FIS Alpine Ski World Championships host venues confirmed
The FIS Council convened in Reykjavik, Iceland this week to decide the host cities for the 2029 and 2031 Championships. Matt Garcka tells us the outcome…
In ReykjavĂk on Tuesday 4 June at the latest FIS congress meeting, a decision was made on which resorts will host the 2029 and 2031 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. The 47th edition (2023-24) brought together 75 nations and 600 athletes.
The outcome? Narvik has been chosen to host the 2029 FIS World Ski Championships, with Val Gardena to host in 2031.
Three European destinations were on the table to host: Narvik (Norway), Soldeu (Andorra) and Val Gardena (Italy).
Narvik won the bid with 11 votes to Val Gardena’s eight (to Soldeu’s single vote) and is awarded Norway’s very first FIS World Alpine Skiing Championships – what will be the 50th edition of the event. Narvik has previously hosted five Women’s FIS World Cup races, back in 1992 and 1996.
While Narvik might seem like a surprise choice to some – have you heard of this Norwegian ski area? – to others it might come as more of a surprise to hear that Norway, one of the world’s biggest ski nations, hasn’t hosted the Championships before now.
With Narvik’s position above the Arctic Circle, its long skiable vert, snow-surety and quality, and steep pitch, it’s likely to be a captivating event – one to look forward to, both for athletes and ski racing fans.
Much less a surprise is the decision for Val Gardena to host in 2031.
It’s fair to say that Val Gardena has a strong ski racing legacy and has produced some fantastic moments across the 50-odd years it has been hosting World Cup Downhill races (- first in 1972).
The Dolomites’ Val Gardena has hosted 92 FIS World Cup races on the Saslong course, of which 62 have been Downhills, and there will likely be many more.
There is a classic speed feel about this hosting selection.Â
Last season Soldeu in Andorra hosted the 2023 FIS World Cup finals with relative success (in light of inconsistent snowfall across the Pyrenees). Should it have been selected, it would have been the first ever World Championships on Andorran snow.
In fact, it would have been the first Alpine Championships to have taken place in the Pyrenees since 1996, when Sierra Nevada (Spain) played host.
Many within the sport believed that Soldeu was set to take one of these slots, well set up as it is for competitions after significant development in recent years. And whilst it would have been a very special event, had it been selected, Soldeu will now have to wait at least nine years for the Championships on Andorran snow.
Tignes in France has been awarded host of the FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships 2027.Â
It’s big news this week in the ski racing world delivered by FIS, though in reality we have some years to wait for the outcomes. But these are two decisions that could well shape the future of racing in the mega ski nations of Norway and Italy.
With the Council meetings continuing throughout last week, the finalised FIS World Cup calendar for 2024/25 was released. Click here for the calendars.
