![Craftsbury](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/10/Untitled1.png")
Craftsbury Outdoor Center presents the USSA SuperTour Festival; coming to Vermont this January and February, 2015!
11 days. 7 races. Eastern Cups, SuperTours, Carnival Races, Masters Races, and the always timeless Craftsbury Marathon. Hundreds of racers from all over the country, including top domestic skiers competing for World Cup spots. With something for everyone, this is the one event you don’t want to miss!
Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Northeastern Vermont may be best known in the US ski world for successfully pulling off the 2012 SuperTour finals in spite of some of the lowest snow conditions imaginable for springtime in New England. This year they are excited to host a mid-winter event that may be their biggest yet: The USSA SuperTour Festival. The Festival is a multi-weekend race series that brings together juniors, Masters, top SuperTour racers, and EISA college skiers for top level competition on the FIS homologated courses in Craftsbury.
The first weekend starts out with the US Masters National Championship, the top level of domestic racing for Masters. Master racers will compete in two races, the second of which will coincide with the Craftsbury Marathon. The Craftsbury Marathon, a 25k/50k classic marathon, follows a point-to-point course through quintessential Vermont countryside. Although the Craftsbury Marathon is an annual event, this will be the first time that it will also count towards the Masters Championship. Between the two Masters races, SuperTour racers will kick things off with a mass start 20k/30k classic and a classic sprint.
The second weekend will bring even more non-stop racing action, with three days of racing and three overlapping events planned. Dartmouth College will once again host their winter carnival at Craftsbury during the first two days, so the top EISA college skiers will be there to compete for NCAA qualifying spots. The second two days are a NENSA Eastern Cup, and all three races count as USSA SuperTours. With the Craftsbury SuperTours and the American Birkebeiner as the only SuperTour races between US Nationals and SuperTours finals, the Craftsbury race series will be a huge determining factor in which SuperTour racers qualify for Period III on the World Cup.
In between race weekends, Craftsbury will also be hosting community ski events. On Wednesday, February 4th, top SuperTour racers will host “Skiing with the Stars”, an outreach event where they will ski with local junior skiers in order to inspire the next generation. Also tentatively planned are ski clinics, training deals, a local high school race, and even night sprints. Stay tuned for more information, updates will be online as the SuperTour Festival approaches at www.craftsburysupertour.com. It’s gonna be a great time to ski at Craftsbury!
Full Schedule for the Festival:
January 29- US Masters National Championship Freestyle, 10km
January 30- USSA SuperTour Classic Mass Start, 20km Women, 30km Men
January 31- US Masters National Championship/Craftsbury Marathon, 25km/50km option
February 1- USSA SuperTour Classic Sprint
February 6- Dartmouth Carnival/USSA SuperTour Freestyle Sprint
February 7- NENSA Eastern Cup/Dartmouth Carnival/USSA SuperTour Freestyle Interval Start, 5km U16, 10km Women, 10km Men
