How Dew Tour Could Affect Qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Freeski Team

Fresh off a U.S. Grand Prix event at Copper Mountain, the U.S. Olympic freeski team rankings have been shaken up. Now the attention is on Dew Tour Breckenridge, which will host the latest round of qualifiers for halfpipe and slopestyle.

Up to three athletes in each discipline can be named to the U.S. Olympic freeski team by automatic qualification. In order to be eligible, athletes must achieve a minimum of two, top-three finishes at the selection events. If more than three athletes hit that mark, then they will be ranked according to their two best results from the selection events.

Here’s a look at where things stand heading into Dew Tour.

Photos by Andrew Durso

Gus Kenworthy will be pulling double duty at Dew Tour and working to qualify for both U.S. Olympic teams.

Men’s Freski Halfpipe
1. Torin Yater-Wallace, 145*
2. David Wise, 132*
3. Gus Kenworthy, 94*
4. Aaron Blunck, 82
5. Taylor Seaton, 64*
6. Birk Irving, 60
7. Hunter Hess, 46
8. Sammy Schuiling, 28
9. Alex Ferreira, 22
10. Jacob Beebe, 18

*Has one, top-three result. Minimum of two needed for automatic selection.

With one victory apiece under their belts, Torin Yater-Wallace and David Wise are in prime positions. If either of them wins Dew Tour, they will confirm their nomination to the U.S. Olympic team. Even just finishing on the podium would be a huge step toward making the team.

The only other skiers with top-three results are Gus Kenworthy and Taylor Seaton. No one has met the minimum of two podiums yet. If either Kenworthy or Seaton land in the top three they would provisionally move into a qualifying spot, though their nomination would not be secured.

As for everyone else, there are only three events left to get those two podium finishes needed. That means the pressure is on for guys like Aaron Blunck, Birk Irving and Alex Ferreira.

Women’s Freeski Halfpipe
1. Maddie Bowman, 125 *
2. Annalisa Drew, 95
3. Brita Sigourney, 90
4. Devin Logan, 81*
5. Carly Margulies, 72
6. Abigale Hansen, 36
7. Jeanee Crane-Mauzy, 32
8. Allison Welsh, 24
9. Svea Irving, 18
10. Anna Gorham, 17

*Has one, top-three result. Minimum of two needed for automatic selection.

So far, only Maddie Bowman and Devin Logan have finished on the podium at a selection event. Because they each have a second-place result on the board already, a win at Dew Tour by either woman would assure them of a spot on the Olympic roster.

Everyone else needs to finish on the podium at two of the final three selection events. Otherwise, it could come down to discretionary selections from the coaches. Annalisa Drew, Brita Sigourney and Carly Margulies all made the final at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper and will be eager for another chance to accumulate ranking points.

Men’s Freeski Slopestyle
No standings yet

Dew Tour will host the first U.S. Olympic selection event for men’s slopestyle. Absent from the field will be reigning Olympic gold medalist Joss Christensen, who recently got back on snow after rehabbing from a major knee injury. The Park City native plans to return for the final four selection events, which will all be held in January.

The other members of the 2014 Olympic team—silver medalist Gus Kenworthy, bronze medalist Nick Goepper and, Breck local, Bobby Brown—will all be at Dew Tour to battle for selection points. McRae Williams, Alex Hall and Colby Stevenson will be among the competition trying to get nominated to their first Olympic team.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle
1. Maggie Voisin, 100 *
2. Devin Logan, 50
3. Darian Stevens, 45
4. Taylor Lundquist, 36
5. Keri Herman, 22
6. Grace Henderson, 18
7. Rell Harwood, 12
8. Nadia Gonzales, 10
9. Marin Hamill, 8
10. Kathryn Alexander, 5

*Has one, top-three result. Minimum of two needed for automatic selection.

Although men’s slopestyle has not yet had a qualifier, women’s slopestyle held one last year at the Mammoth stop of the Grand Prix series. That makes Dew Tour the second of five qualifiers for the women.

After winning the first selection event, Maggie Voisin is in position to secure her  U.S. Olympic team nomination if she wins at Dew Tour. The Montana native was a member of the 2014 team but was injured in Sochi while practicing on the course.