No place for winter sports

Ready, set, go! That's what the International Ski Federation (FIS) had in mind, true to another motto: The sooner the better. But the initial launch backfired. While the apple harvest was still in full swing, skiing wanted to draw attention to itself. The officials, the industry, and the tourism associations wanted this, but not the athletes, who aren't in favor of holding a ski race in Sölden as early as October. Instead, they would rather prepare for the season.

But the schedule – regardless of the sport – has long since disregarded its protagonists. The loud moaning about this is merely a quiet, barely audible groan. Ultimately, almost everyone succumbs to the pressure that seems to be exerted from many sides. But the jug, fragilely constructed and therefore quite breakable, will continue to go to the well until it breaks. Jannik Sinner, for example, who started the ATP final in Turin so brilliantly with a victory over the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, had already pulled the ripcord in Paris. The South Tyrolean barely got to bed at a reasonable hour during this tournament.

No men's race could take place in Zermatt. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Sinner, however, is now in a relatively comfortable situation. His diverse income gives him a certain degree of freedom, which he can use when he feels things are getting too much. Of course, he still has to be very tactical with regard to the points awarded at tournaments. But he has more creative freedom and the ability to resist the madness of scheduling than many of his colleagues in other sports. He will long since be glad, for many reasons, that he chose tennis over alpine skiing, for which he also seemed to have a talent. He is still largely his own boss, at least as far as his contractual conditions allow.

Dominik Paris without influence In contrast, Dominik Paris from Ulten is a prisoner of the system in which he practices his sport. The most successful Italian downhill skier, like all others, is a pawn of those who want to profit from skiing and its environment. Those who are supposedly the real targets, the athletes, are never consulted. The new downhill ski run from Zermatt to Breuil-Cervinia is a typical example of this. From a sporting perspective, it is worthless. Hans Knauß, medalist at the Olympic Games and World Championships, gave the new slope a poor report. On soft natural snow, he would give it an A, the lowest possible grade, he said on ORF radio.

The athletes were on hold. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

According to the Austrian TV expert, it's even easier than Lake Louise. The downhill in Canada, which is no longer on the calendar, has only a few fast turns. The "Gran Becca," on the other hand, only has its exposed course with a 3700-meter start, which makes it a special feature. Therefore, we don't have to worry when the women finally compete there for the first time next weekend, after the first men's downhill of the season was blown away by the wind.

Much ado about nothing, just like last year. Of course, cancellations in the Ski World Cup are never avoidable. In November, however, the danger of unstable conditions is always present. Everyone knows this, but this knowledge is simply ignored, even carelessly overlooked. The result is further damage to the image of skiing, which, in any case, plays only a minor role in the media these days. Many cannot hide their glee at the two cancellations in two days for the prestigious downhill spectacle. The ones who suffer most are the athletes, who only had one training run when the sun was shining, but otherwise mostly sat in the gondolas – and as we all know, that's not exactly the latest thing from a training science perspective.

Hardly any attention for Lena Dürr Of course, it's easier for the technicians competing in slalom and giant slalom to find slopes now. Take Levi in Finland, where the reindeer are particularly nervous in November, because their new owners are either Petra Vlhova from Slovakia or Mikaela Shiffrin from the United States. Otherwise, you often have to read the fine print in many media outlets to find out what else is happening in the far, snow-sure north.

The fact that Lena Dürr, a member of the German Ski Association (DSV), for example, landed on the podium twice in a row, once as second and once as third, was a mere side note. That would have prompted a lengthy report in December or any other winter month. This time, Dürr only appeared in the "Kurzsport" segment of the morning magazine on public German television (ARD and ZDF). That sounds like a sideline, but it had to suffice, because it's not really ski winter yet. Football has everything under control. And because two German teams reached the final of the Handball Club World Championship (Magdeburg beat the Füchse from Berlin), there was simply no room for winter sports. Even the guest appearance of two US football teams in Frankfurt received more airtime than the best German female ski racer.

The lack of response from many media outlets should be a wake-up call for the FIS, which covers almost everything related to skiing (with the exception of biathlon), to finally adapt to the flow of the year and, above all, the seasons. Not everyone has it as good as Jannik Sinner, who competes in a year-round sport as a tennis player.

About the author: Sigi Heinrich The award-winning sports journalist (including a winner of the German Television Award), author, and Eurosport commentator from the very beginning (since 1989), devotes his column "Sigi's Spitzen" (Sigi's Peaks) to the full range of sports and enjoys exploring unfamiliar territory. Sometimes with a wink, sometimes seriously or deliberately provocatively. There should be something for everyone.

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No place for winter sports

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