MELBOURNE, Australia (June 3)
With the 2002 Olympics just a season away, United States resorts will host a record 42 World Cup events next winter in every ski and snowboard sport for the first time in history, the International Ski Federation announced Saturday. The across-the-board diversity focuses on preparations at the Olympic venues as well as traditional alpine, nordic and snowboard sites.
The announcement came on the final day of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress in Melbourne.
As usual, the alpine World Cup schedule will open the continuous racing portion of its season Nov. 16-19 at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort with a slalom and giant slalom for men and women. The women move on to Aspen, Colo. – returning to the schedule after a one-year absence – for super-G and slalom during Thanksgiving Weekend while the men’s tour will be in Beaver Creek, Colo., for a downhill and super G Dec. 2-3. The men return to the USA for inaugural World Cup races on the Olympic downhill course at Snowbasin, near Ogden and north of Salt Lake City; a downhill and super G are planned for Feb. 24-25.
A ‘Nordic Festival’ is scheduled for two weekends in January to introduce international skiers to the jumps at Utah Olympic Park at Bear Hollow on the outskirts of Park City and the cross country trails at Soldier Hollow in the Heber Valley, east of Park City. Cross country races are set for Jan. 10-14 at Soldier Hollow with a pair of 120-meter jumping contests Jan. 19-20 at Utah Olympic Park and two nordic combined events Jan. 19-21 on the Olympic facilities. The nordic combined schedule, which normally stops in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in December, visits Steamboat in January next season – Jan. 26-28 for two more events.
Freestyle will include two stops, each with the Olympic events, moguls and aerials – Jan. 6-7 Deer Valley Resort in Park City and Jan. 26-28 at Sunday River in Maine. Thursday, FIS announced Deer Valley had been selected to stage the 2003 World Freestyle Ski Championships.
The snowboard World Cup schedule includes stops at March 1-4 at Park City Mountain Resort, the Olympic venue for parallel GS and halfpipe.
Alpine World Cup races – downhill, super G, GS and slalom – for disabled men and women will be held Feb. 26-March 4 at Snowbasin, which will be the venue for all alpine during the Paralympics.
‘This will be not only an exciting season but historic in a lot of ways,’ said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt. ‘For the first time, we’ll have World Cups in seven sports in the USA. It’ll be a terrific opportunity to perform on most of the Olympic venues and for the American public to see the athletes who’ll bring us Olympic success in 2002 in Utah.’
A recap of World Cup events:
Nov. 16-19 – Park City Mountain Resort (UT) – men’s and women’s SL/GS (4 races)
Nov. 24-25 – Aspen (CO) – women’s super G/slalom (2 races)
Dec. 2-3 – Beaver Creek (CO) – men’s DH/SG (2 races)
Jan. 6-7 – Deer Valley Resort (UT) – men’s and women’s moguls/aerials (4 events)
Jan. 10-14 – Soldier Hollow (UT) – men’s and women’s cross country races (6 races)
Jan. 19-20 – Utah Olympic Park (UT) – 120-meter ski jumping (2 events)
Jan. 19-21 – Utah Olympic Park (UT) – nordic combined (2 events)
Jan. 26-28 – Steamboat Springs (CO) – nordic combined (2 events)
Jan. 26-28 – Sunday River (ME) – men’s and women’s moguls/aerials (4 events)
Feb. 24-25 – Snowbasin (UT) – men’s DH/SG (2 races)
Feb. 26-March 4 – Snowbasin (UT) – men’s and women’s disabled alpine DH/SG/GS/SL (8 races)
March 1-4 – Park City Mountain Resort (UT) – men’s and women’s snowboard PGS/halfpipe (4 events)
For further information:
U.S. Ski Team News Bureau http://www.usskiteam.com
Saturday, June 3, 2000
Contacts: Juliann Fritz, 435.647.2061; Scott Flanders, 435.647.2062