No Night Races For PyeongChang 2018

(ATR) International Ski Federation race director Markus Waldner confirms that there will not be any night Alpine ski races at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics.

Waldner spoke to Around the Rings at the recent Madonna di Campiglio night slalom, a race with a storied history that is well-received by both skiers and spectators.

The Italian race director cites the primary reasons being cost and concern that Korean recreational skiers would not take advantage of the floodlights for night skiing post-Games. Waldner said lights will not be installed at either the Yongpyong or Jeongseon Olympic venues.

"The basic program for the Olympic Games 2018 is day races," Waldner said.

"Slalom races in PyeongChang will for sure be day races for both men and women," he said. "There are no floodlight plans."

At the Sochi 2014 Games, the women raced slalom at night under the lights for the first time in Olympic history, while the men competed in the technical discipline during the day.

"We are working a lot with legacy now trying to save money," Waldner said. "If you don’t use it afterwards, it makes no sense," he said about artificial lighting on the mountain. "We tried to use the money better in other sectors.

"Floodlights cost a lot of money – it’s immediately two or three million dollars," Waldner said. "Why put it in for so much money if afterwards there is no legacy because Koreans don’t like to ski in the evening, they prefer to dance."

The men and women will race on the same piste in Jeongeseon for the first time at an Olympics and with a tighter schedule as a result, Waldner said floodlights and potential night races and training runs were considered.

"We saved some money not building two downhill tracks, but it was under the condition that we install floodlights on the downhill," Waldner said.

At one point, racing the first-ever Olympic downhill at night was a possibility.

"At the beginning, it was a discussion to have the first-ever night downhill, but due to market research and interest with America, which is a priority, we decided to have day races," Waldner said.

Considering the electric atmosphere and crowd enthusiasm that night races tend to generate, some view not holding night events in PyeongChang a disappointment.

The traditional night slaloms in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy and Schladming, Austria draw huge crowds and some racers admit they feed off the high energy atmosphere.

"They’ve built up the event in Schladming and they get 50,000 spectators and here in Madonna it’s good because during the week it’s better to have a night event and have more spectators on site," Waldner said.

Many skiers prefer the night slaloms.

"I like night racers because the atmosphere is always much better and to see the light on the slope is fantastic," said Austrian veteran Reinfried Herbst, a former winner of the Schladming night slalom.

"It’s different racing at night – the light is different and the energy kind of heightens," said U.S. skier David Chodounsky.

Waldner said the absence of night races at the PyeongChang Games will not detract from the excitement.

"I think they can create a good show also during the day – it’s not just a good show at night because we have lights," Waldner said. "It’s what we create around the event."

Nighttime Freestyle Events in PyeongChang

Unlike alpine, four freestyle skiing events will be held at night under the lights at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Freestyle skiing aerials and moguls will take place at night, as has been the case ever since Torino 2006.

FIS freestyle skiing coordinator Joe Fitzgerald noted ski and snowboard halfpipe competitions at night were also contemplated.

"There was some initial considerations about the half pipe competitions for ski and snowboard, but they will be scheduled in the morning to make a North American primetime timeframe," Fitzgerald told ATR about the Korean Olympic events.

Twenty freestyle skiing and snowboarding events in total will be contested at the Bokwang Snow Park at the PyeongChang Games. New to the Olympic program, Snowboard big air will be held at the Alpensia ski jumping center.

"Given that we have some 20 competitions between the two disciplines, which include both the final phases of the competitions as well as the qualifications and the different training requirements, we actually need to run competitions at night time since pretty much the mornings and afternoons are filled up in the different stadiums," Fitzgerald said.

"These field planes are quite small, and the costs of lighting them are somewhat limited," the FIS freestyle chief said. "We are presently reviewing the plans concerning the development of the lighting installations to ensure that they meet the different safety and maintenance requirements."

Written by Brian Pinelli

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