The Hilton Zurich Airport Hotel was once again the venue for the annual FIS Autumn Meetings last week. An extremely active participant was the Saslong Classic Club, which not only joined the other Ski World Cup organizers in getting ready for the 2023/24 season, but also presented its bid for the 2029 Alpine World Ski Championships.

The Ski World Cup is in the starting blocks and in less than four weeks the traditional opening will take place in Sölden. In the course of the winter season, and as usual on the last weekend before Christmas, top international ski athletes will make a stop in Val Gardena. As part of the 56th Saslong Classic, a super-G will take place on Friday, 15 December and the downhill on Saturday, 16 December. The Val Gardena Organizing Committee headed by President Rainer Senoner signed the organizer contract during the FIS Autumn Meeting clarifying minor details regarding this year's World Cup races with representatives of the international ski and snowboard federation - including FIS Race Director Markus Waldner.

In addition, Rainer Senoner presented a project close to his heart in Val Gardena, the so-called "Speed Clinic", during the autumn meetings. This is a special training camp lasting several days, which is reserved for young and talented female racers who want to gain a foothold in the fast disciplines. "The interest is huge, especially among smaller nations. The athletes can train at the end of November and are also supported by experienced coaches providing video studies and much more. The racers can immediately put into practice what they have learned, because the Speed Clinic is followed by the FIS races on Piz Sella taking place at the beginning of December. In the past ten years, we have held more than 100 of these competitions for junior racers. This is a number that no other World Cup organizer can match and underlines the fact that young skiers are very close to our hearts in Val Gardena", explains Senoner.

Right at the beginning of the week-long meeting in the Swiss city, the Saslong Classic Club held a key presentation about the 2029 Alpine World Ski Championships. Part of the team that prepared the Val Gardena dossier presented the candidacy for the Ski World Championships taking place in six years in detail to the FIS evaluation commission. In addition to the traditional South Tyrolean winter sports resort, Soldeu in Andorra and Narvik in Norway are also bidding for the 2029 Alpine World Ski Championships. The decision as to who will ultimately be allowed to host the World Ski Championships will be made on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 during the FIS Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland.