The men’s World Cup downhill on the Kandahar is to be held at a different race location in 2023. The International Ski Federation FIS is planning this. The Alpine race calendar for next winter only includes two women’s races on the Kandahar and one men’s slalom on the Gudiberg in Partenkirchen. Those responsible at the German Ski Association (DSV) and in Garmisch-Partenkirchen are very upset about this.
Ski races in Russia and China instead of in Garmisch?
Florian Fischer, board member of the Garmisch Ski Club, told the BR that they were really shocked by the FIS’s proposals. The new President of the FIS Johan Eliasch obviously wants to make the racing calendar more international and award races to China and Russia, for example. The ski associations in Germany and Austria, among others, are fighting back.
The President of the German Ski Association, Franz Steinle, is one of twelve voices in the FIS Council who decide on this. The committee meets again in early May. Then those responsible in Garmisch-Partenkirchen hope that the preliminary decision of the FIS will be reversed.
Commerce more important than tradition?
The Kandahar downhill race has been around for 70 years and, together with the Lauberhorn race in Wengen in Switzerland and the Streif in Kitzbühel, it is one of the most renowned downhill races in the world. The long-time organizer of the races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Peter Fischer, commented on Facebook that with the new FIS President everything should be sacrificed to commerce in Asia. The billionaire and new president Eliasch is British with Swedish roots and owner of a sporting goods company (HEAD).
The Garmisch Ski Club is also concerned about how a change in the World Cup calendar would affect the application for the Ski World Championships in 2027. The international ski association will decide on this on May 25th in an online event. The FIS is the umbrella organization of all national ski associations worldwide.