Dew Tour Toyota Championships Preview

Words & photos by Alli Sports

The 2011-2012 Winter Dew Tour will culminate this weekend with the Toyota Championships at Snowbasin, a Sun Valley Resort, in Utah. The best winter action sports athletes will descend on the resort to battle it out for the Dew Cup in snowboarding and freeskiing superpipe and slopestyle disciplines.
 
Men’s Freeski Superpipe is set to be a heated competition, as the season has shown more than one athlete can have what it takes to win on any given day. Kevin Rolland has a chance to repeat his 2011 Dew Cup performance while holding a narrow lead in the Tour standings, while Torin Yater-Wallace, fresh off taking the first Dew Tour win of his pro career, can also claim the Cup if he tops the podium again.


Salt Lake City local Tom Wallisch has all but locked up the Freeski Slopestyle Dew Cup with two first place finishes this season, but hot on his heels is Nick Goepper, who has landed on the podium twice this year. A stellar run from Goepper could bring him the Cup, if Wallisch fails to meet his usual level of perfection on the course.

 
For the first time in Winter Dew Tour history, the top female freeskiers will also be competing for a Dew Cup. Just a few weeks ago, the ladies met at the Pantech Invitational for a glimpse of what they would be up against for the championship title. Maddie Bowman took the top spot on the superpipe podium, but with the level of competition so close, the season title in Snowbasin is anyone’s for the taking.


On the slopestyle side of things, Kaya Turski is coming in hot to the Toyota Championships after winning at the Pantech Invitational and claiming an X Games gold medal on consecutive weekends. She’ll be fighting off Devin Logan and Emilia Wint for the first women’s Freeski Slopestyle Dew Cup.

 
In addition to the exciting competition throughout the weekend, the Winter Dew Tour will host a Free Mac Miller concert on historic 25th Street in downtown Ogden on Friday, February 10, at 9:00pm. Mac Miller grew up in Pittsburgh with a musical aptitude that already far surpasses most other hip-hop lyricists. His August 2011 debut “K.I.D.S.” took the music industry by storm, earning critical acclaim from well-respected hip-hop magazines and websites. Mac’s upbeat rhymes are sure to hype the Winter Dew Tour crowd for a weekend full of non-stop action.
 
The confirmed athlete list for Toyota Championships is as follows...


The full schedule of events for the Toyota Championships is as follows:

Thursday, February 9th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM – Practice for all disciplines

Friday, Feb. 10th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM – Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Semi-Final
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM – Women’s Freeski Superpipe Semi-Final
11:30 AM - 1:50 PM – Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Semi-Final
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM – Men’s Freeski Superpipe Semi-Final
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals - Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Final
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM – Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Semi-Final
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM – Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Semi-Final
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM – Mac Miller Concert

Saturday, Feb. 11th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM – Women’s Freeski Slopestyle Semi-Final
10:15 AM - 12:30 PM – Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Semi-Final
11:00 AM - 11:40 AM – Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Final
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM – Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Final
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour - Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour - Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final
5:00 PM - 5:40 PM – Women’s Freeski Superpipe Final
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM – Men’s Freeski Superpipe Final

Sunday, Feb. 12th – Festival Village Opens at 9:00AM

9:00 AM - 9:40 AM – Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM – Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final
12:00 PM - 12:40 PM – Women’s Freeski Slopestyle Final
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM – Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Final
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM – Dew Cup Awards
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals - Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Final
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals - Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Final
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM – Gatorade Free Flow Tour - Men’s Freeski Superpipe Final
 
*Schedule is subject to change. To stay up to date on the action, follow live updates via the Dew Tour on Twitter.

 
Running through the entire weekend, the Festival Village offers something for everyone attending the Dew Tour. Visit the Pantech tent to test out the newest cell phones, play pool or air hockey at Paul Mitchell, and grab a ride all weekend in one of Toyota’s free shuttles. For additional Winter Dew Tour event information, visit www.Allisports.com and the Dew Tour Facebook page.