Worlds: FIS president Kasper speaks at closing ceremonies

Val d’Isère, February 15th, 2009 – “FIS is pleased about these memorable FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Val d’Isère (FRA) that have now come to a close,” commented Gian Franco Kasper, FIS President at the official closing ceremony held in the Bellevarde finish area following the final competition on Sunday. “These championships have delivered a major contribution to skiing in France. We are very positively surprised about the great numbers of spectators who have made the trip to Val d’Isère on a daily basis, especially the remarkable 32’000 who came on a regular working day, the so-called Magic Monday on 9th February, to see the ladies’ downhill and men’s super combined. We hope that this enthusiasm will live far into the future and look optimistically towards the 2011 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Germany where the host nation will be defending the outstanding two gold medals it won here in Val d’Isère.”
 
“The success of Val d’Isère 2009 was not self-evident given the problems encountered on the way, including a major crisis just two years ago. However, the team led by the President of the Organizing Committee, Mayor of Val d’Isère Marc Bauer and OC Director General Jean-Luc Fabre, together with the French Ski Association, has done a truly outstanding job to stage these marvelous and unforgettable FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.”

“The weather is always unpredictable and in fact, we have had only one or two major championship or Olympics without schedule changes since the late 1960’s. It is indeed regrettable that we lost the nations’ team event especially since the host nation France had such a good chance for a medal. However all 10 individual races were successfully carried out in excellent conditions on championship-worthy courses and  our sincere thanks belong to the hundreds of volunteers who tirelessly worked to prepare the courses to help the organizing committee in the challenging conditions.”
 
President Kasper added: “The number of nations – 12 – on the podium goes on to show that skiing is a global sport. This is also underlined by the new record of participating nations – 70 – here at Val d’Isère 2009. To continue to grow the sport of skiing, FIS has heard the concerns expressed by the developing ski nations and will evaluate the qualification races for the technical events. In order to provide the best possible course conditions for all racers in the finals and deliver the timetable for television coverage, the number of participants in the final will still need to be restricted but could potentially be increased from the current 75 racers.”
 
The 2009 championships were staged in Val d’Isère 47 years after the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were last held in France. Of the participating 70 nations – a new record, with 382 participating athletes – 12 celebrated medals, six of them gold. With a total of six medals, Switzerland won the medals ranking, followed by Austria with five and the USA with three medals. A total of 260’000 estimated spectators attended the 10 medal events in the course of 13 days of competitions. The best-attended event was the men’s slalom with estimated 42’000 spectators.
 
The 41st FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) from 6th-20th February 2009.

Val d’Isère, February 15th, 2009 -   “FIS is pleased about these memorable FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Val d’Isère (FRA) that have now come to a close,” commented Gian Franco Kasper, FIS President at the official closing ceremony held in the Bellevarde finish area following the final competition on Sunday. “These championships have delivered a major contribution to skiing in France. We are very positively surprised about the great numbers of spectators who have made the trip to Val d’Isère on a daily basis, especially the remarkable 32’000 who came on a regular working day, the so-called Magic Monday on 9th February, to see the ladies’ downhill and men’s super combined. We hope that this enthusiasm will live far into the future and look optimistically towards the 2011 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Germany where the host nation will be defending the outstanding two gold medals it won here in Val d’Isère.”
 
“The success of Val d’Isère 2009 was not self-evident given the problems encountered on the way, including a major crisis just two years ago. However, the team led by the President of the Organizing Committee, Mayor of Val d’Isère Marc Bauer and OC Director General Jean-Luc Fabre, together with the French Ski Association, has done a truly outstanding job to stage these marvelous and unforgettable FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.”

“The weather is always unpredictable and in fact, we have had only one or two major championship or Olympics without schedule changes since the late 1960’s. It is indeed regrettable that we lost the nations’ team event especially since the host nation France had such a good chance for a medal. However all 10 individual races were successfully carried out in excellent conditions on championship-worthy courses and  our sincere thanks belong to the hundreds of volunteers who tirelessly worked to prepare the courses to help the organizing committee in the challenging conditions.”
 
President Kasper added: “The number of nations – 12 – on the podium goes on to show that skiing is a global sport. This is also underlined by the new record of participating nations – 70 – here at Val d’Isère 2009. To continue to grow the sport of skiing, FIS has heard the concerns expressed by the developing ski nations and will evaluate the qualification races for the technical events. In order to provide the best possible course conditions for all racers in the finals and deliver the timetable for television coverage, the number of participants in the final will still need to be restricted but could potentially be increased from the current 75 racers.”
 
The 2009 championships were staged in Val d’Isère 47 years after the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships were last held in France. Of the participating 70 nations – a new record, with 382 participating athletes – 12 celebrated medals, six of them gold. With a total of six medals, Switzerland won the medals ranking, followed by Austria with five and the USA with three medals. A total of 260’000 estimated spectators attended the 10 medal events in the course of 13 days of competitions. The best-attended event was the men’s slalom with estimated 42’000 spectators.
 
The 41st FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) from 6th-20th February 2009.