- With some of the best instructors in the country, Winter Park's race instructors will be conducting special full-day race clinics exclusively for National Championships competitors the week prior to the competition. Each full-day race clinic will include the technical skills of how body movements and ski shape affect the turn, the tactics of line and where to most effectively start turns, and start skills as the first two seconds of any run can be the difference between 1st place and 30th. The clinic will also include video analysis and timing equipment to measure achievements. Race clinics must be booked directly through Winter Park. To register for the race clinics or for additional information call 866-441-2718 or visit www.skiwinterpark.com/nastar.
- Phil Mahre, considered by many to be the most accomplished American skier of all time, will set the pace for the 2010 NASTAR National Championships. Phil won an amazing 27 World Cup races, still the highest total ever by an American. Phil competed in 3 Olympics, winning silver in slalom in 1980, and gold in slalom in 1984. He also became the first US skier to win an Overall World Cup title in 1981, and repeated the feat in 1982 and 1983 becoming only the third skier in history to win 3 consecutive titles.
- Other Special Guests expected to appear at the Nationals include A.J. Kitt 4-time Olympian and 1993 downhill bronze medallist; Kaylin Richardson US downhill champion in 2009; Doug Lewis 2-time Olympian and bronze medallist at the 1985 World Championships; Jimmy Cochran and Steve Nyman, 2010 and 2006 Olympians respectively
- Live coverage of the Race of Champions on Sunday March 28, 2010, will be available online at www.nastar.com. Tune in at 10AM for the Alpine Females, all ages category, and 11AM for the Alpine Men.
- Races will actually take place on various sections of two trails on the Winter Park mountain: Hughes 9Hughes Meadows and Lower Hughes) and Cranmer (Upper, Middle and Lower).
- There are a total of 46 possible age & gender categories (23 male, 23 female) in each division (i.e. Platinum Division, Gold Division, Silver Division, Bronze Division, Snowboard Division, Telemark Division, Physically Challenged Divisions). Age categories are as follows: 1-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-20, 21-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95+. Racers will compete in the age & gender category in which they qualified for the National Championships as determined by their age as of December 31, 2009.
- The overall male and female Nature Valley NASTAR champions will also win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with the U.S. Ski Team in Chile at their summer camp.
- NASTAR has worked with partners Nature Valley and NBC Universal Sports to produce a documentary-style show covering the racers and events of the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships. Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online, reaching 57 million homes. The show will air during the Audi Birds of Prey race week in Beaver Creek, CO, December 4-6, 2010.
- The 2010 Nationals is the first year in a 2-year commitment to hold the event at Winter Park Resort.
- The Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships is much more than just a competition, it's a happening! The 2010 National Championships will be a festival that celebrates the sport of alpine racing and it will be a reunion for the top recreational racers in the country. Winter Park has planned an exciting weekend of activities for you and your guests including a free concert, a Warren Miller movie screening, autograph signings by a few of skiing's all-time greats, competitor raffles/giveaways, Saturday's awards reception and more.
Posted on 3/12/2010
