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HAPPY 50TH

TO NASTAR

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BY TOM KELLY, US SKI & SNOWBOARD

t’s a birthday season for NASTAR! The popular recre- Bob Beattie’s World Wide Ski Corporation, NASTAR grew
ational ski racing program celebrates its 50th anniver- to become a popular asset at resorts coast to coast.
I sary this year with more and more multi-generational NASTAR, an acronym for NAtional STAndard Race,
NASTAR families pushing out of the start gate every season. made its debut in the 1968-69 season at eight ski areas:
It’s come a long ways in 50 years from handwritten times on Alpental and Heavenly Valley (Calif.), Boyne Mountain
paper scoreboards to live online timing and RFID technology (Mich.), Mount Snow (Vt.), Mt. Telemark (Wis.), Song
making it more efficient for resorts to manage and more Mountain (NY), Vail (Colo.) and Waterville Valley (NH).
interactive for youthful participants. Boyne Mountain, Song Mountain and Waterville Valley still
Now under the leadership of US Ski & Snowboard in run NASTAR today. In its half century of operation, more
partnership with SKI Magazine, NASTAR has modernized than eight million skiers and snowboarders have taken part in
itself over the past few seasons. A continuing partnership NASTAR racing at hundreds of different resorts.
with Global Reach Sports has produced an updated timing Adults and kids alike have always been attracted
and scoring system providing greater information for par- to NASTAR, which is seeing an increasing number of
ticipants including access to live timing. A new NASTAR three-generational families. It all wraps up this March
mobile-optimized website was rolled out providing important with the Liberty Mutual Insurance NASTAR National
“how-to” content through a partnership with SkiRacing.com. Championships March 21-25 at Squaw Valley, Calif. There
And now, a NASTAR partnership with Cypress Integration will be team races and individual races, and NASTAR slalom
Solutions has greatly improved data integration at resorts has been added to provide a new discipline.
through innovative RFID technology. Last but not least, Dual, modified giant slalom courses provide guests
this season NASTAR will roll out a new badging and buddy with a head-to-head racing opportunity that has been the
system designed to help grow participation at local resorts. program’s signature format for 50 years.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF NASTAR RFID AUTOMATES NASTAR

NASTAR’s roots go back to 1968 when then SKI Magazine One of US Ski & Snowboard’s most significant innovations
Editor John Fry took a concept he had seen at French resorts for resort management is the introduction of RFID
and adapted it to the US market. Under the leadership of technology, now in use at two dozen NASTAR resorts.

54 | NSAA JOURNAL | EARLY WINTER 2017