U.S. Alpine Ski Team member and two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin won the Slalom race for the fifth time in a row at Killington Resort in front of a sold-out crowd as Killington Resort hosted the Audi FIS Ski Women’s World Cup over Thanksgiving weekend.
“The crowd here is so amazing. They are just pure ski racing lovers,” said Shiffrin after the race. “That’s something we really missed. I don’t want to take that for granted again. Not getting it last year reminded me how lucky we are to have these World Cup races here and to race in front of a crowd like this.”
The event sold out both days, bringing in 20,000 spectators to Killington Resort over the weekend. While 19 inches of fresh snow and wind canceled the giant slalom race on Saturday after nine racers, the fans stuck around for the World Cup experience, including a raucous festival village and a concert featuring DJ Z-Trip and O.A.R. Saturday afternoon.
Sunday’s Slalom was a different story, with sunshine and a high-energy crowd cheering on the world’s best ski racers throughout the day, who were thrilled to see hometown hero Shiffrin take the win and her teammate Paula Moltzan—a former University of Vermont racer—score a top-10 result.
“We’re thrilled with our fifth World Cup. Due to lots of work and wonderful help from our staff and volunteers, we were able to battle less than ideal weather conditions on Saturday and still put on a successful Slalom race on Sunday,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort and Pico Mountain. “We’ll carry this momentum into Thanksgiving Weekend 2022 with the Killington Cups return and the unveiling of the new K-1 Base Lodge.”
The HomeLight Killington Cup continues to focus on supporting the regional winter sports community by donating a percentage of ticket sales, including 100% of proceeds from general admission and VIP packages, to support the Killington World Cup Foundation. The foundation plans to give $150,000 to athlete housing and $300,000 in grants for 2022 from this year’s HomeLight Killington Cup. The grant application will open December through March and decisions will be made in June.
“Hosting the HomeLight Killington Cup is still an honor for us at Powdr,” said Justin Sibley, CEO of Powdr. “Not only does it highlight and celebrate the sport of alpine skiing for female ski racers, it introduces thousands of new kids and families all over the world to the excitement and thrill of winter sports. This is a win for our employees, our community, our partners and all of the fans who are passionate enthusiasts about living an adventure lifestyle in the mountains.”
The HomeLight Killington Cup is slated to return to Killington for the sixth time over Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26-27, 2022.
