World Cup Ski Racing Returns To Killington Through 2020
U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the National Governing Body (NGB) of Olympic ski and snowboard sports in the USA, and Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR, have solidified a two-year agreement for Vermont’s Killington Resort to host the FIS Ski World Cup. Killington’s place on the 2019 World Cup calendar has been confirmed by the International Ski Federation (FIS). HomeLight will be the title sponsor for the next World Cup at Killington, which will take place November 30-December 1, 2019, Thanksgiving weekend.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is eager to "Bring it home," as this year marks the first year that HomeLight, the San Francisco-based real estate technology company, will be the title sponsor for the World Cup at Killington, the Homelight Killington Cup. This event will be the only domestic stop on the World Cup tour for the women of the U.S. Ski Team, including two-time Olympic gold medalist and global superstar Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, Colo.). The highly anticipated event signals the beginning of the ski season for many fans.
As with the past three years of the FIS Ski World Cup, the proposed 2019 and 2020 races at Killington will be broadcast worldwide to more than 60 nations, along with national broadcast coverage across the U.S. The event has drawn an increasing number of spectators who converge in Killington each year to cheer on racers from around the world. Peaking at 40,000 spectators last year, the event is anticipated to bring millions of dollars in economic impact to the Killington Region and the state of Vermont.
“Establishing another multi-year World Cup schedule here at Killington is an incredible opportunity for the resort and the surrounding community. I continue to be blown away by the sheer size of the crowds, and their enthusiasm leads me to believe that we’ll continue to see large numbers of spectators to watch the fastest female ski racers in the world take on the Superstar trail,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort.
“We use every cold period in October and November to build a world-class race venue on Superstar, and getting the job done early in the season showcases Killington’s state-of-the-art snowmaking system as an industry-leading powerhouse while also setting us up to offer the longest season in the East. In fact, we skied into June this season for the second time in three years.”
The World Cup includes women’s giant slalom and slalom races, attracting athletes such as Shiffrin, who has emerged victorious in slalom each of the last three years at Killington, for the hat trick. "The Killington World Cup has long been a highlight of mine on the World Cup tour the last three seasons,” said Shiffrin. “In 2018 we – all of us together – set a new precedent for ski racing internationally, boasting the largest World Cup crowd for women on the entire circuit. To get that hat trick slalom victory in front of thousands of screaming fans at home is something I will never, ever forget. I'm looking forward to once again competing on home soil."
Tickets for the 2019 HomeLight Killington Cup will go on sale in August. Stay tuned to Killington and U.S. Ski & Snowboard channels for more information.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard has had a long relationship with POWDR producing World Cup and Grand Prix events at other POWDR resorts including Copper Mountain, and the collaboration for Killington’s World Cup the past three years solidified “The Beast of the East” as a strong venue for World Cup alpine ski racing to continue on the East coast.
