This weekend's Audi FIS World Cup stop at Killington Resort in Vermont could not "have gone any better," as local favorite Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom competition, the audience "was huge and excited and the two-day event was well organized," according to Jeanette DeForge of MASSLIVE.com. This was the first World Cup event held in New England in 25 years, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association President & CEO Tiger Shaw said it "exceeded our expectations in every way." Shaw "thanked the Killington employees for their efforts to make enough snow to cover the course as well as those who kept the snow in the best condition as possible, especially on Saturday when it was warm." Shaw: "I haven't seen this many people in a men's or women's race except for the big ones like Kitzbuhel." DeForge reports an estimated 16,000 fans attended Saturday, when racers "competed in the giant slalom." Powdr Corporation Senior VP/Int'l Business Development Herwig Demschar said that yesterday's crowd was a "little smaller for the slalom, with 8,000 to 9,000 watching, but it was still a strong turnout." The "size of the crowds were record-breaking especially in races" in the U.S. (MASSLIVE.com, 11/27). The grandstands yesterday were "filled, with spectators piled up dozens deep alongside the course." Skier Veronika Velez-Zuzulová said, "The crowds have never been like this in Aspen. They were making noise for me, too. They were cheering for everybody" (AP, 11/27).
LOOKING AHEAD: In N.Y., Bill Pennington notes holding a World Cup event in Vermont was the "first step in a grander plan to reintroduce high-level ski racing to the Eastern United States, and not just at mountain resorts." Pennington: "Imagine a 5,000-kilometer cross-country race in Manhattan’s Central Park in February? Or an Alpine dual slalom competition in the heart of an Eastern seaboard city? Or a snowboarding and skiing competition on a 150-foot, snow-covered ramp in a major league ballpark?" Shaw said, "A dual slalom is not out of the question, or a big air event that we’ll bring into a city. It’s about getting the sport to major centers of population. And the East is a hotbed." Pennington notes the Killington races were a "tangible result of a critical fence-mending effort" by U.S. ski officials. In the last 20 years, a "schism had developed between the Eastern and Western regions of the country" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/28).
