The Nations' Team Event in Alpine Skiing will pilot a new format at the climax to the season, the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals 2010. Following the proposal of the FIS Alpine Executive Board, the event will be staged in a parallel format on the Kandahar slope in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) on 14th March 2010 starting at 11 CET.

Following the introduction of the Nations Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Bormio (ITA) 2005, the new format has been developed by an expert group of the Alpine Executive Board in response to feedback collected from various stakeholders, including the National Ski Associations, teams, athletes, marketing agencies and the media. Following the finals, the event will be assessed and a proposal made to the FIS Council regarding the competition format to be used at the 2011 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Rules of the Nations Team Event at the FIS Alpine World Cup Finals, GAP 2010

The Nations' Team Event will be conducted as a parallel giant slalom race, using normal giant slalom gates and flags. The best 16 nations, according to the overall FIS World Cup Nations Cup standing before the Finals, are qualified. The total team size per nation is limited to a maximum of six competitors, with at least two competitors from each gender. Per nation and heat, a maximum of two ladies and men must start.

The participating nations will compete in heats consisting of four pairs with the highest ranking nation racing the lowest ranking nation in the first round (i.e. 1st ranked nation against 16th ranked nation, 2nd ranked nation against 15th ranked nation). The best ranked nation will receive bib number 1 and the lowest ranked nation bib number 16. If any given heat is not complete with two teams, e.g. the 15th and 16th ranked nations are not at the start, the participating nation present will automatically be qualified for the next round. There is a realistic chance that fewer than 16 teams will be at the start at the 2010 Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals. However, for the NTE, the teams may also enter active athletes that are not qualified for the Finals.

Each competitor may only compete in one run per heat. Each nation will have one competitor of each gender competing on each course, red and blue (i.e. one lady red, one lady blue, one man red, one man blue).

The result of each heat between the nations will be determined by points. A win will score one point for the nation. In case of a tie, both nations get one point. In case of a tie after completing the four runs (2:2), the nation with the best individual run time will win.

If both competitors fall, the first competitor to reach the finish successfully will be the winner. If both competitors do not finish, the competitor who successfully skied the furthest distance will be the winner.

The prize money for the event will amount to CHF 100'000. CHF 80'000 will be distributed among the top three nations whilst CHF 20'000 will be distributed as special prizes to individual competitors, CHF 5'000 each for the fastest run by a lady, fastest run by a man, the most winning points by a lady and the most winning points by a man.

FIS press release
4/3/2010