Vilamoura, May 24th, 2006 — The 45th International Ski Congress is currently underway in Vilamoura (POR). In addition to setting <the 2006/2007 World Cup Cross Country schedule, the following items related to Cross-Country Skiing have been approved by the FIS Council at its meeting on Wendesday, May 24.
Approval of the World Cup rules for 2006/2007, including a modification of the rules for the Sprint whereby all final heats will be run with six competitors, instead of four as has been the case in the semi-finals until now. In reality, this means that the two best Lucky Losers in the quarter-final heats will also advance to the semi-finals.
The decision on the organizer of the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will be made by the FIS Council on Thursday, 25th May and announced at around 18 CET. The candidates are Oslo, Norway; Val diFiemme, Italy; and Zakopane, Poland. Here are short statements from each venue.
Oslo (NOR):
Welcome to the new facilities at Holmenkollen in 2011! Five years from now Oslo, the capital of Norway, is prepared to host the FIS World Ski Championships in the Nordic disciplines. The venue will be the famous Holmenkollen, where new facilities will be built to meet the demands of the future. The old jumping hill will be dismantled and replaced by modern facilities. The Cross-Country stadium and courses will be upgraded as well.The famous jumping hill at Holmenkollen has been extended 18 times. The new facilities there will include:
• A less steep inrun with a freezing capacity
• Reconstruction of the lower part, from the jump until the end of the outrun
• New grand stands for spectators
• Better working conditions for the media
• New facilities for competition management, including jury and judges, media, coaches and athletes
• New lift
• New floodlight system
• Permanent wind protection measures
However, the architectural fingerprint of the old hill will be retained in order to maintain the famous Oslo skyline!“There is still great interest in our national sport, skiing, all over the country. Hence we feel confident that the whole nation will unite in supporting the Oslo region in the preparation for the championships and will contribute to making the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships here a real folk festival,†says Mr. Per Ditlef-Simonsen, the Lord Mayor of Oslo.
Val di Fiemme (ITA):
As the official flag was lowered in Lago di Tesero on March 1st, the final day of the 2003 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships, the idea of presenting the valley again as organizer of a future event was already born. Pietro De Godenz, Chairman of the Executive Committee, toasted with his closest collaborators saying: “See you soon…†Someone, exhausted, just smiled; someone else laughed at the sentence that seemed to be just a joke.During the 2004 FIS Congress in Miami, the organizing committee presented the positive results obtained across the board in 2003. The most gratifying moment, however, was the speech delivered by FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper, who said: “There were no clouds from February 18th to March 1st in Val di Fiemme, neither in the sky nor in the organizationâ€.
That is why the hospitable Val di Fiemme is a Candidate for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2011.
As an experienced FIS World Cup host, the classical resort of Val di Fiemme has established itself as an important point of reference in the Nordic skiing world. Its reputation owes a great deal to the support provided by the local municipalities, but most importantly to the many volunteers, who are the real backbone of the organizing committee. And they, too, look forward to welcoming the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships back to Val di Fiemme!
Zakopane (POL):
Zakopane, together with the Polish Ski Association, would be thrilled to organize the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2011.
Zakopane, the cradle of Polish skiing, is situated in a valley at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. With skiing traditions reaching back over 100 years, Zakopane has long played an important role in the development of Nordic skiing. The organizer of FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1929, 1939 and 1962, of three Winter Universiades, World and European Championships in Biathlon, and several FIS World Cups in Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Cross-Country and Alpine Skiing (slalom), as well as many other events, Zakopane aspires to be counted among the group of main cities organizing world sports events. The organization of ski events has even been entered into the long-term Development Strategy of the City of Zakopane.
In addition to its sporting traditions, Zakopane is a significant center of culture. FIS World Ski Championships in Zakopane therefore not only promise to deliver many unforgettable sporting moments, already guaranteed by the tens of thousands of spectators that annually attend the FIS World Cup Ski Jumping events staged there, but also a glimpse of the “Zakopane phenomenon.†This phenomenon has for years attracted people in love with the special atmosphere of Zakopane and its culture of folklore and highlands. Zakopane, in all its facets, looks forward to hosting the global skiing family in 2011!
Successor to Peter Petricek (SLO) as Chairman of the Cross-Country Committee will be appointed by the new FIS Council at the end of the Congress, by Saturday, May 27th.
Please also note that according to the ICR art. 219.1, the prize money for the coming 2006-2007 season has already been confirmed by the FIS Council in its November 2005 meeting (approximately 1 and a half years before the applicable competition season). For Cross-Country events the amounts will be, as in the previous season:
• Minimum cash prize for individual events: CHF 40,000 (~ $33,000 US),- (divided between 1-10)
• Minimum cash prize for relay events: CHF 30,000 (~ $25,000 US),- (divided between 1-6)
Source: FIS
