The Ski World Cup is at a crossroads

Aspen has not proven itself as a host - whether and when the US resort will appear on the calendar again remains to be seen. Two trips to North America this year had already been criticized for their environmental impact. This highlights how difficult a mutually beneficial redesign of the calendar will be.

Bad weather, a rather “easy” route, poor infrastructure, sloppy organization, and a manageable number of spectators. It is difficult to explain away the fact that the three races in the Rocky Mountains (one of which was canceled due to weather) were not exactly what FIS President Johan Eliasch wanted to achieve. The goal is to get more fans from the USA excited about top-class World Cup sport.

At the beginning of March, the departments there were better attended and the basic interest was higher than in November or December, the Brit claimed at the start of the season. A week before Aspen, the World Cup also stopped in Palisades Tahoe in California in February. The technology events there were better organized and, according to the organizers, sold out, but were equally affected by wind and weather. “You could go to Dubai, you could go to Oslo, there are some in London, in the Netherlands.” FIS boss Johan Eliasch on indoor ski races Eliasch's vision is to elevate alpine skiing to the same level as global sports such as tennis, golf or Formula 1. To do this, you also have to be present in regions of the world other than Europe. World Cups in China are probably only a matter of time, the fantasy of indoor competitions in indoor ski halls still remains. “That was an idea that came from ( Ex-ÖSV President; Note ) Peter Schröcksnadel was very forced,” explained the controversial entrepreneur. “To organize a summer slalom series indoors. You could go to Dubai, you could go to Oslo, there are some in London, the Netherlands.”

Do Val Gardena and Alta Badia have to take a back seat? At the same time, Eliasch has promised more attention to climate protection. Reconciling this seems like squaring the circle, as long flights cause the largest chunk of the carbon footprint. Almost everyone agrees that the start of the season will be later in the future and that the end of the season will consequently be pushed back a little. In order to take into account the fact that there will be less and less snow security before Christmas in the future and only at very high locations.

The question was: Where and when will Dominik Paris and Co. contest the first races of the season in the future? © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

Roswitha Stadlober, President of the Austrian Ski Association, recently suggested visiting several World Cup destinations in the USA one after the other. “We know that October through December in North America are simply good conditions. “It works, then we’ll do the first block over there,” she said. That would at least reduce transatlantic flights - but would also offend established operators such as Val d'Isere, Val Gardena and Alta Badia. So there doesn't seem to be a quick solution in sight.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

The Ski World Cup is at a crossroads

Next stop: Kranjska Gora. The men's Alpine Ski World Cup is back in Europe this weekend, and most people are happy about it.

Suggestions

Comments (1)