Industry News
The FIS World Cup season has wrapped up and international ski racers are planning their upcoming summer training. Aside from off-snow training such as strength and endurance, vital on-snow training needs to be scheduled over the summer months. Popular locations for European teams are typically the glaciers across Europe due to their proximity and for some skiers and boarders also resorts in the Southern Hemisphere, from Argentina to New Zealand.
The glacier at Zermatt has always been a popular destination for elite athletes, specifically speed ski racers, as Zermatt provided adequate terrain during the summer months for Downhill and Super-G training. However, the mountain operations at the cross-border resort announced on April 16, that it will not allow any elite athletes to come to the Theodul glacier for summer training. The decision comes after the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) took the cross-border race at the Matterhorn Ski Paradise off the racing calendar for the 24/25 ski season. The race had been scheduled for the last two seasons but had to be canceled in both 22/23 as well as 23/24. The race was canceled in 22/23 due to a lack of snow in the finish area on the Italian snow and in 23/24 it was canceled due to inclement weather. Of the eight planned races — two women’s Downhill races and two men’s Downhill races across two seasons — not a single one took place.
Instead, the resort has announced it will focus on promoting young talent, giving special access to ski clubs, regional teams, and junior teams. In addition, Zermatt will have the new “SnowXperience Plateau Rosa” beginners’ park operating on Testa Grigia. This park is aimed at first-timers on the snow, giving them an opportunity to interact with snow in various ways, from snow play, and sledding, to skiing or boarding. One can assume that this kind of experience is targeted specifically at overseas visitors from Asia who have been flocking to Switzerland for the summer months in ever-increasing numbers. Race training is not a profitable business so the financial decision to increase operations for tourists from overseas makes sense from an operational point of view.
Franz Julen, Head of the Local Organization Committee (LOC’), and Markus Hasler, CEO of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG, said in a written statement on the company’s website: “Starting this summer, there will be no training pistes in Zermatt for elite ski teams. The situation will be reviewed in a year’s time. This strategic decision means that young teams from ski clubs, the regional associations, and NPCs will be provided with a generous, specially adapted infrastructure with training times throughout the summer months. The decision is effective immediately and ensures that Zermatt Bergbahnen will continue to play its part in the development of the next generation of winter sports talent. Furthermore, visitors will be able to enjoy an expanded offering and greater variety during their summer ski breaks in Zermatt. Free skiing on natural snow in the summer is set to become even more attractive.”
The decision has been met with some dismay by national ski associations who had been banking on returning to Zermatt for vital on-snow training. Swiss Ski, the Swiss national ski association, said in a written statement, “We extremely regret the decision of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG. Zermatt has become an eminently important partner for Swiss-Ski and has become increasingly important as a training location. Swiss-Ski has benefitted for many years from having the two best glacier areas for season preparation in Europe in their own country with Zermatt and Saas-Fee. Now we will have to find alternative solutions at least for this year.” The head of the German Alpine Team called the decision “blackmail” in an interview with Swiss newspapers, while the Austrians seem to be slightly gleeful about the loss of the “home advantage” by the Swiss alpine team.
If World Cup races had been staged in Zermatt/Cervinia, Zermatt Bergbahnen and its partners in Cervinia, across the border in Italy, would have offered the skiing elite innovative downhill runs with no equal, as well as training facilities to prepare for the races. This was not how the associations and athletes viewed the provision, however, with the result that the four World Cup races were removed from the Alpine Ski World Cup calendar for 2024/25 – despite the five-year contract with the FIS. The annual investment in preparing pistes for top-level athletes will immediately be diverted to supporting junior skiers, who enjoy the training conditions in Zermatt. At the same time, the resort waives any claim to federal funding related to the national sports facility program. Elite athletes will be able to use Zermatt’s summer ski slopes (21 km) for free skiing in the same way as other visitors.
— Zermatt Bergbahnen press release
While Franz Julen is adamant in an interview with Swiss National TV SRF that the decision is not retaliation for canceling the first-ever cross-border race on the FIS Alpine circuit, the appearances would beg to differ. FIS, Swiss Ski, the Italian ski association ‘FISI’, and the LOC had signed a five-year contract up to and including 26/27, guaranteeing four speed races in Zermatt-Cervinia each season at the end of October or in November. The decision affects elite athletes not just from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, or Italy, but also countries further away that regularly came to the Theodul glacier including Norway and the USA.
