Thanks to the old COVID-19 Burton is out of their US Open Snowboarding Championships contract with Vail Resorts after cancelling the 2021 event. Not a big surprise seeing as the event was dragged through the press as being one of the alleged hotspots responsible for spreading the virus to Mexico City. Sadly, it brings to a close the longest running snowboarding event in history. It’s been held every year since 1983.
“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.”
With so many events being cancelled we’re almost getting immune to the pain, but this is definitely one of the saddest. For the official word from Burton, please follow the jump.
2021 BURTON U.S. OPEN CANCELLED DUE TO ONGOING PANDEMIC CONCERNS
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!”
About Burton
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn and dedicated the rest of his life to snowboarding. Since its founding, Burton has played a pivotal role in growing snowboarding from a backyard hobby to a world-class sport by creating groundbreaking products, supporting a team of top snowboarders and pushing resorts to allow snowboarding. Today, Burton designs and manufactures industry-leading products for snowboarding and the outdoors. As a sustainability leader within the outdoor and winter sports industries, Burton is the world’s first snowboard company to become a certified B Corporation®. Privately held and owned by Donna Carpenter, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada and China. For more information on Burton, head to www.burton.com and follow our line at facebook.com/burtonsnowboards, twitter.com/burtonsnowboard and @burtonsnowboards on Instagram.
