500 days to Saalbach 2025

23 September 2023 marks the start of the 500-day countdown to the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2025 in Saalbach. From 4 to 16 February 2025, the world's best skiers will be guests in the Glemmtal and compete for the coveted medals in eleven events on the famous Zwölferkogel.

In mid-September, the representatives of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), the host broadcaster and the rights holder Infront Sports & Media were able to get an impression of the ongoing preparations at the Coordination Group Meeting in Saalbach. "I am very proud because after this meeting, we received confirmation from many sides that we are on a very good path. Everything is on track," says a pleased ÖSV-Chief Finance Officer Patrick Ortlieb.

There was also positive feedback from the FIS. Secretary General Michel Vion was delighted with the current preparations after the Coordination Group Meeting and is already looking forward to the "special" World Championships in Saalbach: "Austria is a country of skiing. We are sure there will be a great atmosphere, a great festival and sporting decisions at the highest level."

Team Saalbach 2025 will be working intensively in the coming months to complete the necessary preparations and sort out all the details for a successful staging of the event: "The 500 days are a very special date for us because we are becoming more and more aware of how close the World Ski Championships are getting. We are now getting more and more into the details and more and more into the implementation. The last coordination with the FIS and Infront was all very good. The anticipation is growing daily," says Florian Phleps, project coordinator Saalbach 2025.

The 1991 Race Director and President of the Salzburg Ski Association, Bartl Gensbichler, dreams of a winter fairy tale in February 2025: "We have a very committed team that is working hard to put on a first-class event. The sporting world will be thrilled by Saalbach and the performances."

Things will get interesting from a sporting point of view as early as the beginning of January 2024, when the men's European Cup squad will set up camp in Saalbach and complete two downhill runs on the Zwölferkogel before the final of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup takes place from 16 to 24 March 2024.

Release Courtesy of ÖSV