Boulder, CO – NASTAR, the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world, has announced that 2011 World Champion Ted Ligety has signed on to be its official ambassador.

“It is an honor to have 2011 GS World Alpine champion and 2006 Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety as our Nature Valley NASTAR ambassador,” said Johnny Alamo, NASTAR executive director of Partnerships & Strategic Alliances. “Ted’s trajectory from his early days of racing NASTAR to being the top racer in the world is what the next generation of ski racing is all about. As we embark upon rebranding NASTAR with some rock-star imagery, Ted will play a role of inspiration for amateur racers and families within the new marketing campaign.”

“NASTAR introduced me to ski racing at a young age, fostering my continued love for the sport,” said Ligety, who is also the founder and president of Shred Optics, a line of goggles, sunglasses and helmets. “I remember getting the competitive juices flowing by challenging my friends on the NASTAR course at Park City Mountain Resort.”

From his early days in Park City, where he put on his first pair of skis at the age of 2, Ligety has been known to push the boundaries of ski racing. He picked up the nickname “Ted Shred” from a Park City Ski Team coach at the age of 10 because his zeal for slicing through powder was legendary. His first major accomplishment was slalom silver at the 2004 Junior World Championships, but that was only a glimpse of his skiing proficiency.

At the age of 21, Ligety burst through with a gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. He went on to win eight World Cup events from 2006 to 2011. He won the overall World Cup giant slalom title in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Earlier this year, Ligety proved once again he’s at the top in alpine skiing, winning the 2011 giant slalom Alpine World Championship.

NASTAR, an acronym for the NAtional STAndard Race, is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the nation. NASTAR provides a racing program that, through the development of a handicap system, allows racers of all ages and abilities across the country to compare their race results regardless of when and where they race.