The United States’ fastest skiers will return to Sugarloaf in 2019 for the first-ever U.S. Alpine Speed Championships.

Sugarloaf has hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships, but in March the country’s best Alpine skiers will ski down the Narrow Gauge trail in the downhill, super-G and alpine combined events.

The events at Sugarloaf (March 16-21, 2019) will kick off 10 days of national championships in New England. U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced in August that Waterville Valley in New Hampshire will host the U.S. Alpine Tech Championships (slalom, giant slalom and parallel slalom) from March 23-26.

The Alpine speed championships will bring back U.S. Ski Team member Sam Morse back to his hometown of Carrabassett Valley and his home hill of Sugarloaf.

The 2019 championships will be the seventh Sugarloaf has hosted, following 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2017. The resort also hosted a World Cup event in 1971.

Sugarloaf, along with Carrabassett Valley Academy, has been the spot of development for not only Morse, but also Olympic champion Bode Miller and World Championship medalist Kirsten Clark.

“Sugarloaf has always been an excellent resort partner with a challenging, high-caliber track,” U.S. Ski and Snowboard Chief of Systems and Operations Calum Clark said in a new release. “As I’ve said before, the East boasts a high percentage of our U.S. Ski and Snowboard club membership base, and therefore the fans are wildly passionate about the sport. We look forward to heading to Sugarloaf in March 2019 for the first official U.S. Alpine Speed Championships.”

The U.S. championships also enable club skiers from throughout the United States to race against U.S. Ski Team veterans. The championships are an International Ski Federation (FIS) event, so they are also open to foreign athletes.

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