Val d'Isere to host 2009 alpine world championships

By Published On: June 8th, 2004Comments Off on Val d'Isere to host 2009 alpine world championships

Val d’Isere to host 2009 alpine world championships{mosimage}MIAMI The International Ski Federation (FIS), heavily influenced by the leadership and charisma of skiing legend Jean Claude Killy, selected Val d’Isere as the site of the 2009 Alpine World Championships at its 44th Congress here.

The victory was particularly sweet for the French resort, as it easily defeated its three contenders: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vail/Beaver Creek, Colorado, and Schladming, Austria, some of the sport’s most prestigious resorts.

“It is very important for our sport and our country,” said Killy. “Skiing is a business, and this will be a big help.”

Killy, who became the sport’s first modern media personality when he captured all the alpine gold medals during the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, stewarded the 1992 Albertville Winter Games bid as the head of that organizing committee. Val d’Isere was the host of the men’s Olympic alpine events. The resort has also hosted one of the classic World Cup early season downhills, le Criterium de la Premiere Neige, for more than 45 years.

For 2009, Val d’Isere plans to build a new stadium that will accommodate both the women’s and men’s finishes from opposite sides of the valley. Underneath the finish area will be the event’s press center, a parking lot and a shopping center.

The defeat was particularly bitter for Garmisch, which has bid for the championships four times during the past eight years. Its bid hinged in part on the premise that skiing needs to gain better television ratings in Germany-one of Europe’s most important television markets-which the championships would attract. It was a line of reasoning that apparently didn’t win over the 16-member voting board.

For Vail, the loss was not unexpected, but the magnitude of the loss was far more than expected, as the resort garnered only three of the 16 votes cast. Vail, which successfully hosted both the 1989 and 1999 World Championships, originally launched a bid for three disciplines (alpine, snowboard and freestyle). It was a unique concept but questionable in the eyes of the FIS. In the end, it was an idea that just didn’t gain support from the international ski community, and the resort dropped its bid for all but the alpine event less than 24 hours prior to Thursday’s vote. By that time, any momentum for success was lost.

“We took a bold step with the combined world championships concept,” explained Ceil Folz, president of the Vail/Beaver Creek 2009 campaign committee. “We are obviously disappointed, but we’re glad that we pursued that dream.”

It was a dream for which the ski federation was not ready.

The Schladming bid, which most thought had little chance of succeeding as Austria hosted the 2001 World Championship in St. Anton, showed surprising strength, finishing second in the balloting. Schladming became the favorite for the 2011 World Championships on the vigor of its showing in Miami.

Site decisions for all FIS discipline championships are made by a secret ballot of the 16-member FIS council, with ties broken by the president.

Share This Article

About the Author: Pete Rugh