Alpine skiing: Men’s World Cup further includes two North American trips

After the speed block in late November/early December, the technicians will be back in Palisades Tahoe and Aspen in February and March. It was already known that in Kitzbühel the new team combination tested in January 2023 at the Junior World Championships will be run in the World Cup for the first time. The World Cup final takes place in Saalbach.

The two transatlantic trips were heavily criticized not least for reasons of climate protection. In addition, in the past season in Palisades Tahoe and Aspen, some organizational problems and technical glitches, such as TV broadcasts, were criticized. Next year only the technicians will be sent to the USA after the turn of the year – the speed races in Aspen have been cancelled. There is still a small question mark behind the speed events in Lake Louise from November 22nd to 26th.

Start of the season a week later than usual

Season start is on 28./29. October – and thus a week later than usual – in Sölden, where women and men each contest a giant slalom on the Rettenbach Glacier. A week and a half later (November 8th-12th) the men continue with the transnational descents in Zermatt/Cervinia, the women can enjoy the glacier descent in front of the Matterhorn panorama a week later. The premiere should have taken place in the previous season, but was canceled due to a lack of snow.

On Thursday, the NGO Greenpeace renewed its criticism of greenwashing, which FIS President Johan Eliasch had just dismissed as silly in his speech at the congress. “Eliasch proves to be the greenwashing world champion once and for all,” said Greenpeace economics expert Ursula Bittner. “In view of Eliasch’s renewed assertion that the FIS is climate-positive, postponing the start of the season by one week is pure eyewash. There would also have been room for improvement in the racing calendar in order to reduce travel emissions from the international ski circuit.”

Two giant slaloms replace women’s speed races in Lake Louise

The two giant slalom races in Mont-Tremblant in eastern Canada are new to the women’s program. They replace the speed races in Lake Louise. Another Austria station will be added to the men: On November 18, a slalom is scheduled in Gurgl in the Ötztal. The World Cup also stops in Kitzbühel (January 16-21) and Schladming (January 23-24). Schladming is represented with a floodlit double pack: the giant slalom is followed by the slalom night race, which moves to the Wednesday date. The new team competition is scheduled for the Hahnenkamm week on January 19th.

For women, Lienz (December 28th and 29th/slalom and giant slalom), Altenmarkt-Zauchensee (January 11th-14th/downhill and Super-G) and Flachau (January 16th/night slalom) appear in the program. Jasna is making a World Cup comeback in Slovakia, while Zagreb, like Lech/Zürs, was completely off the calendar. Both sexes will be guests at the World Cup finals in Saalbach-Hinterglemm from March 16th to 24th, i.e. over two weekends. The next World Ski Championships will take place there in 2025.

The online congress on Thursday itself mainly dealt with bureaucracy. Numerous motions to change the FIS statutes were voted on, primarily procedural issues and the powers of the FIS bodies. For example, it was decided that the minutes of the FIS Congress would only be written in English in the future and would no longer be translated into various languages. Some regulations have been adjusted to include parasport.

ÖSV’s motion did not receive a majority

A motion by the national associations of Austria and Switzerland for long-term World Cup calendars, which should last at least four years, barely received a majority of the delegates. Before that, there had been a long discussion, since the controversial Eliasch initially did not want to allow a vote. The FIS Council already has the topic on its agenda, said the entrepreneur, and will soon make a recommendation. Ultimately, however, Eliasch was persuaded.

Another decision was made the day before by the FIS Council: Russian and Belarusian athletes remain excluded from FIS competitions due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The World Snow Sports Federation opposed the position of the IOC, which recommended in March that athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed back into international competitions as neutrals, provided they do not support the war or are not connected to the military.