Steamboat to host 4th straight NASTAR nationals in '09

Steamboat will host the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships for the fourth straight season on March 26-29, 2009, as the event celebrates its 41st anniversary. 
    The previous three national championship events brought nearly 4,000 racers to Steamboat, becoming the most popular events in the NASTAR program’s history.
    “We are proud to welcome the NASTAR National Championships back to Steamboat, which has deep roots in Olympic, World and National Championships,” said Andy Wirth, executive vice president of sales and marketing and chief marketing officer for Intrawest.
STEAMBOAT will host the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships for the fourth straight season on March 26-29, 2009, as the event celebrates its 41st anniversary. 
    The previous three national championship events brought nearly 4,000 racers to Steamboat, becoming the most popular events in the NASTAR program’s history.
    “We are proud to welcome the NASTAR National Championships back to Steamboat, which has deep roots in Olympic, World and National Championships,” said Andy Wirth, executive vice president of sales and marketing and chief marketing officer for Intrawest. “This event has been elevated to an entirely new level due to the successful partnership between Mountain Sports Media and the Steamboat Ski Resort. Building on the success of the last three National Championships, Steamboat’s goal will be to again exceed the highest of expectations in 2009.”
    The 2009 Nature Valley National Championships are expected to attract nearly 1,400 racers for the multi-day event. Racers qualify for the national championships by earning a top-three ranking in their age division at any of the 125 Nature Valley NASTAR ski resorts throughout North America. In 2008 competitors ages 3 to 93 from 44 states as well as Canada and Australia competed in age and gender categories in alpine, telemark, snowboard and physically challenged categories for the chance to win a national title at Steamboat. In addition to exciting race competition, participants will again have the chance to hang with a few of ski racing’s all-time greats including Olympic medalist and World Champion Billy Kidd, Olympic gold medalist Deb Armstrong and more.
    Building upon past opening ceremonies, a free music concert will kick things off and set the tone for the festivities. Participants rocked out to Rusted Root as Steamboat’s signature Champagne Powder snow fell from the sky in 2008 and to platinum artist and part-time Yampa Valley residents Big Head Todd & the Monsters in 2007. Stay tuned to nastar.com for all the details on the upcoming championships.
    “The 2008 Nature Valley NASTAR National Championship was the best NASTAR Championship ever held,” said Bill Madsen, director of operations for NASTAR. “Steamboat has been a terrific host for the past three years, transforming the event into a resortwide festival that is greatly anticipated by many in the winter racing community. This year’s 41st anniversary will again set a new standard.”
    NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world. Since the program’s inception four decades ago, more than 6 million racer days have been recorded by NASTAR. Last season alone, 103,425 competitors hit the NASTAR gates logging a record 547,238 starts.