The Ted Tour: 12km tour on Vasa Weekend

Tue, Feb  3, 2015 - By Pete LaPlaca

Traverse City Mi., January 28, 2015.--To honor their race co-founder, Ted Okerstrom, the 39th annual North American Vasa invites area skiers to participate in a 12 kilometer tour. The event will be at Timber Ridge Resort on Saturday February 14th as part of the Vasa weekend of cross country ski and fat bike races. Mr. Okerstrom was a co-founder of the Vasa along with Vojin Baic in 1977. He was the general manager of the Park Place hotel and was seeking a new event to bring people to the hotel as well as downtown Traverse City. Ted passed away a year ago on the night before the 2014 Vasa.

The event will be led by all of Ted's children; Eric, Ron and Laura, and they will be joined by other family members and many of Ted's friends and admirers. It is an untimed tour that will start at 12:30 pm and is designed for those who like to ski but do not care to race. The expected pace will be perfect for beginners and promises to be light and fun. Beginners will have the benefit of being with some experienced skiers. The cost of the tour for those who are not yet entered is $35 and registration is available at www.vasa.org. Skiers who race the 27 or 50 kilometer races may join the tour at no additional cost as long as they wear their race bibs.

A beautiful new ski hat (photo attached) will be given to each registered tour skier and others will be available for sale at registration. The hat is reversible and will be a beautiful remembrance of this inspiring event.

Tour Chief, Mike Haley, said that, “ Ted would be very pleased if the event inspires others to get out and experience skiing in an organized event. The Ted Tour is a tribute to an extraordinary man with great vision who was dedicated to improving the quality of life for all local citizens. He would be very pleased to know that the Vasa has an event that will include skiers of all abilities!”

Information about all Vasa events is available online at their website, www.vasa.org. Race day registration is also available on Saturday February 14th in the main lodge at Timber Ridge from 7:00 am-12:30 pm. Late registration skiers should arrive “ski-ready” and allow time to complete the registration and waiver form and pick up their skier bib. For those who would like to practice for the tour, the Vasa trail is in great shape for both classic and freestyle skiing.