Taos Ski Valley to Host World Pro Ski Tour World Championships in 2020

TAOS SKI VALLEY, NM, Dec. 11, 2019 – Taos Ski Valley will host the World Pro Ski Tour World Championships April 10-12, 2020. The World Championships is a stand-alone event in the World Pro Ski Tour, which travels around the United States from December through April. This prestigious, nationally televised event draws the top professional ski racers and spectators from around the world to the famed slopes of Taos. The Taos World Championships purse of more than $100,000 will be at stake, allowing athletes to compete for the largest professional dual-racing purse in the world.

The World Pro Ski Tour is the country’s foremost dual-format pro racing tour in which professional skiers race side-by-side in a single-elimination bracket. Professional skiers, Olympians and NCAA All-Americans from around the world will begin the Tour this week in Colorado. Through a series of events over the next five months, skiers will rack up points and the chance to compete at Taos in the World Pro Ski Tour World Championships.

“Taos Ski Valley is thrilled to welcome the world’s best skiers to the mountain this spring,” said David Norden, CEO of Taos Ski Valley. “We’ve always had the terrain to host a major event like this, and now through years of careful investment we have the infrastructure, lodging, and facilities to roll out the red carpet to this world-famous group of Olympic medalists and professionals. This event will be spectacular for the participants and spectators, and also for the Taos community, which will have an opportunity to highlight its culture, spirit and hospitality to the world.”

“We’re taking important steps forward in developing a robust outdoor recreation economy and boosting New Mexico’s tourism industry,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “Taos Ski Valley is demonstrating how businesses can serve local communities. I am so proud of this selection and eager to watch Taos Ski Valley represent our great state on a national stage.”

To accommodate the event, Taos will extend the ski season until April 12, 2020. Season pass holders can continue to ski the mountain through April 12. The event is open to the public and spectators are encouraged to attend to watch the athletes compete.

“We are excited to hold the first World Pro Ski Tour World Championships since the 1990’s at Taos Ski Valley, which is one of the premier ski areas on the planet,” said Jon Franklin, CEO of the World Pro Ski Tour. “Spectators and viewers at home can look forward to seeing two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Ted Ligety, other Olympians and World Champion medalists at this event.”

As a part of the resurgence and revitalization that the World Pro Ski Tour has undergone in 2019, a World Championships event will be put back on the schedule for the first time since the 1990’s. Historic rivalries have played out at the historic Pro Tour World Championships, including the battle between Triple-Olympic gold medalist Jean-Claude Killy and U.S. Ski Team rebel, Spider Sabich. The Tour and World Championships will be featured on national television including primetime on CBS Sports Network as well as on OutsideTV and live streamed on FloSports.

To learn more about the World Pro Ski Tour, please visit www.worldproskitour.com

Courtesy image. Pro Ski Tour World Championship event at Beaver Creek in a prior year. The 2020 championship will be held at Taos Ski Valley in April.