AUDI FIS Ski World Cup, Local News

Parade kicks off Saturday morning

By Evan Johnson

Pete Davis and KMS athletes lead the parade in a practice of a war chant to be performed in the stadium, Saturday morning.

By Evan Johnson

While many of the spectators for the day’s Giant Slalom races were busy finding parking, or enjoying their second cup of coffee, a group of approximately 900 racers from the Vermont Alpine Racing Association gathered in a staging area behind the vendor village in preparation for a parade that celebrated Vermont’s alpine racing culture.

The teams and clubs came from every corner of Vermont, from Stratton and Mount Snow, to Pico, Killington, Mount Mansfield and Burke Mountain. Racers and parents gathered in monogramed jackets and specially designed VARA green hats to be worn for the occasion. Teams carried the flags of the 21 countries participating in the weekend.

Volunteer parade marshal Pete Davis led the group in a war chant to be performed in the stadium.

“Everyone be very careful!” he shouted through a megaphone to the crowd.

“It’s amazing to have these racers here,” said 11-year-old Kyle Gordon, a KMS racer from Saratoga Springs. “You usually have to fly to Europe to see the World Cup, but now they’re skiing down the trail that I ski the most.”

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