IOC President says alpine team race may become Olympic event

By Published On: February 4th, 2015Comments Off on IOC President says alpine team race may become Olympic event

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach visited the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships on the opening day of action Tuesday as part of his U.S. tour. On the occasion of his visit, Bach took time to meet the international ski media and was very positive about his experiences in Vail and Beaver Creek, Colo.

Prior to the ladies’ super G race, Bach said, “I love sports and I love watching sports live so it is a great opportunity for me to come by as part of my tour of the U.S. to see a great race. I want to congratulate the Organizing Committee on a great event from what I have seen. The opening ceremony set the right tone and you are off to a great World Championships.”

ALPINE SKIING - FIS Ski WC Vail/ Beaver Creek 2015Journalists peppered Bach with questions ranging from his impressions of American football to the chances of the alpine team event joining the Olympic Program. In regards to the team event, Bach was rather optimistic.

“We have been discussing the program with FIS and you may have some good news in the next couple of months. I hope very much that we can finalize these decisions before the IOC session in July,” Bach noted.

The FIS currently hosts a crowd-pleasing Alpine Team Event at its World Championships, this year to be contested at Vail on Feb. 10, and has also utilized the format in the past for World Cup city events.

Joining Bach was FIS President Gian Franco Kasper and 2015 Organizing Committee President Ceil Folz. Both were thrilled to have Bach in attendance on the opening day of races.

“It was very special to have Mr. Bach at our opening ceremony last night and now to have him see our opening races is quite exciting for us as an Organizing Committee,” Folz said.

Kasper echoed her sentiments saying, “For FIS, it was great that he could make time in his busy schedule to come and experience our biggest event. We are very proud of our World Championships and happy to be able to share it with our colleagues at the IOC.”

Release courtesy of FIS

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