Canadian resorts Panorama, Whistler to host World Cup races next season

British Columbia ski resorts Panorama Mountain Village and Whistler are likely to join Lake Louise in Alberta next season as hosts for World Cup races.

BRITISH COLUMBIA SKI RESORTS Panorama Mountain Village and Whistler are likely to join Lake Louise in Alberta next season as hosts for World Cup races as the International Ski Federation triples the number of alpine race sites in Canada heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics.
    Alpine Canada Alpin, the governing body for ski racing in Canada, said the final decision to add World Cup races at the two British Columbia ski resorts will be taken by the FIS Council Nov. 17 but the events have already been listed on the proposed race calendar for the 2007/2008 season. With races at three sites, Canada would match Austria as the world leader in hosting races.
    The technical events at Panorama will permit Canada’s women’s slalom team to race a World Cup in their home country for the first time in almost 15 years. Proposed are women’s giant slalom and slalom races in Panorama from Nov. 17-18, 2007, and men’s super G and giant slalom and women’s downhill and super combined in Whistler from Feb. 21-24, 2008.
    The resorts would join Lake Louise, which during the last weekend of November and the first weekend of December already hosts the opening World Cup speed events — including downhills — of the racing season. Lake Louise has hosted races for 26 years.
    “These proposed new races in Canada as we prepare for the 2010 Olympics are tremendous for ski racing and our athletes,” said Ken Read, president of Alpine Canada Alpin. “More of our athletes will be able to compete in their home country and these new races truly complement the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart, Canada’s only World Cup venue since 1998. This will also give our officials and volunteers the kind of world-class training needed to prepare for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, which is really only three seasons away.”
    With the potential for three stops on the Women’s FIS World Cup calendar, Canada would equal Austria with the most World Cup stops in the world. Italy, Germany and Switzerland each have two events on the women’s race calendar.
    As for the men’s calendar, Canada would tie with Switzerland by staging two World Cup events, second only to Austria.
    Under the proposed calendar, Canada would play host to three of the four women’s World Cup alpine ski events in North America and two of the three men’s World Cup race events in the 2007-08 season.