interview
Artificial snow, snow depots, new event formats: winter sports are changing. Biathlon Olympic champion and sports show expert Arnd Peiffer speaks in the winter sports podcast about sustainability, climate change and the question of how much future classic world cups still have.
Sports show: Is an event like biathlon at Schalke, in a stadium, sustainable? Can winter sports even be sustainable?
Arnd Peiffer: I do believe that winter sports can be sustainable. How sustainable this event is overall would probably have to be calculated. So: How much energy did it cost to make the snow, drive it here, and spread it? What happens to it afterwards?
Of course you can also say: The people who are at Schalke and are watching this might not go somewhere else. To a World Cup in Ruhpolding, Nove Mesto or Oslo. This could perhaps be counterbalanced again. I find it very difficult to make this tangible.
Peiffer: “It’s often the case that there isn’t much snow”
Sports show: To what extent is an event like this different for you as a sports show expert than a regular World Cup race at a classic winter sports location?
Arnd Peiffer: It’s different. However, it is often the case that even on World Cup courses there is not that much snow left and right of the route. It happens that during World Cup races the weather was so warm that there is only a band of artificial snow on a green meadow and there is no winter around.
Biathlon in front of 35,000 spectators at Schalke
But of course: the stadium makes the big difference. In the World Cup it is often the case that there is only one grandstand, usually behind the shooting range of course. There are people along the route – and here you are really completely surrounded.
Without artificial snow, most World Cup events would no longer take place
Sports show: Is it the logical consequence of climate change that some traditional venues will no longer be able to host competitions due to a lack of snow?
Arnd Peiffer: I think that without artificial snow most World Cup events would no longer take place. Every organizer really needs to have a snow plan in place in case it doesn’t get cold a few weeks beforehand.
There is a lot of work with snow depots over the summer: there is a snow depot in Ruhpolding, there is a snow depot in Oberhof, in Novo Mesto – there are snow depots everywhere. That means everyone is already working with it. And without artificial snow it would look really thin at many events. Artificial snow has been with us for probably 10 or 20 years. This is already an integral part of the routes.
“Climate change makes me sick to my stomach”
Sports show: What goes through your head when you hear that competitions like the Combined World Cup in Schonach have to be canceled?
Arnd Peiffer: Climate change generally makes me sick to my stomach. I’m a winter sports fan who is most likely to notice this. 1.5 degrees makes a huge difference. But I think this is an issue that affects us all beyond sport and that we all feel.
Of course, as a winter sport you also have a responsibility and have to deal with it. But I don’t think we alone can cure it either. And you always have to weigh things up a bit: how much might an event like this bring? And what do I invest? What am I willing to invest? And in the end, the currency may not just be money, but also CO2.
Sports show: The Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina are getting closer. There are also reports that snow could become scarce. How fatal is this for winter sports?
Arnd Peiffer: In principle, winter sports will of course always be more affected. And the young people feel this particularly. Children are of school age and they cannot simply travel to where there is snow like the professionals.
How are children who go to school supposed to play this sport when there is no longer any snow near their hometown?
But the children who go to school, how are they supposed to practice this sport when there is no longer any snow near their hometown? That’s why I’m a bit worried that this classic winter sport will gradually die out.
“Winter sports have a certain magic”
Sports show: Will events like the one at Schalke replace the classic World Cups in the long term?
Arnd Peiffer: Well I think you can mix them in. But if at some point there are no more outdoor classic events at all, then the whole thing will be overturned. If we can only hold competitions on artificially created courses or even under one roof – I think the whole sport will somehow lose a bit of its magic.
Winter sports have a certain magic. That smell, the snow in the morning. Also the peace. I find that when it really snows, it suddenly becomes so calm and quiet. And it’s like a blanket that muffles all the noises and everything.
Sports show: Erik Lesser, like you a sports show expert, said in our podcast that he could also imagine biathlon on roller skis – for more months than already.
Arnd Peiffer: Yes, I can imagine it too, but I think it is of course nicer on snow. The magic I mentioned is somehow created by winter, the white track and the skis on your feet. But biathlon itself is such a strong, cool sport that I think it could also hold its own on roller skis. The “Biathlon” product is just so good.
Biathlon all year round? “The sport is strong enough”
Sports show: You could also make it a year-round sport.
Arnd Peiffer: Yes, I’m curious to see whether people will get fed up at some point or whether they’ll say “Hey cool, then we’ll have a biathlon league and then every now and then we’ll have a World Cup and it’ll go on like that all year round and we’ll have more of a summer break and a winter break.”
Ultimately, anything is conceivable, but it would then be a completely different sport. I do believe that if people like a sport, they will watch it. And I believe that events on roller skis are also cool, especially when the best are at the start.
Of course it’s with a cup of tea on the sofa, biathlon in winter… The timing is just good, many are at home, making themselves comfortable. For many, I think this is already so ritualized. And breaking these rituals and creating new ones is probably more difficult. The sport itself is strong enough.
Sports show: Where do you see the greatest opportunities in this development? Where are clear boundaries?
Arnd Peiffer: I see the greatest opportunities in the fact that sport can of course be brought back to the cities a lot more. So assuming you really have a lot of races on roller skis, then of course you can do it anywhere. This is a huge opportunity.
The danger is that biathlon becomes a bit vague. The winter has a fixed framework: Winter begins, then at some point the World Cup season begins and then winter ends and the World Cup season is over. And at some point there will be a climax, the World Cup or the Olympics. It has a certain clarity and I actually find that beautiful.
The entire interview with Arnd Peiffer can be found in the current podcast episode. Among other things, Peiffer talks about his waxing habits as an ambitious hobby cross-country skier, location advantages for certain nations and his private resolution for the New Year. We also look with Yasin Hinz from “Fridays for Future” at measures that are being taken in sport to protect the climate.