VAIL, Colorado — Nakita Apostol remembers when Vail had the Honda Sessions and U.S. Free Ski Open competitions and loved having something here at home.

The Gatorade Free Flow Tour kicked off Saturday at Golden Peak in Vail, Colo., featuring amateur athletes with big aspirations, vying for a chance to get a slot in the Winter Dew Tour next season — a professional tour.

Apostol, a Ski and Snowboard Club Vail coach, is thrilled to have a local competition again for her athletes.

“It's really cool to bring something back to the community, for the families and everyone,” Apostol said.

Vail is the second stop on the 10-stop tour, which began in Pennsylvania and ends at Mammoth Lakes, Calif., with the finals set for early February at Mount Snow in Vermont. It's a chance for amateur skiers and snowboarders to break into a professional circuit, said Brett LaCour, one of the tour's organizers.

“It's good for the amateurs — it helps give the younger kids a good push,” LaCour said. “It gives them a great jumpstart.”

That's exactly why teenagers such as Dillon Buck, 18, showed up Saturday. Buck, from Aspen, said he competes whenever he can and that getting a bid into the Dew professional tour “would be sick.”

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athletes, about 20 of them, were competing with all their hearts at the Free Flow Tour. They had three coaches on the sidelines to give them technique advice and that extra push.

“We had training up here as early as October,” said Noah Brooks, the director of the Club's freeride and snowboard program. “As soon as the snow flies, we're out here.”

Brooks was excited for his athletes — the amateur tour is brand new, and he was thrilled to give the kids a chance to make it big.

Competitions aren't new, though, for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athletes. They're heading to Wisconsin next week, then Aspen. They'll also make it to the European Open in Laax, Switzerland, before heading to Whistler in April, Oregon in July and training in New Zealand in August.

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail's “little rippers” such as Darian Barry, 11, and Duke Yarde, 11, can't wait to make it big enough that they get to travel the world as snowboarders.

The goals for the Free Flow Tour were to have fun and get to the finals, Duke said. They were riding at the Tour in honor of one of their idols Kevin Pearce, who sustained serious injuries at a Park City, Utah competition recently.

Brian Kiss, 15, was skiing in the slopestyle event Saturday. Brian can't count how many competitions he's been in because there are so many, he said. He does it, though, because of the experience.

“It helps in conquering fears,” said Brian, a student a Summit High School in Breckenridge.

Cody Potter, 16, said he skis competitively because of the adrenaline rush, but his coach, Tyler Conway, has other guesses at why the teenagers are competing.

“They do it for the ladies,” Conway said.

The ladies might not be around yet, but Conway assures his athletes they will come around eventually.

Gatorade Free Flow Tour results

Saturday results:

Freeski Slopestyle

1. Tanner Coulter, Vail.

2. Aiden Sheahan, Aspen.

3. Ben Moxham, Tamarack, Idaho.

Junior Jam — Ski

1. Cass Sheridan, Vail.

2. Jonah Elston, Helena, Mont.

3. Cole Pates, Aspen.

Men's Snowboard Slopestyle

1. Cody Boan, Breckenridge.

2. Colin Spencer, Golden.

3. Nick Larsen, Breckenridge.

4. Tommie Bennett, Vail.

Women's Snowboard Slopestyle

1. Gill Montgomery, Keystone.

2. Emily Blewitt, Summit County.

3. Rachel Gordon, Vail.

Junior Jam — Snowboard

1. Daniel Klein, Australia.

2. Jared Elston, Helena, Mont.

3. Darren Mack, Boyne, Mich.