The DKB FIS Nordic Combined World Cup events planned to take place in Liberec (CZE) this weekend had to be canceled due to a sudden onset of warm temperatures.
“We were snowing from the first day possible – and it looked optimistic. But a warm and wet weather front that followed after the cold period suddenly made it impossible to stage the cross-country part of the Nordic Combined World Cup at the Vesec ski stadium this weekend. However, this is no reason to be concerned about the World Championships – we are well prepared to produce snow at Vesec now that the weather forecast is improving again. And we have our plan B, and even a plan C,” said Katerina Neumannova, President of the Liberec 2009 organizing committee.
“The plan B means that we have snow guns in place in higher altitudes in the Jizerske mountains, where there are better (colder) conditions for snowing. We are preparing deposits of snow and if necessary, we can transport it to the Vesec venue. At Bedrichov and Albrechtice, our locations in the mountains, we are able to prepare more than 10’000 cubic meters of snow and have already started production during two nights,” added Katerina Neumannova.
“The plan C is something like a reserve plan. We have two large parking places on top of the Krkonose mountains, where we will collect natural snow to big deposits and in case of an emergency, we will use it for the Vesec area,” said Neumannova.
“I can assure you that our entire team is working very hard in order to deliver successful FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. We cannot wait to welcome all the teams, the international media, our guests and of course, thousands of fans of Nordic skiing to Liberec in February,” said Neumannova.
As an additional boost for the championships, the organizing committee of Liberec 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships just received a confirmation from the Czech government of additional CZK 189 millions (Euro 7.3 millions) in financial support. These additional finances were granted to make up for the approximate 20% reduction in the value of the Czech crown compared with the Euro since the Czech Republic was awarded the championships in 2004. The championships in Liberec are the biggest sport event in the history of the Czech Republic.
Source: FIS
