Bethel native Simon Dumont will return to Maine this weekend to host the third annual Dumont Cup at Sunday River in Newry.

The event attracts professional freeski athletes who will mentor, compete and judge skiers on a slope-style course during the two-day event. The course is located on the resort’s Rocking Chair Terrain Park and was designed by Dumont himself.

Dumont ignored interview requests by the Sun Journal and did not return phone calls for comment this week.

Among professional skiers competing will be Jossi Wells, Gus Kenworthy, Ian Cosco, Mike Riddle, Justin Dorey, Pete Olenick, Tom Wallisch and last year’s winner Alex Schlopy.

Schlopy was the first amateur to win the Dumont Cup and has gone on to win a gold medal at the 2011 X Games Big Air event.

There will be two sessions of qualifying Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The top 40 amateurs will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. During the semifinal and final rounds, amateur skiers compete alongside the professional racers. Judges will select the top three overall winners as well as a top amateur.

There is $20,000 in cash and prizes for first, second and third-place finishers. The event is open to 200 competitors.

Dumont, a Telstar Regional High School graduate,  didn’t start skiing professionally until 2003 and won the Whistler Invitational Superhit and was fourth in the U.S. Open. Since then, he has numerous Winter X Games medals, a Guinness World Record and has become one of the biggest names in freeskiing.

He used that success to back his hopes of creating one of the best East Coast events. The number of entries doubled last year and they’ve increased the number of entrants by 50 this year.