Steamboat Springs, CO – NASTAR announced this week that Colorado’s Steamboat Resort has been selected as the site of the 2016 Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships.
The popular season-ending championships will return to Steamboat from March 24-27, 2016, the first half of a planned two-year program. Steamboat previously played host to championships from 2006 through 2009. While at Steamboat, NASTAR experienced the highest participation it has ever seen at championships to date.
NASTAR is the acronym for the NAtional STAndard Race, and is the largest public grassroots ski race program in the world. More than 165,000 Nature Valley NASTAR racer days are recorded throughout the season at 115 resorts across North America. Participants compete within their age and gender groups to win platinum, gold, silver and bronze medals. In addition, participants are ranked in their medal group and the top ranked racers qualify to compete in the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships.
Rob Perlman, President & Chief Operating Officer at Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., is looking forward to the return of the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships. “We are excited to host the 2016 and 2017 NASTAR National Championships and showcase Steamboat — Ski Town, U.S.A. — where the spirit of fast-paced ski and snowboard racing along with team camaraderie is an integral part of the community,” said Perlman.
Bill Madsen, Director of NASTAR, attributed the increase in participation while at Steamboat to the allure of the destination as a spring getaway, and their commitment to creating an affordable, accessible event.
“People were excited to go someplace new,” recalls Madsen. “Steamboat provides a lot of affordable accommodation and they do an incredible job of offering great value for the event with discounted lift tickets and lodging. So, it becomes a really accessible, fun family vacation at the same time. It’s not easy to find a resort partner that can offer this and manage an event for a thousand people and accommodate them, and Steamboat can.”
NASTAR participants qualify for the championships by earning a top-ten national ranking or a top five state ranking within their age, gender and ability group by February 15. Racers can also qualify by earning a top ranking at their favorite resort or at the Regional Championships.
The 2015-16 season will officially kick off in November with the Putnam Investments NASTAR Pacesetting Trials, which will coincide with the U.S. Ski Team’s annual Nature Valley First Tracks celebration at Copper Mountain. This year’s integration with NASTAR is designed to capitalize on the global success of U.S. Ski Team athletes, bringing greater awareness to the sport and value to the industry, while motivating participants of all ages to get involved in ski racing.