Colorado Mountain College (CMC), says a steady stream of registrations is flowing in as Leadville prepares to welcome racers to the 2020 Dion Snowshoes U.S. National Snowshoe Championships Feb. 28 through March 1. Leadville’s selection as the 2020 site sets it apart as the highest USSSA national snowshoe championships in the races’ history.
Colorado Mountain College Leadville is gearing up to host the 2020 Dion Snowshoes U.S. National Snowshoe Championships Feb. 28 through March 1. The races will be held on the trails adjacent to the college’s Leadville campus, like those here during the 2020 Colorado Cup snowshoe races on Jan. 25, 2020. Photo by Rachel Brunetti.
Participants will check in and register starting at noon on Friday, Feb. 28, at race headquarters at CMC Leadville. A welcome reception and pre-race meeting will be held that evening. Saturday, Feb. 29 is race day, with both champion snowshoe competition and recreational snowshoe races. An awards ceremony will be held later in the afternoon. The championships wrap up on Sunday, March 1, with a recreational relay race.
CMC Leadville, along with the Lake County Tourism Panel, is heading up the efforts to host the event. Local area restaurants, lodges and businesses are pitching in to make the 20th year of the championships a memorable one.
The United States Snowshoe Association produces the annual racing event at host sites that bid for the honor. Cable, Wisconsin, hosted the championships last year. Bend, Oregon, and Woodford, Vermont, have also served as host sites.
CMC says the championship weekend is for everyone.That said, the event hosts some reknowned snowshoe champions.by
Heavy hitters Michelle Hummel of Albuquerque (two-time U.S. Women’s National Snowshoe champion and the 2018 WSSF Women’s World Snowshoe champion), Josiah Middaugh of Vail (six-time U.S. Men’s National Snowshoe champion and a former U.S. and World XTERRA Triathlon champion) and Joseph Gray of Colorado Springs (five-time XTERRA Trail Run World champion) will be competing. So will high school and collegiate racers, and the event welcomes those who occasionally snowshoe, who can run the course at their own pace in recreational races.
IN addition to these aces, CMC Leadville will host a vendor expo at the campus’s Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center. Several snowshoe companies will be on hand, as well as outdoor clothing manufacturers and local organizations. Get Outdoors Leadville! is planning to host some activities for children, as well.
Event director and the CMC Foundation’s regional development officer for Leadville Leslie Gamez, said that the college would never have been able to host the championships without the outpouring of community support.
“The Lake County Tourism Panel and numerous local sponsors have helped with funding and in-kind gifts,” said Gamez. “Local businesses like Community Threads, Melanzana and Freight have stepped in with donations that are helping us produce a terrific event for competitors and helping to showcase our mountain community.”
CMC Leadville ski area operations faculty and students are grooming the trails adjacent to the campus in preparation for six races that will be held during the two days of competition. They’ll continue to prepare the course up through the championships. CMC staff and students from a range of disciplines are also involved in overseeing critical components of the race, including course design, timing system and results to ensure that competitors have a world-class race experience.
“Hosting a national competitive race gives our students first-hand experiences in sports event management,” said Gamez. “They’re learning not only about race course set up, but safety, venue management and spectator flow, and much more.”
“I really enjoy the opportunity to get students involved in event grooming because it is so unique,” said Ski area operations teacher Jason Gusaas. “Special techniques are utilized, and schedules are adjusted according to the weather. It gives the students exposure to a higher level of grooming.”
Those interested in registering have been encouraged by CMC to visit their registration site for details: runreg.com/2020ussnowshoechampionshipscom or the main event website, www.2020ussnowshoechampionships.com. Those looking for more information about Leadville have been encouraged by CMC to visit leadvilletwinlakes.com; visit coloradomtn.edu/leadville for information about CMC Leadville.
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