Copper Mountain, CO – A record field will be on hand this weekend at Copper Mountain in Colorado with around 150 athletes from 21 nations battling in the 22-foot halfpipe in the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix, a TTR 5Star and Continental Cup event.

Louie Vito, of Columbus, Ohio, and Sun Valley, Idaho’s Kaitlyn Farrington will be going for repeat wins. But they’ll face tough competition from the likes of Olympic medalist Scotty Lago, of Seabrook, N.H., and Olympic champion Kelly Clark of West Dover, Vt., the top ranked athlete in TTR standings, who is coming off a sensational season. Aspen, Colo.’s Olympic medalist, Gretchen Bleiler, and 2011 Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix winner Matt Ladley, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., will also be in the hunt, as will top international riders including TTR top-ranked Ryo Aono of Japan and TTR third ranked Iouri Podlachikov of Switzerland for men, along with TTR top-ranked woman Queralt Castellat of Spain.

Men’s qualification heats took place on Thursday with finals scheduled for Saturday from noon to 1:30 p.m. MT. Women qualify Saturday morning. The event concludes with a Paul Mitchell Progression Session Saturday evening from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Sprint U.S. Grand Prix is the longest standing series in snowboarding and will conclude at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., in March.