Zermatt Ends Summer Skiing for Elite Athletes in FIS Row
16th April 2024
Last modified on April 19th, 2024
It follows the abandonment of the World Cup downhill races for both the men and the women by the International Ski & Snowboard Federation.
For the last two years the inaugural cross-border races from Zermatt to Cervinia have been called off due to the weather.
Earlier it was announced by FIS that they would not be on the schedule for next season:
The resort of Zermatt is not best-pleased with the decision after all the effort, support and money invested.
It has now reacted.
“The training provision for elite athletes in all winter sports will be discontinued and reassessed for summer 2025, in line with the decisions of the FIS and the two national federations Swiss-Ski and FISI regarding the World Cup races in Zermatt/Cervinia,” said the CEO of the Zermatt lift company, Markus Hasler, in a statement.
He goes on to say that “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 lift company says that the annual investment in preparing pistes for top-level athletes will immediately be diverted to supporting junior skiers.
“At the same time, the resort waives any claim to federal funding related to the national sports facility programme,” the statement continued.
“Elite athletes will be able to use Zermatt’s summer ski slopes (21 km) for free skiing in the same way as other visitors.”
The situation will be reviewed in a year’s time, and it remains to be seen how FIS reacts to Zermatt’s position.
Update:
The former British ski racer, Martin Bell, has reacted over on the PlanetSKI facebook page.
“Zermatt are playing the long game and who can blame them?” said Martin.
“They have the highest lift-served snowsports in Europe; they know that they will be ever more in demand over the next couple of decades, as the planet warms, and all the other glaciers disappear.”
