Innovations Highlight 2011 World Cups
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) officials were enthused
with a variety of innovations to the International Ski Federation's
(FIS) 2010-11 World Cup schedules which were announced last week.
Team alpine racing, a city event in Munich and the first moguls
event in China are all a part of the action in 2011 as the
International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup calendars were locked
in during its meetings in Turkey. In addition to five different U.S.
World Cup stops, several new twists will be added to several of the
international tours.
"Some of the steps taken by the respective FIS tour managers in
adding new events and sites are positive moves to grow the
marketability of our sports," said USSA Vice President, Athletics
Luke Bodensteiner. "Our U.S. World Cups provide an opportunity for
us to enhance exposure for the many U.S. athletes who won medals in
Vancouver."
U.S. World Cup stops will include Aspen, Beaver Creek, Denver and
Telluride in Colorado, along with Lake Placid, NY. In addition, the
2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships will be held at Deer
Valley Resort in Park City, UT Feb. 2-5.
The Audi FIS Alpine World Cup will then make its annual U.S. stops,
setting down first for the Thanksgiving weekend in Aspen Nov. 27-28
where Olympic medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) and Julia Mancuso
(Olympic Valley, CA) will be on hand to compete for the home crowd.
Following up the women will be the annual men's Audi Birds of Prey
race week in Beaver Creek, which just received the bid for 2015
World Championships, providing a showcase for Olympic medalists Bode
Miller (Franconia, NH), Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and Andrew
Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY).
The LG FIS Snowboard World Cup will return to Telluride Dec. 15-18
with parallel GS, snowboardcross and team SBX events. It will be the
only stop on the annual tour for a team SBX event, which was
recently approved by the FIS for inclusion in the World
Championships. Two-time Olympic champion Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf,
ME) and silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT)
will highlight the field. Lake Placid will hold its traditional FIS
Freestyle World Cup Jan. 21-23 with moguls and aerials, just two
weeks before the Feb. 2-5 World Championships in Deer Valley. Among
the top contenders will be Olympic moguls champion Hannah Kearney
(Norwich, VT) as well as bronze medalist Bryon Wilson (Missoula, MT)
and silver medalist in aerials Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID).
A snowboarding big air World Cup with a ski exhibition will be held
Jan. 28 in Denver.
The 2011 calendars included a host of innovations designed to
showcase both new events and feature growing geographical markets.
The alpine season will kick off on its
traditional stop in Soelden, Austria, but will feature a nation's
team event that is sure to light the way for excitement the rest of
the season. Adding to the fun on the alpine schedule is a city event
in Munich. The Munich Olympic Park will play host to this new event
on January 2. The men's tour will also make a first ever stop in
Bulgaria.
Cross country is going to see some excitement in 2011 as, for the
first time in the Viessmann FIS Cross Country World Cup the season
will open with a three-day multi-stage event in Kuusamo, Finland. It
will be similar to the highly successful Tour de Ski in January.
The FIS will bring moguls skiing World Cups to the rapidly growing
freestyle nation of China for the first time. China has been an
integral part of the FIS Freestyle World Cup for many years with
aerials.
The LG FIS Snowboard World Cup will begin crowning overall champions
in both "speed" (alpine events plus snowboardcross) and freestyle (halfpipe,
slopestyle and big air) beginning this coming season. A maximum of
six competitions are taken into consideration regardless the event
where the results are achieved.
The FIS also made a decision to begin a women's ski jumping World
Cup circuit beginning in 2011-12. The women have been competing at a
Continental Cup level since 2004. The FIS has also submitted women's
ski jumping to the International Olympic Committee for consideration
for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Women's ski jumping had overwhelming
support at the 2006 FIS Congress.
U.S. athletes in all sports are well in to their training and
preparation for the opening of the World Cup seasons next fall.
FIS WORLD CUP SCHEDULES
Audi FIS Men's Alpine World Cup
Audi FIS Women's Alpine World Cup
Viessmann FIS Cross Country World Cup
FIS Freestyle World Cup
2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships, Deer Valley Resort
DKB FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Bauhaus FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
LG FIS Snowboard World Cup
