Cancun, Mexico – American ski racing fans are in for another exciting season with the global alpine ski racing tour making four stops in the U.S. in 2016-17, culminating with the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals at Colorado’s Aspen Snowmass resort. The final schedule was confirmed at the annual International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress held in Mexico in June, with 16 alpine tour starts being awarded to the USA. When combined with freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding, there will be 30 World Cups held in the U.S. this winter.

“World Cup Finals is always a highlight of the year and, with all four events and men and women at the same location, the best showcase of the sport,” said U.S. Ski Team athlete Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah. “Having World Cup Finals in Aspen on home soil is awesome. Having friends and family there for support should add to getting that little edge on the competition.”

Killington Resort (Vt.), Beaver Creek Resort (Colo.) and Squaw Valley (Calif.) will each host World Cup stops before the season ends at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Aspen. After successfully hosting the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2015, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), in conjunction with its resort partners and the FIS, continues to help grow the visibility of alpine ski racing in America.

The World Cup Finals, taking place March 15-19 in Aspen, will feature the top 25 men and women in eight tech and speed events as well as a mixed gender team competition – the newest Olympic event. Aspen is the first U.S. resort to host World Cup Finals since 1997. Aspen, which has been an iconic stop on the tour since 1968, has invested heavily into bringing the season finale event to America, showcasing the sport in one of its most popular venues.

“Aspen has been a remarkable partner in a very large-scale project to bring the best ski racers in the world to the USA for an end of season festival of the sport,” said USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “It’s an important part of our initiative to increase awareness of ski racing in America.”

“Aspen is one of the world’s iconic ski resorts and a popular stop on the World Cup tour since its inception in 1968. The Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals is a major focus for Aspen Snowmass and our entire community,” said John Rigney, Vice President, Aspen Skiing Company. “We’re proud to bring the world’s best ski racers to town in celebration of athletic achievement, and treat racing’s global fans to an amazing week on and off the slopes in Aspen, Colorado.”

Bringing the World Cup back to the East for the first time since 1991, Vermont’s Killington Resort will host women’s slalom and giant slalom races in November.

“Killington is an ideal venue for World Cup skiing’s return to the east coast. To be considered for this event is a tremendous honor and opportunity for Killington and the surrounding community,” confirmed Killington President and General Manager Mike Solimano. “We plan to hold the race on our Superstar trail, located adjacent to the K-1 Express Gondola and base area. Snowmaking infrastructure on this trail received significant upgrades this summer and this November race will allow us to showcase our world-class snowmaking system. Killington is thrilled to represent the entire state of Vermont to the international ski market.”

Beaver Creek, site of the 2015 Word Championships, will once again host the iconic Birds of Prey men’s races in December.

“We always look forward, as an organizer and a community, to the annual Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek,” said Mike Imhof, President and CEO of race organizer Vail Valley Foundation. “Our recent World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek in 2015 was an opportunity to dramatically raise the profile of alpine ski racing with record spectators and broadcast audiences. The Vail Valley Foundation and Beaver Creek Resort are proud to be a part of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup and to be kicking off an exceptional World Cup calendar with Birds of Prey this year.”

The women will return stateside in March to race at Squaw Valley, the resort’s first World Cup since 1969.

“As a mountain community, we are hosting this event to inspire the next generation of ski racers. There is nothing like watching a group of young athletes standing there in the finish corral looking up and truly being motivated by the best athletes in the world. With 1,500 kids in our race program and countless others in the region, this is the stage we must set for them to achieve their goals, in ski racing or otherwise,” remarked Andy Wirth, President and CEO, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.

“Our resort partners continue to be extremely supportive in showcasing alpine ski racing on home snow,” added Shaw. “Killington, Beaver Creek, Squaw Valley and Aspen are world-class resorts that will put on fantastic events. Many of our athletes grew up training and racing on these hills and they’re excited to have this many opportunities to ski in front of a hometown crowd.”

The 16 alpine starts are part of a total 30 World Cup events across alpine, freeskiing, freestyle and snowboarding in the USA. The FIS Freestyle World Cup will once again stop in Lake Placid, N.Y. and at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. Both venues are rich with Olympic history. Last season, Deer Valley Resort successfully hosted an official test event for the 2019 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships. The FIS Freeskiing and Snowboard World Cups will also make three stops in the U.S. this season. Copper Mountain will play host to halfpipe skiing and snowboarding and big air snowboarding in December. In March, Mammoth Mountain will host both halfpipe and slopestyle for riders. There is also a snowboardcross and ski cross event on the schedule for 2016-17.

The USSA and NBC Sports are teaming up once again to put together an extensive TV and live streaming schedule for all of the alpine World Cups.

“With these four World Cup sites, we are taking a huge step in helping to raise the profile of alpine ski racing in America,” continued Shaw. “The engagement we saw in 2015 with the World Championships was unlike anything we’d ever seen and we expect to reach and engage with an even bigger audience this season. It’s a great time to be a ski racing fan.”

2016-17 U.S. World Cup Schedule

Alpine

• Nov. 26-27, Audi FIS Ski World Cup (women’s giant slalom, slalom), Killington, VT
• Dec. 2-4, Audi FIS Ski World Cup, Audi Birds of Prey Race Week (men’s downhill, super G, giant slalom), Beaver Creek, CO
• Mar. 11-12, Audi FIS Ski World Cup (women’s giant slalom, slalom), Squaw Valley, CA
• Mar. 15-19, Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals (men’s and women’s slalom, giant slalom, super G, downhill, team), Aspen, CO

Freestyle

• Jan. 13-14, Lake Placid Freestyle Cup (moguls, aerials), Lake Placid, NY
• Feb. 2-4, Deer Valley Freestyle International (moguls, dual moguls, aerials), Park City, UT

Snowboarding/Freeskiing

• Dec. 16-17, Snowboarding and Freeskiing World Cup (men’s and women’s halfpipe, big air snowboarding), Copper Mountain, CO
• Jan 17-22, Cross World Cup (men’s and women’s skicross, snowboardcross), TBD
• Feb. 3-5, Snowboarding and Freeskiing World Cup (men’s and women’s halfpipe, slopestyle), Mammoth Mountain, CO