WORLD CUP SKIING, MOUNTAIN GAMES, & ATHLETIC EVENTS
In the mid-1980s, the VVF led the bid process to win the right to host the 1989 Alpine World Ski Championships, the first in Colorado since Aspen hosted in 1950. The VVF also led the way to host the 1999 and 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships. Beginning in 1997, the organization has served as the lead of the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) for the Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup, which host the best men’s ski racers in the world each December in Beaver Creek on the world-famous Birds of Prey course. The event typically hosts Downhill, Super-G, and Giant Slalom races, and occasional other events as well including Slalom or Super Combined (Slalom and Downhill).
In 2008, the VVF purchased the GoPro Mountain Games to ensure the signature event remained headquartered in Vail. The event, which had grown quickly since its inception in 2002, flourished under VVF leadership. The event features whitewater kayaking, climbing, mountain biking, road biking, trail running, concerts, arts and many other mountain competitions to create the “best all-around mountain weekend available anywhere in the world” under tagline of “athletes, art, music, and mountains.” The Vail Valley Foundation purchased the event from Untraditional Marketing in 2008, and operated its first event in 2009. In 2013, GoPro became the title sponsor of the event, which has grown to host more than 30 different events in 9 categories, and welcomes more than 80,000 spectators and millions of global marketing impressions each year.
A winter version of the Mountain Games, known simply as the “Winter Mountain Games,” were hosted in 2012-13, and again in 2022.
Historically, the VVF has led other major sporting and celebrity events, including the American Ski Classic, the Honda Session snowboard competition, the 1994 and 2001 UCI World Mountain Biking Championships, and several pro cycling events.
BIRDS OF PREY MOUNTAIN GAMES