Sports News

A cross country sprint ski race is being moved from Milan in Italy to Livigno as making artificial snow has been deemed to be too expensive.

Despite the snow of the weekend warm temperatures are set to return to the Alps. This has led FIS to cancel next weekend’s parallel GS events in Lech, Austria.

There are those that coach the elite athletes in World Cup racing and those that operate at the grass roots level. Congratulations to the winners & all those nominated.

They were to have been the flagship races of the new season and the first between two countries. A lack of snow has caused the cancellation. It begs the question whether it was sensible to schedule them so early in the season in the first place. UPDATED

The men’s GS race in Soelden in Austria took place on Sunday. Heavy rain in the Austrian resort led to the women’s GS race being called off on Saturday. UPDATED

The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 reached a global broadcast audience of more than 2 billion people, according to independent research conducted on behalf of the International Olympic Committee.
 

The International Olympic Committee, National Ski Federations, athletes, Greenpeace and others have condemned the  move. Mostly on environmental grounds, and with some opposing Saudi’s position on human rights.

The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, was speaking to the Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera. Some Russian winter athletes have already been called up to potentially fight in the war. NEW

Trojena has been told it can host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. The £448 billion resort area is still on the drawing board. NEW

That’s the claim from the race director after a course inspection. It is the first cross-border World Cup event and will be jointly staged by Zermatt in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy.

The Norwegian Ski Federation has boycotted all meetings where the two countries are in attendance. It comes as FIS has raised the prospects of the two nations competing next season. Finland has also criticised the attendance of Russia and Belarus.UPDATED

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation Council is to discuss the participation of Russian and Belarus athletes next month. NEW

The Norwegian double Olympic gold medal skier has undergone surgery. He has said the operation was a success with the outlook good. NEW

New names join familiar faces in 2022-23 British Freestyle Ski & Snowboard Squad. It brings together some exciting ski and snowboard talent competing under the GB Snowsport banner.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation has announced two more appointments to its media and marketing division. The new division has divided FIS. NEW

It’s funding has been cut by UK Sport and it has launched a crowding funding campaign to try to keep the show on the road. In recent seasons it has been competing & making the podium at the highest level.

The Austrian legend Fritz Strobl finally has the ceremonial handover of his cabin. The fastest race winner had a ceremony on the day the latest racer winner also received his gondola.

The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee has expressed an interest in hosting the 10th Asian Winter Games at Trojena in Neom. Not everyone welcomes the move. UPDATED

Alpine skiing has had its best season ever yet is not deemed investible for World Class Programme Funding. Cross-country and Para Nordic are also affected. GB Snowsport has described it as ‘deeply disappointing’ and is appealing.

The former paralympic skier has been selected to compete for England in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The International Ski & Snowboard Federation is aiming to centralise the media, broadcast, marketing and sponsorship rights & sales. Some major ski nations oppose the move.

The International Paralympic Committee has transfered the governance of the sports of Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country skiing and Para snowboard to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.

They are Men’s Freestyle Skiing Dual Moguls, Women’s Freestyle Skiing Dual Moguls
and Women’s Ski Jumping Large Hill. There is also Ski Mountaineering but there is no space for Women’s Nordic Combined.

Four national ski associations have filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Johan Eliasch won an election last month. There was no option on the ballot paper to vote against him. At the centre of the dispute are his plans to centralise the marketing of FIS World Cup events. UPDATED

GB Snowsport has confirmed the 42-athlete Alpine squad which will represent Britain for the 2022/23 season. The athletes are hoping to build on the successes of last season that saw GB win a World Cup for the first time.

Every winner of a Hahnenkamm World Cup Race in Austria gets a gondola named after them. Now it is the turn of a British ski racer. Step forward The Rocket. UPDATED

In an uncontested election the current President of the International Ski Federation Johan Eliasch was voted back in, but there was no option on the ballot form to vote against him. Some nations, led by Croatia, walked out in protest. Austria, Switzerland Germany and others refused to participate in the vote with 40% of delegates abstaining. UPDATED

The Swiss resort was up against Narvik in Norway, Soldeu in Andorra and the German ski resort of Garmish-Partenkirchen.  The World Championship venues for Nordic, Ski Jumping, Snowboard Freestyle and Freeski have also been announced. UPDATED

The Swedish skier, Jesper Tjäder,  has broken the world-record for the longest rail slide –  154.49 meters. Check out the video.

Decision Day is Wednesday, 25th May. Seven candidates are bidding to host the 2027 FIS World Ski Championships in Alpine skiing, Nordic, Ski Jumping and Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski. UPDATED

Thomas Bach has described Russia’s action as ‘devastating’ and a breach of the Olympic Truce. He made his remarks on the final day of the 139th IOC Session in Switzerland.

The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation is taking in Ukrainian athletes, coaches and family members who have been displaced by the war. Many US ski & snowboard athletes train in Park City and the area has extensive facilities.

This week the organisers have been inspecting the course and making further preparations for the races at the beginning of next season. There are also new races in the USA and changes to alpine ski racing to make it more ‘TV friendly’.

Decision Day is Wednesday, 25th May. Seven candidates are bidding to host the 2027 FIS World Ski Championships in Alpine skiing, Nordic, Ski Jumping and Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski.

The International Ski Federation, FIS, and the International Paralympic Committee, IPC, are in discussions about the issue. NEW

The International Olympic Committee has set up a solidarity fund and pledged an initial $200,000 (£150,000) following the Russian invasion of the country.

The Rocket finished the season in 8th place in the slalom World Cup. It has been heralded as a superb performance, and earlier Dave told PlanetSKI he was highly likely to be in the starting gate for next season.

The iconic Engadin Skimarathon is the largest cross-country skiing event in Switzerland and the second largest in the world. It’s quite a spectacle and PlanetSKI is hooked.

The snowboard cross Crystal Globe was secured with a win in Reiteralm in Austria. It makes up for a disappointing Winter Olympics.