Race Director Alex Andreis looking forward to "great competition" at Paralympics

Ahead of the Paralympic Winter Games, we have caught up with the Race Directors of the three FIS disciplines represented in Milano Cortina: Para Alpine, Para Cross-Country, and Para Snowboard.

Para Alpine Race Director Anja Skutelj looks ahead to "amazing" Winter Paralympics

Para Cross-Country Race Director Georg ZIpfel keen to make most of Paralympic global audience

Completing the trio is Alex Andreis who has been Para Snowboard Race Director since January 2021. And the Italian is greatly looking forward to these home Games.

How pleased were you with the World Cup season just gone?

Andreis: We had good events in consolidated locations in Europe and North America, and I am very happy how they were organized. The snow situation was not always easy, but the venues produced what was needed and our Technical Advisor was always able to make the best out of it. We had planned some more events in new locations, but unfortunately those were cancelled due to budget and organizational difficulties.

Was there anything you felt could be improved upon for the future?

Andreis: We have good organizing committees we have worked with for many years, but we need new venues in Europe and worldwide. Around 40% of the Paralympic athletes are from Europe, 25% from North America, another 25% from Asia, and the remaining 10% from Australia, New Zealand and South America. This should be reflected in our calendar with competitions in the continents with high number of athletes.

There were five stops on the Para Snowboard World Cup this season, but the last two did not feature Women’s Upper Limb (UL) races. Is this something that can be addressed for next season?

Andreis: This is a delicate topic that we are continuously discussing, much like the combined category of Women’s Lower Limb 1 (LL1) and Lower Limb 2 (LL2). The goal is to have all three Women’s categories at the next Paralympic Games in France 2030 but this ultimately depends on participation numbers. It’s a chicken and egg situation; if we don’t have good World Cup participation, we will not grow the number of Paralympic medal events. And if there is no Paralympic medal event, it’s difficult to motivate national committees to invest in a category. We need to break this circle, and I hope national committees will show up with more UL, LL1 and LL2 women athletes next season.

A new head-to-head Banked Slalom format was introduced to World Cup last season, similar to Snowboard Cross. But the Banked Slalom format at the Paralympic Games - where each athlete has two runs with the best time determining the placings - remains unchanged. Which format do you see as the future of the event and why?

Andreis: I see head-to-head as the future for a number of reasons. For one, it eliminates changing snow situations as there can be an hour or more between the first and second runs and the snow can change from compact and fast to soft and slow. In head-to-head, after qualification, everyone has the same snow conditions.

It is also a more TV-friendly format, showing only the top athletes in the finals competing in direct elimination runs. And it is shorter; a final can be done in one hour, while the two runs (which remain as qualification) will take two to three hours. Unfortunately, we only came up with the new head-to-head format two years ago and it was too late to introduce it for the Paralympic Games. We have introduced a new SBX Mixed Team format this year, and also hope to bring this to French Alps 2030.

Cortina d’Ampezzo is hosting Para Snowboard at the Winter Paralympics. What do you think of the venue and how happy are you with preparations?

Andreis: Honestly, I have some mixed feelings about this question. I have a very good collaboration with the people in Cortina directly involved with making the competitions happen. They’re a great team and always open to help and to find solutions.

But we haven’t had a test event to prepare in the best possible way for the Winter Paralympics. We didn’t have one ahead of Beijing 2022 due to the pandemic, but this is the first time this has happened without a real reason. On top of that, there were some organizational discussions that were not always easy too but, in the end, we will have great competition and that is what counts. My goal is to provide the best possible courses, challenging but with fair and safe conditions, for all the athletes.

Which athletes and storylines are you most excited about for the Winter Paralympics?

Andreis: Every athlete is special and has their special story. They are amazing people, strong personalities and still very friendly and collaborative. I don’t want to focus on the top athletes we might see more often on the podium as everyone deserves our respect. My gold medal goes to all of them.

What are you most excited for Winter Sports fans to discover about Para Snowboard at the Paralympic Games?

Andreis: To discover the person behind the athlete. And to see them as athletes, not as Para athletes. Just because someone is missing a hand or a leg, or has a condition, they’re still an athlete. And in the end, what is an athlete? Someone who is training hard and competing to achieve the best possible performance, in a fair environment where they can showcase their best performance.