The Mitch Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award brought to you by Paul Mitchell will be awarded to the athlete who has the potential to surpass expectation during the season. It may be the dark horse athlete who has an unexpected moment , or a season that launched his career. It is something that sets the bar for a new level of achievement. The award winner will get a $5,000 Paul Mitchell sponsorship next year. Not too shabby.

So how does this all work? Free Ski and Snowboard athletes have been preselected by Alli sport organizers for their potential to become the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year this season. You read the athlete profiles below, and cast your athlete pick for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. Your votes will then be tallied at the 3rd and final Winter Dew Tour stop this season in Snow Basin. The athletes will also cast their votes in Snowbasin and the Mitch Breakthrough Athlete of the Year brought to you by Paul Mitchell will then be announced at the Winter Dew Cup Awards ceremony in Snowbasin on Sunday, February 12th.

The power is in your hands! Help decide who wins the Mitch Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award brought to you by Paul Mitchell this season. Read the athlete profiles and cast your vote now!

Justin Morgan

Justin Morgan grew up on the East Coast and started riding in 1995 at West Mountain in New York state. He's since moved on to bigger and bolder terrain, and can be seen killing it on the massive jumps and technical rails of Breckenridge's park. Expect big amplitude, massive spins and smooth rail skills from Morgan.

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Nick Poohachoff

Nick Poohachoff is from South Lake Tahoe, Calif and has been riding since he was nine. He's a rider who does it just for the love of the sport and travels in search of the endless winter as a way to avoid the offseason. He's a stylish rider, and it's evident in his grabs and corks. Poohachoff had to contend with a knee injury in 2009, but he returned stronger than ever.

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Broc Waring

Known for his ability to boost to heights beyond most riders his own age, Broc Waring first picked up a snowboard at the age of seven during a family vacation to Northstar-at-Tahoe. It wasn't until two years later, when his family moved to Colorado, that Waring took up snowboarding full time. Thanks in a large part to his skateboarding skills, Waring began competing at the age of 10, quickly rising through the ranks in both the park and the pipe.

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Serena Shaw

Serena Shaw starting riding at age 4 and these days trains at Vermont's Stratton Mountain School, where famous snowboarding alumni include Dew Cup champ Louie Vito and Ellery Hollingsworth. Last season Shaw racked up top-10 World Cup results in both slope and pipe. She comes from a family of snowboarders, and with a background in gymnastics she'll be one to keep an eye on.

Joss Christensen

Joss Christensen is a member of the Park City Freestyle Ski team and he has a dub cork 12 mute in his bag of tricks. He's been a contender in top U.S. and international competitions, and he always heads to Mt. Hood in the summer to train. This up-and-comer recently secured a deal with Fischer skis and has his sights set on the Olympics in 2014. Raised in Park City with the top skiers and snowboarders as his best friends, there's always someone to help push his riding to the next level.

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Nick Goepper

Nick Goepper grew up skiing the Midwest in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Now he's coming into his own as a professional skier, with a podium finish after earning third place at the 2011 Dew Tour's slopestyle competition in Killington. He went on to take the win at the Dumont Cup later same season. His style is clean and controlled and his ski hero growing up is Dew Cup champ Bobby Brown.

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Devin Logan

Devin Logan is a double threat among the female freeskiers, competing in both pipe and slopestyle. She grew up skiing the East Coast beginning at the tender age of two. Weekends at Mount Snow gave her a solid foundation, and although she had original hopes of being an alpine racer, her family of park skiing brothers wouldn't hear of it, and a freeskier she became.

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Benoit Valentin

Benoit Valentin hails from la Plagne, France and is one of the most talented pipe up-and-comers in the world. He recently joined the Rossignol Freestyle team and his talent and technique prime him as a major contender in the 2014 Olympics. He's also a member of France's national ski halfpipe team along with defending Dew Cup champ Kevin Rolland.