Industry News
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) meets each year for a spring meeting where the prelimiary World Cup calendar for the upcoming season is formally introduced and changes implemented. This year’s meeting was held in Slovenia, and on Wednesday, May 8, the Alpine Skiing World Cup Sub-Committee met to hatch out further aspects of the 24/25 season.
While the 24/25 calendar had already been shared with National Ski Associations, the provisional calendars for the coming season were formally presented to all FIS representatives at the meeting and have now been officially shared with the public. The 24/25 FIS Alpine World Cup calendar brings back some past venues but also introduces some new, exciting locations, while the staples, like Sölden or Kitzbühel in Austria, of course have their fixed positions on next season’s calendars. A highlight on this year’s calendar will be the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, from February 4 – 16, 2025.
The great news for American fans of Alpine skiing is that a total of 17 events of the 24/25 season will be held in North America. This is in large part due to the World Cup Finals being held in Sun Valley, Idaho, from March 21-27, 2025, which account for eight events alone. A further five events will be held in in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December 2023, two events will be held in Killington, Vermont, in November 2023, and two events will be held in Mont Tremblant, Canada, in December 2024.
- Related: Preliminary FIS Alpine World Cup Calendar for 24/25 Proposes a Total of 17 Events in North America
Safety
As expected, FIS also decided at the spring meeting to make airbags mandatory for Super-G and Downhill events in the World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic Games competitions starting next season. Airbags have proven to be a valuable measure of increasing the safety of athletes in speed races.
Initially developed for motorcyclists, the design was adapted to function for skiers. A system of sensors with three accelerometers and three gyroscopes in communication with GPS at 1,000 times per second determines when a skier is about to crash and activates the airbag.
In addition, aproposal has been made to strongly recommend the use of cut-resistant undergarments for all disciplines at all levels. The goal is to make their use compulsory from the 2025/26 season. Further, protective zones will be defined until spring 2025.
Candidates for the 2029 FIS World Championships
Last but not least, the discussion turned to the upcoming hosts for the 2029 World Championships. FIS has received three bids for the Alpine World Championships: from Soldeu, Andorra, Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy, and Narvik, Norway. On June 4, 2024 at the 55th International Ski Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, each candidate will make their final presentation to the FIS Council, which will then elect the Organisers of the Alpine FIS World Championships 2029. The 2027 host for the Alpine World Championships will be Crans-Montana in Switzerland. The Swiss Resort was purchased recently by Vail Resorts.
