The Loveland Derby is the last amateur

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

race of the year that happens every year at the

Loveland Ski Area Loveland Ski Area is a ski area in the western United States, located near the town of Georgetown, Colorado. Located at the eastern portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland is within the Arapahoe National Forest. It is one of the closest ski ar ...

near

Georgetown, Colorado The historic Town of Georgetown is the territorial charter municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,118 at the 2020 United States Census. The former silver mining camp along ...

. It is the largest and oldest ski race in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and is put on by the Loveland Ski Club. This race is a two-day event that starts on Saturday morning around 9:30 and ends on Sunday afternoon around 4:00.

Competitors

There are usually around 500-600 competitors that come from all over the country to compete. Some racers even come from as far away as

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to race. The competitors have to be at least 5 years old and there is no upper age limit for holders of a

USSA Ussa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, local government area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Lissam. Ussa borders the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon in the south; the Donga River forms its northern boundary. U ...

ski-racing license. Most people come to this race because it has some of the lowest points of the year, which is good for getting a better seed for the next year. To help lower the points, varsity team members from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

, the University of New Mexico, and a few members from the

US Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and a ...

compete.

Courses

For this event, Loveland Valley is shut down and the race uses all of the main ski runs that Loveland Valley has to offer. Switchback is the name of the run where the children compete (U8, U10, U12 and U14 non scored). Twist is the name of the run where the men and women race (U14, U16, U18, U21 and SR, scored).

Costumes

Although people come from all around the US for the chance at lowering their points, they also come for the fun. Since it is the last race of the year there is a lot of celebration that goes on. People dress up in

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

for the day and will even race in them. Costumes range from grass skirts, to

superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

, to

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

attire to

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

beads. Many families and spectators will set tailgate BBQs and enjoy the Spring weather.

Distinctions

There are many things that set Loveland Derby apart from other competitions. It is the biggest race with around 600 competitors while other races only have around 150 competitors. April 11-12, 2015 will mark the 55th year of The Derby, which makes it the oldest ski race in

.{{Cite web , url=http://lovelandskiclub.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=112 , title=Loveland Ski Club , access-date=2015-03-14 , archive-url=https://archive.today/20150315152001/http://lovelandskiclub.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=112 , archive-date=2015-03-15 , url-status=dead Another thing that distinguishes the Loveland Derby is that it is raced so late in the

ski season A ski season is a period when skiing, snowboarding and other alpine sports are viable in an alpine resort. The season corresponds to when ski lifts are running and lift passes are available. Depending on the latitude and altitude of the resort, th ...

and there is such a festive atmosphere around the race.

Notes

Skiing competitions in the United States