Sugarloaf tried to brainstorm an event with the uniqueness and allure to become an annual rite of late winter or early spring.

That requires someone with ingenuity, influence and star power.

Nice to have all of that hanging around in your backyard.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott dreamed up the Sugarloaf Banked Slalom. He’ll even compete in the showcase, headlining a field of 100 snowboarders today at the Carrabassett Valley resort.

Wescott won’t take all the credit. He borrowed much of the blueprint from the Mount Baker Legendary Banked Slalom, a pioneering event in Bellingham, Wash., that helped sell Wescott and an entire first generation of snowboarders on the craft.

“It goes back to the original snowboard competition, which started at Mount Baker in I think 1984,” Wescott said. “It provides something for all riders, whether they’re six years old or 60 years old.”

Fellow Olympic and world champion Ross Powers of Londonderry, Vt., and possibly other special guests will join Wescott at the inaugural Sugarloaf slalom, which is slated to begin at 10 a.m.

Wescott carved out his reputation as the 2006 and 2010 Olympic gold medalist in boardercross, an endeavor that features four riders at a time speeding down a hill while negotiating numerous banked turns and jumps.

Mount Baker’s competition is considered the precursor of boardercross. But a banked slalom, like its skiing namesake, is a slightly tamer, individual competition.

“The only thing that’s similar are the banked turns. There are no jumps or anything,” Wescott said. “Everybody stays on the ground the whole time. It’s you versus the clock.”

There are five age brackets for both men and women: 14-and-under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39 and 40-plus. Prizes are available to the top three finishers in each division as well as the top three overall finishers.

For the record, Wescott — the only Olympic gold medalist in the history of boardercross — is 34. Powers, who won gold in the half pipe at Salt Lake City in 2002, is 32.

“I’m competing, but we’re sort of separate from the other 30-plus guys,” Wescott said. “After the first year getting it started, I can see us opening it up to a pro class.”

Course maintenance began Monday. The work included three nights of snow cat grooming and two days of finishing touches by hand.

Between the steady assault of multiple late-winter storms and this week’s more intense rays of sunshine, Wescott expects stellar conditions.

“They’ve done a great job making the course. It’s on kind of an old-school, East Coast trail. It’s narrow and winding,” Wescott said. “I think people are going to have a fun time.”

Sugarloaf capped the field at 100 entrants for the debut race.

Wescott anticipates that it could grow into a multi-day attraction in the future.

“They wanted to be able to do something that could become an annual event,” said Wescott, who lives on the mountain and co-owns a restaurant there. “It’s something to fuel all the New England riders and get those juices going.”

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