Synchro skiers prep for Aspen Worlds

Synchronized skiers from across the West and across the world tested the premium groomed snow at Aspen Mountain on Satjurday, preparing for the 13th annual Aspen World Synchro Championships.

The teams, clad in their colorful matching uniforms, worked on the synchronized routines on North American, above Bonnie’s Restaurant, as well as other groomed runs off the Ajax Express.

The skiers, including the hosts and organiziers (the Aspen Divas), also worked on their racing form and mogul technique as the Aspen World Championships will kick off the competition phases today.

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First up, there will be racing and bumps – for the first time in the Aspen World Synchro Championships.

Each team will provide four racers and two bump skiers for today’s events.

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The racers will use the course on the Nastar arena at Aspen Mountain, starting at 9:45 a.m. today

The bump competition will be at 1 p.m. today on Sunrise/Sunset, with prime viewing on the Ajax Express chairlift.

On Monday, the official synchro competition will be held on the North American run on Aspen Mountain, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The best viewing for the event is the deck at Bonnie’s. A DJ will provide tunes during the Monday competition.

There will be an after-party at 4 p.m. Monday at the Limelight. Awards will be presented at 5 p.m.

Scoring for the Aspen World Synchro Championships will be 70 percent on synchro, 20 percent on the race and 10 percent on bumps.

The event is organized by the Aspen Divas, who were founded by Jerry Berg in 1998. The Divas represent the Ski and Snowboard Schools of Aspen.

There currently are more than 30 Divas skiing on three different Diva teams — the Divas, the Diva-Ettes and Diva-Lution.

In addition to competing, the Diva group has organized the Aspen World Synchro Championships since 2003.

dstrode@aspentimes.com