Jeep King of the Mountain Series Announces Schedule for 2004-2005 Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships
Now in its 12th year as professional snow racing’s most prestigious event, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series has formally announced the schedule for the 2004-2005 Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships.
Vail, CO (PRWEB) November 22, 2004 -- Now in its 12th year as professional
snow racing’s most prestigious event, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series has
formally announced the schedule for the 2004-2005 Skiing and Snowboarding World
Championships.
The Jeep King of the Mountain Series, which offers the
richest purse in snow racing, will feature the world’s top skiers and
snowboarders competing head-to-head to capture the King of the Mountain title
for their country, a share of over $450,000 (U.S.) in prize money, $20,000
(U.S.) in bonuses from Paul Mitchell and the keys to a new Jeep Liberty. A
national audience will be able to view the King of the Mountain Series on CBS
Sports and through nationally syndicated television for a total of six hours of
coverage between December 2004 and March 2005.
The 2004-2005 Jeep King of
the Mountain Series will feature stops at some of the most spectacular resorts
in the world, each providing for a unique and majestic backdrop, world-class
recreational facilities and a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. This year’s
events include:
• November 27-28, 2004 – Telluride Ski Resort –
Colorado
• December 18-19, 2004 – Snowbird – Utah
• January 22-23, 2005 –
Mount Snow Resort – Vermont
• February 5-6, 2005 – Heavenly Lake Tahoe –
California
Formerly a pure downhill series, the Jeep King of the Mountain
Series has established a reputation for drawing the most elite skiers and
snowboarders of the sport, and carries with it a rich history of past Olympic
champions, such as Jean-Luc Cretier ('98 Nagano), Tommy Moe ('94 Lillehammer),
Josef Polig (’92 Albertville), Pirmin Zurbriggen ('88 Calgary), Bill Johnson
('84 Sarajevo), Leonard Stock (’80 Lake Placid), and Franz Klammer ('76
Innsbruck).
The 2004-2005 Series will maintain that legacy, with a
line-up that has produced Olympic medals, world championship titles, national
titles and numerous world cup victories between them. Among the favorites
include 2002 Olympic Snowboard Bronze Medalist Chris Klug of the United States
and Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist Karine Ruby of France.
Altogether,
sixteen teams of two (one male and one female) will compete in the ski,
snowboard, and combined competitions. Twelve teams (six ski teams and six
snowboard teams) are invited from around the world, representing the United
States, Austria, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland. The remaining teams
will be determined by a National Open Qualifier for top-notch amateur and
professional racers that will be held on each event weekend.
Six races
will be held over the four different event weekends between November 2004 and
February 2005, with each event featuring individual and team competitions. The
Series consists of two pure ski events, two pure snowboard events, and two
unique events that combine both skiing and snowboarding, making the Jeep King of
the Mountain Series the first integrated racing program in North
America.
For its 12th anniversary season, the Jeep King of the Mountain
Series will again use its innovative racecourse known as “The Y.” The unique
course design delivers high-speed excitement in a format that combines the
technical skill of Parallel Giant Slalom with the cutting edge drama of
skiercross and boardercross. The Y has proved ideal for skiers and snowboarders
alike, and the Jeep King of the Mountain Series is the only series to combine
the racing elements of these two sports into one event. Racers begin on separate
courses and must maneuver Parallel Giant Slalom turns. Midway through the
course, racers meet at the Y, the point where the two parallel courses merge
into one. There, skiers and snowboarders must race side-by-side on a single
course while negotiating banked turns and single and double rollers leading to
an exciting finish.
The Jeep® King of the Mountain was established in
1993. Jeep® is the title sponsor for the Jeep King of the Mountain Series. Other
marketing partners for this season include: Atomic, Columbia Sportswear Company,
Edge Advanced shave gel, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Mopar, Sirius Satellite
Radio and Ski Magazine.
2004-2005 Jeep® King of the Mountain
Roster
Team USA Skiing -
Casey Puckett, Heidi Volker
Team USA
Snowboarding -
Chris Klug, Rosey Fletcher
Team Austria Skiing -
Markus Wittner, Karin Huttery
Team Austria Snowboarding -
Deiter Krassnig, Doresa
Krings
Team Canada Skiing -
Davey Barr, Anik
Demers
Team
Canada Snowboarding -
Jasey Jay Anderson, Christelle Doyon
Team France
Skiing
Enak Gavaggio, Kristina
Duvillard
Team France Snowboarding
-
Nicolas Huet, Julie Pomagalski
Team Germany Skiing
-
Martin Fiala, Katharina Gutensohn
Team Germany
Snowboarding -
Markus Ebner, Ena Himmler
Team Switzerland
Skiing -
Steve Locher, Franziska
Steffen
Team Switzerland Snowboarding -
Gilles Jaquet, Daniela Meuli
Calling all ski and snowboard racers! -
Jeep announces open qualifiers!
The Jeep King of the Mountain Series has
introduced a newly formatted all-comers open qualifier allowing local ski and
snowboard racers the opportunity to compete head-to-head with the world’s finest
professionals for a share of professional snow sports richest prize
purse.
The open qualifier format will be introduced at the Jeep King off
the Mountain Series’ first race at the Telluride Ski Resort on November 27-28,
2004, and will also be offered at the remaining races at Snowbird Resort, Utah
in December 2004; Mount Snow Resort, Vermont in January 2005; and Heavenly Lake
Tahoe, California in February 2005.
Unlike past years, where qualifiers
were required to register as a team, this year’s format will change to allow
participants to register and race individually in the open qualifier. The top
qualifying skiers and snowboarders will then be paired to take part in the
Championships against the world’s finest professional racers.
In
addition to moving the open qualifier to an exclusively individual format, the
prize money structure has changed dramatically to reward the individual versus
the team as in past years. The racers will be competing for a $150,000 prize
purse at each site, with $75,000 for skiers and $75,000 for snowboarders.
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb180818.htm