The Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix was created in 1996 by U.S. Snowboarding

U.S. Snowboarding

U.S. Snowboarding, the snowboarding arm of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association , is committed to the progression of snowboarding by providing athletic programs, services, and competitions for male and female athletes of all ages, coast-to-coast....

 with snowboarding progression as a top priority. This annual three-stop competition series utilizes top resorts from across the United States to host world-class snowboarding competitions which draw the best male and female riders in the world. It was the first domestic competition series to offer equal prize money to male and female competitors and is now the official qualifying series for making the U.S. Olympic Team for halfpipe.

The Series

The Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix is considered the premier snowboard competition series in the United States, providing American riders a clear path to qualifying for the Olympics and progressing the sport.

It's tops on the list for riders and attracts the best of snowboarding from all over the country. Previous overall champions include Olympic gold medalists Hannah Teter

Hannah Teter

Hannah Teter is an American snowboarder from Belmont, Vermont. She is an Olympic champion, having won the gold medal in halfpipe at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. She also won bronze at the 2005 FIS World Championships at Whistler, British Columbia, and has six World Cup victories...

, Kelly Clark

Kelly Clark

Kelly Clark is a snowboarder born in the village of West Dover in the town of Dover, Vermont. She has been snowboarding since she was 8 years old, and began competing in 1999...

, Shaun White

Shaun White

Shaun Roger White is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board.-Early life:Shaun White is an Irish American...

 and Ross Powers

Ross Powers

Ross Powers , is an American world champion halfpipe snowboarder from South Londonderry, Vermont. Though he originally rode at Stratton Mountain, Vermont, his home mountain is now Okemo, VT. Ross helps with the design of the Superpipe and also helped design the RossCross Family Terrain Park. Ross...

, as well as Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen Bleiler is an American professional halfpipe snowboarder. She currently resides in Aspen, Colorado and is married to Chris Hotell.-Career:...

.

With a $300,000 overall purse, it is one of the largest for a snowboarding series. Halfpipe winners walk away with $14,000, runner-ups $7,000 and $3,500 to third place for both women and men. The overall winners of the tour also drive off with a brand new Chevy at the final competition of the season.

Over the span of the Grand Prix' lifetime more than $4 million has been awarded to riders.

Every series stop is broadcast on NBC and Versus, as well as WCSN.com.

Current Schedule

Dec. 14-15, 2007 - Breckenridge Resort, CO

Friday, Dec. 14 - Halfpipe qualifiers

Saturday, Dec. 15 - Halfpipe finals and the Paul Mitchell Progression Session downtown exhibition
Feb. 9-10, 2008 - Tamarack Resort, ID

Friday, Feb. 8 - Halfpipe qualifiers

Saturday, Feb. 9 - Halfpipe finals

Sunday, Feb. 10 - Snowboardcross qualifier and finals
March 15-16, 2008 - Killington Resort, VT

Saturday, March 15 - Halfpipe qualifiers and night finals with concert

Sunday, March 16 - Paul Mitchell Progression Session, a slopestyle event

Qualifying

Previously open to all riders, the Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix moved to a qualification process in 2008 to accommodate the high demand for starting spots.

The most direct road to qualification is to compete on the Chevrolet Revolution Tour

Revolution Tour

The Chevy Revolution Tour is a snowboarding competition series created in 2005 by U.S. Snowboarding to bridge the gap between grassroots level and elite snowboarding competitions...

, the main vein for up-and-coming riders to advance to the Grand Prix. Additional national events that qualify riders for the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix include the Vans Cup, US Open and USASA Open Division Nationals.

Complete qualification details along with a list of prequalified riders is available at the Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix website.

Past Overall Champions

Year	Men's Champion	Women's Champion
2002 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Wyatt Caldwell	Kelly Clark
2003 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Steve Fisher	Gretchen Bleiler
2004 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Andy Finch	Hannah Teter
2005 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Ross Powers	Lindsey Jacobellis
2006 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Shaun White	Gretchen Bleiler
2007 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Tommy Czeschin	Kelly Clark
2008 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Louie Vito	Kelly Clark
2009 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix	Louie Vito & Steve Fisher	Kelly Clark

External links

• Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix official site
• U.S. Snowboarding official site
• U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association official site