World Cup Ski Racing to return to Killington Resort through 2020

June 3, 2019

Vermont Resort Welcomes Spectators and Athletes for Two More Years of World-Class Ski Racing

Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the National Governing Body (NGB) of Olympic ski and snowboard sports in the USA, have a two-year agreement for Vermont’s Killington Resort to host the Audi 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.

As with the last three years of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, the 2019 and 2020 races at Killington will be broadcast worldwide to more than 60 nations, along with national broadcast coverage across the US. 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 39,000 spectators last year, the event is anticipated to bring millions of dollars in economic impact to 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 U.S. Ski Team superstar Mikaela Shiffrin who has emerged victorious in slalom each of the last three years at Killington, for the hat trick.

“The Killington Cup has long been a highlight of mine on the World Cup tour the last three seasons,” says Mikaela 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.”

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. Tickets go on sale August 21, 2019.

Highlights

• U.S. Ski & Snowboard and its resort partners POWDR and Killington Resort are signing a two-year agreement to host the Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Killington, VT in November 2019 and 2020.
• 2016’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup at Killington was the first World Cup in the eastern USA since 1991 at Waterville Valley, NH and the first in Vermont since 1978 at Stratton Mountain. Killington also hosted the event in 2017 and 2018.
• Killington’s 2018 Audi FIS Ski World Cup set American attendance records with an estimated 39,000 spectators across three days (5,500 Friday’s opening ceremonies, 18,500 Saturday’s giant slalom races, 15,000 Sunday’s slalom races).
• U.S. Ski Team superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has emerged victorious in slalom each of the last three years at Killington, for the hat trick.

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