“The 2018/19 season was a wild ride”

In between there was the World Championships in Latzfons (ITA) at the beginning of February. For the juniors, the highlight of the season was the Junior European Championships in Umhausen at the end of February. We take stock with FIL sports director Andreas Castiglioni.

Mr. Castiglioni, the start in Kühtai had to be postponed by 2 weeks, then Winterleiten had to step in as a replacement location for Sankt Sebastian. Despite the adverse conditions with record amounts of snow, etc., no World Cup was canceled. What is your balance sheet? It was an extremely busy season, a lot of things went haywire. It was a wild ride, we often had to react to the new circumstances at the last moment, and sometimes we had to intervene on site. Nevertheless, we were able to run every race. But that only works if you have a powerful team together. In situations like this you see what is possible when everyone pulls together!

The FIL is working hard to increase the status of natural track tobogganing and increase its visibility. The media presence last winter was very positive, from television to the press to online and social media. We had an increase of 25% in the live stream broadcasts of the races alone! There was access worldwide, from all continents. And the number of spectators on site was also impressive, especially at the World Cup in Latzfons and Deutschnofen.

Athletes from a total of 22 nations took part in the 2018/19 World Cup, and athletes from 23 nations took part in the World Cup. Satisfied? Every year a few athletes are eliminated because they end their careers, but others come along. It is always very important to me to keep the mark of 20 nations. This is a success of the FIL Group's years of constant work.

For the first time, 10 nations received prize money in the team competition, and instead of doubles, three individual races. Is this the right way? The team competition is not yet fully developed, but the changes were important and correct. We are already thinking about further development. I can't say anything about the options yet; they have to be discussed in the commission first.

Italy was the dominant nation last winter, at the home World Cup the “Azzurri” won all the gold medals and Evelin Lanthaler won all the women’s races. Isn't that monotonous? At the World Cup, Italy simply exploited their home advantage, which is entirely legitimate. The athletes also had more pressure. In the men's World Cup it was very exciting, from the first to the last race and we had 3 different winners. The question of whether Lanthaler would win all 7 races was also extremely exciting, because Lanthaler was second 3 times after the 1st race.

With Deutschnofen we had a mirror-smooth track and with Vatra Dornei, for example, we had a bumpy, rustic track. Both types are legitimate, but both types are not without controversy. What direction will things take in the future? That's just natural track tobogganing. Nature dictates the conditions, the weather and temperatures influence the conditions on the track and that is exactly the appeal of this sport. The athletes have to adapt to different conditions and coordinate the material. Sometimes the ice is smooth, sometimes soft and sometimes it is bumpy.

The majority of the races take place in Austria and Italy. Will there be more races in other countries in the future? This is actually a small drawback. But the fact is that we have very experienced people in Austria and Italy who can easily organize a World Cup. Races in Russia and Slovenia are planned for 2019/20, Slovakia and Romania are also interested in World Cup races, and such considerations are also being considered in Poland and overseas.

The Junior World Cup was well attended and the Junior European Championships offered a very high level. How are the young tobogganers doing? The Junior World Cup has outgrown its infancy, we started with 6/7 nations and have now reached 17/18 nations, that's strong! There are especially young people in the Alpine region, also because natural track tobogganing is a sport close to nature and affordable. There is snow and ice (almost) everywhere in the world.

What does the FIL have planned for the summer months? What needs to be done before the start of the new World Cup season? We will end the old season in mid-March. In mid-April the commission meetings continue, the preparation for the congress in Slovenia and the preparation for the coming winter. The start of the season in mid-December will arrive sooner than you think.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Hockey

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

“The 2018/19 season was a wild ride”

Suggestions

Comments (0)