Now in its third year, the Uninvited Invitational brought together 75 snowboarders from around the globe at Woodward Park City, Utah, to throw down on a custom-built course for their share of a $60,000 prize purse.
Now in its third year, the Uninvited Invitational brought together 75 snowboarders from around the globe at Woodward Park City, Utah, to throw down on a custom-built course for their share of a $60,000 prize purse.
With the standard of riding sky-high, qualifiers ran over two days, giving judges Melissa Ritano, Catie Cook (head judge), Mikey LeBlanc and Louif Paradis time to deliberate on who would advance to the finals. No small task — but if anyone’s up to the job, it’s this crew of veteran snowboarders.
The first day of qualifiers went off with a bang, with Nora Beck hucking backflips off the purple pole-jam while Mae Morelli landed the first butter-pad-to-down-rail transfer — a line many would chase, some successfully, others with heavy slams…
This year’s course ditched the hip feature at the bottom. A shame — we’d love to see it return, as it previously gave riders like Annika Morgan and Emma Crosby space to showcase style in the air as well as on steel.
Day two brought a new wallride feature, signalling open-season for the handplant heroes Taylor Elliott, Egan Wint, Devi Gupta and Naima Antolin who all got inverted on the zebra-striped extension.
Sadly, Uninvited Euro Open winner Emma “Emmasita” Lacarrere took a gnarly slam to the head in her attempt at butter-pad transfer. Though ruled out for finals, she earned the Heart Award for her infectious energy and was all smiles again by the afterparty.
With just 29 riders progressing to the finals, the livestreamed event brought a palpable buzz. Huge transfers dominated: Devi Gupta, Jill Perkins and Mela Stalker all went big, with Mela even recruiting a crew — including a topless Phil Hansen — for tow-ins to squeeze extra speed for the send.
One of the most electric moments of the finals came courtesy of 15-year-old Jess Perlmutter, who stunned the crowd with a colossal frontside boardslide 450 out of the wallride — a move that landed with the same all-or-nothing energy as Jeff Hardy coming off the top rope. And just like in the prime-time of WWE’s grip on teenagers everywhere, the crowd went WILD.
When the bell chimed for time at the bar the park crew hastily raked the course for a Quarter Pipe contest that would give the judges time to pull out their comically large cheque-books and start scribbling names ahead of the award ceremony.
The Quarter Pipe contest was open to all riders, which allowed many that hadn’t made it to finals a chance to join back in on the fun. Sonny Alba was a particular stand out with both a huge frontside air and a front fifty to 270 back in from the tippy top of the extension.
We were stoked to see that, having wowed the crowd as the 3rd place wildcard-wunderkid last year, Jess Perlmutter secured the bag and took home 1st place. Her riding last year caught everyone’s attention, but this year it was clear that the progress showed no sign of slowing down. With back-to-back-to-back wins at RedBull Heavy Metal, the Bombhole Cup and now The Uninvited Invitational Jess will need to spend at least a portion of that whopping $15,000 1st place cheque on a new trophy cabinet.
Full results:
1st Place: Jess Perlmutter
2nd Place: Himari Takamori
3rd Place: Veda Hallen
4th Place: Devi Gupta
5th Place: Annika Morgan
Best Trick: Jaylen Hansen
Best Air: Katja Dutu
Best Slam: Jayva Jordan
Heart Award: Emma Sita
Style Award: Emma Crosby
Baldface Stoke Award: Bella Warren
One to Watch: Mela Stalker
North Face Free Your Line: Laura Rogowski
Yeti Rookie Award: Hinano Sakamoto
There were several riders that we feel need an extra shout out here:
Nora Beck: Gnarliest in the game, Nora’s riding gets everyone hyped. With a true OG style and an appetite for the heaviest tricks on the biggest features it’s no surprise that Nora walked away with a bleeding face from her battles to put it down on the day. But goddamn did she stand out for it. An absolute badass.
Bri Delfs: Having scored a wildcard entry in 2024, she got the full invite this year and came locked and loaded. Putting in lap after lap, and showcasing a seriously diverse trick bag across every feature it was rad to see her come out swinging and make it to finals.
Mela Stalker: Much like Bri, last year Mela impressed us with some great technical riding. But in the year since, it’s clear that Mela has put in some serious time on the snowboard and has developed her own unique and very clean style. Much like skateboarding’s Shane O’Neill, Mela’s riding is precise and controlled. Making the toughest trick look effortless.
Japanese Style: It has to be said, the Japanese contingent were, unequivocally, the most stylish throughout the event. Every trick was poked, arms dialled, fits immaculate. A true joy to watch.
On Sunday, the BTBounds crew took women and non-binary riders out for woodward park laps with pro riders from the event to progress their riding, form connections and break down barriers. With sessions on various features and the event course, this was a rad opportunity for snowboarders to learn from pros like Ari Morrone; who came out with big grins, deep knowledge and an obvious passion for the sport that would get everyone stoked to try a new trick.
The Uninvited Invitational continues to shape snowboarding’s future — creating space for progression, community and visibility.
And for us mere mortals that get to spectate for 3 days, the dopamine high from the atmosphere that the Uninvited team creates is unlike anything else. Seriously I’ve had comedowns from MDMA that are less intense than the emotional crash that follows this event.
If you’ve not yet, then watch the official bombhole recap video below or rewatch the finals livestream here and then book your flights to come and spectate next year!
The 2025 @uninvited_invitational was presented by The North Face with support from Yeti, Rockstar Energy, Woodward Park City, Subaru USA, CAPiTA Snowboards, Union Binding Co, Nidecker Snowboards, Sun Bum, Fat Tire, Herschel Supply, Skullcandy, Coal Headwear, Baldface Lodge, and The Bomb Hole.
Header Image: Sara Previte
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