Truckee, CA — The 4th Annual Vans Cup at Tahoe comes to Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort February 29 to March 2 with a field including nearly all of snowboarding's brightest stars: former Olympians Danny Kass, Mason Aguirre, Ross Powers and J.J. Thomas, plus other greats including Todd Richards, Andreas Wiig Chad Otterstrom, Andy Finch, Leanne Pelosi and Hana Beaman. While the weekend is considered the most important professional snowboarding competition on the West Coast with a total prize purse of more than $200,000, each year the snowboard world descends upon Northstar-at-Tahoe for the great snow and laid back atmosphere that Vans serves up.
For those that can't be on mountain, Vans and Sportnet are teaming up to present live webcasts of the event at www.vans.com. Look for plenty of photos and live updates at www.vans.com. The Vans Cup at Tahoe television special will also debut on the FUEL TV in two one-hour shows with times and dates to be announced.
The Vans Cup kicks off Friday night under the lights with defending Rail Jam champs Lucas Magoon and Erin Comstock headlining a field of top jibbers in a jam session. Action continues Saturday with Wiig and Beaman leading the names in the Slopestyle comp and caps off on Sunday with the Superpipe finals in which Kass and Tahoe local Joanie Anderson are sure to be factors. In a new twist to the 'pipe, the highest soaring boarders will win big bucks by claiming the Boosted High Air awards.
The event, which is free with the purchase of a lift ticket, and open to the public, is sure to draw a huge crowd to Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort. Those who are not riding or skiing can stop by the event office for a free gondola pass.
Friday, February 29
5:00 PM — 6:45 PM Rail Jam (live webcast at www.vans.com)
Saturday, March 1
8:30 AM — 11:30 AM Men's and Women's Slopestyle Qualifying
11:30 PM — 3:00 PM Men's and Women's Slopestyle FINALS
Sunday, March 2
9:00 AM — 12:00 PM Men's and Women's Superpipe Qualifying
12:30 PM — 4:00 PM Men's and Women's Superpipe FINALS (live webcast)
Invited riders include: (attendance not confirmed) Guys: Danny Kass, Andreas Wiig, Antti Autti, Keir Dillon, Iouri Podlatchikov, Steve Fisher, Michael Goldschmidt, Tommy Czeschin, Wyatt Caldwell, Chad Otterstrom, Ross Powers, J.J. Thomas, Elijah Teter, Scotty Arnold, Mike Casanova, Chris Coulter, Darrell Mathes, Todd Richards, Markus Keller, Eddie Wall, Andy Finch and many more.
Ladies: Joanie Anderson, Tricia Byrnes, Torah Bright, Molly Aguire, Hana Beaman, Erin Comstock, Laura Hadar, Leanne Pelosi, Silvia Mittermueller, Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, Amber Stackhouse, Kimmy Fasani, Anne-Flore Marxer, Priscilla Levac, Alexis Waite, Natasza Zurek, Jacqui Berg and more.