FIS MEDIA INFO: Nations' Team Event at GAP 2011

15.02.2011//- Following the introduction of the Nations Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 in Bormio (ITA) and successful execution at Are 2007 (SWE), the 2011 edition of the Nations' Team Event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be its third staging at the FIS World Championships.

The Nations' Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 will be carried out in the parallel format that was effectively piloted at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals 2010. Each team races with two men and two ladies in each heat, selected from a squad of up to six athletes. The event will be staged on the Kandahar slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) on 16th February 2011 starting at 11:00 CET.

There will be 11 nations participating; Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. The athletes competing include medalists from the speed events led by world champion Anna Fenninger (AUT), together with Anja Pärson (SWE) and Julia Mancuso (USA). Joining them will be contenders for the technical titles including Romed Baumann, Benjamin Raich, Philip Schörghofer, Marlies Schild (all AUT), Michael Janyk (CAN), Tessa Worley, Thomas Fanara, Cyprien Richard (all FRA), Felix Neureuther (GER), Massimiliano Blardone (ITA), Marc Berthod, Fabienne Suter (both SUI), Bode Miller, Ted Ligety (both USA) and Maria Pietilä-Holmner (SWE), among others.

"We look forward to the 3rd edition of the Nations Team Event. I hope everyone will see for themselves that the Nations' Team Event is one of the most important events for the future. We have seen in disciplines like Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Jumping that the team events are the most-loved events for the fans," commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper and added: "After a successful event here at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we hope that the NTE will not just be part of the FIS World Championships and World Cup but also on the program of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014."

"We are going ahead with the Nations' Team Event precisely according to the plan. The hill is in good shape and we have been busy with the event build up at Kandahar all morning long," stated Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director for the ladies.

Günter Hujara, FIS Chief Race Director for the men, noted: "The base preparation on the race courses has been excellent. With the temperatures below freezing during the past nights and additional cold nights forecast for the next several days, we expect to see an excellent Nations' Team Event and great giant slalom races at Kandahar. The same goes for the slaloms at Gudiberg."

The NTE parallel format was developed by an expert group of the FIS Alpine Executive Board in response to feedback collected from various stakeholders, including the National Ski Associations, teams, athletes, marketing agencies and the media, and the event has received a very enthusiastic response. Many nations have already earned a place on the podium in the previous editions of the Nations Team Event and the title of FIS World Champion team will be hotly contested in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Wednesday 16th February.

Results (see Rules attached)

GAP 2011 NTE

Nations Team Event at FIS World Ski Championships

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009, Val d'Isere (FRA)

Cancelled due to inclement weather

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2007, Are (SWE)

1. Austria

2. Sweden

3. Switzerland

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005, Bormio (ITA)

1. Germany

2. Austria

3. France

Audi FIS Ski World Cup

Finals 2010, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

1. Czech Republic
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Croatia

Finals 2009, Are (SWE)

1. Italy
2. Austria
3. Switzerland

Finals 2008, Bormio (ITA)

Cancelled due to inclement weather

Finals 2007, Lenzerheide (SUI)

1. Austria
2. Italy
3. France

Finals 2006, Are (SWE)

1. Austria
2. USA
3. Sweden

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About FIS

Founded in 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France, the International Ski Federation (FIS) aims to promote the sport of skiing and snowboarding and directs the development of all ski and snowboarding activities world-wide. FIS administers the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. With the help of its 112 member nations (one currently suspended), it stages more than 6'000 ski and snowboard competitions annually. FIS also makes recommendations for recreational skiing and snowboarding in the interest of all and promotes play in the snow as a healthy leisure activity for children and the youth. For more information, please visit www.fis-ski.com.

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