{"id":2452676,"date":"2019-12-27T23:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-28T06:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-10th-year\/"},"modified":"2019-12-27T23:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T06:28:00","slug":"ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-its-10th-year-in-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-its-10th-year-in-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"Ajax Cup, AVSC\u2019s largest fundraiser and ski race, back for its 10th year in Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.4785100286533\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-318371-511\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-12-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-12.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Team SuperG! celebrates their 2018 Audi Ajax Cup championship.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Team SuperG! celebrates their 2018 Audi Ajax Cup championship.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-12.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Team SuperG! celebrates their 2018 Audi Ajax Cup championship.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Olympian Alex Ferreira smiles after completing a run during the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Olympian Alex Ferreira smiles after completing a run during the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-4.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Olympian Alex Ferreira smiles after completing a run during the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-8-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-8.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | A skier competes in the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>A skier competes in the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/ajaxcup-atd-123118-1-8.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"A skier competes in the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-10th-year\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-10th-year\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Aspen\u2019s Alex Ferreira is among the world\u2019s best when it comes to halfpipe skiing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspens-alex-ferreira-wins-x-games-gold-in-superpipe\/\">having won X Games gold only a winter ago<\/a>. Ski racing, on the other hand, is a whole different world for the Olympic silver medalist, but that hasn\u2019t stopped him from giving it a try.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ferreira grew up with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, and when it asked him to take part in the annual Audi Ajax Cup last year, it was an easy yes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI don\u2019t come from a racing background,\u201d Ferreira said. \u201cI come from moguls, and it was definitely a little scary because I was flying and I had such sharp edges, so I wasn\u2019t typically used to that. But overall it was an amazing experience. I\u2019ll do anything to support the club and support the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ferreira, who will try to defend his X Games title only a month from now in the Buttermilk superpipe, is set to return to the Ajax Cup for a second time Monday as one of the professionals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Celebrating its 10-year anniversary this winter, the Ajax Cup is a team-based, dual giant slalom ski racing tournament at the base of Aspen Mountain. However, that\u2019s just a small part of the truth, as it\u2019s also the club\u2019s largest fundraiser that helps support the roughly 2,400 athletes under its watch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a big milestone for the event and for the club and the trajectory of the fundraising continues to move in the right direction, and that\u2019s what we want,\u201d Chris Davenport said. \u201cWe were somewhere over $800,000 last year and, boy, I\u2019d certainly like to see this event get to a million dollars. There is nothing like it in the country in terms of a youth-based winter sports organization raising this kind of money and providing this kind of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Davenport, a big mountain skiing icon who has long called Aspen home, is the Ajax Cup\u2019s race co-director alongside five-time Olympic ski racer Casey Puckett. The two have been running the show since the event was started a decade ago and they have watched it become one of Aspen\u2019s biggest events of the holidays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s something the community expects and looks forward to,\u201d Davenport said. \u201cWe get a lot of teams that keep coming back year after year and they participate as part of their holiday week, whether it\u2019s with family or friends. We try to outdo ourselves every year with the apr\u00e8s ski party and make that something that is really the event of the holidays, whether you are a local or you are someone from out of town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Race day is Monday, with the skiers taking to the giant slalom course set up on The Little Nell run at the base of Aspen Mountain. It\u2019s head-to-head racing, meaning the first one to the bottom wins. The Ajax Cup has a unique handicap system in place that keeps things competitive and makes for tight finishes at the bottom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There will be 15 or 16 teams when it all goes down Monday, each team led by a current or professional skier. This year\u2019s list includes many Ajax Cup and World Cup veterans, such as Daron Rahlves, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/kitt-reflects-on-controversial-1995-downhill-race\/\">A.J. Kitt<\/a> and Megan McJames, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/mcjames-leads-team-super-g-to-back-to-back-audi-ajax-cup-wins\/\">who led Team SuperG! to its second straight Ajax Cup title<\/a> in 2018. Puckett, Davenport and Ferreira are all among the pros as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The event also tends to draw in some celebrity-types each winter, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/nascars-johnson-earnhardt-jr-hit-the-aspen-slopes-with-avsc\/\">NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson<\/a> and TV pitchman Anthony Sullivan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt makes it super exciting for the crowd and the spectators, because every single finish in this format is really close because of the way the handicapping works,\u201d Davenport said. \u201cWe\u2019re all competitive people, but at the end of the day, you know that everyone really comes out a winner because it\u2019s that number at the end of the event that we try to elevate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Racing takes place from roughly 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, with the after party slated to go from 3 to 6 p.m. at Scarlett\u2019s Aspen. Guest DJs Charly Jordan and 3LAU will provide the beats during the notorious post-race event that includes the handing out of the Gorsuch Cup to the winning team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">General viewing of the races is free alongside the course and from part of the base of Aspen Mountain. However, the VIP viewing tent and entrance into the post-race party does require a ticket, which can be purchased at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teamavsc.org\/ajax-cup\">http:\/\/www.teamavsc.org\/ajax-cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s not a cheap ticket,\u201d Davenport said, \u201cbut the money is tax deductible and the money goes toward providing opportunities for kids that wouldn\u2019t necessarily have them without this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A big part of the fundraising is the event\u2019s auction, which for the first time is being done online at <a href=\"https:\/\/app.auctria.com\/ev?site=eada99ea-1bf9-41c3-9bee-0768f2e01562\">charityauction.bid\/audiajaxcup<\/a>. Anyone, even those not in Aspen for the event, can bid on one-of-a-kind items, including a VIP NASCAR experience with Jimmie Johnson, a week of skiing in Chile with Davenport and a round of golf with Justin Leonard, winner of the 1997 British Open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As unique as the event is, it still all goes back to raising money for the club and its young skiers and snowboarders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhat drives me to give back is the club gave me so much and it really gave me my start and it led me on my path to where I am now,\u201d Ferreira said. \u201cAnyway I can return the favor I\u2019m happy to do so. But it\u2019s just fun being around the kids. It\u2019s supporting a great cause and I think a lot of people are going to benefit out of it. Not only the people donating, but also the receivers of the donations. I think it\u2019s a win-win on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/ajax-cup-avscs-largest-fundraiser-and-ski-race-back-for-10th-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Team SuperG! celebrates their 2018 Audi Ajax Cup championship.Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Olympian Alex Ferreira smiles after completing a run during the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times A skier competes in the 2018 Audi Ajax Cup.Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Show CaptionsHide Captions Aspen\u2019s Alex Ferreira is among [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 23:53:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}