CBS To Air Jeep King Of The Mountain Series Finals At Aspen

Vail, CO — Eclipse Television & Sports Marketing announced today that the Jeep King of the Mountain Series’ World Professional Ski and Snowboard Championship Finals will be aired by CBS this Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 pm EST and Saturday, March 8 at 1:00 pm EST. The Series ended its 10th Anniversary Season on February 22 at the site of its first race, scenic Aspen Mountain. Eclipse Television & Sports Marketing produces the Series, the most widely recognized and most prestigious professional ski/snowboard series in the world. Eclipse introduced its new “Y style race course, women and snowboarding to the events at the Mammoth races. “Our new “Y course format has proven to be very exciting for both the athletes and spectators, said Henry Schneidman, President of Eclipse Television & Sports Marketing. “The head-to-head format combined Giant Parallel Slalom and speed cross, and was designed to create a completely innovative new racing style that was more thrilling for everyone.

The line-up of Olympic, World and National champions on the Jeep King of the Mountain Series’ international teams is staggering. A third of the 24 athletes have earned Olympic Medals, and almost all have competed on their respective country’s Olympic and World Cup teams. The field included the most elite racers in the world, including Team USA’s Tommy Moe, Chris Klug, and Rosey Fletcher, Team France’s Karine Ruby and Mathieu Bozzetto, Team Italy’s Josef Polig and Lidia Trettel, Team Sweden’s Richard Richardsson, Anders Wiggerud and Sara Fischer, Team Germany’s Martin Fiala and Katharina Gutensohn, and Team Canada’s Jasey Jay Anderson and Julie Langevin.

New to the Series this year was an open invitation to top notch amateurs and professional racers to attempt to race against the six teams through the Open Qualifier. Open Qualifiers took place the day before the professional JKOM race, and skiers and snowboarders are invited to take a spin down the “Y race course to qualify to race in the Saturday pro race. “The open qualifier notched up the pool of competition, said Eclipse’s Vice President of Events Denise Lavaroni. “Not only are the JKOM professional racers competing at the highest levels, but so are the qualifiers, and this only adds to the suspense of who will win. In Aspen, qualifier winners Casey Puckett and Anda Smalls ruled the day as the top Team finish for skiing. US Snowboard Team members Pete Thorndike and Sondra Van Ert also did well in the pro race.

The Aspen races were filled with suspense and excitement and crashes and unexpected victories kept racers and spectators on their toes. Almost half the field of competition fell at one point or another during the day, including the two Italian athletes whose crashes in the seeding runs took them out of the competition for the day. The closest finish of the day went with the standoff between Richardsson and Klug for first place in Men’s Snowboarding. These two have been friendly rivals since the 2002 Olympics, and have been neck and neck throughout the season with only 15 points separating them heading into the Aspen race. Winners from this race bring the coveted Black Paul Mitchell Leaders Jersey to next year’s Jeep King of the Mountain Series.

The Jeep King of the Mountain Series’ World Professional Ski and Snowboard Championships made four stops on the 2002-03 tour, including those at Mammoth Mountain, CA, Boyne Mountain, MI, Loon Mountain, NH and Aspen, CO.

Eclipse Television & Sports Marketing was founded in 1993 and is one of the only sports marketing firms in the country capable of creating, producing and marketing an entire sports event or series. Eclipse is also well respected as a national syndication company and television packager that distributes a wide range of programs. For more information about Eclipse, contact Henry Schneidman at (970) 479-3553.