Stratton marks 25 years hosting US Open

By Matt Boxler

Twenty-five years of anything is a long time. Maybe not in geologic or astronomic measures, but in our lifetimes, a quarter-century represents a pretty serious chunk of time – and a lot can happen.

Jake Burton rides Stratton in 1988 (photo courtesy of Burton Snowboards).That’s why we should all give pause when the 27^th U.S. Open Snowboarding Championship kicks off – for the 25^th time – at Stratton Mountain on March 16-22. Sure, the Flying Tomato and friends will absolutely electrify the 40,000-some fans who will pour into the resort that week.

Sure, competition among former and future Olympic champions will be fierce as both men and women vie for more than $200,000 in cash and prizes.

Sure, 2009 is bound to be the best Open ever as professional riders have never before been capable of going bigger.

But those who are riding high in the sport today – the ones who learned everything they ever needed to know about the ’80s from VH-1 – would be remiss if they did not take a moment to appreciate what made it all possible ... the past.

Hundreds, not thousands, of people gathered in 1985 to witness the first U.S. Open hosted by Stratton, which gave a fledgling event tremendous new exposure. The two previous years, the National Snowboarding Championships were held at Snow Valley in Manchester, Vt., a small ski area where Jake Burton and his friends established a friendly relationship and conducted test runs of their new equipment.

There were no lifts at Snow Valley, so riders who were competing had to climb for their runs. Today, if not on the back of a dedicated event snowmobile, riders will be whisked to the top of the competition via a Sunrise six-pack.

Stratton represented a big step up for the Open. Andy Coughlin won the downhill and Tom Sims won the slalom during the inaugural Open there. If that sounds a lot like a skiing competition, remember that 1985 was very much a skiers’ world. At this time, only 7 percent of U.S. resorts allowed snowboarding.

Today, thanks largely to ever-increasing exposure the sport gained over the years from the Stratton event, roughly 98 percent of resorts welcome snowboarding. Today, a pro rider can’t even sneeze in New Zealand without the world watching it moments later on YouTube.

There’s no telling for sure how much loot Coughlin and Sims claimed for their victories in 1985. One thing is for sure, their prize checks weren’t written with six figures and they weren’t handed keys to matching 2010 Volvo XC-60s – like this year’s top riders will receive. The U.S. Open was one of the first events in the world to offer equal prize money to male and female competitors.

The most famous rider out there today, Shaun White, goes by many nicknames. Among them is Future Boy. Back in the day, Craig Kelly was one of the sport’s most influential future boys, setting a competitive standard that opened doors for many of today’s best riders.

Kelly won the men’s slalom in 1987, won the “overall” title in 1988 – when the halfpipe made its U.S. Open premiere – and won the halfpipe title in 1989 and 1990. He was also the last winner of the U.S. Open downhill, an event that was discontinued after 1989.

The downhill and slalom events of yesterday have been replaced by competitions in quarterpipe, halfpipe and slopestyle. There’s even a junior jam event to give youngsters an opportunity to experience the grandest of all snowboarding stages.

Yes, White and all the top names will be at the U.S. Open this week – Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, Kevin Pearce, Ellery Hollingsworth, Charles Reid – it’s a world all-star team. But let’s not forget the names that helped build their stage – Kelly, Coghlan, Basich, Meyen, Palmer, Haakonsen, Byrnes ... the list is long and grows longer with each passing year.

And let’s not forget the biggest names of them all – Burton, Stratton, Vermont.