Olympians to Host NASTAR National Championships

Park City, Utah March 26, 2002 (NASTAR Press Release)–1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Phil Mahre and1994 Olympic Gold Medalist Tommy Moe join Olympians AJ Kitt and Chad Fleischer to host the 2002 NASTAR National Championships at Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, March 28-31, 2002. With a record 900 ski racers from throughout the U.S. set to participate, the 2002 NASTAR National Championships will be one of the largest sanctioned on-site ski races in U.S. history.

The national finalists, competing in several categories, will participate in two days of ski racing for the prestigious gold medal and title ofnational champion for their age and gender category. On Sunday, March 31, all gold medal winners will compete in the “NASTAR National Championships Final,” a winner-take-all race that will determine the true NASTAR National Champion for the 2001-2002 season.

“The NASTAR National Championships is a great opportunity for recreational skiers to showcase their skills in a competitive environment,” said Tommy Moe, 1994 Olympic Gold Medalist and an official pacesetter for the NASTAR National Championships. “NASTAR introduced me to competitive ski racing. We could see some of these kids in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.”

NASTAR National Championship participants qualified either via season-long resort rankings or through one of six regional championships where racers earned an automatic qualification by finishing in the top three in their respective age categories.

Mahre, Moe, Kitt and Fleischer will each serve as official pacesetters for the two days of competition. Racers will make two runs per day, with the best handicap time each day averaged together to provide official results after the second day of competition. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to each age and gender category.

In addition, current U.S. Ski Team Member and Olympian Erik Schlopy will be in attendance for the NASTAR National Championships on behalf of Park City Mountain Resort. Schlopy, Park City Mountain Resort’s Sports Ambassador, set the NASTAR National Standard with his Gold Cup victory last December and also won the Chevy Trucks Super Series Title this winter.

Created by SKI Magazine and now in its 33rd year, NASTAR is the world’s largest recreational ski program, with more than 4.5 million participants since its inception in 1968. Approximately 100 resorts nationwide conducted NASTAR through the winter months. Sponsors of NASTAR include the U.S. Ski Team, SKI Magazine, Chevy Trucks, Yahoo! Sports and American Airlines.

For more information on the 2001 NASTAR National Championships, please visit www.nastar.com