The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is pleased to announce that Onion River Sports (ORS) of Montpelier will be sponsoring the $1000 Dash for Cash on January 29, 2010. The Dash for Cash is being held as part of the Craftsbury Marathon/National Masters weekend.
Thanks to Onion River Sports, the Dash for Cash will be the richest day of racing during marathon week in and around Craftsbury.
Race Director John Brodhead enthuses, “The night-before-sprints tradition is hugely popular with European ski marathon spectators. Spectators crowd the sidewalks to get a glimpse of their heroes. Unlike many ski races, sprint spectators can see the whole course and all the action from start to finish.”
Brodhead hopes that the Craftsbury version of this freestyle prologue event will encourage participation, not only by the top athletes, but skiers of all abilities and ages. “It’s incredibly fun for both spectators and athletes alike. The prologue sprints are a very short, 200 meter dash for the both novices and finalists and should not negatively impact anyone’s performance in the main event on Saturday,” he said. “And thanks to Onion River’s generosity, the top eight men and women will even go home with cash, plus very nice hand crafted bowls for age/gender class winners.”
The “Onion River Sports Dash for Cash” on Craftsbury Common is open to all skiers and will kick off the weekend. Local heroes will go head to head with some of the fastest skiers in the country in semi-final and final heats on an out-and-back 200 meter course. The Common will be like a three ring circus, brightly lit with a 4000 watt light tower: The announcer will keep spectators informed of the action on the sprint course. A barbeque, pasta, and hot drinks will keep spectators and competitors energized and warm. Registration packets will be available to pick up. You will be able to check out the wax recommendations and demo the latest in ski equipment. Kids will challenge local VIPs including the principal, teachers, coaches, and school board members in snowshoe sprints and a sled pulling contest for great prizes.
Timed starts in the initial qualifying round of the Onion River Sports Dash for Cash will give skiers of all ability levels and ages a chance to compare their speed with others in their age class. All age/gender class winners, based on the timed qualifying round, will be awarded locally crafted pottery bowls while the top eight overall men and women, based on the qualifying round, will sprint head-to-head for the $1000 cash purse. The purse will be evenly split among men and women paying out $200 to the top female and male sprinters and so on, $100, $75, $50, $30, $20, $15, and $10 for 8th place female and 8th place male.
