The women’s slalom, which took place in Kittilä Levi on Saturday, was supposed to be the fifth race of the Alpine Skiing Women’s World Cup, but it ended up being the first. During late autumn, one race after another has been canceled due to lack of snow or bad weather conditions.
Only one of the men’s competitions has been able to go through and three have had to be cancelled.
Both women’s slalom races of the World Cup weekend in Levi could be organized without any problems, so the season was finally started.
CEO of Levi Ski Resort Jouni Palosaari According to Levi, in recent years, Levi has prepared for the low snowfall in early winter by storing the snow of January and February.
Finnish Lapland is now one of the few places in Europe where the top alpine skiers can compete and train. The poor snow situation in Central Europe is reflected in the fact that national teams from different countries have been training at the ski resort for weeks.
– Conserving snow is a responsible act. Thanks to the stored snow, we can announce when we open. At the beginning of November, the teams were able to train on the World Cup slope, which is unusual. Many teams stay here to train and new ones come, Palosaari tells Urheilustudio.
Kalle Palander was shocked: “We have totally ruined the glaciers”
Sports expert Kalle Palander says that he is shocked by the very bad situation of the glaciers in Central Europe.
– You almost cry when you compare the current glaciers to what they were like when I joined the national team in 1994-95. Nothing can be done about it, it’s a stark fact. We have totally ruined the glaciers. The glacier won’t come there anymore, so we have to find new solutions, says Palander, the 1999 world champion.
Palander criticized the competition calendar prepared by the International Ski Federation. According to the ex-top alpinist, FIS has been overoptimistic when it thought that it would have been possible to compete in speed sports on the glacier in the Zermatt-Cervinia border region between Switzerland and Italy right from the start of the season.
The Slovak peak of alpine skiing Petra Vlhova commented on the cancellation of early season competitions and the future of alpine skiing as serious.
– I’m worried because every year the situation is getting worse and it’s getting warmer. Maybe in 20 years it may be difficult even for winter sports. I hope next year will be better. I am happy that we are here and we have snow, says Vlhova.
Levi won both slalom races Mikaela Shiffrin thinks that the International Ski Federation FIS could better take into account the typical weather conditions of different competition locations at certain times.
– Climate change is a real threat to alpine skiing and to the whole planet in general. It is not easy to plan a calendar with around 40 races around the world and be sure that the conditions are perfect. It is an outdoor sport. Some years there is too much snow, some years too little, says the American star.
– However, these trends make organizing the games in October more and more difficult. Maybe that’s why the sport should be adapted a little.
An Olympic silver medalist who has already finished his career Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne is wondering if the season should start in the Nordic countries, where winter usually starts on time.
– These questions will be faced very soon. Does the start of the season have to be moved forward in the calendar, or would Scandinavia specifically be a reasonable place to start, because winters here clearly start when they should? What if we should continue longer in the spring, when it is still winter in Northern Europe, Poutiainen-Rinne says.
According to Kalle Palander, the alpine skiers have been wondering for 30 years why the season has to start so early, even though the conditions are not yet wintery enough in, for example, Central Europe. However, he does not believe in change.
– Winter sports start at the end of October, when summer sports are over. FIS wants that. Business is business and millions roll in. If the athletes were asked, the season would rather be continued in the spring month in peak weather. Rocky slopes, sweet sunshine, there is plenty of snow everywhere, says Palander.
No concrete solutions have been found
Climate issues were also discussed at the Aurora discussion event organized in Levi, where one of the panelists was a Finnish member of FIS Martti Uusitalo.
– The arenas where competitions are organized are not our arenas, but arenas of ski resorts and cities. In order to be able to organize competitions, certain standards must be met. This is the way FIS is going, Uusitalo said.
Uusitalo is also calling for geographical optimization of the competition calendar.
– It is not sustainable to fly teams from here to the Yanks, but we should travel with sustainable means of transport, perhaps to Sweden or Norway. This is a bigger puzzle that fits the Nordics well, but in North America they ask when to compete there. It is not sustainable to organize the World Championships in a place where everything is organized with snow brought from the ice rink.
Kalle Palander criticizes the decision-makers of the International Ski Federation for not having found concrete solutions.
– FIS guys, for example Martti Uusitalo, he didn’t answer anything that was asked of him in Aurora. They are such spinners, you can’t get over it or around it. The races have to start at a certain time, but if there is no snow, it is quite difficult. You can’t move the season to spring, but you have to find smart solutions for it, says Palander.
Saudi Arabia’s giant project is not considered sensible
Urheilustudio was also surprised by the awarding of winter sports competitions to places where there is no snow or winter sports culture.
Perhaps the most blatant example of this can be found in the Middle East. The Asian Winter Games are planned to be held in 2029 in Saudi Arabia, where a giant winter sports center costing 500 billion will be built.
– You can do everything with money, but it is anything but responsible. I don’t see it as reasonable at all, says Palosaari, CEO of Levi.
Para-skier and ambassador of the Protect our winters project Blue Please told the Aurora event that he competed in cross-country skiing at the Sochi and Pyeonchang Paralympics in a t-shirt. It felt wrong to him.
– We have to think about how high the carbon footprint of sports can be. In sports, quite big wheels are turning, but it can’t continue like this. Saudi Arabia has even hinted at the possibility of the Olympics. At least as an athlete myself, I would find it difficult to go to Saudi Arabia to compete, Pyy said.