Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Riley Kilgore charges down the course at Golden Peak at Saturday, January 23’s, National Junior Race and Rocky Central Regional Giant Slalom Qualifier hosted by the Club.

On Friday and Saturday, January 22 and 23, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail hosted two giant slalom International Ski Federation National Junior Races at Golden Peak in Vail for over 115 male and female alpine racers ages 16 through 20.

This was an exceptionally important event for 1997 through 1999 birth year athletes.  It served as the giant slalom portion of the Rocky Central Regional Qualifier Series where this age group of athletes vie for a spot at the U19 National Junior Championships to be held from February 28 – March 4 at Copper Mountain.  At that Copper Mountain event the best same aged athletes in the country gather to compete in slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill to see who comes out on top for each discipline and overall.

This past week this same group of 1997-1999 birth year athletes jostled for top results at Aspen Highlands in two super G and two downhill qualifier events.  Next week they will travel to LaCrosse, Wisconsin to race in a final qualifier series in slalom in anticipation of nationals at Copper Mountain.

For local Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes, the event served was a great opportunity to flaunt their skills among friends and family on home terrain.   Max Lamb, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail coach for 1997-1999 birth year racers commented on the venue and the weekend’s events:  “The Ski & Snowboard Club Vail staff and Vail Resorts Race Crew did a great job prepping the home hill venue and giving our athletes and other athletes around the region a great opportunity to test themselves amongst their peers. Overall, a lot of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes took a step in the right direction towards qualifying for U19 Nationals in Copper in a few weeks.”

Top three results and all Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athlete results for these men’s and women’s giant slalom races are available by clicking here.  For complete results go to www.fis-ski.com.