Partnership includes new Rocket Mortgage Women’s Tour, expanding opportunities for female professional athletes and promoting gender equality
The World Pro Ski Tour (WPST) and Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest mortgage lender and part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), today announced a partnership for the upcoming 2021-22 season of professional ski races – making the company this year’s presenting sponsor. Rocket Mortgage, well known as an innovative partner of premier sporting leagues including the NFL, PGA TOUR and college athletics, is now expanding into winter sports and bringing female professional skiers to the forefront alongside the WPST.
“Rocket Mortgage is intentional about introducing Americans to our brand through their passions, and fans of skiing are some of the most passionate we’ve met,” said Casey Hurbis, Chief Marketing Officer serving Rocket Companies. “We are also proud to spend our marketing dollars to promote a sport that is committed to gender equality, with men and women racers competing for the same amount of prize money. WPST has elite athletes, enthusiastic fans and a mission that we support – to provide opportunities for all competitors.”
The previous women’s tour, which ran for two decades, ended in the late 1990s. Now, for the first time, the WPST and Rocket Mortgage are bringing professional women and men skiers to the same courses where they will vie for equal podium prize money. Top U.S. Women’s Ski Team alumni and World Cup athletes are planned to participate in the WPST, including two-time Olympian, Alice McKennis and Dartmouth All-American, Foreste Peterson.
The men’s tour features professional ski racers including two-time Olympic gold medalist, Ted Ligety, World Championships silver medalist, Phil Brown and two-time WPST Overall Champion, Rob Cone.
“As WPST goes from strength to strength, we are extremely excited to partner with Rocket Mortgage to present our tour and to bring women’s pro ski racing to fruition,” said Jon Franklin, CEO of the World Pro Ski Tour. “As a fan, I cannot wait to see the world’s top women ski racers compete on the same hills and courses as the men. As a result of Rocket Mortgage’s sponsorship, we are eager to create additional opportunities for pro ski racers to be successful in the sport.”
The WPST is viewed in more than 100 million homes and can be seen in primetime on CBS Sports Network, live on Flolive.tv and via the award-winning docuseries, Life In Between Gates. The tour will open the 2021-22 season in December featuring top skiers racing side-by-side in a single elimination bracket format at top ski areas around the United States.
The full tour schedule – including professional ski races for women and the 2022 World Pro Ski Tour World Championships from Taos, New Mexico – will be announced in the coming weeks.
