FIS MEDIA INFO: 11th FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships to begin in Madonna di Campiglio

Oberhofen, March 2, 2007/ -- The 11th FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships will be held in Madonna di Campiglio, Trentino, Italy from 5th – 10th March. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Monday, 5th March, on the frozen lake of Madonna di Campiglio, with FIS Council Member Janez Kocijancic of Slovenia officially opening the Championships.

“Following the success of Freestyle Skiing in the Turin Olympic Winter Games, with great media interest and some 95% of the available tickets sold, the 11th FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Madonna di Campiglio promise to be a true season highlight,” noted FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “This winter has been very challenging for all FIS disciplines, Freestyle being no exception. Thanks to the significant efforts by the local organizing committee, together with the government in sport-loving Trentino, we can look forward to an exciting celebration of skiing and youth, including awarding the second FIS championship titles in ski cross, the latest event to be included in the Olympic winter program.”

224 athletes representing 27 nations have been registered to compete for the 24 medals in eight title events. Five reigning champions – Nate Roberts (USA; moguls), Steve Omischl (CAN; aerials), Tomas Kraus (CZE; ski cross), Nina Li (CHN; aerials) and Jennifer Heil (CAN; dual moguls) – will try to defend their titles as the competitions begin with ski cross on Tuesday, March 6th, followed by moguls on Friday 9th, and dual moguls and aerials on Saturday 10th. It will be the second time that FIS World Champions are crowned in ski cross; the first champions were decorated at the 2005 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships held at Ruka (FIN).

No newcomer to hosting world class sporting events, Madonna has been the venue for several Freestyle World Cups as well as for the 2001 FIS Snowboard World Championships and more than 55 FIS Alpine World Cups. There is snow in Madonna di Campiglio and as many as 30,000 cubic meters of artificial snow have been made. Unfortunately, despite great efforts by the organizing committee, there was not enough snow to build the required half-pipe structure and the half-pipe competitions for the ladies and men had to be cancelled. The rest of the competition program is unchanged.

The 2007 FIS Freestyle World Championships were originally scheduled to be held in Madonna di Campiglio from 20th – 27th January but had to be postponed due to a lack of snow.

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