Since its inception at Vermont’s Suicide Six in 1982, the Burton US Open has grown into of the premiere events in the competitive snowboard landscape. The now iconic event moved to a new home at Vail in 2013, where it has run every year since. Tuesday, Burton announced the cancellation of what would have been the 38th US Open in 2021 due to uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Message on the U.S. Open homepage:
Due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Burton US Open. The truth is, we just can’t be sure it will be safe from a public health standpoint for us to host the event in 2021.
The Open is so much more than a snowboarding event—it’s a family reunion. We know these reunions will continue to happen in resort parking lots, on chairlifts, on the skin track, at the top of the park, in the woods on a powder day, or anywhere we ride together. Rest assured, the world’s greatest snowboard event will be back, and it will be better than ever.
Full Press Release:
Burlington, VT (May 26, 2020) – Burton Snowboards today announced that due to ongoing uncertainties around the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, which was slated to take place March 1-6, 2021 at Vail Mountain Resort in Vail, Colorado.
“This was a difficult call to make since we’re so many months away from the next Burton U.S. Open, and we’re not sure what will be happening with the pandemic nine months from now,” said Burton CEO John Lacy. “After playing out multiple options for the 2021 event, we realized there is too much at stake due to the potential public health risk and the financial risk for Burton to invest millions in an event that could end up being cancelled.”
The Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships is the world’s longest running snowboard event, and Burton has owned and run the event since 1983. Nearly every iconic rider in the sport of snowboarding has at one point competed at the U.S. Open, and a title is one of the most coveted in the sport.
“This is disappointing for everyone. The riders, crowds, brand partners and crews who work the event are all what has made the Open the favorite event of the snowboarding community for 38+ years,” said Lacy. “It’s more like a snowboarding family reunion than anything else, and the impact of this decision is widespread throughout the snowboard community. But as disappointing as it is, protecting the long-term health of this community is what’s most important. If we need to miss a year of the Open to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we’ll get through it.”
When asked if the Open would come back, Donna Carpenter, Burton’s owner and chair of the board said, “Of course the Open will be back. It’s the greatest event in the world!”
We will update the story as we get more info.
This article originally appeared on Snowboarder.com and was republished with permission.
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