FIS FACT SHEET: Nations' Team Event at FIS World Ski Championships 2011 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Oberhofen 11.10.2010 / The Nations' Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 will be carried out in parallel format that was slightly adapted after the initial pilot at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals 2010. The event will be staged on the Kandahar slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) on 16th February 2011 starting at 11:00 CET.

Following the introduction of the Nations Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2005 in Bormio (ITA), the new 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.

Rules of the Nations Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011

The Nations' Team Event will be conducted as a parallel giant slalom race, using normal giant slalom gates and flags. The best 16 nations, according to the overall FIS World Cup Nations Cup standing before the World Championships, are qualified. The total team size per nation is limited to a maximum of six competitors, with at least two competitors from each gender. Per nation and heat, a maximum of two ladies and men must start.

The participating nations will compete in heats consisting of four pairs with the highest ranking nation racing the lowest ranking nation in the first round (i.e. 1st ranked nation against 16th ranked nation, 2nd ranked nation against 15th ranked nation).

The best ranked nation will receive bib number 1 and the lowest ranked nation bib number 16. If any given heat is not complete with two teams, e.g. the 15th and 16th ranked nations are not at the start, the nation present will automatically be qualified for the next round.

Each competitor may only compete in one run per heat. Each nation will have one competitor of each gender competing on each course, red and blue (i.e. one lady red, one lady blue, one man red, one man blue).

The result of each heat between the nations will be determined by points. A win will score one point for the nation. In case of a tie, both nations get one point. In case of a tie after completing the four runs (2:2), the nation with the best combined run time of the best lady and best man will win the heat (or second best in case of a tie for the best time).
If both competitors fall, the first competitor to reach the finish successfully will be the winner. If both competitors do not finish, the competitor who successfully skied the furthest distance will be the winner.

The prize money for the event will amount to CHF 100'000 to be distributed among the top three teams (1st place 50%, 2nd place 30%, 3rd place 20%).

Reasons for disqualification (immediate and without protest) are: Changing from one course to another; interfering with the opponent, voluntary or not; not passing through a gate correctly (ICR art. 661.4.2).

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For rule precisions concerning the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen please refer to this document.

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