Aspen, Mountain, Colo. Nov. 15--The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Associationand the International Ski Federation will split the sites for nextweekend's scheduled FIS World Cup alpine ski races to help keep theraces in Colorado. Men's races will remain in Aspen Nov. 24-26, with thewomen moving to Copper Mountain Nov. 21-22.

The move of the women's events to Copper will give crews at AspenMountain a few more days to continue preparation of courses for themen's races, and keep those races very close to original schedule. Thenew schedule will be:

"We appreciate Copper Mountain stepping in to assist in keeping ourraces in Colorado to kickoff the Olympic season," said USSA Presidentand CEO Bill Marolt. "Aspen has made a strong commitment to World Cupracing, and this plan allows us to keep the majority of our races onschedule on Aspen Mountain and keep the entire schedule in Colorado asplanned."

All of the top teams and athletes from ski racing nations around theglobe are expected for the Aspen and Copper Mountain races. Televisionschedules will remain the same for domestic broadcasts on ESPN andESPN2.

"We appreciate that Copper Mountain has stepped up to hold the women'sraces, and we are pleased that all of the World Cup races are on andhappening in Colorado," said Jimmy Hancock, Aspen World Cup Chief ofRace. "This decision buys us more time for course preparation and thecurrent weather forecast looks promising. We are confident that thecombination of natural snowfall and colder temperatures will allow us tobe ready to roll for the men's races on Aspen Mountain, Nov. 24-26."

"We are truly excited to bring the World Cup back to Copper," said DavidBarry, chief operating officer for Copper Mountain Resort. "Our recentsnowmaking improvements are producing exceptional early season snow.Those improvements, combined with the best team of employees anywhere,will provide us the opportunity to kickoff a great three weeks of skiracing here in Colorado. Together with our friends from Aspen and BeaverCreek, we will show the world that Colorado stands atop the leader boardas the premier destination for both the ski racing community and wintervacationers alike."

Colorado World Cup Add One

The implementation of early-season racing in the United States on theFIS World Cup calendar since the late 1980's has allowed the FIS todramatically expand its schedule. U.S. resorts are the only sites in theworld capable of producing sufficient early-season snow to hold eventsin November. And while officials have had to make some site or slightdate adjustments in the past, resorts in Colorado, Utah and Californiahave a near perfect record of keeping scheduled events in the UnitedStates.

For more information about the U.S. Ski Team, log on to their website at www.usskiteam.com