A winter without a Val Gardena downhill run?

After winter is before winter. And another quick truism: Summer is over quicker than you think and in autumn, yes in autumn, things will continue again in Sölden. The giant slalom on the glacier in the Ötztal is on the program at the end of October. Probably again in two rounds. So everyone starts and the best 30 can take part again to determine the winner. Just as we have been used to for years and days.

But this time it may be the last time, because the new president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Swedish-British businessman Johann Carl Eliasch, has big plans. At least from his point of view. He simply wants to completely revamp alpine skiing and this includes the idea of only having the decision in the giant slalom in one round. It would be one of the most blatant rule changes in sports history. Volleyball, table tennis etc. So far, various associations have approached the requirements of the television world with cautious steps. In volleyball, you used to only be able to score points if you brought the ball into play as a serve. This led to endlessly long playing times. In the meantime, even more changes have been made to give the game more dynamism. That was successful. The counting method in table tennis has also been streamlined and the circumference of the ball has been increased as well as its texture. This also all had a positive effect.

FIS President Johann Carl Eliasch. © KEYSTONE / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

Of course, what is currently happening in alpine skiing is on a scale that was never thought possible. It is a revolution triggered by the new president, a quite colorful figure. He is a billionaire and probably still the owner of the Head.nV group of companies, of which he was CEO for years. At least he probably gave up this office after his election as FIS President. He owns a rainforest in Brazil covering more than a thousand square kilometers, with which he wants to reduce the ecological footprint of skiing, however that is possible. He is well connected politically and is also at home in the jet set. And he says of himself, without leaving any room for doubt, that skiing needs to be renewed and of course he is the best man to accomplish this.

Eliasch gets into position and wants much, much more. The self-marketing of skiing, for example. His predecessor Gianfranco Kasper outsourced this to external companies. There are existing contracts. Eliasch does not challenge this, which is why there is currently an incredible amount of uncertainty. The calendar for the coming season is still not set. Organizers like those in Val Gardena or Alta Badia still have no idea whether they can even plan races. The new president is not attached to the traditional places. He wants to go to China because that is where he sees the association's financial future and probably also drastically increased sales figures for all winter sports items. His company's probably included. The favor of the athletes? China is supposed to be the savior for winter sports of the future and because Eliasch suspects that he will antagonize many people with his ideas, he secures the goodwill of those involved. His statement that he doesn't understand that a skier only earns as much in a season as a tennis player does in a week will bring joy to the faces of the ski aces. And you don't have to be a prophet to predict that the protagonists of alpine skiing will follow him willingly, especially by looking at their bank accounts. For example on the Matterhorn. A descent is scheduled to take place there next season. The longest ever with the highest start in history. The spectacle is set to begin at an altitude of almost 4000 meters.

Night races, mind you, on the downhill, are planned; the Super-G probably no longer has a future. Maybe it will continue, because alpine skiing is only one branch of the FIS. A new ski jump from which you can fly more than 300 meters. Cross-country skiing, which has already been perverted by the conclusion of the Tour de Ski, in which you go up a ski slope with narrow slats, which no longer has anything to do with cross-country skiing, cannot be safe from further cuts. Alpine skiing is in danger Johann Carl Eliasch has found a new playground, which fortunately is still subject to association-democratic structures. The Swiss President of Swiss-Ski, Urs Lehman, former downhill world champion, will certainly have a clear say on the FIS board. But he probably won't have many comrades-in-arms, because it's also the vile money that will blind many in the leadership ranks.

Alpine skiing as we know and love it is in danger of losing its roots. But perhaps that is also the spirit of the times. More and more circus, loud and dazzling. Sport as a secondary matter. It is a sad, although hardly reversible, situation. Only one thing is irrevocably certain: next winter is definitely coming and it will probably be exciting again. In every relationship. Not just on the ski slopes.

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A winter without a Val Gardena downhill run?

The new president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Johann Carl Eliasch, wants to revolutionize skiing in a hurry. Traditional races such as Val Gardena or Alta Badia are being put to the test and are looking into an uncertain future.

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