By Jerry LeBlond
The highly anticipated competition and on-snow party returns to Killington on Saturday, April 9, though with a change of location this year. As Mother Nature has plans of her own, the annual competition moves from its signature home on Outer Limits to Highline trail at K1.
On Saturday, amateur bumpers take to the slopes of Highline to battle for a place in the finals. The top 32 men and 16 women compete in a head-to-head competition for the Mogul Challenge Cup.
Online pre-registration is open to the first 150 registrants through killington.com/events. This competition fills up fast, so Killington recommends pre-registering to guarantee a spot. Online pre-registration will close April 6, 2016, or when all spots are full. The entry fee is $50 for all divisions (does not include a lift ticket). Discounted lift tickets will be available for purchase at registration. These tickets will only be offered to racers who have already been assigned a bib.
All competitors must check in at the third floor of K1 Lodge between 7 – 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to pick up competitor bibs. A waiting list will start on Saturday at 7 a.m. at registration for all non-registered competitors. A drawing will take place for unclaimed bibs. Bumpers must be present to enter your name and must be present at 8:45 a.m. for the drawing of the unclaimed competitors’ bibs.
Head to the official start order party at Sushi Yoshi from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, April 8 to find out starting positions. Finals take place from 1-5 p.m. with an awards ceremony following at the bottom of Highline. Awards will be presented to the first, second, third, and fourth place overall male and female winners, with first through fourth place winners’ names engraved on the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge trophy. The official after party takes place from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Pickle Barrel Night Club.
The purpose of the Mogul Challenge is to recognize technical superiority and athletic ability. Males and females are scored separately in each age group. Each judge can award a maximum of five points in the following categories:
Turns and Line (50 percent): Quality and variety of well-executed turns while staying as close as possible to the fall line.
Air (25 percent): Quality of upright aerial maneuvers executed spontaneously in the fall line. Inverts are strictly prohibited.
Speed (25 percent): Speed score will be based on a male and female pacesetter’s time.
For more info, visit killington.com.
