2003  2002  2001  2000

The Jeep King of the Mountain (JKOM) professional racing series and NASTAR, the largest and oldest citizen racing program in the country, have announced a two-year partnership to promote the growth of ski and snowboard racing in the United States.

"Bringing the Jeep King of the Mountain Series and NASTAR together takes ski and snowboard racing in the United States to new heights," stated Jeff Bell, vice president of Jeep. "While our combined efforts will strengthen each series and provide exciting new opportunities to promote ski and snowboard racing at all levels of the sport, from the casual racer to the Olympic gold medalist, we will each continue with the strong foundations that have made our individual programs so successful."

"SKI is thrilled to partner with the Jeep King of the Mountain Series," said Andy Clurman, president and publisher of Mountain Sports Media. "This partnership will attract more ski and snowboard racers to NASTAR in addition to unprecedented exposure on national television." NASTAR -- it’s short for National Standard Race -- was founded by SKI magazine in 1968.

NASTAR and JKOM aim to create the industry's first all-inclusive winter sports platform, by combining ski and snowboard racing at the recreational and professional levels. In addition to the added exposure each series will receive throughout the season, the partnership will build on last season's successful launch of the Jeep King of the Mountain Challenge, which gave recreational racers the opportunity to qualify at local and regional events for the chance to compete against the pros in the Jeep King of the Mountain Series.

Jeep King of the Mountain, entering its 11th season, is widely recognized as one of the most influential and successful racing programs in the world. Each season, the series assembles many of the best-recognized names in ski and snowboard racing to compete for a total purse of $450,000 in a series of team and individual competitions at four of the country's top resorts. Last season's field had won a combined eight Olympic medals, six world championship titles, more than three dozen national titles and more than 40 World Cup victories. The series will be seen this season on CBS and national syndication from December through March. Eclipse Television & Sports Marketing, a full-service sport marketing and television production company based in Vail, Colo., has produced the Jeep King of the Mountain Series since its inception.

NASTAR’s mission has always been to provide a fun, competitive and easily accessible racing program which, through the development of a handicap system, allows racers of all ages and abilities to compare themselves with one another -- regardless of when and where they race. Last season marked one of the most successful in the program's 35-year history as more than 93,000 winter sports enthusiasts ran through NASTAR gates at 121 resorts, highlighted by the season-ending National Championships at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah that brought 1,011 competitors in search of national titles. NASTAR is owned by Mountain Sports Media, publisher of SKI Magazine, and managed and operated by Octagon, a global sports and event marketing company. Log on to www.NASTAR.com for more information.

source: Ski Racing - The Journal of Ski Snowboard Competition