Red Bull Signature Series, and spectators are encouraged to attend the live contest at Buttermilk as the event will be free and open to the public. The current superpipe located on Buttermilk will be closed to the public during the event construction efforts, but following the contest, the Red Bull Double Pipe will be open for the public to ride the same amazing course as the pros.
