Organizers of the ‘Bombardier presents Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup’ received approval Wednesday from the International Ski Federation (FIS) to proceed with final preparations for the opening speed events of the 2008/2009 Men’s FIS Alpine World Cup season starting Nov. 29.
The decision followed on-site course inspection and snow control by the FIS at the Lake Louise Ski Area. FIS officials will revisit the hill on Nov. 25 for approval of the ladies races.
“Staff and volunteers have been working hard to ensure the best possible conditions when the world’s top alpine racers come in Lake Louise to open the speed season,” said John Cassels, who for 14 years has served as chairman of the Race Organizing Committee.
“Lake Louise has a proud tradition opening the World Cup speed season and thanks to dedicated staff, great volunteers and proud sponsors, we look forward to again welcoming the world in late November.”
The Bombardier Winterstart Men’s downhill and super G races are scheduled to take place Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. The Bombardier Winterstart Ladies downhill and super G will take place the following weekend.
This year, more people then ever can watch the best athletes in the world compete as the Race Organizing Committee has added a public seating bowl surrounding the finish area.
“We want everyone to be able to come out and watch the world’s fastest men and ladies race and then take a few runs of their own at this world renowned ski area,” added Cassels.
In the Festival Area, spectators can warm up by the fire with Bombardier, enjoy some President’s Choice cider, grab a cowbell from TELUS, test drive new HD products from Panasonic, munch on some chocolate from ATCO, get their picture taken with “Happy the Husky” or collect some Canadian athlete trading cards from WestJet.
On Nov. 29, after the Canadian Pacific Awards crowning the men’s downhill champion, spectators can also enjoy The Mocking Shadows, a free public concert sponsored by Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
The opening races of the World Cup speed season are televised in Canada by CBC and are expected to reach an audience of more than 140 million viewers worldwide.
Lake Louise first hosted a World Cup race in 1980 and has seen five Canadians reach the podium in the last two seasons, including victories by Jan Hudec (Calgary, AB) and John Kucera (Calgary, AB).
Lake Louise is the first resort outside of Europe ever to be named to the prestigious Club 5, the organization that brings together the most famous and historic World Cup alpine race courses in the world.
The Lake Louise Ski Area has been open to the public for skiing since Nov. 8, one of its earliest openings in recent years.
