Race and Ace Debuts in Washington

February 1, 2006

Seattle, WA – (News Release) – The largest and most prestigious ski and golf tournament in North America has selected The Golf Club at Newcastle and Summit At Snoqualmie to host their annual ski and golf biathlon. This competitive and fun, single-day competition will test two-sport athletes as they ski or snowboard a giant slalom course in the morning and golf 18 holes in the afternoon. The event will include three divisions of competition: elite individual, two-person teams, and four-person teams.

The Subaru Race and Ace has been hugely popular since it debuted at Mt. Bachelor and Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon. “We reached capacity the last two years in Central Oregon and decided it was time to expand to new markets,” said owner and founder Doug Fish. “This year, we plan on hosting three events: Central Oregon on May 6, Tamarack on May 20 and in Washington at Summit At Snoqualmie and The Golf Club at Newcastle on April 1.”

The competition is also the subject of a half-hour TV show. Last year, the program aired on over 100 stations including RSN networks across the country. The show will also air three times this month on Fox Sports Northwest. To get a preview of this year’s event check out the show Saturday, February 11th at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, February 16th at noon, or Friday, February 17th at 12:30 p.m.

At Summit At Snoqualmie, skiers and snowboarders will make two runs on alternating giant slalom courses. In the individual division, the two runs will be averaged, while in team divisions, the top four times in the group will be averaged. At the end of the ski competition, competitors in each division will be ranked from first to last.

Down the hill, participants will golf 18 holes at Seattle’s highest rated golf course, The Golf Club at Newcastle’s Coal Creek Course. They will compete based on their gross score in a scramble format competition. At the end of the 18 holes, a golf ranking will be developed for each division and the ski and golf rankings will be combined to determine an overall winner in each division.

The elite individual division is comprised of skilled dual-sport athletes like former US Ski Team member and scratch golfer Bryan Paligo. Paligo took first in 2003 and 2004, before catching a gate last year at Mt. Bachelor and dropping to third place. “Next year,” said Paligo as he left. “I’ll be back next year.” Making good on his promise, Paligo will compete in all three events in 2006 with his eyes set on the Race and Ace triple-crown.

The team divisions, while still competitive are a little less serious. Golf Magazine writer Scott Gummer, who competed on a four-person team in 2004, had this to say about the event in his January 2005 article, “Now this was my idea of a triathlon. Skiing, playing golf and drinking microbrews.” In the past, the division has pitted colorful teams like “Novacaine”, a group of dentists from Bend, Oregon against “The Crazy Docs”, a team of doctors from Nevada. Last year, Dallas Cowboys QB Drew Bledsoe took part and won the Nike Golf long drive competition.

The deadline for entry in the Washington Subaru Race and Ace is Sunday, March 19th. The early registration fee of $229 per person includes skiing and golf as well as a Friday evening pre-event registration reception, awards reception and a participant gift bag. After March 5th, registration fees increase to $249. For online registration or additional information, please visit www.raceandace.com.