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BRECKENRIDGE IS NEXT FOR THST
Sun Valley, ID, January
18, 2007—Breckenridge, CO, is only the second resort to host the inaugural
season of The Honda Ski Tour (THST). THST is North America's new elite,
four-stop mountain festival and skiing competition that features the world's
best halfpipe and ski cross skiers competing for a total of $500,000 over four
stops, the largest purse in the sport. Other tour stops are Aspen/Snowmass, CO,
and Squaw Valley USA, CA,
and past tour stop Sun Valley,
ID.
The BaseCamp Music Experience (BCME) at Breckenridge will
feature over 10 big-name musical acts alongside the multi-day alpine festival
including street parties and countless parties. THST's Breckenridge stop will
be nationally televised (in a one-hour show) on ABC network television on
Saturday, February 10, 2pm EST / 1pm CT / 12pm MST / 4pm PST.
The first THST stop in Sun
Valley, ID, January
11-15 drew numbers in the thousands with over 4,200 watching The
Wailers at the THST opening ceremonies, 4,800 attending ski cross, 3,500
attending skier halfpipe. Over 2,600 came out to catch BCME headliner Hinder
and over 2,000 each night attended bar parties throughout the town of Ketchum.
Confirmed athletes for THST Breckenridge skier halfpipe
competition include X Games gold medalist and winner of THST halfpipe in Sun Valley, Simon Dumont, who took home $25,000 for his
winning run. Also in attendance will be second place finisher Mike Riddle,
third place finisher Jossi Wells as well as Peter Olenick, the only athlete to ever
successfully execute a double back in competition.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently approved
the addition of ski cross for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The U.S. Ski and
Snowboard Association (USSA), the national governing body for Olympic skiing,
is officially calendaring THST 2007 as a sanctioned USSA ski cross event.
Athletes confirmed for THST Breckenridge ski cross include THST
Sun Valley ski cross winner and Olympian, Casey Puckett, third place finisher
Lars Lewen, fourth place winner and U.S. Ski Team legend Daron Rahlves. X Games
gold medalists Zach Crist, Enak Gavaggio, and ski cross World Champion Tomas
Kraus will also be fighting for the $25,000 winner's check.
"Breckenridge has a long history of being among the first to
host cutting edge events that bring new sports and disciplines into the
spotlight," said Lucy Kay, vice-president of marketing for Breckenridge Ski
Resort. "We are very excited about our partnership with The Honda Ski Tour and
our mutual commitment to excellence in producing this event. Given the talent
of these Ski Tour athletes, we anticipate that we will be watching them in the
next Olympic Games."
The nightlife at the Breckenridge stop of The Honda Ski Tour
will rival the on-slope action with BCME headliners such as Michael Franti and
Spearhead, Swollen Members, Blackalicious, The Wailers, DJ Logic, Kamphire
Collective, Elan with DJ Siren C, Don Carlos, Jillian Ann, Wisdom and more.
Showcasing the year's best action sports segments from the
biggest producers in the game, the Limelight Film Festival highlights from THST
Sun Valley, ID, stop will be aired throughout the Breckenridge THST on the
Jumbotron at the base of the competitions and in the town's bars and
restaurants.
The Limelight Film Festival covers the entire spectrum of
action-adventure filmmaking from the biggest producers in the game, with
segments by Teton Gravity Research, Warren Miller, Jason Moriarty, Kent
Kreitler, Jamie Mossberg, Standard Films and Lindgren Productions.
Highlights from the five world-class photographers who
showcased the best work of their careers at the Sun Valley Pro Photo Shootout
will also be featured throughout the Breckenridge THST. Scott Markewitz, Tony
Harrington, Charlie Munsey, Corey Rich, and Gene Dwarkin will showcase epic
images from across the globe, including skiing, surfing, kayaking, climbing and
more.
THST was founded by Kipp Nelson and Steve Brown, former University of Colorado alpine racers. Nelson, a
trustee of the U.S. Ski Team as well as the Sun Valley Ski Education
Foundation, is putting the fun back in to ski competition by combining two very
separate aspects of the sport, halfpipe and ski cross into one event.
THST
will be covered in four hours of network television—one hour per event—
scheduled to air on ABC. Event and airing schedules are as follows:
Event date: January 11-14, Sun Valley, Idaho
ABC airdate/times: Saturday, January 20, 2pm EST / 1pm CT /
12pm MST / 4pm PST
Event date: February 1-4, Breckenridge, Colorado
ABC airdate/times: Saturday, February 10, 2pm EST / 1pm CT /
12pm MST / 4pm PST
Event date: February 22-25, Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado
ABC airdate/times: Sunday, March 11, 2pm EST / 1pm CT / 12pm
MST / 11am PST
Event date: March 8-11, Squaw Valley USA, California
ABC airdate/times: Sunday, March 25, 2pm EST / 1pm CT / 12pm
MST / 11am PST
**Times for all
airdates subject to change—check your local listings
For general
information and BaseCamp Music Experience ticket information, go to The Honda
Ski Tour website www.theskitour.com
Check out The Honda
Ski Tour myspace page at www.myspace.com/theskitour
The Honda Ski Tour would like to extend a special thanks to its
sponsors, American Honda Motor Co., Paul Mitchell, Crocs, Spyder, Salomon, Ice
Breaker, Atomic, Bula, Surefoot, and media partner Outside Magazine.
For more information
and downloadable high-resolution images of Honda vehicles, please visit www.hondanews.com.
Consumer information is available at www.honda.com
For media queries
please contact;
The Honda Ski Tour
Keith Carlsen
Director of PR & Communications
801-349-4632
keith@mtsports.com