The inaugural Gatorade Free Flow Tour kicks off this weekend in Big Boulder, Pennsylvania, and Vail, Colorado at the first two events in the month-long series for amateur skiers and snowboarders.

The Gatorade Free Flow Tour is an amateur series that holds contests throughout the month of January, including a total of 30 slopestyle competitions and 21 superpipe contests for both skiers and snowboarders at 10 resorts across the United States. The first ever winter season of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour will showcase the top amateur winter athletes competing in both sports, with separate competitions for men and women in snowboarding, while the freeskiing contests will be open to both.

Taylor Seaton. photo: John Vandervalk

Joss Christensen. photo: Dan Brown

The winner of each of the 51 contests will be flown to the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, taking place in conjunction with the Dew Tour’s Toyota Championship, February 5-7, at Mount Snow Resort in Vermont, where one champion will be crowned in each of the six disciplines (freeski superpipe and slopestyle, men’s snowboard superpipe and slopestyle and women’s snowboard superpipe and slopestyle). Encompassing the "Flow to Pro" theme that is the cornerstone of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour, the overall freeski superpipe and slopestyle champions and the two overall snowboard superpipe and slopestyle champions will earn a spot to compete against the pros at the first stop of the 2010-11 Winter Dew Tour the following season.

photo: John Vandervalk

Gatorade's involvement in the Free Flow Tour has allowed for the creation of the winter series, giving amateur winter athletes the unique opportunity to move into the professional ranks, and will help to showcase the depth of the winter am scene, proving how they stack up against the pros on the Winter Dew Tour, while acting as a platform to develop the future of snowboarding and freeskiing.

photo: Felix Rioux

Schedule of Events

January 9 – Big Boulder Ski Area Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania (slope)

January 9-10 – Vail Ski Resort Vail, Colorado (pipe & slope)

January 16-17 – Tyrol Basin Ski and Snowboard Area Mount Horeb, Wisconsin (pipe & slope)

January 17 – Mountain High Resort Wrightwood, California (slope)

January 23-24 – Killington Resort Killington, Vermont (pipe & slope)

January 23-24 – Keystone Resort Keystone, Colorado (pipe & slope)

January 23-24 – Bear Mountain Resort Big Bear Lake, California (pipe & slope)

January 30 – Brighton Resort Brighton, Utah (slope)

January 30-31 – Loon Mountain Resort Lincoln, New Hampshire (pipe & slope)

January 30-31 – Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Mammoth Lakes, California (pipe & slope)

February 5-7 – Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals @ Mount Snow Resort West Dover, Vermont (pipe & slope)

So if you live in one of these areas, make sure to take advantage of this amazing opportunity and sign up for one of the events for your chance to compete at the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals and potentially score yourself a spot at next year's Winter Dew Tour.

NS will be featuring coverage on all of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour stops, so be sure to stick with us over the month of January to check out all the action and hear about everything that goes down at the biggest and best amateur competition series in the history of freeskiing.