For Immediate Release
March 16, 2009
Media Contact:
John Dakin
(970) 949-1999
LEGENDS AND CELEBRITIES TEAM UP FOR
KORBEL FORD CUP RACES MARCH 20-21 AT
2009 KORBEL CALIFORNIA CHAMPAGNE AMERICAN SKI CLASSIC
VAIL, Colorado—Anything can happen, and usually does, as celebrities and sports stars join forces with some of ski racing’s biggest names March 20 and 21 in Vail as the Korbel Ford Cup Celebrity Team competition segment of the 2009 Korbel California Champagne American Ski Classic takes Vail Mountain’s Golden Peak by storm.
The original element of the Korbel California Champagne American Ski Classic, the Korbel Ford Cup debuted in 1981 as the Jerry Ford Celebrity Cup, a winter version of the already successful Jerry Ford Invitational Golf Tournament, and the first event ever hosted at the newly-opened resort of Beaver Creek.
“The Korbel Ford Cup is truly the heart of everything that the Korbel California Champagne American Ski Classic has evolved into,” explained Michael Imhof, Vice President of Sales and Operations for the Vail Valley Foundation. “Over the years, it has introduced so many people to skiing in the Vail Valley and helped set the stage for everything from World Cups to World Championships.”
Contested over two days, the Korbel Ford Cup features head-to-head competition, with teams captained by some of the greatest names in ski racing history and comprised of celebrities, sponsors and paid participants.
Heading up the list of entertainment and sports celebrities slated to participate in the 2009 Korbel Ford Cup are Olympic gymnasts Kerri Strug, Mitch Gaylord and Trent Dimas and Joey Haggerty; Olympic swimmer Steve Lundquist; hockey great Kevin Lowe, author Amy Tan; astronaut Buzz Aldrin, track and field star Carol Lewis; country star Steve Azar and actors Jack McGee, Robert Carridine, Justin Melvey and Corbin Timbrook.
“It’s really amazing just how competitive the celebrities are once they hit the racecourse,” Imhof continued. “No matter what their skiing ability, they all have a tremendous amount of fun with the Korbel Ford Cup and they are a great reminder that the main ingredient of skiing is the enjoyment that it brings.”
The skiing legends, former Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medalists spanning the past three decades, will serve as Korbel Ford Cup team captains, in addition to competing in the Volvo Legends Giant Slalom earlier in the week.
The 2009 Korbel Ford Cup competitions will get underway on Friday, March 20, as the 30 five-person teams go head-to-head in an effort to move through their respective pools and qualify for the bracket rounds on Saturday, March 21. A total of eight teams will advance, based on their cumulative won-lost record over the course of the two days of racing, but only one will emerge victorious.
The 2009 Korbel California Champagne American Ski Classic is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation. For additional information on the Korbel California Champagne American Ski Classic, contact (970) 949-1999 or visit www.vvf.org.
Media Contact:
For press inquiries please contact John Dakin with the Vail Valley Foundation at 970-949-1999.
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