NASTAR ownership back in the hands of Active Interest Media, SKI Magazine
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A skier competes in the 2019 Liberty Mutual NASTAR Nationals at Squaw Valley in California.
Dave Camara/Courtesy
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Skiers take to the NASTAR course on Aspen Mountain this past winter.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Active Interest Media will once again be in charge of NASTAR, it was announced Thursday. U.S. Ski and Snowboard has organized the National Standard Race series — the nation’s premier grassroots ski racing competition — for the past five years, but will transfer ownership back to AIM, which owns SKI Magazine as well as Warren Miller Entertainment.
“NASTAR can trace its roots back to 1968 when the program was developed by SKI Magazine,” AIM CEO Andrew Clurman said in a news release. “We are excited to bring NASTAR back under our roof at AIM with SKI Magazine. AIM is well-positioned to continue to develop the lauded NASTAR brand, and we look forward to garnering greater awareness and participation in the sport of ski racing nationally.”
According to the news release, U.S. Ski and Snowboard will continue to partner in the marketing, promotion and growth of NASTAR, which holds more than 100,000 annual races at more than 100 resorts around the country, including here in Aspen. Both Aspen Mountain and the Snowmass Ski Area have NASTAR venues.
Snowmass had been scheduled to host the NASTAR finals this past spring before the event was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but is again slated to host finals in 2021.
Current NASTAR director Bill Madsen is a Snowmass local.
“NASTAR has always been an important entry point for aspiring racers to our development pipeline in alpine ski racing and we are excited to see it continue to grow under AIM once again,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw in the news release. “Many of the best U.S. Ski Team athletes got their start at NASTAR — a tradition we expect to continue.”
