TRAVERSE CITY -- The 35th annual North American VASA races kicked off Saturday.

The races started Saturday morning at the Timber Ridge Resort in Grand Traverse County.

Skiers get to choose from the 12k, the 27k, or the 50k races and the event isn't just becoming legendary in the Grand Traverse Area.

This year more than 700 racers are here from 18 states and three foreign countries.

President of North American VASA Pete Laplaca says, "It's a Traverse City tradition, this is our 35th anniversary and we have 350 volunteers who love the event, some of them been with us 25-20 years, and we have six races who have done every race. So they just keep coming back because we put on a good event, we make it fun, we make it light."

He says next year they'll be hosting the National Masters and expect more than 1,200 skiers.