ARE, Sweden — About 7,000 people gathered in the Are, Sweden, town square Friday night to see His Majesty The King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf declare the 2007 Alpine World Championships opened.

KING CARL GUSTAF OF SWEDEN AT OPENING CEREMONIES (Gepa)

The championships were opened in a beautiful snowfall and with a great feeling.

King Gustaf said that competitions such as this help to improve contacts that go beyond the geographical, ethnical and cultural borders. “I wish all the competitors good luck on the slope and let the best man or women win,” he said.

The president of the International Ski Federation, Gian Franco Kasper, welcomed everyone in Are in Swedish, English, French, German and Russian.

Many Swedish artists performed in the ceremony and skiing stars past and present were present on the stage, including home favorites Anna Ottosson  and Pernilla Wiberg. But the warmest welcome from the audience was for the video of former Swedish alpine star Ingemar Stenmark show on the big screen.

The opening ceremony finished with great fireworks which lightened up the entire center of Are.

SkiRacing.com
Friday, 02 February 2007

39th FIS Alpine World Ski Champions begin on FIS's 83rd anniversary

The 39th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will commence in Are (SWE) today. FIS President Gian Franco Kasper will officially open the event at the Are Town Square (Medal Plaza) at 19 CET.

“We are very pleased to see these Championships to begin after six years of meticulous planning and preparation by the experienced organizers, the Swedish Ski Association, as well as Swedish Television, the host broadcaster. We look forward to a wonderful festival of sports and hope for the best with the weather,” says FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “After a challenging early winter, we are happy to have more than enough snow here in Are and given the excellent course preparation, have no fear about the weather.”

All in all, 446 athletes – 168 ladies and 278 men - representing 62 nations will be participating at the second FIS Alpine World Ski Championships ever held in Sweden; the first ones took place in 1954. Up to 100'000 spectators and several hundred million television viewers are expected to follow the more than 600 hours of coverage from the Championships; more than 1500 media will be on-site to report on the event.

A total of 33 FIS World Championships medals will be awarded as the competition schedule includes five ladies' and five men's events as well as the co-ed nations' team event. The nations' team event will be staged for the second time at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Are whilst the super combined (DH and one-run slalom) will replace the traditional combined format for the first time. Also a premiere, there will be a qualification for the men's giant slalom: the best 50 registered athletes are pre-qualified while the others will race in the qualification for the remaining 25 starting places. The competitions will begin with the men's super-G on Saturday, 3rd February, followed by the super-G for the ladies on Sunday, 4th February, 2007. Both of the reigning 2005 super-G champions, Bode Miller (USA) and Anja Paerson (SWE), will be at start.

February 2nd is an important date for the International Ski Federation (FIS). 98 years ago, on 2nd February, 1909, at the international skiing competitions at Morez (FRA), Durban Hansen, Norwegian trainer, issued an invitation on behalf of his National Association for a Ski Congress to be held in Christiania (NOR) with the aim of setting up an International Federation for skiing. 83 years ago, in 1924, the International Ski Federation was officially founded on February 2nd during the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix (FRA).

FIS news

Are sets an example for sustainable development in sport

In addition to staging a spectacular winter sports event, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Are (SWE) are setting an example with their approach to the environment and sustainable development. The World Championships organizers are partnering with a local high school to design the event's Environmental Policy and Plan, as well as to assess the post-event environmental impact.

The cooperation between Are 2007 AB, the organizer of the event, and Are Gymnasium started in December 2004, and has involved several dozens of students in the school's Natural Science Programme. The Are Environmental Project was initiated by Anders Sundqvist, Sports Director, Karin Halvarsson, Media Operations Manager in charge of the project, and Tomas Rydberg, Environmental Manager and teacher at Are Gymnasium.

“The environmental legacy and sustainable development of the ski sports have been among the key criteria evaluated by the FIS Council when assessing the candidatures and appointing the organizers of FIS World Ski Championships since many years. We are very proud to recognize the progressive example set by Are 2007 AB that has now raised the bar even higher for the future Championships,” says FIS President Gian Franco Kasper.

Working in teams, the students chose to focus on three areas: transportation/the Green House Effect; waste sorting/recycling; and information about environmental work. Their work has been guided by an interdisciplinary approach based on a method called “Problem-based schooling (PBS)” that stems from the University of Karlstad.

While the transportation team is focused on minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases through the use of public transport, alternative fuels and parking areas, the waste sorting and recycling team sought to establish effective sorting and recycling solutions and measures to reduce the amount of waste produced. The environmental information team aims to deliver the message of the Championships as a clean event with a pleasant atmosphere and inform the public about how and where to dispose of waste during the event.

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