Black Diamond: WC schedule needs major overhaul

The weather debacle that unfolded during the first few days of the World Cup Finals here was not the fault of the organizers, nor the fault of the jury. No, the reason for the downhill cancellations has its roots in the unwillingness of member federations to compromise on World Cup race scheduling.
    The FIS professionals in charge of the men’s and women’s tours, Gunther Hujara and Atle Skaardal, respectively, implored member federations to listen to their scheduling concerns and ideas during the last FIS Congress held in Vilamoura, Portugal, in spring 2006. Both men pointed out the rigors of the travel, the need to adjust to meet both weather and television demands — in short, the necessity to modernize the schedule.  
    They were listened to, but then dutifully ignored.
BORMIO, Italy — The weather debacle that unfolded during the first few days of the World Cup Finals here was not the fault of the organizers, nor the fault of the jury. No, the reason for the downhill cancellations has its roots in the unwillingness of member federations to compromise on World Cup race scheduling.
    The schedule was something Lindsey Vonn addressed during her post-downhill title press conference. She pointed out that the schedule had the women racers in Zagreb, Whistler, Zwiesel, and back to Crans Montana. From there on it was either training or racing for 12 straights days. “It is pretty poor planning in my opinion,” Vonn said, pointing out that by skipping Zagreb, she had a welcome week off, one which her body needed.
    Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who won the men’s downhill globe, also stressed the impact of this year’s schedule in his press conference. “We race in Vancouver then head to Kvitfjell, nine hours different,” Cuche said. “You’re not awake when you get there. Your body isn’t ready.”
    He added, “We go from Beaver Creek to Val d’Isere. We fly home and those who live between Zurich and Val d’Isere might get one night at home. Then you drive to Val d’Isere, six or seven or eight hours. Then you have to ski.”
    The FIS professionals in charge of the men’s and women’s tours, Gunther Hujara and Atle Skaardal, respectively, implored member federations to listen to their scheduling concerns and ideas during the last FIS Congress held in Vilamoura, Portugal, in spring 2006. Both men pointed out the rigors of the travel, the need to adjust to meet both weather and television demands — in short, the necessity to modernize the schedule.  
    They were listened to, but then dutifully ignored.
    Hujara and Skaardal kept the pressure on, however. The changes they suggested were relatively simple. Broadly, they proposed to stage fewer races, and to hold them at venues that can virtually guarantee snow. They wanted calendar consistency in event placement, and an easing of the overly costly and too strenuous travel schedule.
    They were direct in their presentation six months later at the spring meeting of the FIS in Portoroz, Slovenia, but were frustrated once more when there was no budging on the part of the federations. And there was little visible support from either FIS President Gian Franco Kasper or the members of the FIS Council. While Kasper agreed privately that change was needed, there was no outwardly discernible effort on the part of the FIS to facilitate the requested schedule changes.
    Both Hujara and Skaardal raised the scheduling issue once again at the October 2007 meetings in Zurich. It was imperative, they said, that the World Cup problems be addressed by the national federations that host events. Once again they were met with little support: no federation wanted to see its ox gored or wanted to sink their horns into another federation’s “ox.”
    One result of this inaction is the crunch here in Bormio. With rotten weather, the battle for the men’s downhill title, rather than being one of the most exciting races of the decade, became an unsatisfactory paper race leaving both athletes and fans complaining.
    Then there is the problem brought up by this season’s crammed schedule. With no World Championship or Olympics, the FIS is staging a “Grand Finals.” But the calendar had no room for weather, so when the temperatures turned warm and the snow rotten, the downhill was cancelled and the discipline leader, Didier Cuche, was declared the winner
    Imagine if the Indianapolis 500 did not allow for weather. Would the car winning the pole position be declared the victor? Not a chance! The Indy organizers simply delay the race until the weather allows it to run and guess what, most of the 400,000 fans come back and so do the TV cameras.
    With careful planning and some open-minded thinking about contingencies such as weather, both athletes and fans would not have been denied the exciting contest that  the downhill final surely would have provided.
    The current scheduling inertia is deadly, because it threatens to diffuse the World Cup’s impact, and its audience. The erosion will eventually become too great for the circuit to recover.
    The FIS professionals are correct in their thinking. The World Cup needs to change and modernize its schedule. The member federations have demonstrated their unwillingness to move so the onus of change falls to the FIS leadership. It would be a tough, proactive challenge to the president, secretary general and the council, but it is one they need to take on.
    The current schedule is wearing thinner by the season and the circuit is providing less return to its sponsors and fans. To continue to allow the status quo should be unacceptable to all who care about alpine skiing and certainly to those that govern it.