SEOUL, South Korea – The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG, President Yang-ho Cho) is in its final stages of preparations for its first ever FIS Ski World Cup to be held at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Feb. 2016.

The Jeongseon Alpine Centre, the first of its kind in Korea, is home to the alpine speed events of downhill, super G, and alpine combined for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games program. Scheduled for completion by Oct. 2016, the Centre will also host PyeongChang 2018’s initial test event this approaching February. FIS Ski World Cup men’s downhill and super G races are scheduled to be held on the brand new course on Feb. 6-7, kicking off a series of 28 test events.

With a maximum capacity of 6,500 people upon completion, the venue is the centerpiece of PyeongChang 2018’s vision of expanding winter sports to a wider region. The Jeongseon Alpine Centre is one of the few downhill courses in Asia, and with its geographic location and access to an emerging and fast-growing Asian market, PyeongChang 2018 aims to open up “New Horizons” and spread the passion for winter sports to the Asian region by providing a new stage and more opportunities for Asian athletes and sports fans.

Designed by Bernhard Russi, current chairman of the FIS Alpine Committee and former downhill Olympic champion from Switzerland, the men’s downhill course will run a length of 2,648 meters with a vertical drop of 825 meters. For the first time in Olympic Winter Games history, the men’s and women’s courses will be combined into one field of play in an effort to preserve more forest area surrounding the race course.

For the World Cup in February, the venue will be ready for competition with the main fields of play including essential facilities such as the gondola and snowmaking systems in place and operational. POCOG, Gangwon Province, and the Austrian manufacturer Doppelmayr are working on a tight schedule to complete the installation of the gondola by Jan. 20. Snowmaking on the course began on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and the systems will run in full capacity through January to meet the snow quality required for World Cup races.

Relevant staffers from more than 30 functional areas of POCOG are participating in the operational preparations to meet or exceed all FIS technical requirements for a World Cup event. The organizing committee has already begun recruiting a short-term and volunteer workforce to run the event. A Far East Cup race is scheduled in Jeongseon on Jan. 27-28 as a trial run before the FIS World Cup to prepare the operational team.

The official webpage for the test events of PyeongChang 2018 was launched on Nov. 30, providing a schedule as well as accommodation and accreditation information for teams and media.

Working closely with FIS and IOC, POCOG and Gangwon Province along with the Korea Ski Association are fully committed to delivering the FIS Ski World Cup successfully to the world’s alpine ski athletes and fans. This event will be the first opportunity for POCOG to welcome top athletes to the venue in the journey towards the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Release and photos courtesy of POCOG