After the FIS Congress in Cancun (MEX), where it was definitively confirmed that Aspen (USA) would host the 2017 Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals in March, a delegation of officials from the ladies’ and men’s tour headed to Aspen (USA) for a site visit and a technical inspection.

Together with representatives of the local organising committee and the US Ski Team, the FIS Officials (Atle Skaardal, Markus Waldner, Markus Mayr, Emmanuel Couder, Andreas Krönner, and Mike Kertesz) inspected both the on- and off-hill facilities.

“We’ll have great, exciting races here,” said Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director. “We had great men’s speed races in the past, it was amazing, and in terms of technical events, we know Aspen has all the necessary requirements, so they will also guarantee great tech events. Some small changes have been made to the hill and start area, so we can deliver a very exciting team event in the lower section” he continued.

But the focus was not only set on the race course, other operational issues like accommodation needs and volunteer recruitment have also been discussed. “We made a final assessment of lodging needs for this event that offers as many races as a world championships but in about half the number of days,“ said John Rigney, Vice President of Sales & Events, Aspen Skiing Company. “We’ve done lots of work already but there’s tons to do. That will include recruiting more volunteers for the races, as we need between 300 and 400 of them” he added.

“Aspen has been a remarkable partner in a very largescale project to bring the best ski racers in the world to the USA for an end of season festival of the sport” said USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “It’s an important part of our initiative to increase awareness of ski racing in America”.

The Finals in Aspen mark the first time the event has been held in the U.S. in 20 years. World Cup ski racing has a storied history in Aspen as the mountain not only held its first sanctioned ski race in 1939, but also hosted the first World Championships outside of Europe in 1950 and has been a regular stop on the men’s and ladies’ FIS Ski World Cup circuit since its inception. Next year’s event not only denotes the homecoming of March World Cup ski racing in Aspen since 1994, but also commemorates the FIS Ski World Cup’s 50th anniversary season.

Source: fis-ski.com