Candidates Line Up for Major Ski World Champs

(ATR)Cortina will likely host the Alpine Ski World Championships in 2021 following four successive losing bids.

The ruling council of the International Ski Federation (FIS) will choose respective host cities for the 2020 and 2021 world championships at its next congress slated for June 2016 in Cancun, Mexico.

"Cortina d'Ampezzo still has to be elected by the FIS Council on June 9, 2016," Sarah Lewis, FIS secretary general, tells Around the Rings.

"The candidate has to go through the candidacy process in the same way as its previous four candidacies: providing comprehensive details of the project, with a thorough review of the technical aspects of the bid, as well as an evaluation of all other areas"

FIS says thatthe Italian ski resort is the only applicant for the 2021 alpine worlds.

Each season, Cortina stages speed races on the women's World Cup circuit. Cortina was a candidate to host world championships from 2013 to 2019.

The event will mark the third time Cortina has hosted the Alpine Ski World Championships, having staged the alpine worlds in 1932 and 1941.

The Slovenian alpine valley of Planica submitted the only application for the2020 FIS Ski Flying World Championships.

The three cities vying to host the 2021 Nordic Ski World Championships areOberstdorf, Germany; Planica; and Trondheim, Norway.

"Just weeks after the successful 2015 FIS World Championships, FIS is pleased at the interest for the organization of these important events,"FIS president Gian Franco Kasper said in a statement on the federation's website.

"Experienced organizers including the world's premium resorts' desire to host FIS World Championships underlines their importance in the global sports calendar."

FIS will brief the candidates during its calendar conference scheduled for early June in Varna, Bulgaira.

Each city is required to submit a detailed concept for the event by Sept. 1. FIS expects bid cities to include plans forsports organization, accommodation, transportation, security, media and fan experience.

Lewis will lead the FIS Inspection Group in a review of each city's concept for the world championships. In early October, the candidates will finalize their respective bids for the 2020 and 2021 worlds.

At the FIS Congress in June 2016, cities will make their final presentations to the ruling council.

Prior to a decision from FIS on June 9, the bid cities will have the chance to present their candidacy at special exhibition stands.

Written byNicole Bennett

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