Abundant Snow Challenges FIS World Championships Organizers

(ATR) Persistent snowfall and limited visibility force the cancellation of the snowboard big air final and postponement of freeski slopestyle qualifications at the world championships in Park City, Utah.

Organizersmade the decision to cancel one of the headline eventsof the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships because of expected poor weather and "with the best interests of the athletes in mind".

Snowfall is expected to continue across the Wasatch Mountains over the coming days, providing for epic powder skiing while potentially hindering the competition schedule even more.

Some 1,400 athletes from 40 countries are competing at four ski resorts, two of which hosted events during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Twenty-eight medal events are being contested between Feb. 1-10.

Organizing Committee chairman Calum Clark says that flexibility is key and contingencies are in place to combat the abundance of snow in the Utah resort town. It is the third time that Park City and Deer Valley Resort are hosting the world championships since the 2002 Games.

"I will never ever begrudge natural snow coming out of the sky. We’re an outdoor winter sport, this is what we live for," Clark tells Around the Rings. "It does put a lot of pressure on our course maintenance and volunteer crews to keep the event up to spec.

"This is a packed schedule, running finals day and night," Clark said. "It is going to be a complex operation with our partners at the FIS identifying what schedule changes we can make in order to keep the existing schedule whole, delivering on what we promised to the world with regard to finals.

"We are talking about possibilities and then working with our stakeholders – the FIS and our TV production groups about what actually can be possible."

With Salt Lake City selected by the USOC in December as the next U.S. Winter Olympic candidate looking towards 2030, Clark said showcasing and building upon the legacy of the 2002 Games is paramount.

"We want to renew our legacy – we want to show to the world that Olympism is not in the rear view mirror, it is something that is living and breathing," said the Australian-born organizing committee chief.

"As this community is positioning itself for a future Olympic bid, we want to show that with these venues and resorts, we are innovating with and growing these sports.

"It is in our mind to put our best foot forward and remind everyone that this stuff is fun."

The freeski slopestyle final is now scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Park City Mountain Resort, while freestyle skiing aerials is slated to happen under the lights in the evening at Deer Valley Resort.

FIS freestyle skiing director Joe Fitzgerald has contributed his expertise at every Winter Games since Lillehammer 1994.

Fitzgerald said that the aerials and Champion mogul course at Deer Valley are top notch and a marquee stop on the World Cup tour every winter annually since the 2002 Olympics.

"Same course, same organizing, a whole new generation of athletes," Fitzgerald said. "If you win on that thing, you’re the best of the best," he said about the steep and sustained Champion mogul course.

"I don’t like this course, it is difficult for me, but I will do my best to challenge it," said Japanese Olympic and world champion Ikuma Horishima.

Many athletes, despite the uncooperative winter weather, endorsed Park City and its venues to once again host the Olympic Winter Games.

"2002 inspired me to go and compete in aerials and having an Olympics here would be incredible, although I don’t foresee myself competing then," said U.S. aerials skier Ashley Caldwell. "It would inspire a lot of people around here to compete in winter sport."

"A future Olympic Games here would definitely keep me in the sport a few extra years," said her 24-year-old U.S. teammate Jonathon Lillis.

Six-time parallel giant slalom snowboard Olympian Jasey-Jay Anderson was not as enthusiastic as the others.

"The Olympics are complicated, they have a lot of the venues and obviously they did a good job in 2002," said the 2010 Canadian Olympic gold medalist, who finished last in his event in 2002.

"Unfortunately, USSA (U.S. Ski and Snowboard) doesn’t have an alpine snowboard team – it’s just wrong not to support every discipline in some way, so until they get their act together I don’t support the Olympics coming here."

Given the high profile nature of the event, the largest ski and snowboard multi-sport competition in the region since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, a delegation from the United States Olympic Committee is expected to arrive in Park City on Thursday.

Written and reported by Brian Pinelli in Park City, Utah

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