The Winter Dew Tour Nike Open, kicking off the 2011-12 season at Breckenridge, opened athlete registration Thursday to snowboarders and freeskiers looking to compete in superpipe and slopestyle.

Gold medal-winning Olympian Shaun White will be returning after a two-year hiatus to reclaim the Dew Cup, which he won in the 2010 season.

He will be facing Louie Vito in the superpipe, who left Snowbasin last season with the championship title. Danny Davis is also confirmed to compete this season, which will be his first full year back on the contest circuit after suffering a back injury in early 2010.

Freeskiing game-changer Simon Dumont is slated to compete, as well as Torin Yater-Wallace, who dominated the superpipe in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour, before moving up to the pro ranks in 2010.

For the first time in Dew Tour history, women's freeskiing will be elevated to a Dew Cup discipline on the tour. At the Killington and Snowbasin stops, female skiers will compete for points toward the overall standings and the Dew Cup. Expect to see freeskiers such as Sarah Burke and Jen Hudak bring their top game to the pipe and slopestyle during the race for the title.

Women's events will take on a new level of focus this year. The ladies will compete in snowboard superpipe and slopestyle in Breckenridge, while skiers will have a chance to show their skills on the slope and in the pipe at Killington.