BEAVER CREEK — The Bolle Age Class Races took place on the Bear Trap track over the weekend, with about 150 kids ages 8 to 14 competing.

Each of those kids participated in four giant slalom races over the weekend, each giant slalom was one run, meaning there were about 600 starts on the track from Saturday to Sunday.

It was a lot of racing, but the track held up well, said Brett Borgard, with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.

“Vail Resorts and Beaver Creek has done awesome snowmaking and grooming here,” Borgard said on Saturday. “We’ve had a good pre-season, and now this weekend we all come together and put it together today at this race.”

Described as the World Cup of junior-level racing, the Bolle Age Class Races are a U.S. Ski & Snowboarding sanctioned event, hosted annually at Beaver Creek by Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.

For most kids in attendance, it was the first real race of the season, and for many, it was the biggest race of their lives to date.

Garrett Pooley, 10, just moved to Vail from Mankato, Minnesota, to pursue ski racing. He is now attending Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, where he is in fifth grade. He said now that he’s a full-fledged member of the club, he hasn’t been as nervous at events like the Bolle Age Class Races and has been able to focus on his technique more.

“I’m trying to keep my hands from going all over the place,” Pooley said.