On 2nd January, 2009, for the first time in the history of FIS Alpine Skiing, a parallel slalom contest will take place in Moscow (RUS). This special competition is designated as a promotional event in support of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup. It is also specifically designed to stimulate interest for Alpine Skiing as part of the build up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

The world’s best alpine skiers are invited to take part in the event. They will compete on a construction designed especially for the Moscow contest. The ramp will be about 60 meters high, 36 meters wide and 150 meters long and it will surely stand out against the background of the Moscow State University building – one of the most impressive Moscow skyscrapers. The huge dimensions of the ramp together with the specially planned spectators’ area will allow more than 30.000 people to watch the exiting performances of the Alpine Skiing stars. The unique artificial slope will be pre-built in the Vorobyovy Mountains and then transported to the urban landscape of the Moscow megalopolis.

Originally, the contest was planned for November 22nd, 2008. However, the date has now been confirmed as 2nd January, 2009 due to organizational and technical reasons. The massive ramp is truly a unique construction even by Russian measures and 25% larger than the ramp built at the same square for the FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Cup events last season. As a result additional time was required to ensure the safety of the construction and plan the technical implementation including high quality preparation of the snow. The new date was also chosen to better meet the needs of the athletes and their travel schedules.

“We were happy to delay the date of the event to right after New Year’s in order to best serve all the invited athletes and guests, especially as most of them have already confirmed their participation in the FIS World Cup Alpine Promotional event in Moscow,” commented President of the Russian Alpine Ski and Snowboard Federation (RASSF), Mr. Andrey Bokarev together with RASSF Vice President Mr Dmitry Svischev.

For more information on the event, please visit www.worldcupmoscow.com

FIS News